Page 333 of Blackwood

I sigh. “We really connected at Nationals. He’s… trying.” My voice dips. “And he’s the only parent I have left.”

That softens them both. Just a little.

“Look,” I say, reaching for their hands. “If I’m not back down in thirty minutes, you can come barge in like the overprotective psychos I know and love.”

Lex narrows his eyes. “Ten.”

“Twenty,” I counter.

“Ten,” he snaps again.

Cade holds up a hand. “Fifteen.”

We all look at each other.

“Fine,” Lex and I say in unison.

I pull them both in. “I love you.”

Cade kisses my forehead. “We’ll be right here.”

Lex tugs my wrist, pressing his lips to my knuckles. “Fifteen minutes, baby.”

And then I step into the elevator.

Roman’s office is quiet. Dark wood. Heavy silence. He stands as I enter, warmth flickering in his eyes. “I’m glad you came.”

I offer a soft smile. “Me too. Thanks again for coming to Nationals. It meant a lot to me, having you there.”

He walks around the desk, motions for me to sit. “It meant a lot to me, too. Watching you dance was something else. Thank you for allowing me to be there.”

I sit. “Well, we had to make sure you got your money’s worth.”

That earns a low chuckle. “You’re as dangerous as your mother was. Maybe more.”

He lifts a folder from the desk. Thick. Formal. My pulse picks up.

“I wanted to talk to you about something. Something real,” he begins. “I once told you that NOX and The Obsidian, they were yours if you wanted them. And I meant it. These”—he gestures to the documents—“are the formal deeds. Transfer agreements. Corporate control. Everything I’ve built, tied up in the shell corps and offshore trusts, all of it.”

I stare. “What are you saying?”

“I want to name you, my heir. Publicly. Formally. Isabella Marie Russo. You can keep using Blackwood or hyphenate it, that’s all up to you. Just legally on paper, I’d love for you to become a Russo. My daughter.”

The words land like bricks.

“Don’t worry about the businesses or any of that just yet. I’m still here, so legally we’d be co-owners. But when the time comes,” he shrugs lightly. “It’ll all be yours.”

My heart is thudding now. “Roman, that’s—”

“Big. I know.” His gaze softens. “But so are you. You’re not a little girl anymore, Bella. You’re a force. You’re fire and legacy and blood. You are mine. And I think it’s time that the world knows it.”

His eyes drift toward the window, watching The Obsidian below. “I just wanted to give you something. After all the years I wasn’t there for you.”

My phone buzzes in my pocket.

LEX:Clock’s ticking baby

I roll my eyes, then glance up at Roman. “I don’t know what to say.”