Chapter 5 - Gideon Offered Me a Place Beside Him, Not Behind Him, and for the First Time I Realized the Mafia Boss Was No Longer Asking Me to ObeyThe transition was harder than expected.
The company survived.
The criminal organization did not.
Gideon sold illegal operations.
Closed hidden accounts.
Dismissed corrupt employees.
He created a legal board.
He hired compliance officers.
He apologized publicly for crimes committed by his family.
People called him weak.
He didn't care.
I stayed.
Not as a maid.
As his executive assistant.
Then chief of staff.
I had never imagined wearing a suit to work.
I still felt like I was pretending.
Gideon noticed.
“You don't have to pretend.”
“What?”
“That you belong.”
I looked at him.
“I was hired to clean bathrooms.”
“You were.”
“Now I'm sitting in board meetings.”
“Yes.”
“You trust me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you saw what no one else did.”
I smiled.
“That was the poison.”
He shook his head.
“That was courage.”
We became close.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Neither of us rushed.
He had lost Elena.
She had survived, but she no longer wanted the marriage.
That chapter had ended.
Gideon respected it.
Elena remained part of the family in a different way.
She became chairwoman of the foundation.
Marco left.
He testified fully.
He never asked for forgiveness.
Perhaps he didn't believe he deserved it.
I understood.
One night, Gideon and I stayed late.
The city lights reflected across the office.
“You're tired.”
“So are you.”
“I can handle it.”
“I know.”
He smiled.
“You always say that.”
“Because you always say it.”
He leaned closer.
“I owe you my life.”
“You don't owe me.”
“I know.”
“Then stop.”
“I'll try.”
He looked at me.
“Clara.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know what happened the morning you broke that glass?”
“No.”
“I had already decided to stop fighting.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“Because I thought the blindness was permanent.”
He looked toward the window.
“I thought I'd become dependent.”
“You wouldn't.”
“I didn't know that then.”
He looked at me.
“You gave me another possibility.”
I lowered my eyes.
“I was only doing my job.”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“You were saving me.”
I looked up.
The air changed.
He almost kissed me.
Then stopped.
“I don't want to confuse gratitude with something else.”
I appreciated the honesty.
“So don't.”
He smiled.
“Good advice.”
Months passed.
Our relationship became something neither of us named.
Then one morning, I received a letter.
From my father.
Impossible.
He was dead.
But the handwriting was his.
The envelope had been hidden in the safe.
Clara,
If you're reading this, then you know about the poison.
I am sorry.
I wanted to protect you.
I failed.
There is one more thing.
The man who ordered my death wasn't Richard.
Richard was only the executor.
The real architect is someone you know.
I froze.
I showed Gideon.
His expression darkened.
“Who?”
The next page answered.
The name was Elena's brother.
Adrian Bell.
I knew him.
He had been a lawyer.
A quiet man.
A trusted man.
Gideon's current legal counsel.
He had helped us expose Richard.
Gideon stared.
“That can't be.”
The letter continued.
Adrian believes the Vitali bloodline owes him everything.
He wants the trust.
He wants the house.
He wants the company.
And he believes your father died with evidence.
I looked at Gideon.
“Your lawyer.”
He was silent.
Then whispered:
“We never checked him.”
We checked.
The evidence was there.
Adrian had manipulated documents.
He had leaked information.
He had been feeding Richard.
The poison had passed through his network.
And he had one final move.
He had obtained custody rights over Gideon's estate through a dormant family clause.
If Gideon died, Adrian would control everything.
Again.
Another man who wanted the same thing.
May you like
Power.
But this time, Gideon was ready.
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