Chapter 7 - The Final Gambit
That evening, the storm had cleared, leaving behind a crisp, starlit sky. Roman returned to the manor late, his coat smelling faintly of cold air and cigar smoke.
He found Sadi in his private study, sitting behind his massive mahogany desk, reviewing the garden restoration blueprints.
Roman walked up behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning down to kiss the side of her neck. “Arthur told me about your visitor today.”
Sadi leaned her head back against his chest. “Are you angry that I made a promise to her?”
“Never,” Roman whispered, his hands moving down to rest over her collarbones. “My power is yours to command, mia cara. If you wish to show mercy to the Montgomery family, it is done. I canceled the financial audits an hour ago.”
Sadi turned in the heavy leather chair to face him. “Did Trevor really try to sue you?”
Roman’s jaw tightened slightly, his eyes cold. “He attempted to file a civil claim for unlawful termination and assault, using Montgomery’s money to retain a black-market legal team.”
“He doesn't know when to quit,” Sadi murmured, shaking her head.
“Desperate men rarely do,” Roman said calmly. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a manila envelope, laying it on the desk between them. “He was offered a choice two weeks ago to take a settlement and leave the country quietly. He chose to stay and fight. So, I finalized his situation.”
Sadi looked at the envelope. “What’s inside?”
“A one-way ticket to a secondary subsidiary firm in northern Alaska,” Roman said, a faint, dark smirk appearing on his face. “He will be managing logistics for a mining company in a town with a population of four hundred people. No luxury stores. No high-end suits. No high-society galas. Just snow, mud, and hard labor.”
Sadi stared at the envelope, then let out a soft, long breath. It was a poetic end. Trevor’s entire life had been defined by a desperate, toxic ambition to appear wealthy and powerful. Now, he would spend the rest of his career surrounded by frozen wilderness, forgotten by the very world he had tried so hard to impress.
“Did he accept it?” Sadi asked.
“He didn't have a choice,” Roman replied. “He signed the contract an hour ago. He leaves on a cargo transport at midnight.”
Sadi reached out, taking Roman’s large, scarred hand in hers. She brought it to her lips, pressing a quiet kiss against his knuckles. “Thank you, Roman.”
“For sending him to Alaska?”
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“For showing me what real strength looks like,” she whispered, looking up into his ice-blue eyes. “You never shouted at him. You never raised your voice. You just protected what was yours.”
Roman pulled her up out of the chair and into his arms, holding her close against his heart. “You are the only thing in this world that matters to me, Sadi. Everything else—the money, the Syndicate, the power—is just noise.”
