CHAPTER 4 — “THE WOMAN THEY COULD NOT ERASE” (FINAL CHAPTER)

The doors exploded open.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

Wood shattered across marble as armed men flooded Le Beaumont.

But Roman did not move.

He only looked at Savannah.

“Stay behind me.”

For the first time, she did not obey.

“I don’t know you.”

Roman’s expression tightened.

“But they do.”

The men raised their weapons.

Not at Roman.

At her.

Savannah realized the truth instantly—

she was not collateral.

She was the target.

Roman stepped forward.

And for the first time, the world saw something different in him.

Not a mafia boss.

Not a monster.

A shield.

Gunfire erupted.

Glass shattered.

Guests who were still hiding screamed as chaos tore through the restaurant.

Roman moved fast—controlled, precise—disarming two men in seconds.

But more kept coming.

Savannah dropped behind a table, hands shaking violently.

“Why are they after me?!” she shouted.

Roman didn’t look back while fighting.

“Because you know who I was before I became this.”

That line froze her more than the violence.

A masked attacker rushed her position.

Savannah reacted instinctively—

grabbed a broken glass bottle—

and struck.

He fell.

She stared at her own hands.

Shaking.

Horrified.

Roman saw it.

Something changed in his expression again.

Approval.

Recognition.

Memory.

The last attacker was taken down.

Silence slowly returned.

Smoke drifted through broken chandeliers.

Roman walked to Savannah, breathing slightly heavier for the first time.

“They will come again,” he said.

She looked up at him.

“I still don’t trust you.”

A pause.

Then Roman gave a faint, almost invisible nod.

“That’s the only reason you’re still alive.”

Outside, sirens finally approached.

But Roman was already pulling her toward the exit.

Savannah stopped.

“One more question.”

Roman turned.

She stepped closer.

“What am I to you?”

For the first time, Roman Volkov hesitated.

Not long.

But enough.

Then he answered:

“You were my escape.”

A beat.

“And now you are my war.”

The doors opened.

Cold night air rushed in.

And in the distance, unseen enemies were already moving again.

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Watching.

Waiting.