Chapter 41: The Real Enemy Is Here

The conference room at Lucas's firm felt super serious. Photos, records, and reports covered the table, showing a messed-up story.

Lucas, usually calm, looked mad as he spoke to us: Bella, me, Elena, Detective Martinez, and two feds on the case.

"Guys," Lucas said, his voice low, "we messed up. We were after the wrong person."

My gut twisted as he put a diagram on the screen, showing names and connections that went way back.

"Sophia Chen isn't running this. She's just a tool. A weapon that was made for this."

Bella leaned in, looking shocked. "What do you mean?"

"For three years, someone's been feeding Sophia info, paying for her obsession, and telling her what to do to hurt your family."

Detective Martinez grabbed her folder. "We found out who was paying for Sophia's spy gear, the fake news stories, even her apartment near your daughter's school. It all goes back to fake companies and offshore accounts."

"And Thomas Romano controls those accounts," Lucas said, sounding grim.

The room went silent. Elena's face was pale, and her hands were clenched.

"My brother?" she whispered.

"Your brother has been planning revenge for thirty years," one fed said. "Breaking up Bella and Mikel's marriage was just the start. The attacks on your companies, the threats to Emma, Sophia's crazy behavior—it's all planned."

I stared at the proof, things making sense in a scary way. "He used Sophia's feelings to break us up, then kept her obsessed while he worked in secret?"

"Exactly," Lucas said. "Thomas saw Sophia as the perfect weapon—smart enough to do what he needed but messed up enough to be controlled. He's been her secret 'friend' for years."

Bella's voice shook. "He's using a woman with problems to scare our daughter?"

"And setting himself up to win," Elena added, sounding betrayed. "While we dealt with Sophia and our companies being sabotaged, Thomas bought shares, getting ready to take over."

Detective Martinez showed records of Thomas's plans. "He's been betting against your stocks before each 'crisis,' making money while you struggled. He's making money off hurting his own family."

"But why?" I asked, already knowing. "Why us?"

Elena laughed coldly. "Because of Emma, honey. From the start, Thomas saw her as everything he couldn't have—family, the Romano name living on through love, not control."

The feed showed more papers. "Your daughter is the meeting of two strong families, fixing the Romano split, and maybe merging empires. Thomas thinks she's both his biggest problem and what he wants most."

I felt sick. "He's planning to use Emma as a bargaining chip?"

"Or worse," Lucas said quietly. "We think Thomas wants to get custody of Emma and raise her as his heir."

Bella stood up, looking furious. "Over my dead body."

"That might be what he wants," Detective Martinez said. "We found messages where Thomas talked about ways to make you look like bad parents, maybe with accidents or scandals."

The room filled with angry voices as we all took in Thomas's betrayal. But Elena was quiet, looking at the proof with a smartness that had built an empire.

"How long have you known?" she asked Lucas.

"I started to think something was up when the attacks felt too planned for just Sophia. We figured it out when we found where the money came from and saw patterns like Thomas used forty years ago."

"The same tricks he used to try to take over from our dad," Elena said slowly. "Hurting family, financial tricks, using emotions to beat people."

"He never got over you getting control of the Romano empire," the fed said. "And he's spent years planning revenge."

Elena stood tall, like a woman who'd been respected for a long time. "My brother always thought power should be taken, not earned. He never understood that you can't buy a family—you build it with love and sacrifice."

"What do we do now?" Bella asked, sounding strong despite how she must have felt.

Lucas put up photos of Thomas meeting people. "We have enough to arrest him for conspiracy, but there's a catch."

"What catch?"

"Thomas knows we're looking into this. He's speeding things up." Lucas looked serious. "We think he's planning something big in the next two days."

Detective Martinez leaned forward. "Something with Emma. We heard talk about a 'final grab' before we could stop him."

My blood went cold. "He's planning to take Emma."

"We think so. And with Sophia being so unstable, it's really dangerous."

Elena stood and went to the window, looking at Seattle. "Thomas always said family was a weakness. He's about to learn what happens when Romano women get fed up."

She turned to us, looking tough.

"My granddaughter and great-granddaughter are worth more than everything in the Romano empire. If Thomas wants a war, he'll get one." She smiled sharply. "But this time, he's not fighting a sad widow. He's fighting a united family with everything to lose."

The feds looked at each other. "Mrs. Romano, we can't let you do anything illegal—"

"You won't have to," Elena said smoothly. "Everything we do will be legal. But Thomas seems to have forgotten that the Romano family didn't build an empire by being nice."

Lucas started packing the files. "What about Sophia? She's crazy and could be dangerous."

"Sophia is Thomas's victim," Bella said firmly. "When this is over, she'll need help, not punishment."

I looked at my wife—because she was my wife in every way—seeing the kindness that made me love her mixed with the anger that made her strong.

"I agree," I said. "But first, we keep Emma safe and stop Thomas."

Detective Martinez stood to leave. "We'll have warrants in twelve hours. But until then, assume you're being watched."

After they left, we sat in silence, thinking about everything.

"I should have seen this coming," Elena said quietly. "Thomas always hated that our dad left me in charge. I thought he'd gotten over it."

"He hid it well," I said gently. "Using Sophia was smart—and messed up."

"The worst thing," Bella said softly, "is that Emma's been in danger since she was born, and we didn't know."

"But she's safe now," Lucas added. "We know who's doing this, we can fight back, and we won't let him win."

Elena's phone buzzed. She looked at it, and her face went cold.

"Thomas," she said, showing us the screen:

* Sis, hope you had fun playing detective. But some games hurt. Emma is a sweet kid—it would suck if her parents couldn't raise her. You have a day to give me Romano Enterprises, or you'll see what happens when family is a problem.*

The message had a photo of Emma's school, close enough to see the kids.

I felt a rage I'd never felt before. "He's threatening our daughter."

"Because he knows that's the only thing that would make us give up," Elena said. "Thomas knows we'd give anything for Emma."

"Would we?" Bella asked quietly.

The question hung in the air. Would we give up everything to protect Emma?

Elena smiled proudly. "Honey, Thomas messed up."

"How?"

"He thinks we have to pick between Emma and fighting back." Elena's eyes shone. "He forgot that Romano women don't just protect—we get rid of threats."

Lucas started packing. "I'll have Emma moved to a safe place ASAP."

"No," Elena said sharply. "Emma stays with family. But family," she smiled, looking scary, "just got way more dangerous than Thomas remembers."

As we got ready to leave, I saw Elena looking at the photo of Emma's school, looking calculating and also like a grandma.

"Elena," I said, "what are you planning?"

Her smile was pure Romano. "Thomas wanted to play family politics. Now he'll see why the Romano empire has lasted for four generations while his friends have all failed."

I realized Thomas had made a bad mistake—he'd threatened the wrong kid.

Because Emma wasn't just Bella's daughter or my daughter.

She was Elena Romano's great-granddaughter.

And Elena Romano had spent years learning how to get rid of threats to her family.

Thomas had started a war he couldn't win.

He just didn't know it yet.