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<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\n\u201cYes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIs she still on the floor?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cStay by the door. The ambulance will be there in minutes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A heavy pause.<\/p>\n Then Luz whispered, \u201cOkay.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In the background, Valeria\u2019s sobbing was a jagged edge against the silence.<\/p>\n Roman closed his eyes for a heartbeat that felt like an eternity.<\/p>\n His daughters.<\/p>\n He knew it before the DNA results could ever be printed, before the ink dried on any courthouse document.<\/p>\n He knew it in that primal, terr:ifying place where the truth hi:ts the bone before the mind can rationalize it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy sister thinks you\u2019re our dad,\u201d<\/em> Luz said.<\/p>\n Jonah\u2019s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror, searching Roman\u2019s face.<\/p>\n Roman said nothing.<\/p>\n His silence wasn’t a question; it was the sound of a foundation cracking.<\/p>\n Luz kept talking, driven by that frantic honesty children use to fill the vacuum of fear.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom works all the time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman stared out the windshield, his eyes cold.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes she tells us she already ate, but I know she didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n His jaw tightened until it was stone.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone took her money last month, and she cried in the bathroom because of the rent.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Jonah\u2019s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cShe says everything is okay a lot\u2026 even when it\u2019s not.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman swallowed a lump that felt like broken glass.<\/p>\n Each sentence was a scalpel, peeling back the layers of his life.<\/p>\n He possessed penthouses, warehouses, a private army, and judges who danced to his tune. He had built a fortress of power so high he\u2019d convinced himself it was a sanctuary.<\/p>\n And yet, in the shadows of the same city, his children had been counting cereal pieces and listening to their mother\u2019s heartbreak through thin bathroom walls.<\/p>\n \u201cMister?\u201d<\/em> Luz\u2019s voice was a gh:ost of a whisper. \u201cAre you still there?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n When Roman finally answered, the very vibration of his voice had shifted.<\/p>\n It wasn’t soft\u2014Roman Velez didn’t do soft.<\/p>\n But the iron had been stripped away, leaving something raw beneath.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Another silence.<\/p>\n Then the question came.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t shake the skyscraper windows or draw blo:od like a bla:de.<\/p>\n It was small.<\/p>\n Small enough to dismantle a man\u2019s soul forever.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you\u2026 my daddy?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman bowed his head, his elbow digging into his knee, the phone pressed hard against his mouth.<\/p>\n For one impossible moment, the most feared man in Chicago was speechless.<\/p>\n Jonah heard the ragged, uneven breath escape him.<\/p>\n Outside, the city\u2019s lights blurred into streaks of neon.<\/p>\n Inside the armored SUV, Roman Velez closed his eyes.<\/p>\n When he opened them, they held a moisture he would have executed any other man for witnessing.<\/p>\n \u201cYes,\u201d<\/em> he said, his voice a rough gravel. \u201cYeah, baby. I think I am.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n On the other end, Valeria let out a sob that sounded like the collapse of a long-held weight. She only whispered, \u201cThen please hurry.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n By the time Roman stormed into St. Catherine Mercy, the twins had been swept in by paramedics and Camila was already a shadow behind the double doors of the trauma unit.<\/p>\n The hospital\u2019s fluorescent lights were merciless. They stripped away dignity, flattening fear into exhaustion and turning grief into a stack of paperwork. Roman stood in the center of the lobby\u2014charcoal overcoat over a thousand-dollar suit\u2014looking like a predator who had wandered into a church.<\/p>\n He saw the girls before they spotted him.<\/p>\n Two small, fragile figures huddled on a hard plastic bench. They had matching dark curls tangled from sleep. Matching pale faces drained of color by the harsh lights. One was clinging to the other so fiercely it looked like a desperate prayer.<\/p>\n And the eyes.<\/p>\n His eyes.<\/p>\n The color of a storm over Lake Michigan.<\/p>\n The past didn\u2019t come back with a gentle knock.<\/p>\n It returned with teeth.