Chapter 14: The Truth She Did Not Ask For

Adrian did not shoot. 

Not yet.

The gun stayed pointed at me. My mom stood behind him, hands zip tied, mouth covered with duct tape. Her eyes found mine and went wide with panic. She shook her head. Once. Twice. 

Do not. 

Roman moved. One step. He put his body between me and the gun. 

“Drop it,” Roman said. His voice was calm. Too calm. The kind of calm he used in boardrooms before he destroyed someone. 

Adrian smiled. He looked like Roman. Same green eyes. Same sharp jaw. But his face was thinner. Hungrier. 

“You always were the favorite,” Adrian said. “Even now. You get to play the hero.” 

“You have my mother,” I said. My voice came out steady. Nurse voice. The one I used when patients coded. “Let her go. You want me. You want him. Take us.” 

Adrian’s gaze flicked to me. He studied me like I was a file he had read a hundred times. “Victor told me you were smart. He did not say you were brave.” 

“Isla, get behind me,” Roman said without looking back. 

“No.” I stepped to Roman’s side. Not behind. Beside. My shoulder brushed his arm. He was warm. Solid. Real. “Partners, remember?” 

His jaw clenched. He hated it. But he did not argue. Because last night he promised me no more secrets. No more choosing for me. 

Adrian laughed. “This is perfect. The bully and his victim. Still playing house.” 

“We are not playing,” I said. 

“No?” Adrian tilted his head. “Then why did you not tell him about the second flash drive?” 

The air left my lungs. 

Roman went still. I felt it more than I saw it. The shift in his breathing. The way his hand curled into a fist at his side. 

“What?” Roman asked. The word was quiet. Dangerous. 

My mouth opened. No sound came out. 

Adrian saw it. He grinned. “She did not tell you. Interesting.” 

“Isla,” Roman said. His eyes were on me now. Not Adrian. Not the gun. Me. And that was worse. “What is he talking about?” 

My heart was beating in my throat. I wanted to reach for him. I wanted him to believe me before I even spoke. “I do not know what he means.” 

“Liar,” Adrian said. “Your father gave you two. One with pink tape. Music, you thought. The other was hidden in the lining of your old backpack. Blue tape. You found it after the funeral. You never told anyone.” 

I felt sick. Because he was right. 

I found it. When I was fifteen. I was cleaning out my closet and the lining tore. A small drive fell out. Blue tape on it. I plugged it in once. Files. Numbers. Names. I did not understand it. I was scared. So I put it back and forgot about it. On purpose. 

Until now. 

“You knew,” Roman said. It was not a question. 

His voice was empty. That scared me more than Adrian’s gun. Empty meant he was closing off. Empty meant I was losing him. 

“I forgot,” I whispered. “I was a kid. I did not know what it was.” 

“You forgot,” he repeated. 

Distrust. It flashed across his face. Fast. Then gone. But I saw it. 

And it hurt worse than the gun pointed at my chest. Because last night he held my face and said partners. Last night I believed we had a chance. 

“You have it?” Adrian asked me. “The blue one?” 

“No,” I said. “I do not know where it is. My mom packed my room when we moved. It could be anywhere.” 

“Liar,” Adrian said again. But he looked unsure. 

“Why do you want it?” Roman asked him. His body was still blocking me. But his voice was cold now. Distant. The CEO was back. The man who built walls. 

“Because Victor lied to me too,” Adrian said. “He said you had it. He said you and Isla were keeping it from me. That you planned to use it to take everything that should be mine.” 

Roman’s shoulders went rigid. “Mine?” 

“Kade Technologies. The money. The name. He told me you married her to lock me out forever.” 

“That is not true,” I said. 

“Is it not?” Adrian looked at Roman. “You told her you loved her. Did you tell her you changed the will three weeks after Vegas? That if you died, everything went to her. Not to family. To her.” 

Roman said nothing. 

Because it was true. 

I knew about the trust. I did not know he changed it that early. Three weeks after Vegas. We were eighteen. He barely knew me. Not the real me. 

And God, it hurts. Because part of me wondered if Adrian was right. Did Roman marry me to control the evidence? Was I just another asset? 

“Why?” I asked him. My voice broke. I hated that he heard it. 

He finally looked at me. His eyes were wrecked. “Because I knew I would not live long. Not with my father. I wanted someone decent to have it. Someone who would not build weapons.” 

Adrian barked a laugh. “See? He chose her. Always her. I was rotting in a boarding school in Switzerland and he was giving her my inheritance.” 

“You were not supposed to exist,” Roman said. “I thought you were dead.” 

“I was,” Adrian said. “Until I was not.” 

The gun did not waver. It was still on me. But his finger was not on the trigger. Not yet. 

My mom made a sound behind the tape. A muffled sob. 

“Mom,” I said. I took a step forward. Roman’s arm shot out, stopping me. His palm pressed flat to my stomach. Not grabbing. Holding. Keeping me with him. 

“Do not move,” Roman ordered me. Then to Adrian, “Let her go. Your fight is with me.” 

“My fight is with both of you,” Adrian said. “But I am not stupid. I know who Victor really feared. It was not you, brother. It was her.” 

Me? 

“Why?” I asked. 

“Because you heard him,” Adrian said. “At the testing site. You were fourteen. You told your dad. Your dad copied the files. Victor killed him for it. But he could not kill you. Not without Roman going nuclear. So he made Roman break you instead. He thought if you were small and scared, you would never look at that drive.” 

I felt Roman’s hand find mine. His fingers laced through mine. Tight. Desperate. An apology. A promise. 

