The quiet hum of the estate’s secondary holding lounge was suffocating. Outside the high, double-glazed arched windows of the

Glass shards showered across the polished floor like a rain of diamonds.

Julian spun around instinctively toward the doorway.

Standing in the frame was Mara. She didn't hesitate. She held a heavy brass desk ornament she had grabbed from the reception area and threw it with all her strength directly at Julian’s face.

The heavy brass object struck Julian’s right shoulder with brutal force, knocking him off balance and causing his suppressed pistol to discharge wildly into the ceiling—POP.

In that microsecond of distraction, Roman moved.

He didn't walk; he launched his six-foot-three frame across the conference table, smashing through the glass surface in a terrifying display of raw power. He slammed into Julian like a freight train, sending both of them crashing onto the hard floor near the panoramic windows.

The suppressed 9mm skidded across the floor toward Mara’s feet. She instantly kicked it far down the hallway out of reach.

On the floor, Julian tried to drive the syringe into Roman’s neck, but Roman caught Julian’s wrist with an iron grip that shattered the bones in the lawyer's forearm with a sickening CRACK.

Julian shrieked in agony as the syringe fell uselessly onto the carpet.

Roman pinned the older man to the floor, his massive left hand throat-latching Julian while his right fist drew back. Roman’s face was transformed into a mask of pure, demonic fury—the face of a man who had finally caught the monster who had ripped his family apart.

"Roman! Stop!" Mara screamed, running over and throwing her arms around Roman’s broad shoulders from behind.

Roman’s fist hovered three inches above Julian’s face, shaking with pure, lethal tension. Julian was gasping for air, his nose bleeding, his eyes wide with absolute, pathetic terror.

"Kill me..." Julian choked out, tears of pain leaking from his eyes. "Do it... show her what you really are..."

"Roman, look at me!" Mara pleaded, her voice breaking as she pulled herself around to face him, framing his jaw with her soft hands. "Look at me, Roman! Don't do this! If you kill him here, you lose everything! You lose Sophia! You lose the foundation! You lose the life we built!"

Roman’s chest heaved with violent, ragged breaths. His dark eyes, consumed by the black abyss of revenge, locked onto Mara’s hazel eyes.

In her face, he didn't see fear of him. He saw love. He saw salvation. He saw the mother of his future children holding him back from the edge of eternal damnation.

Slowly, agonizingly, Roman’s raised fist trembled... and then lowered.

He released Julian’s throat, pushing himself up to his feet. He took a deep breath, pulling Mara into his arms, holding her tightly against his pounding heart while Julian lay groaning on the floor.

Footsteps thundered down the corridor. Luca Ferraro burst into the room with four armed guards, their weapons drawn.

Luca took in the scene—the shattered glass table, the bleeding lawyer on the floor, and Roman holding Mara in the center of the room.

"Boss?" Luca asked, his voice tight.

"He lives," Roman said, his voice deep, clear, and absolute. "Secure the syringe on the floor. Secure his briefcase. Call the Federal Special Prosecutor directly. Tell him I have the man who murdered my wife, defrauded fifty million dollars, and organized an international syndicate."

Luca grinned—a cold, brutal smile. "With pleasure, Boss."

Two guards grabbed Julian by his collar, dragging him out of the room like a sack of trash, while Luca carefully picked up the syringe with a plastic forensic bag.

Roman turned Mara around in his arms, examining her face and hands with frantic concern. "Are you hurt? Did any glass touch you?"

"I’m fine, Roman," Mara said, tears finally overflowing her lashes as she smiled up at him. "I’m completely fine."