Chapter 6 - THE TWENTY SECONDS I NEVER HEARD
That night, I finally heard the rest of Nico’s conversation.
Arthur had recovered the study microphone’s transmission archive.
I almost refused to listen.
Then I realized I had spent three days building my decisions around words I had heard only until the moment I walked away.
That didn’t make those words harmless.
But I needed the whole truth.
Arthur started the file.
His own voice came first.
“She’s a good woman, Nico.”
Then Nico.
“She stays because my life is comfortable.”
My stomach tightened even though I knew it was coming.
“If she left tonight, I wouldn’t care. I’d change the locks by morning and forget her name by Friday.”
Silence.
Four seconds.
Five.
Then Arthur said:
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
A door closed.
Nico’s voice dropped.
“There’s a microphone behind the east bookshelf.”
Arthur cursed.
Then Nico continued.
“Vincent’s people are listening.”
Another pause.
“And you decided to use Mara?”
“I decided to make them believe she means nothing.”
Arthur’s reply came sharp.
“Does she know?”
“No.”
“Then you’re an idiot.”
I almost smiled despite myself.
Nico looked at Arthur.
Arthur shrugged.
“I stand by it.”
The recording continued.
Arthur asked:
“What if she hears you?”
Nico answered so quietly I had to lean toward the speaker.
“She won’t. She’s upstairs.”
Then came the line that hurt differently.
“But if I’m wrong, I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting it.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Finally I looked at Nico.
“You were wrong.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
His eyes held mine.
“Every minute since 1:17 yesterday morning.”
I turned away.
Part of me wanted that to fix everything.
It didn’t.
Love isn’t a magic eraser.
I told him that.
“I know.”
“You protected me like property.”
“I know.”
“You made decisions for me and called it safety.”
“I know.”
“You bought things instead of speaking.”
His voice became quieter.
“I know.”
I turned back.
“So even if the words were fake, the reason I believed them wasn’t.”
Nico said nothing for a long moment.
Then:
“No.”
That was the first moment I thought he might actually understand.
Not because he apologized.
Because he stopped trying to reduce my pain to a misunderstanding.
Arthur interrupted us with another discovery.
The financial spreadsheet contained encrypted shipping numbers.
Once decoded, they showed Vincent had diverted nearly eighteen million dollars over four years.
But the money wasn’t the real objective.
Vincent had been paying people inside Nico’s organization.
Drivers.
Accountants.
Security.
Two captains.
And one person whose name made Nico go completely still.
His personal attorney.
The man controlling Nico’s succession documents.
Arthur looked at the final file.
“This isn’t just theft.”
Nico’s face hardened.
“No.”
I understood before Arthur said it.
May you like
Vincent wasn’t trying to steal money from Nico.
He was preparing to replace him.
