Chapter 5

Roman's Pov

She was still unconscious when we reached my private doctor. The wounds were mostly superficial, cuts, bruises, a mild concussion, but the terror in her eyes before she passed out had been real.

I sat in the hallway outside the examination room, staring at the blood on my sleeves. My blood? Hers? I couldn’t tell.

My head of security approached quietly. “The two men are in custody. They’re professionals. No IDs, but we’re running prints. One of them mentioned Margaret Ashworth before he shut up.”

I nodded. “Keep them isolated. No calls.”

“Already done, sir. But they’re not talking much. These guys are trained. Should I bring in our interrogators?”

“Not yet,” I replied. “Let them sweat first. I want to know exactly who hired them and how deep this goes. Cross-check with anything we have on the Ashworth family’s known associates.”

“Understood. I’ll keep you updated the second we get anything solid. We’ve also secured the crash site. The driver didn’t make it, sir. Single gunshot to the head. This was clearly planned.”

I clenched my jaw. “Make sure the authorities know this wasn’t random. And keep our own people on the perimeter. No one gets near Vivienne without my approval. If any Ashworth lawyers or contacts try to interfere, block them immediately.”

“Done. I’ve doubled the guards on this floor too. No surprises.”

Vivienne had said something right before she fainted. *They killed me once already.* The words kept repeating in my mind. Delirium? Or something worse?

The doctor emerged, wiping his hands. “She’ll be fine. Rest, fluids, monitoring for twenty-four hours. She’s asking for you.”

I stood. “Thank you. Is she coherent? Any signs of confusion or memory issues from the concussion?”

The doctor shook his head. “She’s remarkably clear-headed given what she’s been through. Just keep the conversation calm.”

She was propped up in bed when I entered, pale but alert. Someone had cleaned the blood from her face. The sight of her looking so small against the white sheets twisted something in my chest.

“You saved my life,” she said quietly.

I pulled a chair close. “Who were they?”

“People my family uses when problems need to disappear.” She reached for my hand. Her fingers were cold. “Roman, I need you to believe me even if it sounds impossible.”

I waited.

“I died three years from now,” she said. “Staged car accident. Clarissa made one phone call. I woke up back here with all the memories. The file. The forgeries. Everything.”

I searched her face for signs of concussion-induced confusion. There were none. Only exhaustion and absolute certainty.

“You think I’m crazy,” she whispered.

“No,” I said slowly. “I think someone has been lying to both of us for a very long time. Whether time travel is real or not… the danger is real. I saw that today. But Vivienne, you have to give me more. How does this work? How much do you actually remember? Details that only you would know.”

She took a shaky breath. “I remember the exact day Clarissa told me to step aside for ‘love.’ I remember the police closing my case in under a week. I remember the phone call she made right before the accident. Her voice was so calm… like she was ordering flowers, not arranging a murder. I remember waking up gasping in my old bed, knowing I had one chance to fix it all. The fear never left me, Roman. Every morning I wake up wondering if today is the day they succeed again.”

Roman rubbed his temple. “This is insane. If I hadn’t shown up when I did today, you’d be dead. Again. How long have you been carrying this alone? Why didn’t you come to me sooner with the documents? I could have protected you from the beginning.”

“Since the morning I woke up back here,” she admitted. “I wanted to tell you everything right away, but I was scared you’d think I lost my mind. Or worse—that you were still on their side. But you came for me today. You believed enough to follow me. That means everything.”

“I had my people tracking the car Iris sent after Clarissa started making calls,” I explained. “Something felt wrong the moment I left your house yesterday. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner. Tell me, in this future you remember, what was my role? Did I ever suspect anything? Did we ever speak like this?”

Vivienne shook her head slowly. “You believed what they told you—that I had willingly stepped aside. You were preparing to marry Clarissa. I was just… background noise. But deep down, I think part of you always knew something was off. That’s why you came today. That’s why you’re here now. The old Roman would have stayed away. This one didn’t.”

“You got there in time,” she said, squeezing my hand tighter. “That’s what matters. But Roman, this isn’t just about the inheritance or the betrothal contract. There’s something bigger. My real mother….”

The door opened. My security chief again, face grim.

“Sir. We have a problem. Clarissa Ashworth is downstairs demanding to see Miss Vivienne. She says she has urgent family news. And she brought the family lawyer… and police.”

Vivienne’s grip tightened painfully.

“Don’t let her in,” she said, voice shaking for the first time. “Roman, please. She’ll finish what she started. She’ll spin some story about me being unstable or delusional. She’s very good at it. She’ll cry and play the worried sister while quietly destroying me. Don’t let her get close.”

I stood, gently disentangling our hands.

“Stay here,” I told her. “This ends now.”

As I reached the door, Vivienne called out desperately.

“Roman…if she mentions the accident, don’t believe her. She already tried once today. She’ll say I’m paranoid or that I caused the crash myself. Please don’t listen. She’s poison wrapped in a pretty smile. Promise me you’ll see through it. Promise me you won’t let her twist this.”

I paused, hand on the knob.

Clarissa’s voice drifted up from the foyer below, concerned, sisterly, perfect.

“Vivienne? Darling, I came as soon as I heard. Are you all right?”

I looked back at the woman in the bed. The woman who had somehow changed everything.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked her.

Vivienne’s eyes hardened with three years of future knowledge and fresh pain.

“Make her choose,” she said. “The truth… or war.”

I stepped into the hallway, heart pounding with decisions I never thought I’d face.

Downstairs, Cl

arissa waited with her lawyer and two uniformed officers.

The real fight had just begun.