<\/p>\n Valeria saw him first. She didn\u2019t hesitate; she launched herself off the bench and sprinted toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou came!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The words weren’t a question or a judgment.<\/p>\n They were a relief so absolute it made the air in the room feel heavy.<\/p>\n She wrapped her small arms around his leg, bu:rying her face against the expensive fabric as if he were the only solid thing left in a world made of glass.<\/p>\n Roman froze.<\/p>\n His entire life was a curriculum of ambushes, betrayals, and tactical negotiations. Nothing had prepared him for the weight of a seven-year-old\u2019s instinctive trust.<\/p>\n His hand moved as if belonging to someone else, coming to rest aga:inst the back of her small head. Luz did not run.<\/p>\n She studied him with the deva:stating precision of a child who had seen too much.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re really our dad,\u201d<\/em> she asked, her voice eerily level, \u201cwhy weren\u2019t you ever there?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman took the h:it.<\/p>\n No flinch. No defensive lie.<\/p>\n The question c:ut deeper than any bul:let ever had.<\/p>\n Before he could speak, a nurse emerged. \u201cFamily of Camila Rios?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman turned, his presence filling the hallway. \u201cHere.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The nurse\u2019s eyes flicked between him and the girls, her professional mask slipping for a second.<\/p>\n \u201cDoctor Markham is with her. She has a head injury. They\u2019re doing scans.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Valeria\u2019s grip on Roman\u2019s hand tightened.<\/p>\n He looked down at those tiny fingers.<\/p>\n No one in Chicago had ever seen Roman Velez look ter:rified.<\/p>\n But he did then.<\/p>\n Minutes later, Nora Bennett came charging off the elevator. She was in a winter coat over scrubs, her diner name tag still pinned to her shirt. Camila\u2019s manager. Forty-two years of hard living and mothering everyone in sight.<\/p>\n She saw the girls, then her gaze landed on Roman.<\/p>\n Recognition h:it her like a physical blow.<\/p>\n \u201cYou,\u201d<\/em> she spat.<\/p>\n Roman looked at her, remembering the name from a lifetime ago.<\/p>\n Nora looked at the twins clutching his hands.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got some nerve,\u201d<\/em> she muttered.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not leaving,\u201d<\/em> Roman stated.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t asking you to.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The doctor appeared ten minutes later, looking like he\u2019d spent the night in a war zone.<\/p>\n \u201cCamila has a subdural hematoma,\u201d<\/em> he explained. \u201cThe fall caused a bleed. We\u2019re taking her into surgery now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Valeria made a small, broken sound.<\/p>\n Roman knelt to her level instinctively. \u201cHey. Look at me.\u201d<\/em> She obeyed. \u201cShe\u2019s in the best place possible.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Doctor Markham hesitated. \u201cThere\u2019s something else. Her toxicology screen showed high levels of zolpidem. It\u2019s a sleeping sedative. Much more than a normal dose. It would have ruined her coordination, especially with her being so tired.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora\u2019s brow furrowed. \u201cSleeping pills? She doesn’t take those.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no prescription on her file.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The temperature in the hallway seemed to plummet.<\/p>\n Roman stood up slowly, his height looming.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re telling me she was dru:gged?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The doctor chose his words carefully. \u201cI\u2019m saying the fall may have been induced by something other than fatigue.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n A heavy, lethal silence fell.<\/p>\n Luz\u2019s fingers dug into Roman\u2019s overcoat sleeve.<\/p>\n Nora went gh:ostly white.<\/p>\n Roman\u2019s face transformed into something far more dan:gerous than rage.<\/p>\n It became a de:ath warrant.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need consent for the procedure,\u201d<\/em> the doctor said.<\/p>\n Nora stepped forward, her voice trembling. \u201cI\u2019m her emergency contact.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n She signed the papers.<\/p>\n Camila was wheeled away.<\/p>\n The girls sat on either side of Roman, a silent pact formed without words. Valeria leaned into his side. Luz let her shoulder touch his arm, a tentative bridge.<\/p>\n Roman sent a single text.<\/p>\n Jonah, the apartment. Now. Don\u2019t touch a thing. Call me the second you find a discrepancy.<\/p>\n The reply came in four minutes.<\/p>\n Door frame splintered. Someone forced entry after the girls left. Bedroom tossed. Under-bed storage ripped open.