Chapter 10 - The Wounded Lion and the Only Hands He Trusts
The carriage house basement smelled of damp concrete and cold iron.
Derek Vance sat zip-tied to a heavy wooden chair under the harsh glare of a single overhead bulb. His trendy tan suit was rumpled and torn at the collar, his hair a sweaty, chaotic mess. He was sobbing softly, his arrogance completely shattered by the presence of two silent, stone-faced guards holding tactical rifles in the shadows.
When the heavy steel door creaked open, Derek snapped his head up.
Sadi stepped into the room.
She was covered in Roman’s dried blood, her hair pulled back into a sharp, elegant twist, her five-carat diamond ring glinting mercilessly under the bare bulb. She did not look like the soft, timid girl he had abandoned in that rain-slicked parking lot two years ago. She looked like an avenging angel of death.
"Sadi!" Derek cried out, relief flooding his face. "Thank god! Tell these psychopaths to untie me! I came to save you! I know Rossi is forcing you into this—I know you're just his maid! I told them we’re getting back together, that I forgive you for—"
SLAP.
The sound of Sadi’s hand striking Derek’s cheek cracked through the concrete room like a whip.
Derek’s head snapped to the side, his cheek instantly blooming with a fiery red welt. He stared at her in stunned, terrified silence.
"Shut your pathetic mouth, Derek," Sadi said, her voice dripping with ice.
She leaned down until her face was inches from his, her dark eyes filled with a lethal disgust.
"You didn't come here to save me," she whispered coldly. "You came here because your firm fired you for incompetence last week, your debt is drowning you, and your shallow little fiancée left you the moment she realized you were broke. You came here to blackmail a man who took a bullet to protect my life."
Derek trembled, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Sadi... please. We had four years together. You loved me."
"I loved an illusion," she replied, her voice steady and merciless. "You spent four years making me feel like I was a burden, like I was ugly, like I was something you had to settle for. But Roman Rossi looked at me when I was covered in dishwater and saw an empress."
She stood up straight, turning her back on him.
"Dante," Sadi addressed the lieutenant standing by the door.
"Yes, Miss Miller?"
"Call the federal prosecutor’s office. Hand over the financial records of Marcus & Millichap’s embezzlement scheme that Roman uncovered last month—the one involving Derek’s unauthorized accounts. Let the Department of Justice handle him. He isn't worthy of a bullet from this house."
"Consider it done, Miss Miller," Dante said, a faint glimmer of profound respect in his cold eyes.
"No! Sadi, please! I’ll go to federal prison for ten years!" Derek screamed, thrashing against the zip-ties as the guards stepped forward. "SADI!"
Sadi didn't look back. She walked out of the carriage house and straight back toward the main mansion.
When she returned to the underground medical suite, Roman was awake.
He was propped up against the pillows, breathing slowly, his face still pale but his dark eyes burning with consciousness. When he saw her enter the room, his entire posture relaxed, a deep, ragged sigh escaping his chest.
"Dante told me what you did in the carriage house," Roman murmured, his voice hoarse from the anesthesia.
Sadi walked over to the bed, her tough exterior melting instantly into raw, emotional vulnerability. She sat gently on the edge of the mattress, taking his left hand in both of hers and pressing it against her cheek.
"Are you angry that I didn't let them bury him?" she whispered tearfully.
"I am angry that you had to look at his pathetic face again," Roman replied softly. He lifted his hand with immense effort, his rough thumb tracing the curve of her lower lip. "You were magnificent, Sadi."
"You almost died for me, Roman," she cried, a tear slipping past her eyelashes and landing on his knuckles. "Why would you throw yourself in front of a bullet for me?"
May you like
Roman looked at her for a long, quiet moment, his dark eyes stripping away every remaining barrier between them.
"Because without you in this house," Roman whispered, his voice trembling with a rare, devastating sincerity, "I am just a monster sitting alone in an empty limestone tomb. You gave this house a soul, Sadi. My life is nothing without you."
