Chapter 11: The Secretary's Secret

The room fell into absolute silence.

The video had ended, but none of us moved.

The woman on the screen wasn't Maria.

She wasn't Isabella.

She was Evelyn Carter—Don Romano's personal secretary.

She had worked for my father for more than twenty years.

She organized every meeting, every business trip, every family event.

She was practically invisible.

Which made her the perfect person to hide a secret.

"Play it again," Vincent said.

Lucas rewound the footage.

This time we watched every second carefully.

Evelyn handed Grace a thick envelope before leaning close enough to whisper something into her ear.

Grace immediately burst into tears.

Then Evelyn looked directly toward the hidden camera.

For just a second.

"She knew she was being recorded," Lucas muttered.

"No," Vincent replied.

"Look at her eyes."

We watched once more.

"She's checking for witnesses," Vincent continued.

"Not cameras."

I folded my arms tightly.

"So Evelyn threatened Grace."

"Which means she knows exactly who framed you," Lucas said.

"Or she helped do it," I answered.

Vincent removed the flash drive.

"There's only one way to find out."

"Question her."

An hour later, we returned to the Romano estate.

Evelyn was sitting behind her desk outside Father's office, calmly organizing paperwork.

She smiled politely when she saw us.

"Miss Sophia.

Mr. Moretti.

Mr. Hayes.

Can I help you?"

"Yes," Vincent answered.

"We need to talk."

"Of course."

She stood without hesitation.

Not a trace of panic crossed her face.

That confidence unsettled me.

Vincent led us into a small conference room before locking the door.

Evelyn looked around curiously.

"Is something wrong?"

Vincent placed the flash drive on the table.

"Recognize this?"

She shook her head.

"Should I?"

"Let's watch something together."

Lucas connected the drive to his laptop.

The video began playing.

For the first few seconds, Evelyn remained calm.

Then her face slowly lost its color.

By the time the recording ended, her hands were visibly shaking.

"Would you like to explain?" Vincent asked quietly.

Evelyn lowered her head.

"It's not what it looks like."

"Really?" I replied.

"Because it looks like you're threatening a witness."

"I never wanted to hurt Miss Sophia."

"Then why did you?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"Because I had no choice."

"Everyone says that," I answered coldly.

"Who forced you?"

She remained silent.

Vincent leaned forward.

"Evelyn, protecting them won't save you."

"You don't understand."

"Then help us understand."

For nearly a minute, nobody spoke.

Finally, Evelyn whispered,

"They have my son."

I frowned.

"Your son?"

"He owes money to dangerous people."

"They said if I refused to cooperate, they'd kill him."

"Who are they?" Vincent asked.

Evelyn closed her eyes.

"I don't know their names."

"Someone contacted me three weeks ago."

"They knew everything about my family."

"They ordered me to help frame Miss Sophia."

Lucas exchanged a quick glance with Vincent.

"Did they tell you why?"

"No."

"Only that Sophia Romano had to disappear before the wedding."

Those words sent a chill through me.

"Disappear?"

"Yes."

"At first I thought they only wanted to ruin your reputation."

"But later..."

"Later what?"

Evelyn's voice trembled.

"I overheard another phone call."

"Someone said if the bracelet didn't work, there were other ways to get rid of you."

The room became deathly quiet.

"They wanted me dead," I whispered.

Vincent's expression instantly darkened.

"Who made that call?"

"I never saw them."

"The office lights were off."

"I only heard a voice."

"Male or female?"

"Male."

"Older."

"Very calm."

Lucas quickly typed notes into his laptop.

"Anything else?"

"He kept mentioning Boston."

I froze.

"Boston?"

"Yes."

"He said, 'If she reaches Boston, everything becomes impossible.'"

My heartbeat quickened.

Boston.

The Sterling family.

Alexander.

Whatever this conspiracy was, it wasn't limited to New York anymore.

Vincent stood up immediately.

"Lucas, call our people in Boston."

"Tell them to watch over Alexander Sterling until we know what's happening."

"Already on it."

As Lucas hurried out of the room, Evelyn reached into her handbag.

Instinctively, Vincent stepped between us.

"Easy," she whispered.

"I'm not armed."

She pulled out an old envelope.

"I found this inside Mr. Romano's office last week."

"I was too frightened to give it to anyone."

She handed it to Vincent.

Inside was a photograph.

It showed my father shaking hands with an unfamiliar man outside a private airport.

"Who is he?" I asked.

Evelyn swallowed.

"I don't know his name."

"But your father always called him... The Broker."

"The Broker?" Vincent repeated.

"He arranges problems to disappear."

"Business rivals."

"Witnesses."

"Evidence."

"People."

My blood ran cold.

"Are you saying my father hired him?"

"I don't know."

"But every time that man appeared, someone else's life was ruined."

Vincent stared at the photograph.

His instincts were already piecing together the puzzle.

"Sophia," he said quietly.

"Until this is over, you don't go anywhere alone."

"Vincent..."

"This isn't about us anymore."

"Someone planned this months before the bracelet."

"You're not just being framed."

"You're being hunted."

Before I could answer, Lucas burst back into the room.

His breathing was uneven.

"Vincent..."

"Our security team in Boston just called."

"What happened?"

"Alexander's car was forced off the highway less than twenty minutes ago."

"Someone tried to kill him."