Chapter 10 - The Night Roman Chose MercyRoman moved in front of Sadi.
She grabbed his arm.
"Beside me."
His eyes met hers.
Even now.
Even with Viktor holding a gun.
Roman listened.
He moved half a step sideways.
Viktor laughed.
"Marriage has domesticated you."
Roman's expression remained blank.
"You survived."
"Disappointed?"
"Temporarily."
Viktor entered.
Four armed men followed.
Arthur slowly raised his hands.
Viktor looked at Sadi.
"You resemble Sebastian."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"It wasn't."
"Then I'll take it anyway."
Viktor smiled.
"I understand why Roman likes you."
"Love."
Roman's voice was quiet.
Viktor looked at him.
"What?"
"He loves me."
Sadi did not take her eyes from Viktor.
"You said likes."
Something almost human crossed Roman's face.
Viktor laughed.
"Adorable."
He pointed the gun toward the servers.
"Transfer control."
"No."
Viktor shot Arthur.
The sound was deafening.
Arthur fell.
Sadi screamed.
Roman moved.
Three guns instantly pointed toward him.
Arthur clutched his shoulder.
Alive.
Viktor smiled.
"Next one goes through his head."
Roman froze.
Viktor looked at Sadi.
"Transfer."
Sadi approached the terminal.
Roman spoke.
"Don't."
Viktor pointed the weapon at Roman.
"Perhaps I'll shoot him instead."
Sadi looked at the screen.
Her father's final instruction appeared.
CONTROL AUTHORIZATION.
Below it:
TRANSFER.
DELETE.
RELEASE.
Three options.
Sadi understood.
Transfer gave Viktor everything.
Delete destroyed the archive.
Release sent it somewhere.
Where?
She remembered her father's words.
It should not be used for revenge.
"Choose," Viktor said.
Sadi looked at Roman.
He gave the smallest shake of his head.
Not an order.
A warning.
Her decision.
Sadi selected RELEASE.
Viktor's smile disappeared.
"What did you do?"
The screen changed.
DISTRIBUTION INITIATED.
"Stop it!"
Viktor rushed forward.
Roman moved.
Chaos erupted.
Arthur swept one man's legs.
Roman struck another.
Sadi dropped behind the terminal.
Gunfire exploded.
Servers shattered.
Viktor grabbed Sadi by the hair.
He dragged her upright.
Roman froze.
Viktor pressed the pistol against her head.
"Enough!"
Everything stopped.
Roman stood ten feet away.
Blood ran from his eyebrow.
Viktor smiled.
"Finally."
Sadi's breathing came fast.
Training.
Don't freeze.
Observe.
Viktor's right hand held the gun.
Left arm around her neck.
His balance slightly backward.
Roman's eyes met hers.
He knew.
Sadi moved.
She dropped her weight and twisted.
Viktor fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Roman crossed the distance.
He hit Viktor hard enough to send the gun spinning.
They crashed into the floor.
Roman mounted him.
One punch.
Two.
Three.
Viktor laughed through blood.
"There he is."
Roman hit him again.
"The animal."
Another punch.
"Roman!"
Sadi's voice reached him.
He stopped.
Viktor smiled.
"You killed my son."
Roman's fist trembled.
"You killed my brother."
"Yes."
The word froze the room.
Roman stared.
"What?"
Viktor coughed blood.
"I ordered Daniel's death before Luka ever took him."
Roman went completely still.
"It was never leverage."
Viktor smiled.
"It was punishment."
Roman's hands closed around his throat.
Sadi saw what was happening.
Fifteen years of guilt.
Grief.
Rage.
Roman was disappearing.
"Roman."
He did not hear.
She approached.
"Roman."
His hands tightened.
Viktor's face darkened.
Sadi touched Roman's shoulder.
"Look at me."
Nothing.
She stepped directly into his field of vision.
"Look at me."
Roman's eyes finally found hers.
"You said you would learn."
His breathing was ragged.
"So learn."
Viktor gasped beneath him.
Sadi knelt.
"If you kill him now, he gets what he wants."
Roman looked down.
Viktor smiled weakly.
"Do it."
Roman's fist tightened.
Then opened.
He stood.
Viktor stared in disbelief.
Roman looked at him.
"You wanted the man who killed Luka."
His voice became calm.
"That man is dead."
Sirens sounded above.
Viktor's face changed.
"What did you release?"
Sadi answered.
"Everything."
The archive had distributed itself to journalists, federal investigators, international regulators, attorneys, and encrypted public repositories.
Nobody could own it now.
Not Viktor.
Not Roman.
Not Sadi.
The truth belonged to everyone.
Viktor stared at her.
"You destroyed your inheritance."
"No."
Sadi looked at Roman.
"I destroyed yours."
Police entered minutes later.
For once, Roman did not disappear before they arrived.
He stayed.
He answered questions.
He allowed Viktor to be arrested.
Arthur went to the hospital.
The servers were seized.
By sunrise, the city had changed.
Executives resigned.
Investigations opened.
Officials denied everything.
Markets moved.
News vans surrounded Ferrara Tower.
Roman stood beside Sadi in the penthouse.
Neither had slept.
"What happens now?" she asked.
"I don't know."
That was perhaps the most frightening sentence Roman had ever spoken.
Sadi looked at him.
"Your businesses?"
"Some will survive."
"And the others?"
"Shouldn't."
She studied him.
"You knew your name might be in those files."
"Yes."
"And you let me release them."
"You asked me to stand beside you."
Roman looked through the window.
"So I did."
Sadi reached into his jacket pocket.
She removed her wedding ring.
Roman watched.
She slid it onto her finger.
His eyes closed.
Sadi touched his face.
"This doesn't mean everything is fixed."
"I know."
"You still need to learn boundaries."
"I know."
"You cannot buy buildings every time someone annoys me."
His eyes opened.
"That seems unnecessarily restrictive."
Sadi laughed.
Roman smiled.
Then she kissed him.
For the first time since discovering the truth, the kiss contained no secrets.
May you like
Only two imperfect people.
And a choice to stay.
