Chapter 12 - Unmasked
In a soundproof room located beneath the Ashworth Grand Hotel, Liam sat tied to a heavy wooden chair, sweating profusely. His cheap suit was wrinkled, his slicked hair messy, and his eyes wide with pure terror.
The heavy iron door creaked open.
Royce walked in slowly, accompanied only by Marcus. Royce threw a thick manila folder onto the metal table in front of Liam.
"P-please, Mr. Calloway!" Liam blubbered, crying uncontrollably. "I was forced! Julian Calloway threatened to kill me if I didn't go on TV! I didn't want to do it, I swear!"
Royce sat in the chair opposite him, crossing one leg over the other, looking at Liam like he was a microscopic insect. "You stole ten thousand dollars from Della’s savings account five months ago, Liam. You left her in a freezing apartment while she was pregnant with your child. Was Julian forcing you back then, too?"
Liam choked on his words, turning bright red with shame. "I... I panicked! I was young! I wasn't ready to be a father!"
"You were ready enough to sell her out for a million dollars," Royce said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
Royce pulled a pen and a single sheet of paper from his pocket, sliding it across the table.
"What is this?" Liam whimpered.
"A full, legally binding surrender of all parental rights," Royce said. "Along with a sworn, notarized confession detailing how you were paid by Julian Calloway to lie to the media and slander Della Marsh."
Liam hesitated, looking at the paper. "If I sign this... will you let me go?"
Royce leaned forward, his dark eyes fixing onto Liam with a lethal intensity that made the cowardly man shudder. "If you sign this, you leave this city tonight and never return. If you ever set foot within a hundred miles of Della or her child again, you will disappear so completely that even God won't be able to find you."
Liam grabbed the pen with trembling hands and signed his name at the bottom of the page in five seconds flat. "Done! I signed it! Please don't hurt me!"
Royce took the signed document, handed it to Marcus, and stood up. "Get him out of my sight. Put him on a bus to the midwest and make sure he stays there."
"Yes, Boss," Marcus replied.
An hour later, Royce returned to the Calloway estate.
The sun was setting, painting the sky in gorgeous shades of crimson and violet. He found Della sitting on the velvet sofa in the grand living room, a warm blanket draped over her shoulders, holding a mug of warm milk.
When she saw Royce enter, she immediately stood up, her eyes filled with anxiety. "Royce? How did it go with the board? What happened with Liam?"
Royce walked over to her, a warm, gentle smile breaking across his face. He pulled the signed document from his coat pocket and handed it to her.
Della looked at the paper. As her eyes scanned the full surrender of parental rights and the signed confession, tears of overwhelming relief welled up in her eyes.
"It's over?" she whispered, looking up at him in disbelief. "He can't try to take my baby anymore?"
"It's over, Della," Royce said softly, taking the mug from her hands and setting it on the table before pulling her into a warm, protective embrace. "Liam has signed away all rights. Julian is going to prison for twenty years. You and your baby are completely free."
Della wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face into his chest, letting out a long, shuddering sob of pure relief. All the months of fear, humiliation, poverty, and anxiety melted away in the warmth of his arms.
"Thank you..." she sobbed softly. "Thank you, Royce..."
Royce rested his chin on top of her head, holding her close. "You don't ever have to thank me, Della. You gave me my life five years ago. Giving you peace is the least I can do."
He pulled back slightly, looking down into her tear-streaked, beautiful face. Slowly, gently, he wiped her tears away with his thumb.
"There's something else I want to ask you," Royce murmured, his voice filled with a deep, nervous warmth that was completely foreign to the powerful crime boss.
Della looked at him, blinking through her tears. "What is it?"
Royce reached into his inner suit pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box. He didn't kneel—he simply opened it between them, revealing a stunning platinum ring set with a brilliant, flawless emerald surrounded by diamonds.
Della gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
"Five years ago, you saved my life," Royce said, his eyes shining with pure devotion. "And for the past month, you have saved my soul. I don't want to just be your protector, Della. I want to be your husband. I want to raise this baby girl with you, love her as my own daughter, and build a real family with you. Will you marry me?"
Della’s heart soared into the clouds. Looking at the man who had stood between her and every storm in the world, there was only one answer in her heart.
May you like
"Yes," Della wept happily, smiling through her tears. "Yes, Royce! I will marry you!"
Royce smiled brilliantly, slipping the emerald ring onto her finger before pulling her into a passionate, loving kiss that echoed through the quiet warmth of the estate.
