Chapter 6 - The Betrayal Beneath the Mansion
The drive back to the estate was silent.
Not peaceful.
Not calm.
Silent in the way a room becomes silent before something breaks.
I sat in the back seat beside Ben, holding his hand while he stared out the window.
He looked exhausted.
Older.
Like the past few hours had taken years from him.
I wanted to ask him a thousand questions.
Who exactly had approached him?
Why did he trust them?
Why did they know about me?
But every time I looked at his face, I saw the guilt in his eyes.
And I knew he was already punishing himself enough.
“You should sleep,” I whispered.
Ben shook his head.
“How can I sleep?”
“You’re safe now.”
He looked at me.
“No, I’m not.”
The honesty hurt.
“Ben.”
“They used me to get to you.”
I squeezed his hand.
“They didn’t win.”
“But they could have.”
I didn’t know how to answer that.
Because he was right.
One mistake.
One wrong decision.
And everything could have ended differently.
Across from us, Roman sat completely still.
He had not spoken since we left the warehouse.
Not one word.
That worried me more than anger would have.
Anger was obvious.
Silence from Roman Moretti meant something was happening beneath the surface.
He was thinking.
Calculating.
Preparing.
When the estate gates opened, I expected relief.
Instead, I felt a strange heaviness.
The mansion looked exactly the same.
The warm lights.
The perfect gardens.
The beautiful stone walls.
But now I knew something was hidden behind them.
Someone inside had betrayed Roman.
Someone inside had watched me.
Someone inside had helped dangerous people enter my life.
The place I thought was safe suddenly felt like a trap.
Roman stepped out of the car.
“Ben stays in the east guest room.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because it is the most secure area.”
“You’re letting him stay here?”
Roman looked at me as if the question surprised him.
“Where else would he go?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I had expected him to be angry.
After everything Ben had caused.
After the trouble.
After the risk.
But Roman wasn’t angry at him.
Not even close.
He was protecting him.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
Roman looked at me.
It was strange.
A simple thank you seemed to affect him more than any argument we had.
“Don’t thank me yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we still don’t know who is responsible.”
His words reminded me.
The danger was not over.
Not even close.
Inside the mansion, everything was moving.
Security staff checked entrances.
Phones rang.
People whispered.
The calm appearance of the estate was gone.
Roman’s world had cracked open.
And everyone could feel it.
As Ben was taken upstairs, I stayed behind.
Roman noticed.
“You should go with him.”
“I want answers.”
“You won’t like them.”
“I’m already involved.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You should not be.”
“But I am.”
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then Roman walked toward the library.
“Come with me.”
The library was warmer than his office.
Strangely, it felt less intimidating.
Maybe because I had spent so much time there.
Maybe because books did not judge people.
Roman closed the door behind us.
Then he placed a file on the table.
I looked at him.
“What is that?”
“Security records.”
I opened it.
Names.
Dates.
Access logs.
My eyes moved quickly across the pages.
Then I stopped.
“What am I looking for?”
“The pattern.”
I looked confused.
Roman stepped beside me.
“Someone didn’t just disable one camera.”
He pointed.
“They tested the system.”
I followed the dates.
Five days ago.
Four days ago.
Three days ago.
Small changes.
Minor disruptions.
Things nobody would notice.
Unless they were searching.
“They were preparing.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Roman looked at the pages.
“For me to react.”
A chill moved through me.
“They wanted you to find out.”
“Exactly.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
Roman was quiet.
That answer took longer.
Finally, he said:
“Because someone inside my organization wants a war.”
I stared at him.
“And they think you’ll lose?”
“No.”
The confidence in his voice returned.
“They think I’ll destroy myself trying to find them.”
That sounded terrifyingly possible.
Because Roman Moretti was not a man who ignored betrayal.
He hunted it.
A knock interrupted us.
Roman’s expression changed immediately.
“Come in.”
One of his guards entered.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“What?”
“We found something.”
Roman nodded.
The guard handed him an envelope.
“There was this hidden inside the old security office.”
Roman opened it.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
I watched his face as he read it.
The color didn’t leave.
His expression didn’t break.
But something changed.
“What does it say?” I asked.
He handed it to me.
I looked down.
Only one sentence.
You built an empire on loyalty. Now watch it collapse.
My fingers tightened around the paper.
“This is a threat.”
“No.”
Roman’s voice was low.
“It’s a message.”
“What’s the difference?”
“A threat is meant to scare you.”
He looked toward the window.
“This is meant to make me look somewhere.”
I looked at him.
“You think they want you to discover something.”
“Yes.”
“Something they planted?”
“Possibly.”
The more I learned about Roman’s world, the more I realized something.
Everyone was playing a game.
And everyone knew the rules except me.
I was just a piece placed on the board.
Except Roman didn’t treat me like one.
That was what confused me most.
“You should leave,” he said suddenly.
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You and your brother.”
The words hit unexpectedly.
“You want us gone?”
“I want you safe.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“It isn’t.”
I studied him.
“You’re afraid.”
Roman looked at me.
The question surprised him.
“You’re afraid something will happen to us.”
A long silence followed.
Then he looked away.
That was my answer.
The most powerful man I knew could face enemies without hesitation.
But protecting two people who had nothing to do with his world?
That scared him.
“I’m not leaving,” I said.
His eyes returned to mine.
“Norah.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“You could get hurt.”
“So could you.”
The room became quiet.
Because neither of us expected me to say that.
Roman stared at me.
And for a brief moment, the walls around him disappeared.
Not completely.
Just enough.
Enough for me to see the man beneath the reputation.
The man who carried every responsibility alone.
“You’re impossible,” he said softly.
I almost smiled.
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me.”
A small change appeared in his expression.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
Then his phone rang.
The moment he answered, his face changed.
“Where?”
Silence.
“When?”
Another pause.
“Do not touch anything until I arrive.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
Roman grabbed his coat.
“The old security office.”
“What about it?”
He looked at me.
“Someone went back.”
My stomach tightened.
“Who?”
Roman’s expression turned cold.
“We’re about to find out.”
We walked quickly through the halls.
The same halls I had cleaned every day.
The same halls where I thought nothing dangerous could happen.
But when Roman opened the security office door, I understood.
The room had been searched.
Drawers were open.
Documents were missing.
And on the wall above the security monitors was something new.
A photograph.
Roman stopped.
I moved closer.
The picture showed the estate.
The greenhouse.
The service entrance.
And me.
Standing outside in the rain.
My breath caught.
“They were watching me.”
Roman said nothing.
Because he knew.
The person behind this had been close.
Close enough to take the picture.
Close enough to follow my routine.
Close enough to know exactly where I would be.
Then I noticed something written on the back of the photograph.
Roman turned it over.
Three words.
She is yours now.
The silence that followed felt endless.
I looked at Roman.
For the first time, I saw something I had never seen before.
Not anger.
Not control.
Fear.
Because whoever was behind this wasn’t trying to destroy Roman Moretti’s empire.
They had found something much more dangerous.
May you like
They had found the one thing Roman Moretti could not afford to lose.
Me.
