Chapter 12: “The Man She Married”

Tayla’s POV

The question stayed with me long after Luca left.

If Damian trusted you enough to tell you the truth.

I hated that it bothered me.

I hated that it hurt.

Most of all, I hated that I couldn’t answer it.

The apartment was silent.

Noah was asleep.

The city lights glowed beyond the windows.

And I sat alone in the dark thinking about my husband.

Thinking about all the things I thought I knew.

The first time we met.

The first time he kissed me.

The day he proposed.

Our wedding.

The birth of Noah.

Seven years.

Seven years of memories.

Seven years of love.

Seven years of trust.

And now…

One arrest had made me question all of it.

My eyes drifted toward the framed wedding photograph sitting on the shelf.

Damian was smiling.

His arm wrapped around my waist.

His eyes fixed completely on me.

Back then, I never doubted him.

Back then, I believed nothing could break us.

A tear slipped down my cheek.

Because now I wasn’t so sure.

My phone buzzed suddenly.

The sound startled me.

Unknown Number.

Again.

My stomach tightened.

Slowly, I opened the message.

There was no text.

Only a video.

My heart immediately began pounding.

No.

No.

No.

Please no.

With shaking fingers, I pressed play.

The footage was grainy.

Recorded from far away.

Security camera footage.

I frowned.

A parking garage.

Then—

My breath stopped.

Damian appeared on the screen.

I sat upright instantly.

The footage showed him stepping from his car.

A few moments later…

The same woman from the photographs appeared.

The beautiful brunette.

The mysterious woman.

The one who seemed determined to destroy my marriage.

My chest tightened painfully.

I watched as they spoke.

Then something happened.

Something I wasn’t expecting.

The woman suddenly hugged Damian.

My heart shattered.

I dropped the phone.

The device hit the couch cushions.

My breathing became uneven.

Because even though the footage contained no sound…

The image felt impossible to ignore.

A woman.

In his arms.

Months before his arrest.

Months before everything fell apart.

Tears burned my eyes.

For the first time…

I genuinely wondered if Damian had betrayed me.

And the thought nearly destroyed me.

The next morning I woke up exhausted.

Again.

Sleep had become impossible lately.

Every night was filled with questions.

Every morning felt heavier than the last.

Noah was already awake.

Sitting at the kitchen island eating cereal.

He looked up as I entered.

“Mommy.”

I smiled weakly.

“Good morning.”

He frowned immediately.

That same stubborn Russo expression.

The one that always reminded me of Damian.

“You’ve been crying.”

Children really did notice everything.

I forced a laugh.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Liar.”

The word shocked me so much I almost dropped my coffee.

Then Noah grinned.

“Daddy says people touch their nose when they lie.”

My heart cracked.

Because Damian used to say that.

And apparently Noah remembered.

I looked away quickly.

Pretending to focus on my coffee.

Anything to stop myself from crying again.

A few hours later, the doorbell rang.

Luca.

Of course.

Lately it felt like he spent more time in the penthouse than his own home.

Not that Noah minded.

The moment Luca walked inside, Noah practically attacked him with a hug.

“Uncle Luca!”

Luca laughed and lifted him easily.

“Easy there, buddy.”

Watching them together made something inside me ache.

Because Noah looked happy.

Genuinely happy.

And I couldn’t remember the last time I’d managed that.

Luca eventually set Noah down.

Then his attention shifted toward me.

His smile faded slightly.

“You look tired.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You always say that.”

“Because it’s always true.”

For some reason, the concern in his voice made my chest tighten.

Not because I liked it.

Because I missed hearing it from Damian.

That afternoon, Luca offered to take Noah shopping.

I almost said no.

But Noah looked so excited that I couldn’t bring myself to ruin it.

So I stayed behind.

Alone.

For the first time in days.

The silence should have been peaceful.

Instead it felt unbearable.

I wandered through the penthouse aimlessly.

Eventually ending up inside Damian’s office.

I hadn’t entered since the arrest.

The room still looked exactly the same.

Dark wood furniture.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

A large desk overlooking the city.

Everything untouched.

Everything frozen.

Like time itself had stopped.

Slowly, I sat behind the desk.

My fingers brushed across the polished surface.

And then—

I noticed something.

A drawer.

Locked.

My stomach tightened immediately.

Because Damian never locked drawers.

Ever.

Not from me.

Never.

My pulse quickened.

Slowly, I pulled again.

Locked.

The realization sent a chill through me.

Why would he hide something?

What was inside?

Documents?

Money?

Secrets?

Another life?

The possibilities felt endless.

And terrifying.

I stared at the drawer for several long moments.

Then stood abruptly.

No.

I wasn’t doing this.

I wasn’t becoming this person.

The woman who searched through her husband’s belongings looking for proof of betrayal.

I turned away.

Ready to leave.

Then my eyes landed on a small key hidden beneath a picture frame.

And suddenly…

Everything changed.

Across the city, Damian sat inside prison.

His lawyer had finally returned.

For the first time in weeks, there was hope in the man’s eyes.

Real hope.

Damian noticed immediately.

“What happened?”

The lawyer sat down.

“We found her.”

Damian froze.

The witness.

The woman from the photographs.

The woman Luca was using against him.

His heart began pounding.

“Where is she?”

“Safe.”

Relief flooded through Damian instantly.

For the first time in months.

Then the lawyer continued.

“But she wants protection before she talks.”

Damian nodded immediately.

“Give her whatever she needs.”

The lawyer hesitated.

And Damian’s stomach dropped.

“What?”

The lawyer looked directly at him.

“She’s terrified of Luca.”

Silence filled the room.

Because that told Damian everything.

Luca wasn’t just manipulating Tayla anymore.

He was cleaning up loose ends.

Destroying evidence.

Controlling witnesses.

And if he wasn’t stopped soon—

He would destroy everything Damian had sacrificed himself to protect.

Back at the penthouse…

I stared at the key in my hand.

My pulse echoed loudly in my ears.

The locked drawer sat in front of me.

Waiting.

Tempting me.

Terrifying me.

A part of me wanted to walk away.

Another part desperately needed answers.

Finally…

My trembling hand moved toward the lock.

The key slid inside.

A soft click echoed through the office.

The drawer unlocked.

My breath caught.

Slowly…

Very slowly…

I pulled it open.

And what I saw inside made my blood run cold.