Chapter 9 - The Four Hundred Million Dollar LieE4 was not a location.
It was a square.
Sadi realized that at three in the morning.
She placed her father's chessboard on Arthur's kitchen table.
Arthur lived in a surprisingly ordinary townhouse.
There were photographs of his daughter on the refrigerator.
Sadi stared at one.
"You have a daughter?"
"Everyone finds that shocking."
"Because you look like you were manufactured in a basement."
Arthur poured coffee.
"Thank you."
Sadi moved the white pawn from E2 to E4.
Nothing happened.
She frowned.
"Maybe the piece."
She removed the pawn.
The square beneath it looked identical.
Arthur handed her a knife.
Sadi carefully pried at the wood.
Click.
A tiny compartment opened.
Inside was a memory card.
Arthur stared.
"Your father was dramatic."
"You work for Roman."
"Fair."
They inserted the card into an isolated laptop.
One file appeared.
SADI.
Password protected.
Sadi tried birthdays.
Names.
Nothing.
Then she remembered.
Pineapple.
Her father used to put pineapple on pizza.
Roman hated pineapple.
She typed it.
Access granted.
Arthur looked offended.
"That's terrible security."
A video opened.
Sadi stopped breathing.
Her father appeared on the screen.
Older than she remembered.
Tired.
Alive.
"Hello, little star."
Sadi covered her mouth.
Her father had called her that.
"If you're watching this, I failed to keep the past away from you."
Tears blurred the screen.
"I am sorry."
Sebastian explained everything.
The money.
The evidence.
Viktor.
Roman's father.
But then came the truth nobody expected.
There was no four hundred million dollar reserve.
There never had been.
The fortune was a rumor Sebastian created.
A lure.
Something powerful men would chase while the real archive remained hidden.
"The archive is worth more than money," Sebastian said.
"It can destroy empires."
Arthur leaned forward.
Sebastian continued.
"But it should not be used for revenge."
Sadi listened.
"If Roman Ferrara is alive when you see this, understand something. He was a child raised by men who taught him violence before they taught him mercy. Do not trust him because of his name. Do not condemn him because of it either. Judge him by what he chooses when he finally has a choice."
Sadi's heart broke.
Her father had known Roman.
Not the man.
The boy.
The video ended with coordinates.
Arthur entered them.
His face changed.
"What?"
"Those coordinates are beneath Ferrara Tower."
Roman's headquarters.
Sadi laughed softly.
"My father hid the archive under Roman's building."
"Apparently."
"Does Roman know?"
"No."
"Viktor?"
"If he did, we wouldn't be sitting here."
Sadi looked at the screen.
Her phone rang.
Roman.
She watched it.
Arthur said nothing.
She answered.
"Hello."
Silence.
Then:
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Arthur?"
"Alive."
"Gabriel?"
Sadi closed her eyes.
"No."
Roman inhaled.
"I'm sorry."
"Did you know him?"
"Yes."
"Of course you did."
"Sadi."
She rubbed her forehead.
"I found my father's message."
Roman became silent.
"There is no money."
"I know."
Sadi froze.
"What?"
"I discovered that two days ago."
Anger returned instantly.
"And you didn't tell me?"
"I was trying to verify it."
"You still don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"No. You understand information. You don't understand trust."
Roman said nothing.
Sadi continued.
"The archive is beneath Ferrara Tower."
This time his silence was genuine surprise.
"You didn't know."
"No."
"Good."
"Sadi—"
"I'm coming."
"No."
She almost laughed.
"Still trying?"
Roman exhaled.
"Viktor has men watching the tower."
"Then he'll come too."
"Exactly."
"Good."
"No, not good."
"Roman, listen to me."
She looked at the chessboard.
"My father didn't leave this to you."
"I know."
"He left it to me."
"I know."
"So this is my decision."
Long silence.
Then Roman said something she had not expected.
"Okay."
Sadi's eyes filled.
"What?"
"Your decision."
No argument.
No command.
No threat.
Just trust.
"When you arrive," he continued, "I will be there if you want me."
Sadi swallowed.
"I want you."
The words came naturally.
Roman's breathing changed.
"But beside me," she added. "Not in front of me."
"I can do that."
"Can you?"
"No."
She laughed through tears.
"But I'll learn."
At dawn, Sadi returned to Ferrara Tower.
Roman waited in the underground level.
No army.
No dramatic formation.
Just him.
He looked exhausted.
Sadi approached.
For several seconds, they simply stood there.
Roman removed something from his pocket.
Her wedding ring.
He held it out.
Sadi looked at it.
Then at him.
"Not yet."
Pain crossed his face.
But he closed his hand.
"Okay."
They descended beneath the tower.
Arthur found an old service tunnel.
At its end was a steel door.
The metal key Gabriel had given Sadi fit a hidden slot.
The door opened.
Inside were servers.
Dozens.
Old.
Silent.
Waiting.
A monitor illuminated.
IDENTITY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.
Sadi placed her hand against the scanner.
The system activated.
Files appeared.
Thousands.
Roman stared.
Sadi saw names.
Companies.
Officials.
Transactions.
Photographs.
Enough information to destroy half the city's power structure.
Then a voice came from behind them.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Roman turned.
Viktor Soren stood in the doorway.
Older.
Scarred.
Smiling.
A pistol rested in his hand.
"You found my inheritance for me."
Sadi looked at him.
May you like
Viktor smiled wider.
"Hello, little queen."
