Chapter 7 - What Our Fathers Hid
I confronted my father at the hospital.
He looked at the photograph.
Then closed his eyes.
"I was afraid."
"That's not an answer."
"Gabriel wanted to expose Marco."
"And?"
"I tried to help him."
"Did you betray him?"
"No."
"Then what happened?"
My father finally told me.
Gabriel had discovered that Marco was preparing to assassinate several political rivals.
He wanted evidence.
My father agreed to help.
But before they could expose Marco, someone inside the police department learned about the investigation.
Gabriel was targeted.
My father tried to warn him.
He was too late.
"Why did everyone think it was an accident?"
"Because Marco threatened your life."
I stared.
"He said if I spoke, you'd disappear too."
I sat down.
My father began crying.
"I'm sorry."
I didn't forgive him.
Not yet.
But I understood him.
When I returned to the penthouse, Niko was waiting.
"I know."
I looked at him.
"Know what?"
"Your father told me everything."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was trying to protect you."
I shook my head.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
He looked ashamed.
"I thought protecting you meant keeping danger away."
"And now?"
"Now I understand that trust means letting you choose whether to face it."
I sat beside him.
"I don't want a husband who protects me by lying."
"I know."
"I want a partner."
"You have one."
I looked at him.
"Then prove it."
He reached for my hand.
"I will."
That night, we found the final piece of the puzzle.
The original evidence wasn't on the memory card.
It had been duplicated.
And the duplicate was hidden in a place no one would search.
My grandmother's old house.
We drove there at dawn.
The house had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered everything.
We searched room after room.
Then I noticed a loose floorboard.
Beneath it was a metal box.
Inside were documents.
Recordings.
And a letter.
Addressed to me.
I opened it.
My grandfather's handwriting filled the page.
If you're reading this, the people who tried to control our family have failed.
Never allow fear to choose your life.
I began crying.
Niko took my hand.
The final recording revealed everything.
Marco had arranged Gabriel's murder.
He had manipulated my father.
He had financed political campaigns.
And he had planned the marriage between me and Niko for one reason.
He wanted access to the Santoro empire through me.
But there was one problem.
Niko had never been under Marco's control.
So Marco decided to destroy him.
The recording ended.
Then we heard footsteps.
Someone was inside the house.
Niko pushed me behind him.
Marco appeared.
"Family reunion."
He held a gun.
"You've been a difficult woman, Elena."
I stared at him.
"And you're a terrible uncle."
He smiled.
"Give me the box."
"No."
He raised the gun.
Niko stepped forward.
"You want the records?"
Marco nodded.
"Take me instead."
Marco laughed.
"Still noble."
"Let her go."
Marco looked between us.
Then something unexpected happened.
My father walked into the room.
He had left the hospital.
"Marco."
Marco froze.
Arthur Shaw stood there.
"You've lost."
Marco's smile disappeared.
Behind him, police officers entered.
Niko had called them before we arrived.
Marco was arrested.
The empire he had spent decades building collapsed within months.
For the first time, there was no shadow over our family.
Only one thing remained.
May you like
Our marriage.
And whether we could build something real from a beginning neither of us had chosen.