<\/p>\n Roman\u2019s eyes bur:ned as he read the screen.<\/p>\n Looks like they were hu:nting for a box.<\/p>\n Nora saw his face. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman showed her the screen.<\/p>\n The blo:od drained from her face.<\/p>\n \u201cShe told me,\u201d<\/em> Nora whispered. \u201cYears ago. She said if anyone ever came looking, it would be because of Diego.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman\u2019s head snapped toward her. \u201cDiego?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cHer brother.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman went perfectly still. \u201cI know who Diego was.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora crossed her arms tightly. \u201cThen maybe you finally understand why she ran.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n His eyes were like flint. \u201cI know the story I was told.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora let out a sharp, bitter laugh. \u201cThat\u2019s how it usually goes for women like Camila, isn\u2019t it? Men telling other men what the truth is.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Before Roman could respond, his phone vibrated.<\/p>\n Jonah.<\/p>\n \u201cTalk.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe found the landlord,\u201d Jonah reported. \u201cOld guy downstairs. H:it from behind. He\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWho did it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWitness saw a white male, late thirties, leather jacket, snake tattoo on the neck. Security cam caught the profile.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman didn’t need the image Jonah sent.<\/p>\n Benny Crowe.<\/p>\n One of Declan Shaw\u2019s personal hounds.<\/p>\n A cold, crystalline clarity settled over Roman.<\/p>\n Declan.<\/p>\n His second-in-command.<\/p>\n The man who had stood at his right hand for eight years.<\/p>\n The man Roman had trusted with the keys to his kingdom.<\/p>\n Behind him, the surgery doors remained closed.<\/p>\n Across from him, his daughters sat in the cold light, wearing cheap pajamas and borrowed socks, waiting to see if they were orphans.<\/p>\n And somewhere in the dark, someone had dru:gged Camila and gone searching for the gh:ost of a dea:d man.<\/p>\n He walked back to the bench.<\/p>\n Luz looked up, her gray eyes searching his. \u201cIs Mom going to di:e?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman didn’t believe in making promises he couldn’t enforce.<\/p>\n But he knelt in front of her anyway.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n She stared at him. \u201cYou don’t know that for sure.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d<\/em> he agreed. \u201cI don’t. But I know this: no one is laying a finger on her again. No one is coming for you. Not while I\u2019m still breathing.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Something flickered in Luz\u2019s expression. Not trust\u2014not yet.<\/p>\n But the foundation was being poured.<\/p>\n Three hours later, the doors opened.<\/p>\n The hallway stood as one.<\/p>\n Valeria and Luz clung to each other.<\/p>\n Roman remained motionless, as if moving might break the spell.<\/p>\n \u201cThe surgery was successful,\u201d<\/em> the doctor announced. \u201cShe\u2019s alive. She\u2019s stable. But the next twenty-four hours are critical.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Valeria burst into tears of relief.<\/p>\n Luz closed her eyes and let out a breath that sounded decades old.<\/p>\n Roman bowed his head once.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s one more thing,\u201d<\/em> the doctor added. \u201cThe nurses found bru:ising on her upper arm. Fresh.<\/em><\/p>\n Finger marks. Someone grabbed her with a lot of force.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora cur:sed under her breath.<\/p>\n The doctor looked at Roman. \u201cIf there\u2019s a thre:at to her safety, I suggest police involvement.\u201d<\/em> Unknown number.<\/p>\n He answered without moving.<\/p>\n A voice, smooth as oil and twice as slick, filled his ear.<\/p>\n \u201cBad night, Roman?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Declan Shaw.<\/p>\n Roman\u2019s face didn’t flicker, but the air around him seemed to thicken.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have five seconds,\u201d<\/em> Roman said.<\/p>\n Declan laughed softly. \u201cSecrets are funny things. You can bu:ry them under seven years and two kids, but they always find the light.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman said nothing.<\/p>\n Declan\u2019s voice turned to steel.<\/p>\n \u201cBring me Diego\u2019s drive, or next time those little girls won\u2019t get an ambulance.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The line went de:ad.<\/p>\n By sunrise, Roman Velez had crossed lines he once thought were absolute.<\/p>\n First, the girls were never leaving his sight.