Chapter 184 Where Are The Tapes? Reese The kitchen was warm in that quiet, late-night way that felt unreal. The kind of warmth that only comes when the house is sleeping and the world outside is black and still. The cake baked slowly in the oven. The overhead light cast a soft yellow glow that made the flour particles floating in the air look like dust motes dancing. The scent of vanilla, sugar and freshly baked cake lingered between us. Almost comforting. Roman had barely spoken through most of the baking. His movements were automatic and slow. Scoop. Level. Pour. Stir. He looked like a man who was trying not to think but failing miserably. His jaw clenched when something crossed his mind. His shoulders tightened and released. His breathing was just a little too careful, like he was holding himself together with thread. I watched him in small glances. I did not press him with questions. I did not poke at wounds that were already bleeding. I knew grief when I saw it. The raw kind. The kind that did not scream or throw things. The kind that sat quietly in your chest and kept your lungs from working.The last thing I wanted was for Roman to hate himself for Dahlia. He had lived long enough in the dark. If I let silence swallow him now, he would drown. So I tried to give him a little grace. To give him something else. Something soft. Something that reminded him of what Dahlia really was instead of what he had convinced himself to believe. Until now. “She made a portrait of you,” I said gently, without looking at him right away. “I kept it.” His hand stopped moving. Slowly, he turned his head toward me. “I never even knew she loved to paint. Heck, I never knew she could even paint.” “She did.” I felt a small smile pull at the corner of my lips, one that hurt. “It was Dahlia’s favorite thing. She loved it. She loved painting anything and everything. It was something they could never take away from her.” He exhaled, long and shaky. His fingers gripped the edge of the counter as though it could keep him upright. “I feel like an asshole. I feel like the worst person on earth, Reese.” His voice was quiet, almost inaudible. “I played a part in her death and yet—” He paused and shut his eyes so tight it looked painful. “For years, I believed she betrayed me.” There it was. The wound he never let breathe.“Don't do that, Roman. She wouldn't want you to do that. Dahlia would want you to be happy. I'm certain she's happy wherever she is, looking down at you and Savannah.” He laughed, though it came out rough, sharp, without any real joy. “I highly doubt that. Who would be happy to see her husband happily move on with someone else?” Without hesitation, I answered. “Dahlia. The woman I knew would be happy that you're happy now with a whole baby on the way. That was all that mattered to her. And I'm certain that has not changed.” Roman’s face twisted. His hands trembled. “Fuck.” The word fell out of him, cracked and splintered. He dragged both hands down his face like he wanted to tear through his own skin. “I'm so stupid. I was such a shitty person. The last discussion I remember having with her was an accusation. Looking back now all I did was attack her and accuse her of being unfaithful and getting pregnant for another man. I was so stupid. I should have seen the signs. I should have known she was depressed. I should have—” I moved before he could finish, before he could take another swing at himself. My arms wrapped tight around him. I did not think. I did not plan. I just held him.“That's enough.” I told him, holding him tight. “It's okay.” It struck me a second later. This was the first time I had hugged my brother in years. Eight? Nine? Ten? I did not know anymore. I only knew the distance between us had grown so large that I stopped measuring it. To my surprise, Roman did not flinch away from me. He did not stiffen. He did not pretend he did not need it. Instead, he clutched me back. “That's enough now,” I said quietly, my voice thick. “It's all in the past now. I'm sure she never held anything against you. Dahlia is finally at peace now, brother. It's time to forgive yourself.” “Still doesn't make it an easier pill to swallow, Reese.” His voice was strained and gravelly as his hand fisted the back of my shirt. “I held a lie against you both for years. I believed that you betrayed me. I was stupid. I—” “It's okay. You were grieving. I don't hold anything against you. Nothing. Father played all of us for fools. He's the one who deserves to suffer. And I swear I'm gonna make sure he gets what's coming to him.” Roman pulled back just enough to look at me. His eyes no longer looked like they were drowning. They looked sharpened. Focused. Dangerous. “I'll kill them,” he said. “I'll wipe out as many of them who dared lay a finger on my wife.” The air changed. It became heavier. Charged. I nodded because there was nothing else to say. Because I felt the same. Those bastards needed to pay with their lives. “Yes. But first of all we need to get the tapes. I hate the fact that he has them. I hate the fact that he gets to see her that way. That he watches her. That he has the power to replay her pain whenever he pleases. It is an insult to her memory. It is disgusting.” Roman lifted his head fully, the shift from grief to war happening right before me. “Where are they? Where are the tapes? Do you have any idea where he kept them?” I nodded. “Yes. They're in his study. There's a bookshelf by the left. It's not exactly a bookshelf. There's a secret room behind it. That's where he watches and records. And that's where the tapes are.” Roman nodded, jaw tight. “Then I'll go there and I'll get them. And I swear to God if anyone tries to stop me or get in my way, I'll make it rain blood in Blackwood Manor.” The words fell like iron. Not a threat. A promise.“That's scary. You sound like the OG badass anti-heros. Just like The Joker.” We both turned to the voice coming from the doorway. “Elizabeth.” I growled the name before I could stop myself. “How long have you been standing there?” “Shouldn't you be in bed, Lizzie?” Roman asked. “Long enough.” She leaned off the doorway and walked toward us, that familiar mischievous spark in her eyes. “You two must be dumb to think you can scream at one in the morning and not wake the whole house up.” Roman rubbed a hand down his face. “Oh great.” My eyes flicked from her flimsy nightgown to the robe that was slipping off one shoulder. And my mind immediately reminded me of earlier when I climaxed thinking of her and not Penny. “What do you want? Why are you out of bed?” Elizabeth stopped at the counter and set her palm down with a sharp slap. “I'm going to help you take down this son of a bitch.” Roman exhaled a quiet curse. “Savannah is going to kill me.”“Whatever you are planning to do to that monster you call a father, count me in.” Silence snapped through the room like a wire pulled taut. Roman stared. I stared. She stared right back, unbothered. Holy fucking hell. This just turned into a war council.