“But you kept it,” Adrian said. “And you married him. And now you have both drives. Or you know where they are.” 

“I do not,” I said. 

“You are lying,” Adrian said. “Just like your mother.” 

He yanked my mom forward by her arm. She stumbled. The tape muffled her cry. 

“Stop,” I said. “Please.” 

“Tell me where the blue drive is,” Adrian said. “Or I put a bullet in her leg. Then yours.” 

“Do not you dare,” Roman said. His voice was lethal. His thumb brushed over my knuckles. I’m here. 

“I will,” Adrian said. “You took my life. Give me something back.” 

“I did not know about you,” Roman said. “I swear I did not know.” 

“Does it matter?” Adrian asked. “You still got everything. The company. The name. Her.” 

Roman’s grip on my hand hurt. “I never wanted it.” 

“Liar.” 

The tension was a wire pulled tight. One move and it would snap. 

Then my mom did something I did not expect. 

She looked at me. And she mouthed two words. 

I’m sorry. 

Please do not help me. Not run. 

I’m sorry. 

For what? 

Adrian saw it. “What did you say to her?” 

My mom shook her head. Tears ran down her face. 

“Tell me,” Adrian snapped. He pressed the gun to her temple. 

“Stop,” I yelled. 

“Where is the drive, Isla?” Adrian said. “Last chance.” 

“I do not know,” I said. And I hated that it was true. “I swear I do not know.” 

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. He believed me. Or he wanted to. 

Then he looked at Roman. “You believe her?” 

Roman did not answer right away. That second killed me. 

Because he hesitated. 

He did. 

The man who said he loved me, who took bullets for me, who rewrote his will for me, hesitated. 

And I knew. Even if we survived this, we were not the same. Not yet. 

“Yes,” Roman said finally. “I believe her.” 

But the damage was done. I felt it. The crack in us. 

Adrian saw it too. He smiled. “Good. Then you will not mind if I test that.” 

He shifted the gun from me to Roman. 

“No,” I said. I tried to step in front of Roman. He yanked me back against his chest. His heart was hammering. For me. 

“Choose,” Adrian said to me. “The drive for his life. You have one minute.” 

“Roman,” I said. 

“Do not,” Roman said. His mouth was in my ear. “Do not tell him anything. I can take it.” 

“I do not know where it is,” I said to Adrian. “I am not lying.” 

“Then he dies.” Adrian cocked the gun. 

My mom screamed behind the tape. 

And then we heard it. 

Sirens. 

Far away. But getting closer. 

Adrian’s head snapped toward the window. “You called Singh.” 

“We did not,” Roman said. His arms came around me. Holding me to him. Shielding me. Choosing me, even now. 

Adrian’s face twisted. “You did.” 

He looked at my mom. Then at me. Then at Roman. 

“You set me up,” he said. 

“We did not,” I said. 

“Liar.” He grabbed my mom and backed toward the door. “This is not over.” 

He was going to take her. 

“Wait,” I said. 

He paused. 

And my mom did the unthinkable. 

She bit his hand. Hard. 

Adrian yelled and dropped the gun. It clattered to the floor. 

Roman moved. He shoved me behind him and lunged for Adrian. 

Adrian shoved my mom at me. She fell into my arms. I caught her, ripping the tape off her mouth. 

“Mom,” I gasped. 

“Kitchen,” she wheezed. “The vent. Above the stove. I hid it there. After your dad died. I thought it would keep you safe.” 

The blue drive. 

She knew. She always knew. 

Roman and Adrian crashed into the wall. Fighting. 

The gun was on the floor between them. 

Sirens got louder. 

“Mom, we need to go,” I said. 

“No,” she said. She grabbed my face. Her hands were cold. “You need to listen. I did something. Ten years ago. To protect you.” 

“What?” 

“I made a deal with Victor,” she said. Tears ran down her face. “But not the one he told you.” 

My blood went cold. 

“What deal?” I asked. 

The door burst open. 

Detective Singh came in with three officers. “Police. Freeze.” 

Adrian froze. Roman put his hands up. 

Singh’s eyes found me. “Isla, are you hurt?” 

I shook my head. I could not speak. 

Because my mom was still holding my face. 

And she whispered, “I told Victor I would keep you quiet if he let you live. But I lied. I made another deal. With someone else. To keep you safe if Victor ever came back.” 

“Who?” I whispered. 

The officers cuffed Adrian. He did not fight. He just looked at Roman. “You always win,” he said. Then they took him out. 

Singh walked over. “We need to get you both checked out. Your mom too.” 

“Wait,” I said to my mom. “Who did you make a deal with?” 

My mom looked at Singh. 

Singh did not look surprised. 

My stomach dropped. 

“Detective?” I said. 

Singh’s face was calm. Cop calm. “We should talk at the station, Isla.” 

“You knew,” I said. The realization was ice in my veins. “You knew about my mom. About the drive. That is why you thought I was a suspect. You were not investigating Roman. You were investigating me.” 

Singh said nothing. 

The suspicion hit me like ice water. Roman’s arms came around me again, but this time I did not know if he was protecting me from Singh or from the truth. 

The person who accessed Roman’s medical files the night of the crash. The person who knew about the Vegas marriage before Legal did. The person who always showed up just in time. 

“Singh,” Roman said. His voice was steel. “What did you do?” 

Singh finally spoke. “I protected her. Like I promised Diane I would.” 

The room tilted. 

The detective investigating Roman’s attempted murder was not just a cop. 

She was part of the secret. 

And she had been watching me from the start. 

And the way she said her — she was not looking at my mom. 

She was looking at me.