Chapter 7 - The Viper Unmasked
Roman lowered the gun entirely, letting his arm hang limp at his side. He looked from the red drive in my hand up to Sophie’s face. Our daughter yawned softly, her tiny mouth opening against the fleece, entirely unaware that six loaded weapons were pointed in the hallway behind her father.
""Aaron,"" Roman whispered, his voice cracking with a terrifying vulnerability. ""I... I made a mistake. I was blind. I swear to you, Laya is gone. I locked her in the holding cells. I stripped her of everything. She’s nothing to me.""
""She was everything to you two hours ago,"" I said ruthlessly. ""She was the woman who had the right to call my phone and mock me while I bled.""
""I didn't know she had that audio!"" Roman took a desperate step forward, falling to his knees on the wet steel floor, heedless of his men watching from the corridor. ""She had a hidden recorder in her purse! She took my words out of context, Aaron! I went there to tell her it was over! I went there to break the contract and give her the severance so she would never come near you again!""
Vincent stepped into the doorway, his pistol still raised. ""That’s a lie, little brother. You don't bring vintage champagne to a execution of contract.""
""Shut up, Vincent!"" Roman roared, tears mixing with the rain on his cheeks. He looked back at me, his hands raised in surrender. ""Look at my phone, Aaron. Please. Look at the messages.""
He pulled his encrypted phone from his coat and slid it across the floor.
I picked it up with one hand, keeping Sophie guarded. The screen was unlocked.
There was a text thread between Roman and Laya from two days ago—the day after I came home from the hospital.
Roman: ""Do not come to the house. Do not contact Aaron. I am transferring the lakehouse to your holding company as final settlement. We are done, Laya. I have a daughter now. My life is at home.""
Laya: ""You think a squealing brat is going to keep you satisfied? You'll be crawling back to me by Friday.""
Roman: ""I’ll bring your final severance paperwork tonight at eight. After that, if you contact my wife, I will erase you from this city.""
I stared at the screen, my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
""She set it up, Aaron,"" Roman whispered, his voice trembling like a boy’s. ""She hired an audio editor to splice my words from our past conversations. She knew if she baited you, you would run—and she thought I would give up on you and crawl back to her out of spite. She wanted you to disappear so she could take your place!""
I stood frozen. The pieces clicked together with terrible clarity—the strange gaps in the voicemail audio, the abrupt shift in tone, the timing of the delivery. Laya had weaponized my post-partum vulnerability, knowing that a newly delivered mother in physical agony would shatter under the weight of betrayal.
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""Even if that's true, Roman,"" I said, my voice thick with tears that finally broke past my defenses, ""you still went. You still chose to walk out of that nursery six days after she was born. You put her vanity before our peace.""
""I know,"" Roman sobbed, bowing his head until his forehead touched the cold steel deck. ""I was an arrogant, prideful fool who thought he could control every demon he created. I failed you. I failed Sophie. But please... please don't take my soul away into the dark.""
