Chapter 53 SHE IS BECOMING A LIABILITY
••Roman••
The flight back to Russia was quiet in a way that made my chest feel tight.
Luciana boarded first, took her seat, and put on her headset before the engines even started. She did even glance in my direction. Just distance, clean and deliberate. She angled her body toward the window and sat their quietly looking out the windows, like I wasn’t there at all.
I understood the message.
I didn’t try to speak nor reach for her. I let the silence sit between us, heavy and cold, because anything I said now would either be too late or not enough. Maybe both.
Hours passed like that. The hum of the jet. The occasional shift of her legs. Her fingers tapping lightly against her thigh to music only she could hear. Once, I caught myself watching the reflection of her face in the window. Calm and closed off. A woman who had already decided to protect herself.
By the time we landed, the distance felt permanent. The car ride to the estate was the same. She stared ahead. I stared out the other side. Two people sharing space, not a moment.
The moment we arrived, I didn’t even remove my jacket.
I went straight for my father’s office.
The guards stepped aside without question. They know better than to stop me. The door was slightly open. My father was inside, seated behind his desk, reading a file.
I shut the door behind me. He didn’t look up. “You’re back earlier than expected.”
“You knew,” I said.
That got his attention. Slowly, he raised his head. His face was calm.
“Knew what?” he asked.
“You had intel,” I said, stepping closer. “About Andrian. You got information before the accident.”
I paused and he didn't even react to what I said. “I hear you’ve been letting Theo dig where he shouldn’t,” he said mildly.
Is he fvcking kidding me! He's not even saying anything about what I just said, and it's making me lose my fvcking patience.
“Answer me.”
He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his stomach. “Lower your voice.”
“I will not.” I shot back.
His eyes sharpened. “You will. In my office.”
Now again, the old rules, the hierarchy. The reminder of who sat where.
I exhaled through my nose. “You knew he was in danger and you did nothing.”
“I knew there were rumors,” he corrected. “Unverified.”
“And that was enough for you to ignore it?” I asked impatiently.
“It was enough not to disrupt an operation,” he said evenly.
My jaw tightened. “So you chose business over a life.”
He tilted his head slightly. “Roman be careful.”
“Careful of what?” I snapped. “The truth?”
“The truth,” he said, “is that this family survives because we don’t jump at every whisper of danger. If I stopped every shipment, every deal, every negotiation because of a possible threat, we would be weak.”
“Andrian was not nothing,” I said.
“And you are the one to tell me that?,” Lorenzo replied.
The words landed hard.
“He was important to me, to this family, to Luciana,” I said.
“Luciana,” he repeated, testing the name. “There it is.”
I stared at him. “This is not about her.”
“Everything is about her now,” he said calmly. “You stayed in Sicily longer than necessary. You delayed your return, and you let sentiment cloud judgment.”
“Sentiment did not kill Andrian,” I said. “Negligence did.”
He stood then, slow and deliberate, moving around the desk until he was in front of me. He didn’t raise his voice.
“You are alive because I taught you when to ignore fear,” he said. “I built this empire by knowing which risks to take and which to dismiss.”
“And this one?” I asked. “Was that a risk worth taking?”
Silence ensued.
That was answer enough.
My hands clenched. “If she finds out about this—"
“She won't if you tame her,” he interrupted. “And that is precisely the problem.”
I looked at him sharply.
“You need to let your guards up Roman." Father continued.
“She is my wife.”
“She is becoming a liability,” he said, unflinching.
My blood went cold. “Watch your words.”
He met my stare without fear. “Watch your choices.”
I stepped back, something breaking quietly in my chest. “You don’t get to threaten her.”
“I am warning you,” he said. “If she keeps pulling threads, she will unravel things she cannot survive.”
I turned away before he could see what that did to me.
As I left the office, one thought echoed louder than anything else. Loving Luciana was no longer just a risk to my heart. It was a risk to everything I had ever known.
Luciana barely spoke when I entered the room.
She moved through the room like a guest, not a wife. I wanted to stop her, explain, tell her everything my father had admitted but I couldn't not yet. My head was still burning.
Later that night, I stayed in my study. I assumed she would need time alone so I didn't go to the room.
I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, playing my father’s voice over and over again.
_She is becoming a liability_
For the first time, I understood the shape of the choice in front of me and I am not sure how to navigate it.