Chapter 6 - The Night Roman Chose His Family
Roman stopped.
The door opened three inches.
Luca's face appeared.
"He's downstairs."
Roman crouched.
"Come here."
Luca slipped through.
Roman pulled him into his arms.
Josephine had never seen Roman hold either boy that tightly.
"Where's Matteo?"
"Upstairs."
"Who is downstairs?"
"Mr. Price."
Roman handed Luca to Josephine.
"Take him."
Josephine shook her head.
"You aren't going alone."
"Josephine."
"We stopped doing that."
Even now, Roman almost smiled.
Marcus and Gabriel arrived behind them.
Daniel remained outside coordinating security.
Roman opened the service door.
The hidden corridor beneath the house was dark.
Price had returned to the vault.
They found him standing beside the metal box.
Dr. Cole wasn't with him.
Price held no visible weapon.
That made Roman more cautious, not less.
Samuel Price looked ordinary.
Gray suit.
Glasses.
Fifty-two.
A man who had attended birthdays and funerals.
A man Roman had trusted with signatures capable of moving millions.
"You should have left," Roman said.
Price smiled.
"And abandon fourteen years of work?"
Josephine stepped forward.
"Your father stole the money."
Price's smile vanished.
"So Elena wrote."
"She documented it."
"Elena destroyed my family."
Gabriel moved.
"Your father destroyed himself."
Price looked at him.
"You should be dead."
"I get that often."
Roman almost appreciated the line.
Price pointed at the ledger in Josephine's hands.
"Give it to me."
"No," she said.
"That book has caused enough death."
"Then why add more?"
Price's expression hardened.
"Because men like Tierney and Carbone always survive while men like my father take the blame."
Roman said, "Your father stole from both families."
"My father took what he deserved."
Josephine understood then.
This wasn't justice.
Price had spent decades turning resentment into entitlement.
He didn't want the truth corrected.
He wanted it erased.
"Daniel knows everything now," Roman said.
"So does Dominic."
Price's face changed.
Roman continued.
"The ledger has been copied."
That was a lie.
Price couldn't know.
"If you destroy that one, nothing changes."
Price stared at him.
Then laughed softly.
"You've changed, Roman."
"No."
"Yes. Your father changed too."
Roman's expression hardened.
"When?"
"When Elena came."
Josephine watched him.
Price smiled.
"Patrick Tierney was ruthless until he had something to lose."
Roman looked toward Josephine.
Price saw it.
"There."
His smile widened.
"Exactly."
Price reached inside his jacket.
Roman moved.
Marcus moved too.
But Josephine was closer.
She shoved Luca behind the steel shelving and stepped sideways.
Price produced not a pistol but a small remote.
His thumb hovered over the button.
Roman stopped.
"What is that?"
"Insurance."
Price nodded toward the ceiling.
"Your house has gas lines."
Marcus swore.
Price smiled.
"I don't need to beat Roman Tierney. I just need him to understand helplessness."
Roman's voice was quiet.
"My sons are upstairs."
"I know."
Josephine looked at the remote.
One button.
One light.
She remembered something from the security briefing Marcus had given staff months earlier.
Emergency gas shutoffs were mechanical.
Not wireless.
Roman's house was old.
Renovated repeatedly.
Could Price trigger something remotely?
Possibly.
But—
Josephine looked at Marcus.
He gave the slightest shake of his head.
Roman saw it.
The remote was a bluff.
Roman stepped forward.
Price pressed the button.
Nothing happened.
His face changed.
Marcus moved.
Seconds later, Price was against the wall and the remote was on the floor.
Roman picked it up.
"Cheap."
Price breathed heavily.
Roman stood in front of him.
Josephine could see the fury in Roman's face.
For years, men had feared what Roman might do when someone threatened his family.
Price expected it.
Perhaps wanted it.
Roman looked at Josephine.
Then at Luca.
Then back at Price.
"No."
Price frowned.
Roman stepped away.
"Daniel calls the authorities."
Marcus stared.
Price laughed.
"Authorities?"
Roman looked at him.
"You wanted me to become exactly what you could use against me."
