Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO SAW THE MAN BEHIND THE MONSTER
Chloe Bennett thought she understood Victor Russo.
She was wrong.
She thought he was cold.
He was.
She thought he was dangerous.
He was.
But she never expected him to sit beside her brother’s hospital bed at midnight.
She never expected him to remember Tommy’s medication schedule.
She never expected him to quietly pay a medical bill without telling anyone.
Especially not her.
When Chloe discovered it, she confronted him immediately.
“You paid the hospital?”
Victor looked up from his paperwork.
“Yes.”
“I never asked you to.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Victor leaned back.
“Because your brother needed help.”
“That doesn’t mean you get to decide things for me.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You would rather struggle alone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Chloe hesitated.
Because nobody had ever asked.
“Because accepting help usually means owing someone.”
Victor looked at her.
For a moment, he understood.
She wasn’t stubborn.
She was protecting herself.
“I don’t want anything from you, Chloe.”
She studied him.
“Everyone wants something.”
“Maybe.”
His voice lowered.
“But not this time.”
Later that night, Chloe found Victor alone outside the mansion.
Standing in the freezing rain.
No guards.
No phone.
Just silence.
“You’re going to get sick.”
Victor turned.
“You always tell people that?”
“Only people who act like they’re invincible.”
A small smile appeared.
“You think I’m invincible?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I think you’re lonely.”
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Victor looked away.
Nobody had ever said that.
Everyone saw the power.
Nobody saw the emptiness.
“My father taught me something,” Victor said quietly.
“What?”
“Trust is a weakness.”
Chloe shook her head.
“No.”
Victor looked at her.
“No?”
“Trust isn’t weakness.”
She stepped closer.
“Giving it to the wrong person is.”
For the first time in years…
Victor had no answer.
The next morning, Victor’s enemy made his next move.
A package arrived at the estate.
No sender.
No address.
Inside was a photograph.
Victor holding Chloe’s hand outside the hospital.
And written behind it:
“The monster finally found something worth killing for.”
Victor stared at the picture.
Then Chloe walked into the room.
“What happened?”
Victor hid the photo.
Too late.
She saw his face.
And she knew.
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Something worse had begun.
TO BE CONTINUED…
