Chapter 209 Part Of The Plan Roman I didn’t know what hurt more. The truth itself or the way Savannah reacted to it. Maybe it was knowing that the woman I loved with every cell in me… the woman I would die for… the woman who carried my child…was born to one of the men I hated most in the world. Or maybe it was the fact that the moment the words left Paula's mouth, she looked at me like I was the threat. Then she took that single step backwards. A tiny movement. But it gutted me. She drew back with her hands shielding our baby as if I might lunge at her for being Jace Hart’s daughter. Her eyes were wide—not angry, not confused—but afraid. Afraid of me. Something inside my chest cracked open. “Savannah?” My voice felt like it scraped up my throat. I reached out to touch her, just her hand, something small. She stared at my hand like it was a weapon. Then she stepped back again.My stomach dropped. My pulse punched hard against my ribs. And everything I thought we were—everything we had survived—wavered. “Savannah. Come here,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, soft, anything but what I was feeling. But it came out stern. Too sharp. She flinched. “No.” Her whisper was so small it barely made a sound. She flicked her gaze toward Paula, toward the other men in the room, toward the danger she thought was suddenly all around her. My jaw clenched. “God dammit,” I muttered, then closed the distance because I couldn’t stand another second of that space between us. I grabbed her arm—not harshly, but firmly enough to keep her from pulling away—and guided her toward the corner of the room. She ripped free instantly. “Let go of me, Roman!” “What is wrong with you?” I demanded, trying but failing to swallow the hurt. “You tell me!” she threw back. “Why did you look at me that way?” The accusation stopped me cold. “What? What way?”She swallowed, her throat bobbing as she looked over at the others again. “Like…you hated me.” “What?!” The word exploded out of me. “Savannah, how could I hate you? What are you even talking about? I could never—ever—hate you.” But she was already retreating inside herself, her breaths coming fast, her eyes darting, her arms tightening around her body like she expected the whole room to turn on her at any moment. “Well, you can’t blame me,” she said breathlessly. “Didn’t you hear Paula? She called Jace Hart her boss. My uncle. My biological father.” Her voice shook. “And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, then you know my father is involved in Dahlia’s death. And maybe… even worse.” She swiped furiously at her tears. “So tell me—am I wrong to try and protect myself and my child?” I stared at her, stunned because I understood her fear—but I still couldn’t believe she thought I was the danger. “Are you your father?” I asked quietly. She blinked. “What?” “Unless you somehow transformed into Jace Hart overnight, I don’t see why we’re even having this conversation, Savannah.”“He’s my father!” she yelled, stepping back again, shaking her head like she was spiraling. “For all I know, you’re trying to deceive me.” My heart dropped straight to the floor. “Deceive you?” I looked at my hands, then back at her. “Wait—wait, do you think I’m going to hurt you? Because he’s your dad? Are you fucking serious, Sav? After everything we’ve been through?” She didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. The silence was enough to break me. “You hate those five men,” she whispered. “You even hate Chloe and she’s Julius’s real daughter. What am I supposed to think?” I fought the urge to drag my hands through my hair. “Alyssa is Julius’s daughter too! And the circumstances aren’t even the same. Why are we even having this discussion? What’s gotten into you?” But she stepped back again. The third time. And that one felt like a punch. “Stop running from me,” I snapped before I could stop myself. I grabbed her arm—not violently, not with anger but desperation—and pulled her back. “Look at me. I’m not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you. And honestly? It’s disappointing—hell, it’s painful—that you even think I could.” Her chin trembled. She wiped her tears again, but more kept falling. “What am I supposed to think? You and Reese have spent years hating these people. You want revenge. You want justice for Dahlia. What happens when Reese finds out my biological father is one of them? It’s going to get ugly. He’ll want revenge for your late wife.” “Reese won’t touch you,” I said instantly. “He won’t come near you. I won’t let him.” She shook her head. “How can you be sure? Why wouldn't Reese blame me for my father’s crimes?” “And why would he blame you?” I countered. “Savannah, listen to yourself.” “Well, what am I supposed to think?!” she shouted finally, voice cracking at the edges. “My biological father is the Medicine Man! This is messed up!” Her breathing was starting to spiral, her panic climbing higher and higher. I wanted to reach for her, to touch her, pull her into my chest, anything—but I knew if I reached too fast, she’d just recoil again. Before I could answer, a voice cut cleanly through the room. “Jace Hart is your biological father?” Paula’s voice.Savannah stiffened. I turned. Paula was still tied, still being watched, still bandaged and shaken, yet somehow still capable of sticking her nose exactly where it didn’t fucking belong. Chloe’s head snapped toward Savannah too, eyes wide with disgust. “What are you talking about, Savannah? You mean… uncle Jace is like your… real dad?” Her face twisted like she’d tasted something foul. “Ew.” Savannah ignored her completely and stepped closer to Paula. “Yes. Your boss is my real father. What’s it to you?” Paula’s eyes darted away. “Nothing. Nothing.” But there was something in her voice—an edge, a tremor, a swallowed truth. So I stepped forward. “Go on,” I said, my voice low. “Spit it out while I’m still being nice.” Paula hesitated. Her lips parted. Closed. She sucked in a slow breath, her eyes flicking toward Chloe and then away again. Finally, she spoke. “He told me to get close to Chloe.” The room froze. “He knew she was unstable.” Paula continued. “He told me to feed her drugs. He wanted her addicted. He told me to get close to her… and to seduce her.”“What?” I barked. “That’s not true,” Chloe whispered, shaking her head as if she could shake away the words. Savannah stepped forward. “Why would he ask that of you? He dotes on Chloe.” Paula looked down, shame spreading across her face like she hated herself for the truth. “Because he wanted revenge for his daughter,” she whispered. “And this was part of the plan.”