Chapter 10 - THE LIFE THEY STOLE FROM HER
Six months later, Chloe stood beside the ocean.
The Oregon coast was nothing like Manhattan.
No skyscrapers.
No private jets.
No black SUVs.
Just waves, wind, and endless gray-blue water.
She had moved into a quiet house near the harbor.
Her pregnancy was almost over.
For the first time in years, she woke without checking her phone for Harrison.
She had built a new life.
Her own consulting firm was growing.
She had taken control of the financial skills she had once used to help Harrison build his empire.
Only now, the company belonged to her.
Not him.
Her.
Roman visited often.
Never unexpectedly.
Never demanding.
He always called first.
Sometimes he brought his son.
The boy adored Chloe.
He called her Aunt Chloe.
And every time he did, she smiled.
One evening, Roman arrived carrying a small wooden box.
“What is that?”
“A reminder.”
He opened it.
Inside was a diamond ring.
Not an engagement ring.
Something simpler.
A family ring.
“My mother gave this to Elena,” Roman said.
Chloe touched it.
“She wanted you to have it.”
“Why?”
“Because she says you saved our family.”
Chloe shook her head.
“I didn't.”
Roman smiled.
“You did.”
She looked at him.
“And what happens now?”
Roman sat beside her.
“Whatever you want.”
She smiled.
“That's your favorite answer.”
“Because it's the truth.”
For several minutes, they watched the ocean.
Then Chloe's expression changed.
“Roman.”
“Yes?”
She placed a hand over her stomach.
“I think the baby is coming.”
Roman froze.
“What?”
She laughed.
“Don't panic.”
“I am not panicking.”
“You look terrified.”
“I've faced armed men without blinking.”
“And childbirth scares you?”
“Very much.”
She laughed again.
For the first time in a long time, Chloe laughed without sadness behind it.
They drove to the hospital.
Hours later, a baby's cry filled the room.
Roman stood beside Chloe.
Their daughter was placed in her arms.
Chloe looked down.
“She has your eyes.”
Roman smiled.
“And your strength.”
He kissed Chloe's forehead.
“You did it.”
She looked at him.
“No.”
She glanced at the baby.
“We did.”
Three days later, Chloe received a letter.
No return address.
Inside was a single photograph.
Harrison.
He was sitting alone in a federal detention facility.
On the back of the photograph were five words.
I know who betrayed us.
Chloe stared at it.
Roman took the photograph.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He turned it over.
There was another sentence beneath the first.
Victor wasn't the mastermind.
Roman went completely still.
Chloe felt the old fear return.
“Who is it?”
“I don't know.”
The photograph slipped slightly from his hand.
Then a phone rang.
Roman answered.
He listened.
His face became cold.
“Say that again.”
A pause.
“Where?”
Another pause.
Roman hung up.
Chloe stared at him.
“What happened?”
He looked at her.
“Elena disappeared.”
Her heart dropped.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“How?”
“No one knows.”
Roman walked toward the window.
The peaceful life they had built suddenly felt fragile.
Chloe stood beside him.
“What are you going to do?”
Roman looked at their daughter.
Then at Chloe.
“Nothing.”
She stared.
“Nothing?”
“Not tonight.”
He took her hand.
“Tonight, we stay together.”
Chloe understood.
The past could wait one night.
Their family mattered more.
Outside, the ocean crashed against the shore.
Inside, their daughter slept peacefully.
For the first time, Chloe knew what home felt like.
Not a mansion.
Not a penthouse.
Not a private jet.
Home was the man standing beside her.
The child sleeping in her arms.
And the freedom to choose what came next.
Roman kissed her forehead.
“I love you.”
Chloe smiled.
“I love you too.”
Then the lights outside the house suddenly went out.
Roman looked toward the window.
A black vehicle was parked across the street.
No headlights.
No movement.
Just watching.
Roman's expression changed.
Chloe saw it.
“Roman?”
He reached for her hand.
“Stay inside.”
“Who is it?”
He stared at the vehicle.
“I don't know.”
The car slowly pulled away.
Before disappearing into the darkness, the rear window lowered.
A man's face appeared for only one second.
Roman recognized him.
His blood ran cold.
It was the man from the photograph.
The unknown man behind Victor.
The man who had been watching them from the beginning.
Roman whispered one name.
“Adrian.”
Chloe looked at him.
“Who is Adrian?”
Roman didn't answer.
Because he finally understood the truth.
Victor had never been the end of the story.
He had been the warning.
And somewhere beyond the quiet Oregon coast, someone was already preparing to take back everything Roman and Chloe had fought so hard to build.
Roman pulled Chloe closer.
This time, he wasn't afraid for himself.
He was afraid for his family.
And the next war would not begin with a gunshot.
It would begin with a secret.
May you like
One that could destroy everything.
END OF SEASON ONE.
