Chapter 5 - The Marriage Contract
Sophia stared at the photograph.
Roman took it from her hands.
"No."
She looked at him.
"That's your face."
"It's a photograph. It can be manipulated."
"That's my father."
"I know."
"Then tell me why you're standing over him."
Roman examined the image carefully.
The warehouse background was familiar. The blood on the floor appeared fresh. His younger self stood beside Daniel's body, holding a gun.
Matteo approached.
"Is it real?"
Roman didn't answer.
Sophia backed away.
"You told me you tried to save him."
"I did."
"Then why is there a picture of you standing over his body?"
"Because someone wants you to believe I killed him."
Sophia's voice broke.
"Did you?"
Roman looked directly into her eyes.
"No."
She wanted to believe him.
That was the worst part.
Five years earlier, she had believed everything he told her.
She had believed he was the man who found her after her father's death, helped her survive, and gave her a new life.
But there had been too many lies.
She walked out of the warehouse.
Roman followed.
"Sophia."
"Don't."
"Listen to me."
"I spent five years loving a man whose entire life was built around a secret."
Roman's voice softened.
"My feelings for you were never a lie."
"Then why did you marry me?"
He stopped.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he reached into his jacket and removed a folded document.
It was old, yellowed at the edges.
A marriage agreement.
Sophia recognized her signature.
She had signed it five years earlier, shortly after her father died.
She had been told it was a legal arrangement to protect her inheritance from creditors.
Roman handed it to her.
"Read the final page."
She unfolded it.
Her eyes moved across the document.
Then she stopped.
The agreement contained a clause stating that Sophia would marry Roman Duca, remain within the Duca household, and never disclose the existence of Daniel Bellini's financial records.
In exchange, the Duca family would guarantee her safety.
She looked up.
"You knew about the evidence before you married me."
"Yes."
"You didn't marry me because you loved me."
"I married you because your father asked me to protect you."
Sophia laughed.
"That's what you call it?"
Roman stepped closer.
"Your father came to me before he disappeared. He knew Isabella was watching him. He knew Antonio was preparing to kill him. He asked me to make sure you survived."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know who inside my family could be trusted."
Sophia's eyes filled.
"So you made me your wife without telling me the truth."
"Yes."
"And you expected me to love you?"
"No."
That answer hurt more than anything else.
Roman looked down.
"I never expected you to love me. I only hoped that one day you might."
Matteo approached them.
"We have a bigger problem."
He held up his phone.
A message had arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a video.
Adrian was sitting in a room beside Elena.
Both were alive.
A man's hand entered the frame and placed a photograph in front of the boy.
The photograph showed Isabella holding a newborn baby.
Matteo frowned.
"That's Adrian."
Roman studied the image.
"No. Look at the woman holding him."
It was not Isabella.
It was a younger Sophia.
Sophia felt the world tilt.
"That's impossible."
The video continued.
A man's voice spoke.
"Five years ago, you believed your father died without leaving anything behind. But he left you something far more valuable than money."
The camera moved closer to the photograph.
"Ask Roman who your mother really was."
Sophia turned toward him.
Roman's expression had become completely still.
"Roman?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"Who was my mother?"
Roman finally looked at her.
"Your mother was the reason my father started the war."
Before Sophia could ask another question, Matteo received a second message.
It was a photograph of their mansion.
Taken from outside.
Across the front steps stood Isabella.
Beside her was a man who looked exactly like Roman.
Except Roman was standing right beside Sophia.
Matteo whispered the words nobody wanted to hear.
May you like
"That's Antonio Duca."
Roman's dead father.