<\/p>\n Second, Declan Shaw was already a corpse; he just hadn’t stopped walking yet.<\/p>\n Third, if saving Camila meant bu:rning his empire to the ground, he would be the one to light the match.<\/p>\n The hospital social worker fought him at every turn.<\/p>\n Roman expected that. Men with his reputation didn’t usually get the benefit of the doubt from women with clipboards.<\/p>\n But Nora stayed by his side. The girls refused to let go of him. And when the head of hospital security informed the worker that Roman\u2019s private detail had already intercepted a “suspicious individual” on the ICU floor, the bureaucracy buckled.<\/p>\n There was no court order.<\/p>\n Only the ancient truth: children knew where they were safe.<\/p>\n Luz and Valeria left the hospital bundled in oversized coats, carrying a grocery bag of their lives and a framed photo Valeria wouldn’t let go of.<\/p>\n The black SUV moved through a freezing Chicago dawn.<\/p>\n Valeria fell asleep against Roman\u2019s side before they reached the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n Luz stayed awake.<\/p>\n Watching.<\/p>\n As they pulled into the alley of Roman\u2019s brownstone, she finally spoke. \u201cDo bad men always live in houses like this?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora nearly snapped her neck turning around.<\/p>\n Roman stepped out into the biting cold. \u201cDepends on what you call bad.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Luz climbed out, ignoring his hand. \u201cThe kind my mom used to pray about.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The line h:it him with the force of a physical blow.<\/p>\n Roman didn’t answer.<\/p>\n Inside, the house was a monument to lonely wealth. No fingerprints. No toys. No life.<\/p>\n Valeria woke up and looked at the high ceilings. \u201cDo you live here all by yourself?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman shed his coat. \u201cYeah.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s sad,\u201d<\/em> she noted.<\/p>\n Jonah coughed to hide a smirk. Even Nora couldn’t help but smile.<\/p>\n Roman stared at his daughter, then felt a strange, alien breath of humor. \u201cYeah,\u201d<\/em> he said. \u201cTurns out it is.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He cleared the staff, keeping only those he trusted. He had the pantry filled with food Nora insisted children actually ate. For a surreal hour, Roman Velez stood in his kitchen holding a box of Lucky Charms like it was a live grenade.<\/p>\n Valeria watched him from a stool.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve never done this before,\u201d<\/em> she said.<\/p>\n Roman looked at her. \u201cThat obvious?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou pour like a businessman.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Luz almost smiled.<\/p>\n Nora took the milk from his hand. \u201cStep aside, Al Capone.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The girls ate.<\/p>\n Valeria chattered in small bursts. Luz watched Roman like a wolf watching a lion\u2014respectful of the power, but wary of the teeth.<\/p>\n Finally, Luz asked the question. \u201cDid you know about us?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman set his coffee down.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf I had known,\u201d<\/em> Roman said, his voice absolute, \u201cyou would never have grown up without me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Valeria swung her legs. \u201cThen why didn’t Mom tell you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman leaned against the counter. \u201cBecause seven years ago, your uncle Diego di:ed. Your mom believed I was the one who did it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora\u2019s head came up.<\/p>\n Luz stared. \u201cDid you?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman looked her in the eye.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The answer was so blunt it was impossible not to believe he meant it.<\/p>\n Nora broke the tension. \u201cCamila found Roman\u2019s lighter at the scene where Diego was kil:led.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman\u2019s eyes narrowed to slits. \u201cWhat lighter?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSilver. Engraved initials.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n His face darkened.<\/p>\n \u201cDeclan gave me that lighter for my thirtieth birthday.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora\u2019s breath hitched.<\/p>\n The house went silent.<\/p>\n \u201cThe night Diego di:ed,\u201d<\/em> Roman said, \u201cDeclan told me Camila had vanished. Told me she\u2019d stolen money and run off with another man. I searched for her for years. Every lead was a de:ad end.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Nora stared. \u201cYou\u2019re saying he played you both.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m saying he wrote the script.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n By noon, Benny Crowe was in a warehouse by the river.