Chapter 2 - The Secret Hidden Inside the Marriage Deal
The first thing I did after receiving Roman’s message was ignore it.
Not because I was afraid.
Because for five years, I had answered every call.
Every emergency.
Every midnight message.
Every request that began with my name and ended with a problem only I could solve.
Roman Castell had built an empire where people obeyed before they understood.
But I was tired of being the person who always understood.
I stood inside the ballroom, holding the black card Elias Thorne had given me.
The words on the back kept replaying in my mind.
ASK WHO SELECTED THE WEDDING SECURITY COMPANY.
A simple sentence.
Fourteen words.
But those words carried the weight of a warning.
Because I knew exactly why that detail mattered.
Security was never just security.
In Roman’s world, security meant access.
It meant cameras.
Passwords.
Schedules.
Private locations.
Weak points.
Whoever controlled the security company didn't just protect the wedding.
They controlled the door into Roman's entire operation.
I looked toward the stage.
Chloe Bishop was smiling beside Roman.
Everyone saw a powerful couple.
A perfect alliance.
A future built on money and influence.
But I saw something else.
I saw Roman standing beside a woman he didn't love.
And I saw a woman standing beside him who knew exactly what she was gaining.
My phone vibrated again.
Roman.
My office.
Now.
I stared at the message.
Then I walked upstairs.
Not because he ordered me.
Because I needed answers.
Roman was standing near the window when I entered.
He wasn't sitting behind his desk.
That alone told me something was wrong.
Roman only stood when he was thinking.
Or preparing for war.
The city stretched behind him.
Thousands of lights.
Thousands of lives.
And somewhere inside that city, someone was preparing to destroy everything he had built.
"You took your time."
I closed the door.
"You texted me thirty seconds ago."
His eyes moved to the card in my hand.
Immediately.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"Where did you get that?"
I didn't answer.
Instead, I placed it on his desk.
"Elias Thorne."
The expression on Roman's face changed.
Not much.
A normal person wouldn't have noticed.
But I wasn't normal.
I had spent five years learning every small reaction he tried to hide.
His shoulders became slightly tense.
His eyes sharpened.
His silence lasted half a second too long.
"You know him."
It wasn't a question.
Roman walked toward the desk.
"Where did he approach you?"
"The ballroom."
"What did he say?"
I crossed my arms.
"Interesting."
"What?"
"You sound worried."
Roman picked up the card.
"I'm asking a question."
"And I'm noticing your reaction."
His jaw tightened.
"Tessa."
"No."
I stepped closer.
"You don't get to do that anymore."
"Do what?"
"Act like I am your employee when you need information, then act like I am someone important when I try to leave."
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because they were true.
Roman looked away.
For a moment, the strongest man in the room looked exhausted.
Then the mask returned.
"What did Elias tell you?"
I looked at the card.
"He said the marriage isn't an alliance."
Roman stayed silent.
"He said it's an entry point."
Still silent.
"He told me to ask who selected the wedding security company."
The silence became heavier.
I watched him carefully.
Because that was the moment I knew.
Roman already knew something was wrong.
"You knew."
His eyes met mine.
"I suspected."
My stomach tightened.
"You suspected?"
"I didn't have proof."
"And you still went through with the engagement?"
Roman walked back toward the window.
"The Bishop family controls ports we need."
"So you sacrificed yourself."
"No."
He looked at me.
"I sacrificed information."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"The moment the Bishops believed I trusted them completely, they became careless."
I stared at him.
"You used the marriage as bait."
"Yes."
"And Chloe?"
Roman's expression became unreadable.
"She knows enough to believe she has won."
I hated how easily he said it.
Not because I cared about Chloe.
Because it reminded me of the biggest difference between us.
Roman could play chess with people's lives.
I couldn't.
"I should have told you."
The sentence surprised me.
Because Roman Castell rarely apologized.
I waited.
He continued.
"If I told you, you would have investigated."
"Yes."
"You would have found something."
"Probably."
"And then they would know."
I shook my head.
"No. You don't get to make that decision for me."
"I was protecting you."
The words came out too quickly.
Almost honestly.
I looked at him.
"That is the problem, Roman."
"What?"
"You always decide what I can handle."
He didn't answer.
Because he knew.
I wasn't angry about the danger.
I was angry because he never trusted me with the truth.
The woman who had saved his company countless times.
The woman who knew every weakness in his empire.
The woman he called when everything collapsed.
But not when he made the biggest decision of his life.
Roman picked up the card again.
"Elias Thorne doesn't help people."
"Maybe he isn't helping me."
"Then why approach you?"
I looked at him.
"Maybe because he knows I am the only person who can see what is happening."
Roman's expression darkened.
"That's exactly why."
"What?"
"He didn't approach my security team."
He placed the card down.
"He didn't approach my lawyers."
"He approached you."
"Yes."
"Why?"
The answer came before I could stop myself.
"Because everyone in this building thinks I belong to you."
The room became quiet.
Roman stared at me.
I regretted saying it.
Not because it wasn't true.
Because it was.
For years, everyone had assumed I was Roman's shadow.
His assistant.
His right hand.
The person standing behind him.
Nobody saw the person beside him.
Roman stepped closer.
"Tessa..."
I looked away.
"Don't."
He stopped.
The distance between us felt different.
Not like enemies.
Not like strangers.
Like two people who knew exactly what they wanted to say but couldn't risk saying it.
Then his phone rang.
Roman looked at the screen.
His expression changed instantly.
"Who is it?"
He didn't answer.
That worried me more.
He picked up.
"Speak."
A man's voice came through.
Roman listened.
Then his face became cold.
"What do you mean missing?"
I watched him.
Something had happened.
Something serious.
He turned away from me.
"The shipment was moved yesterday."
Pause.
"No."
Another pause.
"That route was confidential."
My heart sank.
Because I knew that route.
I had created the system protecting it.
Only six people had access.
Roman ended the call.
"What happened?"
He looked at me.
"The security files for the wedding were accessed."
My blood went cold.
"When?"
"Three hours ago."
"During the party?"
Roman nodded.
"Someone used the engagement event as a distraction."
I looked at the black card.
ASK WHO SELECTED THE WEDDING SECURITY COMPANY.
Elias wasn't warning me about the future.
He was warning me about something that had already started.
"Who has access?" I asked.
Roman didn't answer immediately.
That scared me more than anything.
"Roman."
He looked at me.
"There are only three people."
"Who?"
He took a breath.
"The security company owner."
"Second?"
"My head of operations."
"And third?"
Roman's eyes locked onto mine.
The silence lasted too long.
"Roman."
His voice dropped.
"You."
I froze.
"What?"
"The system recorded your access code."
I stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"I know."
"Then someone copied it."
Roman nodded slowly.
"Which means someone inside my organization has been watching you."
A chill moved through me.
Not because someone wanted Roman.
Because someone had been close enough to study me.
To copy my movements.
To know how I worked.
Roman moved toward the safe behind his bookshelf.
He entered the code.
Pulled out a folder.
"This is everything about the security company."
I opened it.
The first page showed the company name.
The owner.
The contract date.
Then I saw the signature.
And my hands stopped moving.
Because the person who approved the wedding security contract was not Roman.
It wasn't Chloe.
It wasn't his operations manager.
It was someone whose name I recognized immediately.
Someone who had been standing beside Roman all night.
Someone I never thought would betray him.
Roman looked at my face.
"What is it?"
May you like
I slowly turned the folder toward him.
And before either of us could speak, the office lights suddenly went out.