Price stopped laughing.
Roman continued.
"You don't get that ending."
Evidence from Elena's ledger, Price's recordings, the kidnapping, financial records, and Dr. Cole's cooperation would be enough.
Roman didn't need revenge.
He needed Price unable to reach his sons again.
Josephine looked at him with something warmer than relief.
Roman noticed.
Later, the house finally quieted.
Matteo slept beside Luca.
Marcus remained downstairs giving statements.
Gabriel sat alone in the library.
Dominic had left after providing records implicating Price's network.
Nobody had forgiven anyone.
But the immediate threat was over.
Josephine stood by the playroom window.
Roman approached.
"You should sleep."
"So should you."
"I don't sleep."
"That explains your personality."
Roman stared at her.
She smiled.
He actually laughed.
Quietly.
Once.
Josephine looked surprised.
"Was that a laugh?"
"No."
"It absolutely was."
"You're tired."
She turned toward him.
"Roman."
His expression softened.
"What happens now?"
"Price answers for what he did."
"I mean me."
Roman became still.
Josephine continued.
"I was hired to care for your sons. Now I'm apparently the niece of your enemy, daughter of a man who pretended to be dead, keeper of a ledger people have spent decades chasing, and..."
She stopped.
"And?" Roman asked.
She looked at him.
"And I don't know what I am to you."
Roman didn't answer immediately.
That frightened her more than she expected.
Finally he said, "You're Josephine."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the most important one."
She looked away.
Roman stepped closer.
"I spent years thinking everyone near me needed a defined place. Employee. Ally. Enemy. Family."
"And me?"
"You ruined the system."
Josephine laughed softly.
"Sorry."
"I'm not."
Roman took her hand.
"I don't want you here because of an agreement my father signed."
Her breathing slowed.
"I don't want you here because of Elena."
He stepped closer.
"Or Gabriel."
Closer.
"Or Dominic."
Josephine looked up at him.
"Then why?"
Roman's thumb moved across her knuckles.
"Because when Marcus raised that weapon, you stood between it and my sons before you knew whether anyone would protect you."
Josephine's eyes filled.
"You protected them because you love them."
"I do."
Roman nodded.
"And somewhere along the way, I..."
He stopped.
Josephine waited.
The terrifying Roman Tierney could face armed men without blinking.
Three simple words defeated him.
Josephine smiled through tears.
"You what?"
His eyes held hers.
"I fell in love with you."
No grand speech.
No demand.
No ownership.
Just truth.
Josephine touched his face.
"I think you took long enough."
Then she kissed him.
Roman's hand settled gently against her waist.
The kiss was brief.
Careful.
Almost uncertain.
When they separated, Josephine rested her forehead against his.
"What happens if I want to leave?"
Roman answered immediately.
"I open the door."
"And if I stay?"
"I spend every day making sure it's your choice."
That was the answer she needed.
A small voice came from behind them.
"I knew it."
They turned.
Luca stood in the doorway.
Matteo appeared behind him.
"You owe me five dollars," Luca told his brother.
Roman stared.
Josephine burst out laughing.
Matteo protested.
"You said before Friday!"
"It is Friday."
Roman rubbed his forehead.
"Go to bed."
Luca grinned.
Josephine thought the nightmare might finally be ending.
Then Gabriel appeared behind the boys.
He wasn't smiling.
He held Elena's ledger.
"Roman."
Something in his voice changed the room.
"What?"
Gabriel opened the final pages.
"There are entries we missed."
Josephine approached.
Gabriel pointed to three transfers dated after Elena's death.
Roman read the recipient.
His expression hardened.
Josephine recognized the name too.
Dr. Adrian Cole.
The pediatrician hadn't merely worked for Price recently.
He had been receiving money for twenty-one years.
Josephine looked at Gabriel.
"What was he being paid for?"
Gabriel turned the page.
A handwritten note appeared beneath the final transfer.
Josephine read it once.
Then again.
Roman took the ledger from her.
May you like
Because according to Elena's last entry, Dr. Cole had been present the night she died.
And Elena Carbone had survived the crash.
