Chapter 57 Unfolded
The lock had barely clicked into place when something inside Nora exploded.
Before Noah could react, before anyone could process what was happening, Nora launched herself at the door with a feral scream.
“Open this door!” she shrieked, pounding on it with both fists. “Open it right now, you coward! Face me!”
On the other side, Sussie’s footsteps had stopped. There was a pause, then the sound of the lock turning again.
The door swung open, and Nora didn’t hesitate. She threw herself through the opening, her hands reaching for Sussie before the other woman could react.
“You bitch!” Nora screamed, her fingers tangling in Sussie’s hair. “How dare you! How dare you!”
Sussie stumbled backward, caught off guard by the sudden attack. But she recovered quickly, her own hands coming up to grab Nora’s arms, trying to push her away.
“Get off me!” Sussie shouted.
But Nora was beyond reason, beyond control. Weeks of being broken down had transformed into pure, focused rage. She swung at Sussie, her fist connecting with her sister’s face with a satisfying crack.
Sussie’s head snapped to the side, and she let out a cry of pain and fury. Then she lunged back at Nora, and the two sisters crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs and fury.
They rolled across the stone floor, each trying to gain the upper hand. Nora got her hands around Sussie’s throat, squeezing, while Sussie clawed at Nora’s face, her nails leaving red scratches across her cheeks.
“You ruined my life!” Nora screamed.
“You had everything and threw it away!” Sussie screamed back.
Guards were shouting, running toward them, but the sisters were locked together, violence pouring out of both of them in equal measure.
Noah rushed out of the room, trying to reach them, trying to pull them apart. “Nora! Stop! You’re going to get hurt!”
He grabbed Nora around the waist, trying to drag her off Sussie, but Nora held on with surprising strength, refusing to let go of her sister.
“Let me go!” Nora shouted at Noah. “Let me go! She deserves this!”
“I know, but you’re going to get yourself killed!” Noah pulled harder, managing to get Nora partially off Sussie, but she immediately kicked out, her foot connecting with Sussie’s ribs.
Sussie gasped and rolled away, trying to get to her feet. Blood was running from her nose, and her hair was wild around her face. “You’re insane!” she spat.
“You married my husband!” Nora screamed, still struggling against Noah’s grip. “You took everything from me!”
“I took what should have been mine from the beginning!”
They lunged at each other again, and this time Noah couldn’t hold Nora back. The sisters collided in the middle of the hallway, fists flying, both of them screaming incoherently.
Noah tried again to separate them, grabbing at Nora’s arms, but they were moving too fast, too violently. He managed to get between them for a moment, but Sussie’s elbow caught him in the ribs, and Nora’s wild swing nearly hit his face.
The guards were hesitant to intervene, unsure whether they were allowed to lay hands on the Mafia Queen or the future leader of the organization. They stood in a circle around the fighting women, shouting but not acting.
Then a voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
“Enough!”
Everyone froze. The authority in that single word was absolute, undeniable.
Ben strode into the hallway, his presence immediately commanding attention. He wasn’t wearing his mask, his face set in hard, angry lines.
Nora and Sussie were still grappling with each other, too caught up in their fight to respond immediately. Ben moved with frightening speed, reaching them in three long strides.
He grabbed Nora by the arm and physically ripped her away from Sussie, throwing her backward with such force that she crashed into the wall. The impact drove the air from her lungs, and she slumped to the floor, gasping.
“Ben!” Noah shouted, moving toward Nora, but two guards grabbed him and held him back.
Sussie was on her hands and knees, breathing hard, blood dripping from her nose onto the stone floor. Ben helped her to her feet with surprising gentleness, checking her face with concern.
“Are you alright?” he asked her.
“I’m fine,” Sussie said, though her voice was shaky. “She attacked me. She went crazy.”
“I can see that,” Ben said. He looked at Nora, who was pulling herself up the wall, her eyes still blazing with fury despite the pain.
“You’re a monster,” Nora said, her voice raw. “Both of you. Monsters.”
“And you’re out of control,” Ben said coldly. “Again.”
“You married my sister Ben!” Nora shouted. “You've actually been married to Sussie!” Nora cried out. “How could you? How is that not monstrous?”
“You lost the right to have an opinion about my life when you refused to accept your role,” Ben said. “Sussie understands what it means to be part of this family. She accepts her responsibilities. She embraces the legacy.”
“She’s desperate for your approval!” Nora spat. “She always has been! And you’re using her just like you used me!”
Sussie’s face flushed with anger. “I’m not being used. I chose this. I wanted this.”
“You wanted my life!” Nora screamed.
“I wanted a life you didn’t deserve!” Sussie screamed back.
They moved toward each other again, but Ben stepped between them, his arms outstretched to keep them separated.
“Enough!” he shouted again. “Both of you, enough!”
The hallway fell into tense silence, broken only by heavy breathing and the drip of blood from Sussie’s nose hitting the floor.
Ben looked between his wife and his former wife, his expression unreadable. Then his eyes landed on Noah, still held by the guards, and something shifted in his face.
“You know what?” Ben said, a cruel smile forming on his lips. “I think it’s time for some truth. Some real truth. Not the carefully curated version we’ve been feeding everyone.”
“What are you talking about?” Nora asked warily.
Ben walked toward Noah, circling him slowly like a predator sizing up prey. “Nora, you’ve been through a lot. I know that. Betrayed by your husband, by your parents, by your sister. Everyone you trusted turned out to be part of the conspiracy against you.”
“Get to the point,” Nora said angrily.
“The point,” Ben said, stopping in front of Noah, “is that you’ve been clinging to one person through all of this. One person you see as different, as pure, as the saint who came back to save you from the monsters.”
He looked at Noah, and Noah’s face had gone pale.
“No,” Noah said quietly.
“Oh yes,” Ben said, his smile widening. “You see, Nora, your precious Noah, the man you love so deeply, the man who risked everything to come back for you, he has a secret. A big secret. Something he’s been desperate to hide from you, something he never wanted you to know.”
Nora looked at Noah, confusion and growing dread on her face. “What is he talking about?”
Noah’s jaw was clenched, his hands balled into fists. “Don’t,” he said to Ben. “Don’t do this.”
“Why not?” Ben asked innocently. “Don’t you think the love of your life deserves to know the truth? Don’t you think she has a right to know exactly who she’s been sharing that cell with?”
“Noah?” Nora’s voice was small now, frightened. “What secret? What is he talking about?”
Noah looked at her, and there was genuine anguish in his eyes. “Nora, I—”
“Tell her,” Ben interrupted. “Or I will. Your choice.”
The hallway was completely silent now, everyone waiting, watching. Sussie had stopped bleeding, standing next to Ben with a curious expression on her battered face. The guards still held Noah, but he wasn’t struggling anymore.
Nora looked between Ben and Noah, her heart pounding. “Someone tell me what’s going on. Right now.”
Ben’s smile was triumphant, cruel. “Noah, who Nora has been seeing as the saint in all of this, has a big secret that he didn’t want to tell the love of his life.”
He paused, letting the words hang in the air, savoring the moment.
“And I think it’s time she finally knew what it was.”