<\/p>\n He was strapped to a chair, bleeding, and smelling of his own ter:ror.<\/p>\n Roman stood before him, suit jacket off, sleeves rolled up.<\/p>\n \u201cWho gave the order?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny spat blo:od. \u201cYou know who.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman leaned in. \u201cSay it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDeclan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhy Camila?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny looked at the floor. Marcus stepped forward. Roman held up a hand.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/em> Roman repeated.<\/p>\n \u201cHe said she had something,\u201d<\/em> Benny whined. \u201cSomething her brother kept. A drive. He said if she ever showed her face, we take it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAnd the girls?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny\u2019s voice trembled. \u201cDeclan didn’t know for sure until last week. He saw her at Rosie\u2019s Grill. Saw the photo by the register. He put it together.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman went cold. Rosie\u2019s Grill.<\/p>\n She had been ten miles away the whole time.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he give her?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny flinched. \u201cPills. Crushed in her coffee. Just enough to make her crash. I was supposed to get the drive while she was out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBut she made it home.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you put your hands on her.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Benny\u2019s lips shook. \u201cShe fought back.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman stood up.<\/p>\n When Roman was done, Benny was alive\u2014but barely.<\/p>\n Jonah asked, \u201cYou want me to make the call?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman wiped his hands. \u201cNo. He doesn’t d:ie yet. De:ad men can\u2019t talk. Living men can testify.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman walked out into the steel-gray Chicago afternoon and dialed a number he hadn’t used in years. \u201cWho is this?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSomeone with enough corruption evidence to sink the city,\u201d Roman said. \u201cIf you want it, come alone in twenty minutes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He called the brownstone. Nora answered.<\/p>\n \u201cAre they fed?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cAre you armed?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI have your kitchen knives.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cRoman,\u201d<\/em> Nora\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe little one dropped the picture frame. The back cracked open. There\u2019s something taped inside.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman was in the car before Jonah could open the door.<\/p>\n He found Nora in the library.<\/p>\n The photo was simple: the twins at four years old, Camila smiling behind them.<\/p>\n Taped inside the back was a black USB drive.<\/p>\n \u201cDiego believed in hiding things where men wouldn’t look,\u201d Nora said.<\/p>\n Roman picked it up.<\/p>\n Luz was standing in the doorway. \u201cIs that the thing people are hur:ting Mom for?\u201d<\/em> Valeria appeared behind her. \u201cIs it treasure?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYeah,\u201d<\/em> Roman replied. \u201cThe kind no one wants.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n He opened the drive on an air-gapped laptop.<\/p>\n LEDGERS. <\/strong><\/p>\n PAYOFFS. <\/strong><\/p>\n DIEGOL_AUDIO.<\/strong><\/p>\n He clicked the audio. Diego\u2019s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re hearing this, I was right to be scared.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Diego explained everything. Declan had been skimming for years, but not money\u2014routes. Contacts. He\u2019d built a shadow empire under Roman\u2019s nose. Pills, human trafficking, bought judges.<\/p>\n Then the hollowing truth: Diego had evidence that Declan had engineered the war that ki:lled Roman\u2019s father.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants her gone,\u201d<\/em> Diego\u2019s voice crackled. \u201cBecause as long as you love something, Roman, he can\u2019t own you.\u201d<\/em> Jonah whispered, \u201cHe made you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Roman looked at the screen. \u201cNo. He made what he could use.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Camila woke at 4:13 PM.<\/p>\n The ICU was a blur of machines and white light.<\/p>\n \u201cMy girls?\u201d<\/em> she gasped.<\/p>\n
\nLuz didn\u2019t cry.<\/p>\n
\nThen the other twin stood.<\/p>\n
\nRoman\u2019s phone buzzed.<\/p>\nPART 2<\/h1>\n
\nAssistant U.S. Attorney Elena Ruiz.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cMaybe,\u201d<\/em> Roman said.<\/p>\n
\nSilence.<\/p>\n