Chapter 154 I'll Make Him Pay Roman It was a little after two in the morning when my phone began ringing on the nightstand, disrupting the peace and quiet. The sound was sharp enough to rattle me awake, and loud enough to make Savannah stir beside me while mumbling something incoherent. I reached over, careful not to jostle her, and turned down the volume. But the screen flashed again, insistent. Savannah blinked drowsily, her lashes fluttering as she rubbed her eyes. “Who’s calling?” she asked, her voice still thick with sleep. I squinted at the caller ID. “It’s the private investigator,” I said, sitting up against the headboard. “The one handling the Zane case.” That woke her up completely. She pushed herself upright, hair messy and eyes wide. “Well, answer it! He might have news about Chloe—or Zane!” I accepted the call and put it on speaker. “Cole?” “Sorry to wake you, Mr. Blackwood,” came the man’s gruff voice, faint static lining the edges.“It’s fine,” I said, rubbing a hand down my face. “Tell me you’ve got something.” There was a pause. “I do. But I’ve got good news and bad news.” Savannah leaned closer, her eyes locked on the phone like it might spit out the truth any second. “Let’s start with the bad,” I said. “Zane Rubio doesn’t live in Los Angeles anymore,” Cole replied. “He’s gone. Moved out permanently.” Savannah’s face fell. Her shoulders slumped, disappointment hitting her hard. “And the good news?” I asked, hoping there’d at least be something to soften the blow. Cole exhaled. “We tracked him down to Capri. He's settled in as a local tattoo artist.” Savannah’s head snapped toward the phone. “What?” she blurted. “Capri, Italy? Are you serious?” “Dead serious,” Cole said. “He left about three weeks ago. According to his landlord, he skipped town in a hurry. Packed up overnight, didn’t even bother collecting the rest of his rent. Just disappeared.” She stared at the phone, jaw tight. “That bastard.” Her voice shook with rage. “He knows what he did. He knows what happened to Chloe. That’s why he ran. He’s guilty, Roman. He must have hurt her, and now he’s hiding halfway across the world because he knows the law’s coming for him.” Her voice rose, her whole body trembling. I reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently. “Sav. Breathe. Calm down, my love.” She shook her head, her eyes bright with fury. “No, I won’t calm down. That sick fuck played us. He framed Dean, don’t you see it? He set this whole thing up!” Then she turned to me suddenly, her voice lower but trembling with conviction. “Wait. What if this isn’t about Chloe being gone at all? What if she’s in on it with him?” That made me pause. I studied her, then looked away, mulling over her words. Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past that psychotic little bitch. Chloe had always struck me as the type who’d light a match just to watch the world burn. The girl once plotted an entire wedding scheme just to humiliate Savannah. Then faked a pregnancy to trap her co-conspirator. A mind like that didn’t play fair, it played deep. “I wouldn’t rule it out,” I admitted. “Your sister’s got a few screws loose up there, Sav. If she’s alive, and she’s hiding with him, that tells me she’s not a victim, she’s an accomplice.”Savannah’s mouth twisted in anger, and pain flickered in her eyes. “You're right.” I turned back to the phone. “Cole, any sign he’s not alone? Anyone he might be living with? Hanging around?” Cole hesitated. “My sources say he’s alone. No woman’s been seen with him, no roommate. He keeps to himself. But… that doesn’t mean she isn’t there. She could be living under a different name, laying low.” Savannah leaned closer to the phone. “Can you look into it? Please. If she’s using another identity, find out who she’s pretending to be. And if you can’t find her—then give me Zane’s address.” Her tone hardened, determination cutting through her exhaustion. “Because I’ll find him myself. I’ll fly to Italy if I have to. And I swear to God, if he’s hurt my sister, I’ll—” “Sav,” I interrupted softly, but she kept going. “—I’ll make him pay,” she finished, her voice trembling with restrained fury. Cole cleared his throat. “I’ll keep digging. I’ll let you know as soon as I have anything concrete.” “Do that,” I said. “And keep this between us. No leaks.” “Yes, Mr. Blackwood.”I ended the call and placed the phone on the nightstand. The room was quiet again, but the air felt a bit charged. Savannah lay back slowly, turning onto her side. Her voice was quieter now, frayed at the edges. “I meant what I said. I’m going to Italy.” I frowned, lying beside her. “Sav, you shouldn’t even care about Chloe. Why risk that kind of trip for her?” She hesitated, then turned toward me, her expression softening. “Because she’s still my sister, Roman. And mostly because my mom brought her up the other day when I was showing her my ring.” Her voice broke slightly. “It… it made me hate Chloe a little more at first. Like no matter what I do, I’ll always be second place. There’s always a bigger space for Chloe in everyone’s heart.” Her words hit me deeper than I expected. She looked away, blinking fast, trying not to cry. “But then I realized how selfish that sounded. Mom’s been through enough with the cancer. No mother should have to die without knowing where her child is. So I have to go. Even if it kills me.” I rolled toward her, sliding closer until our foreheads almost touched. “You’re not going anywhere alone,” I said quietly. “If you’re going to Italy, then I’m going too.”Her breath hitched, and a tear slid down her cheek. “Roman, you don’t have to—” “I do.” I brushed the tear away with my thumb. “Because if this man’s responsible for what happened to Chloe, I want to be there when he pays for it. And if she’s alive…” I sighed. “If she’s alive, then you’ll need someone there to keep you from losing yourself.” She looked up at me then, eyes glassy, mouth trembling. “You’d really do that for me?” “I’d do anything for you,” I said, my voice low. “You should know that already.” Her lip quivered, and the tears came harder this time. She pressed a hand against my chest and buried her face there, shaking silently. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her in until I could feel the beat of her heart against mine. “Don’t cry,” I murmured against her hair. “There might be room for Chloe in everyone else’s heart, but not mine. Never in mine.” She sniffled, looking up at me through wet lashes. “My heart belongs to you, Savannah,” I whispered, brushing my thumb over her cheek. “Always has. Always will. You’ve completely ruined me for anyone else.” A weak laugh escaped her, half sob, half breath. “You really mean that?” I smiled faintly. “You think I’d say something that dramatic at two in the morning if I didn’t?” That earned a small chuckle from her, and she wiped her face with the back of her hand. I kissed her hairline softly, breathing her in. Her arms tightened around me again. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For loving me the way you do. No one's ever loved me this way.” “Don’t thank me.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. “Just don’t ever doubt it.” For a while, we lay in silence. The only sounds were her uneven breaths. My hand stayed on her back, tracing small circles as I stared at the ceiling, my mind racing. Capri. Zane Rubio had fled across the world. That kind of move wasn’t spontaneous—it was strategic. Planned to look spontaneous when it actually wasn't. He was hiding something, maybe someone. And if Chloe was alive and part of this… then the game we thought we were playing had just changed completely. Savannah shifted closer, her hand finding mine under the sheets.“You think he really did it?” she asked softly. “You think he hurt her?” I hesitated. “I think,” I said slowly, “that people like Zane don’t run unless they’ve got a loud mouth they don't trust to stay shut. Press the right buttons and he'll sing like a fucking canary.” She was quiet for a while. Then, barely above a whisper, she said, “Then I’ll find him. No matter what it takes.” There was a determination in her tone that chilled me, the kind that could push someone past reason. I kissed her forehead again and closed my eyes. “Then we’ll find him together.” But even as I said it, I wasn’t sure who bothered me more—the man hiding in Italy, or the fire burning inside the woman lying beside me. Because when Savannah set her heart on revenge, there was no going back. I mean, that's what led us to this point. When Savannah wants revenge, she'll do anything to get it. And God help anyone standing in her way.