Chapter 6 - THE NIGHT GABRIEL LOST CONTROL
The first time I saw Gabriel lose control, he didn't raise his voice.
He stopped breathing.
We were in Laura's office, reviewing records from the old shipping investigation.
A video had surfaced from a warehouse security camera.
The image was grainy.
The timestamp read October 16, 2015.
A young Gabriel stood inside a loading bay.
His wrists were bound.
Three men surrounded him.
One struck him.
Another grabbed his shoulders.
Gabriel's face on the screen changed.
Then the footage showed someone reaching toward his neck.
Beside me, present-day Gabriel went completely still.
His breathing shortened.
His hands gripped the arms of his chair.
“Gabriel?”
He didn't answer.
Laura stopped the video immediately.
I turned toward him.
His eyes were open, but he seemed unable to focus.
“Gabriel, look at me.”
Nothing.
I remembered what he'd told me about being held in the warehouse.
About touch.
About pain.
I wanted to reach for him.
But I didn't.
Instead, I moved slightly away.
“Gabriel, you're in Laura's office. It's not happening now.”
His chest rose sharply.
“Victor?”
His voice was barely audible.
“Victor isn't here,” I said. “It's Maya.”
His hands trembled.
I kept my voice calm.
“You don't have to watch any more.”
Several seconds passed.
Then he looked at me.
Recognition returned slowly.
His face crumpled with shame.
“I'm sorry.”
I shook my head.
“For what?”
He looked away.
“For that.”
I stared.
“Gabriel, you just watched footage of someone hurting you.”
He swallowed.
“Men in my position aren't supposed to react like that.”
“Then men in your position have been taught something very stupid.”
Laura remained respectfully silent.
Gabriel looked at me.
For a moment, he seemed almost twenty-five again.
Then he whispered, “Can you sit beside me?”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
I moved my chair closer.
He looked at my hand.
Then said, “May I hold it?”
My heart tightened.
“Yes.”
He took my hand carefully.
His grip was warm.
Unsteady.
Human.
---
Later, Gabriel told me something he had never told anyone outside his medical team.
After the kidnapping, he'd spent years receiving treatment for severe trauma symptoms.
He'd improved.
Then his father died.
He took over the Marino organization.
The violence surrounding the transition brought many symptoms back.
He began avoiding unexpected contact.
His men misinterpreted that boundary as a rule of punishment.
And Gabriel had allowed the myth to grow because people who feared touching him were also less likely to attack him.
“Men who touched you didn't disappear because of your trauma,” I said.
He looked down.
“Some disappeared because they were criminals who threatened my organization.”
“And others?”
He didn't answer immediately.
“Others were removed from my businesses. The rumors became larger than the facts.”
I studied him.
“Did you ever hurt someone simply for touching you?”
His expression hardened.
“I've hurt people. I'm not going to pretend otherwise.”
I swallowed.
“Then you need to take responsibility for that.”
He nodded slowly.
“I know.”
For the first time, I understood how complicated he was.
Not a monster from a fairy tale.
Not a misunderstood prince.
A man capable of kindness and wrongdoing.
A man whose suffering explained some things without excusing them.
I could care about him.
But I couldn't love him by pretending his past didn't matter.
---
That evening, Gabriel received a phone call from Victor.
His bodyguard sounded furious.
“Boss, Paul's attorney is threatening to release the security footage.”
Gabriel stiffened.
“What footage?”
“The original warehouse recording.”
I stared at him.
Gabriel's face turned pale.
“Where did he get it?”
Victor hesitated.
“That's what I'm trying to find out.”
Then another voice appeared on the line.
Paul.
“Hello, Gabriel.”
Gabriel stood.
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere your men can't reach.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“What do you want?”
Paul laughed softly.
“The same thing I've always wanted.”
“Money?”
“No.”
A pause.
Then Paul said:
“I want you to remember what happened to Elena.”
The line disconnected.
Gabriel stood motionless.
I approached carefully.
“What did he mean?”
He looked at me.
His eyes were dark with fear.
“He knows who ordered the explosion.”
“Who?”
Gabriel swallowed.
May you like
“My father.”
---
