I’ll Always Have Your Back
Dante
At Sandrine’s words, Valeria stiffens.
“No…”
I see the exact moment she thinks everything is over.
“No… I should’ve destroyed them… This is my fault. How could I ever believe I was strong enough to fight people like them?”
“Valeria, they don’t have anything. Do you hear me?”
But she’s in shock, crushed beneath her guilt.
I cup her face in my hands. She instinctively tries to pull away, but I don’t let go.
“Look at me. Valeria, look at me.”
My voice finally reaches her. She lifts her eyes to mine.
“They have nothing.”
“W-what?”
“Yasin stepped in yesterday. He moved all the NRX-889 research onto a server isolated from the main network. Everything: the formula, the protocols, the test reports. Impossible to access from the outside.”
I pause before adding:
“The files they copied only contain abandoned leads and unusable data.”
Her eyes widen.
“You did that?”
“Did you really think I was going to leave your work unprotected after everything you risked to defend it?”
“But…”
“I know. I let you believe otherwise.”
My voice lowers slightly.
“But you’re my wife. And even when we’re angry with each other, even when we disagree… I’ll always have your back.”
The last time she’d needed me, I hadn’t been there.
I couldn’t change the past.
But I would never let her fight alone again.
The tension drains from her shoulders.
She leans against me for a few seconds.
“Thank you…”
My arms close around her and I savor the moment, knowing it won’t last.
I missed her so much.
But the woman standing in front of me isn’t entirely the same one I once knew.
My wife was betrayed. Left for dead.
She came back carrying so many scars that it hurts just thinking about them.
When she finally pulls away, I let her go reluctantly.
“Come on. Follow me.”
Luc, the technical director, greets us as soon as we arrive.
Behind him, screens flicker with lines of code, red alerts, and activity logs.
“They exfiltrated several directories. Mostly archived R&D files from two years ago. We cut all external access while we patch the breach.”
I nod to show I understand.
Valeria’s suspicions are confirmed: they really are looking for NRX-889.
I pull out my phone and dial Andrea’s number.
“We have an update. An intrusion just now. Just like we expected, they found the breach and copied the files we wanted them to find. Bring Yasin back—we need to lock the whole system down.”
“We’re on our way.”
I hang up and turn back to Valeria.
“They’ll be here soon.”
Around us, the cybersecurity team moves frantically.
Andrea arrives fifteen minutes later, Yasin right behind him. My brother stops dead the second he sees Valeria, then a broad grin spreads across his face.
“Okay… I get it. Is this the official peace treaty? Can I hug my sister-in-law now?”
Valeria lets out a soft laugh and gets up to wrap her arms around him. Despite her warmth, I notice the tiny hesitation before she embraces him.
“You have no idea how much we missed you,” Andrea says.
She then turns to Yasin.
“Thank you. Without you, I...”
He immediately drops his gaze, visibly uncomfortable.
“Honestly, Dante is the one you should be thanking. He knew exactly what he wanted. I just carried it out.”
Then, before she has a chance to respond, he slips away to rejoin the cybersecurity team.
It’s well past noon by the time Valeria and I head back upstairs with Andrea for lunch.
Sandrine ordered catering, and the three of us settle into the conference room to eat.
“I’m going to call Stephen,” Valeria says. “It’s time you officially met him.”
Stephen arrives five minutes later.
The second he walks in, his eyes assess every person in the room.
A real professional.
I step forward and hold out my hand.
“We haven’t been officially introduced. Dante. Valeria’s husband.”
Yes, I chose those words deliberately.
I want him to know exactly who I am to her.
A brief silence follows my statement.
Valeria looks at me. Andrea too.
Then Stephen shakes my hand firmly.
“Stephen. The bodyguard.”
He puts extra emphasis on the word body, and Valeria bursts out laughing before smacking his arm.
“Ow. That actually hurt,” he complains.
I watch them, amused. I like their closeness. I’m glad she’s surrounded by loyal people willing to protect her.
We take our seats around the table, me to Valeria’s right.
Lunch is relaxed. Little by little, we start breaking the ice.
We’ve barely finished the main course when my phone starts ringing.
Bianca.
A cold wave of anger runs through me the moment her name appears on the screen.
This woman tried to kill my wife. I have the overwhelming urge to answer and tell her exactly what I think of her.
A soft but steady hand settles over mine.
I look down.
Valeria.
The anger immediately recedes, replaced by something calmer. Deeper.
Without thinking, I lift her hand to my lips and press a kiss against it.
I instantly feel her reaction.
A faint blush colors her cheeks before she gently pulls her hand away.
I let her. For now.
Then I turn toward Andrea.
Time to talk about the ugly part: Bianca’s role in Valeria’s disappearance.
When we finish explaining everything, Andrea lets out a long breath.
“Fuck… I always felt something was off about her, but imagining she was capable of something like this…”
“She didn’t act alone,” Valeria says calmly. “And there’s someone above her.”
In a few sentences, she explains the rest.
Wald. The attack.
Andrea stays silent for a moment before asking:
“So what do we do now?”
I turn toward Valeria and hold her gaze.
“We bring Wald down. And everyone else involved. And to do that…”
A pause.
“We use Bianca.”