Chapter 2 - The Ghost Who Raised Her
Roman Falco had spent twelve years believing Samuel Vane was dead.
Everyone had.
The official story was simple.
Samuel Vane, founder of the old syndicate, died in a warehouse explosion.
No body was recovered.
No funeral was held.
No explanation was ever given.
But in Roman’s world, missing bodies usually meant unfinished business.
And now a frightened waitress standing in his private lounge had just spoken his name.
Not as a threat.
Not as leverage.
As a memory.
“Take her upstairs.”
Roman’s voice cut through the silence.
Gideon looked surprised.
“Boss?”
“Now.”
Nora’s eyes widened.
“Where are you taking me?”
Roman looked at her.
“You said Samuel Vane raised you.”
“Yes.”
“Then you are going to explain everything.”
Victor Sullivan stood.
“Roman, we were discussing business.”
Roman turned slightly.
The look alone made Victor stop.
“Business can wait.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“This woman could be lying.”
Roman stared at him.
“Everyone lies.”
A pause.
“But very few people know that name.”
Victor sat back down.
He knew better than to continue.
---
Ten minutes later, Nora sat inside Roman’s private office.
It was nothing like she expected.
No weapons on the walls.
No obvious signs of violence.
Just dark wood, expensive books, and a city view stretching across New York.
Roman stood near the window.
“You have five minutes.”
Nora looked confused.
“For what?”
“To convince me you are not part of a plan to get close to me.”
Her hands tightened.
“I don’t know anything about your plans.”
“That’s what everyone says.”
“I’m serious.”
Roman turned.
“Then tell me about Samuel Vane.”
Nora looked down.
The memories came slowly.
“He found me when I was twelve.”
Roman’s expression changed slightly.
“Twelve?”
She nodded.
“My parents died before that. I moved through different homes. Samuel found me living in a shelter.”
“That doesn’t sound like him.”
Nora looked surprised.
“You knew him.”
Roman did not answer.
She continued.
“He never told me what he did before.”
Roman gave a humorless smile.
“That’s because he had secrets.”
“So do you.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
The room became silent.
Nora immediately regretted it.
But Roman did not get angry.
Instead, he studied her.
“You’re not afraid of me.”
“I am.”
“Then why do you keep talking?”
Nora looked away.
“Because Samuel told me something.”
“What?”
“He said the man everyone feared was not always the man you became.”
Roman’s face hardened.
“He said that?”
“Yes.”
A long silence followed.
Then Roman walked closer.
“What else did he tell you?”
Nora hesitated.
“He said if I ever met you, I should tell you this.”
Roman waited.
“He said…”
Her voice lowered.
“‘Roman, if you are still alive, then someone betrayed us.’”
The sentence hit harder than any accusation.
Roman stopped moving.
Because Samuel had said the exact same thing twelve years ago.
Before disappearing.
Before the explosion.
Before everyone assumed he was dead.
“Did he tell you who betrayed him?”
Nora shook her head.
“No.”
“Did he tell you why he disappeared?”
“No.”
Roman looked away.
For the first time that night, Nora saw something unexpected.
Not anger.
Pain.
“You said he raised you.”
“Yes.”
“Why would he trust you with this?”
Nora swallowed.
“Because he knew someone would come looking for him.”
Roman’s eyes sharpened.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
She looked at him.
“But he was afraid of one thing.”
“What?”
“He said the person who destroyed his life would eventually come after you.”
Roman went completely still.
Because there was only one person who knew about the night Samuel Vane disappeared.
And that person had been standing beside Roman ever since.
His closest advisor.
His most trusted man.
Someone inside his own empire.
Roman walked back toward his desk.
“Where is the cabin?”
Nora blinked.
“What?”
“The cabin where Samuel raised you.”
“Why?”
Roman picked up his phone.
“Because if Samuel Vane left something behind…”
His eyes turned cold.
“I intend to find it before whoever killed him does.”
Nora looked at him.
“Am I free to leave?”
Roman paused.
Then looked at the injured palm she had wrapped with a napkin.
“No.”
Fear returned to her face.
Roman continued.
“Not because I think you’re guilty.”
“Then why?”
His answer was quiet.
“Because if Samuel Vane trusted you…”
A beat.
“Then you are the only person alive who may know why he died.”
Outside the office, the city lights burned.
Inside, Roman Falco made a decision that would change everything.
The waitress he had ordered removed from his life…
had just become the only person capable of saving his empire.
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Tôi sẽ tiếp tục từ Chapter 3 đến Chapter 7, giữ đúng mạch truyện, không thay đổi nội dung gốc: Nora – Roman – Samuel Vane – bí mật phản bội trong syndicate – âm mưu bên trong đế chế – kết thúc có hậu.
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