Chapter 9 - The Secret Hidden Behind the Ballroom|
Sadi reacted before she could think.
She twisted her wrist and pulled backward, remembering every moment Trevor had once made her feel trapped.
"Let go!"
A familiar voice whispered through the darkness.
"It's me!"
Chloe.
Sadi stopped struggling.
"Chloe?"
"Please, come with me."
The fire alarm continued screaming.
Emergency lights flickered along the ballroom walls.
Guests pushed toward the exits while hotel employees shouted instructions.
Across the room, Sadi heard Roman calling her name.
"Roman!"
"I'm here!"
His voice was close.
Sadi turned toward him.
Chloe tightened her grip.
"My father planned this."
Sadi looked at her.
"What?"
"The alarm."
"Why?"
"Because he knew I was going to expose him."
Roman reached them seconds later.
Arthur followed, guiding several frightened guests away from the confusion.
Roman examined Sadi's wrist.
"Who grabbed you?"
"Chloe."
He looked at her sharply.
Chloe stepped backward.
"I was trying to help."
Sadi touched Roman's arm.
"She says the alarm was deliberate."
Arthur spoke into his radio.
Within minutes, hotel security confirmed that someone had activated an alarm station near the service corridor.
There was no visible fire.
But the building still had to be evacuated and checked.
Gerald Vale had used the emergency to interrupt Chloe before she could speak.
And he had nearly succeeded.
Outside the hotel, hundreds of guests gathered beneath the bright entrance lights.
Reporters pushed toward the crowd.
Security personnel formed a barrier around Roman and Sadi.
But Sadi was not interested in hiding behind anyone.
She looked toward Chloe.
"You were going to tell them the truth."
Chloe stared at the sidewalk.
"I was."
"Then you still can."
Chloe shook her head.
"My father will destroy me."
Sadi gently took her hands.
"He's already controlling you with that fear."
Tears gathered in Chloe's eyes.
"You don't understand what he's capable of."
"Then help me understand."
Chloe hesitated.
Then she removed her phone from her purse.
"I recorded him yesterday."
Roman became still.
"Recorded what?"
Chloe opened an audio file.
A man's voice emerged from the speaker.
Gerald Vale.
"The inspection report is handled."
A second voice answered.
Trevor.
"And the shelter director?"
"She'll sign whatever we put in front of her."
"What if Sadi refuses the settlement?"
Gerald laughed.
"Then we make her husband the villain."
Trevor sounded uncertain.
"Roman Voss won't take that quietly."
"He'll have no choice."
The recording continued.
"People remember what he used to be."
Gerald's voice grew colder.
"They'll believe anything about him."
The audio ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Sadi stared at the phone.
Chloe looked ashamed.
"I should have told somebody sooner."
Roman's expression was unreadable.
"Send the original file to your attorney and preserve the phone."
Chloe nodded.
Sadi turned to Elena, who had just reached them after leaving the hotel with the other guests.
"We need to get this to the authorities."
Elena held out her hand.
"Then we'll handle it properly."
By midnight, the recordings, forged documents, and Nina's original video had been securely preserved for the ongoing investigations.
Elena arranged for a forensic review of the files.
Chloe agreed to provide a formal statement.
But the next morning, Gerald launched his counterattack.
A public relations firm released photographs from the gala showing Roman restraining Damon Pike.
The accompanying statement accused Roman of disrupting a charity event and intimidating its organizers.
Several anonymous sources claimed that Roman had secretly controlled the waterfront redevelopment all along.
And then a television network obtained copies of the old agreements bearing his signature.
Sadi watched the report from their living room.
The anchor spoke gravely.
"New questions are emerging about Roman Voss's involvement in the controversial Harbor House property transaction."
Sadi turned off the television.
Roman stood near the window.
"You knew this would happen," she said.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you warn me how bad it could get?"
Roman looked at her.
"Because I hoped I could resolve the past before it reached you."
She shook her head.
"That's not how marriage works."
"I know."
"You can't protect me by deciding what I'm allowed to know."
The words hurt him.
She could see that.
But she refused to apologize.
Roman walked toward her.
"You're right."
Then he said something she had never expected.
"If my name prevents you from saving Harbor House, I'll step away from the legal fight."
Sadi looked at him.
"I didn't marry your name."
He waited.
"I married you."
Her voice softened.
"But I need you to be the man who tells the truth even when it's ugly."
Roman nodded slowly.
"I will."
Before he could say anything else, Sadi's phone rang.
It was Miguel, Harbor House's longtime caretaker.
His voice sounded frantic.
"Miss Sadi, you need to come."
"What's wrong?"
"It's Gloria."
Sadi stood.
"What happened?"
Miguel took a shaky breath.
"She never came home last night."
Sadi gripped the phone.
"Have you called the police?"
"Yes."
He paused.
"And there's something else."
"What?"
"Somebody changed the locks at Harbor House."
Sadi felt her stomach drop.
"The residents?"
"We moved everyone safely to the temporary building yesterday."
"Thank God."
"But Gloria stayed behind to collect the original records."
Miguel's voice broke.
"Miss Sadi, her car is still outside."
Sadi stared toward Roman.
May you like
Miguel whispered one final sentence.
"There's blood on the shelter office floor."
