Chapter 5 - Midnight at Pier 17
The pier was empty.
Too empty.
Fog rolled over the water.
Niko's men waited nearby.
I carried the memory card.
A man stepped from the shadows.
"Where is the rest?"
"Where's my father?"
"First the card."
"No."
He laughed.
"You're brave."
"No."
I looked directly at him.
"I'm desperate."
The man raised his gun.
Then a voice came from behind him.
"Put it down."
Niko.
Everything exploded.
Men appeared from both sides.
Gunfire cracked across the pier.
I dropped behind a concrete barrier.
Niko moved like he'd been trained for chaos.
Fast.
Precise.
Terrifying.
Then I saw my father.
He was tied to a chair.
"Elena!"
I ran.
A man grabbed me.
Before he could pull me away, Niko slammed him into the railing.
My father shouted:
"Run!"
Then the lights went out.
Darkness.
A gunshot.
I heard Niko yell.
"Niko!"
The lights returned.
He was standing.
Blood stained his shoulder.
But he was alive.
He untied my father.
"Can you walk?"
My father nodded.
We escaped.
Back at the penthouse, a doctor treated Niko's wound.
It wasn't serious.
But I couldn't stop shaking.
When everyone left, I sat beside him.
"You could have died."
"I know."
"Don't do that again."
"I'll try."
"You'll try?"
He smiled.
"Apparently you're becoming demanding."
I hit his arm gently.
He laughed.
Then became serious.
"I meant what I said."
"What?"
"At the pier."
My heart tightened.
"I love you."
I stared at him.
"Niko..."
"I know this marriage began badly."
"That's an understatement."
"I know."
He took my hand.
"But somewhere between you disobeying every order I gave you and nearly getting yourself killed..."
I smiled.
"...you became the only person I trust completely."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I love you too."
He looked stunned.
Then he kissed me.
Slowly.
Carefully.
When he pulled away, his forehead rested against mine.
No pressure.
No demand.
Just choice.
The next morning, my father told us everything.
The records were originally kept by my grandfather.
He had discovered that several politicians and businessmen were secretly controlled by organized crime.
Before dying, he split the evidence.
One part went to my father.
The other was hidden inside the pendant.
Marco had spent years searching for it.
Gabriel had discovered the truth.
And Marco had arranged his death.
Niko's face went cold.
"Where is Marco now?"
My father looked at him.
"He's coming for the last thing he hasn't taken."
"What's that?"
My father looked at me.
"You."
That afternoon, the news reported an attempted attack on one of Niko's businesses.
Then another.
Then another.
Marco was making his move.
Niko gathered his men.
I expected him to send me away.
Instead, he handed me a folder.
"What's this?"
"Your father's financial records."
"Why?"
"Because if something happens to me, you're protected."
I stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm making sure you can walk away from this life."
I closed the folder.
"I'm not leaving."
"You should."
"No."
"Elena."
"You said you loved me."
"I do."
"Then stop deciding what happens to me."
He stared at me.
Finally, he nodded.
"All right."
We stood together.
Not because my father had arranged it.
Not because Niko's family demanded it.
Because we had chosen each other.
But that night, a message appeared on Niko's phone.
One sentence.
Your uncle has Elena's father.
We looked at my father.
He was standing in the doorway.
May you like
Then he collapsed.
Someone had poisoned him.
