Chapter 13 - VANESSA'S LAST OFFER|
Vanessa requested a private meeting with Roman three days later.
She chose the rooftop restaurant where they had celebrated his recovery after the fire. It had been her idea to hold the dinner there, and she had spent the evening reminding him that she had saved his life.
Roman arrived alone.
Vanessa wore a pale blue dress and the diamond earrings he had given her the previous Christmas. She smiled when she saw him, but the smile faded when he sat across from her without ordering a drink.
“You look terrible,” she said.
“My wife almost died.”
“Your wife has always known how to make herself the center of attention.”
Roman's expression didn't change.
“Why did you request this meeting?”
Vanessa leaned forward.
“Because I know what you're planning. Claudia told me you've been collecting evidence. I also know that if this reaches the authorities, the company will be investigated, the family name will be dragged through the papers, and your father's legacy will be destroyed.”
“My father's legacy was damaged by the people who betrayed him.”
“Your father wasn't innocent, Roman. None of us were.”
“Then tell the truth.”
She stared at him.
“You think truth will save you? It won't. It will expose every secret you've kept. Every questionable transaction. Every man you've threatened. Every deal you've made because someone was too frightened to refuse.”
Roman didn't deny it.
Vanessa seemed unsettled by his silence.
“I can help you contain the damage,” she continued. “Give me the records, and I'll arrange a settlement with the people involved. Claudia will retire. The company will restructure. Evelyn will receive enough money to live comfortably for the rest of her life.”
“And what do you receive?”
“Protection.”
“From whom?”
“From the people who will come after us when they discover how much we know.”
Roman leaned back.
“You're asking me to bury evidence again.”
“I'm asking you to be practical.”
“No. You're asking me to become the man you spent two years convincing me I had to be.”
Vanessa's eyes flashed.
“Don't pretend you're suddenly noble because Evelyn is sick.”
“I'm not noble.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because I'm tired of being manipulated by people who mistake my anger for intelligence.”
For several seconds, Vanessa said nothing.
Then she reached into her handbag and placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Evelyn leaving a medical clinic months earlier, supported by a nurse.
“Do you know why she stopped going to appointments?” Vanessa asked.
Roman looked at the photograph.
“Tell me.”
“Because she couldn't afford the treatment. Your transfers were cut off, and she refused to ask anyone for help. She sold her jewelry. She sold her mother's piano. She even tried to sell the workshop.”
Roman felt a sharp pain behind his ribs.
He had known Evelyn was struggling. He had chosen not to ask how badly.
Vanessa continued.
“She could have come to me. I offered to help.”
“On what condition?”
“That she leave you.”
Roman looked at her.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“She was never going to be good enough for you. She had no family connections, no wealth, no understanding of the world you live in. I could have given you a partner who understood power.”
“You wanted a husband you could control.”
“I wanted a life I deserved.”
“You wanted my name.”
“I wanted you.”
Roman shook his head.
“No. You wanted the man you could turn me into.”
Vanessa stood abruptly.
“You'll regret this.”
“Perhaps.”
She leaned across the table.
“When the investigation starts, people will discover what you've done. They won't care that you're sorry. They'll destroy your company. They'll take your money. Evelyn will leave you anyway.”
Roman rose.
“If she leaves, it will be her decision. Not yours.”
He turned toward the exit.
Vanessa's voice followed him.
“You think she loves you?”
Roman stopped.
He did not turn around.
“I think she loved me enough to risk her life when I gave her every reason not to. What I think now is that I have to become someone worthy of that love.”
He walked away.
Vanessa remained at the table, staring at the untouched wine.
Then she took out her phone and called the one person who could still help her.
“Claudia,” she whispered. “We have a problem.”
Claudia answered immediately.
“What happened?”
“Roman won't cooperate.”
May you like
A pause followed.
Then Claudia said, “Then we stop asking him to.”
