LOGINShare
Chapter 14
publish date:
2026-03-12 19:04:08The Truth That Breaks
Silence filled the boardroom.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Every executive at the long glass table stared at Luca, who stood in the doorway.
The photograph lay in front of Damon.
Grainy.
Black and white.
But clear.
Luca Romano.
Outside Damon’s penthouse.
Holding a gun.
Three days before he was hired.
Damon’s voice was dangerously calm.
“Care to explain?”
Luca didn’t move.
He didn’t look at the board.
His eyes stayed locked on Damon.
This was the moment he had tried to avoid from the start.
The moment when Damon would finally see the truth.
And hate him for it.
One of the board members cleared his throat.
“Mr. Romano, you were asked a question.”
Still Luca didn’t speak.
Matteo leaned back in his chair, watching with quiet interest.
Damon tapped the photo against the table.
“Luca.”
That one word carried warning.
Demand.
And something else.
Hurt.
Finally, Luca stepped forward.
Slowly.
The room felt colder with each step he took.
“I can explain,” he said quietly.
“Good,” Damon replied.
“Because right now, it looks like you were stalking me.”
Luca stopped at the end of the table.
“I was.”
The words fell heavily.
Murmurs spread across the room.
Damon didn’t react right away.
He simply stared at Luca.
Waiting.
Hoping.
But Luca didn’t look away.
“Yes,” Luca repeated.
“I was watching you.”
The chairman leaned forward sharply.
“For what purpose?”
Luca didn’t answer him.
Instead, he kept his eyes on Damon.
Damon was the only person whose reaction mattered.
“Why?” Damon asked.
The word came out rough.
Luca exhaled slowly.
There was no way to soften what came next.
“I was hired.”
The boardroom fell silent again.
Damon’s jaw tightened.
“Hired by who?”
“I don’t know.”
The chairman scoffed.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s the truth.”
Damon leaned forward slightly.
“To do what?”
Luca hesitated.
Just for a second.
But that second was enough.
Damon’s eyes darkened.
“Say it.”
Luca forced the words out.
“To kill you.”
The air left the room.
Several board members stood up immediately.
One woman gasped loudly.
“Security!” someone shouted.
But Damon raised a hand.
And the room froze again.
His eyes never left Luca.
“You’re saying…”
Damon’s voice sounded hollow now.
“…you were hired to assassinate me.”
“Yes.”
The word echoed like a shot.
Damon laughed softly, but there was no humor in the sound.
“That’s funny.”
No one spoke.
“Because instead…”
Damon’s voice hardened.
“…I hired you.”
Luca nodded once.
“Yes.”
“And you accepted.”
“Yes.”
The tension between them felt unbearable.
Damon stood slowly.
His chair scraped against the floor.
“So let me understand this.”
He picked up the photograph again.
“You were outside my home with a gun.”
“Yes.”
“You were planning to kill me.”
“Yes.”
“And then you took a job protecting me.”
“Yes.”
Damon’s voice cracked with anger.
“Why?”
Luca hesitated.
The real answer was complicated.
But Damon deserved the truth.
“Because once I started watching you…”
He paused.
“…things didn’t make sense.”
The board members exchanged confused looks.
“What things?” Damon demanded.
“The threats against you.”
“The media attacks.”
“The pressure on the company.”
Luca’s gaze sharpened.
“Someone was creating a situation where your death would look natural.”
Damon frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean whoever hired me wanted your death to seem like the result of stress, scandal, or suicide.”
The room stirred uneasily.
Luca continued.
“But when I looked deeper, I realized something else.”
“What?”
“You weren’t the real target.”
Damon’s eyes narrowed.
“Then who was?”
Luca didn’t answer immediately.
He glanced briefly at Matteo.
Just for a moment.
But Matteo noticed.
And his smile faded slightly.
Damon saw the glance too.
His gaze sharpened.
“You think this is connected to my mother’s death.”
“Yes.”
The room went silent again.
The chairman shook his head.
“This is outrageous speculation.”
“No,” Luca said calmly.
“It’s a pattern.”
Damon folded his arms.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Luca looked at him.
“Would you have believed me?”
The question hung in the air.
Damon didn’t answer.
Because the truth was clear.
No.
He wouldn’t have.
Matteo finally spoke again.
His tone calm.
Measured.
“Damon… even if Luca’s story is true, the situation is unacceptable.”
Damon looked at him.
“How so?”
Matteo gestured toward Luca.
“This man admitted he was hired to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re still allowing him near you.”
Damon’s gaze returned to Luca.
“Did you ever intend to finish the job?”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
“How can I trust that?”
Luca didn’t hesitate this time.
“Because you’re still alive.”
The blunt answer stunned the room.
Damon studied him carefully.
“You had multiple opportunities.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t take them.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Luca’s voice softened.
“Because somewhere along the way…”
He stopped.
Damon waited.
“…you stopped being a target.”
The room held its breath.
Damon’s chest tightened.
“What did I become?”
Luca met his gaze fully.
“Someone I refused to lose.”
The words hung heavy in the air.
But before Damon could respond
The chairman slammed his hand on the table.
“This is unacceptable!”
All eyes turned toward him.
“The board cannot allow a confessed assassin to remain beside the CEO of this company.”
Matteo nodded slowly.
“I agree.”
Damon’s head snapped toward him.
Matteo’s expression looked regretful.
“Damon… for the sake of the company…”
He paused.
“…you may need to step down temporarily.”
The words hit like a hammer.
“What?”
Matteo sighed.
“Just until the investigation clears everything.”
The board members began murmuring in agreement.
Damon suddenly understood.
This wasn’t about Luca.
This was about removing him.
His eyes narrowed.
“You planned this.”
Matteo looked genuinely hurt.
“That’s unfair.”
Damon stood abruptly.
“You leaked those photos.”
“Damon”
“You set this whole thing up!”
The room erupted into arguments.
But Damon wasn’t listening anymore.
His mind was racing.
Because suddenly everything made sense.
The media attacks.
The board pressure.
The assassin contract.
Someone had been orchestrating this from the start.
And the only person who always seemed one step ahead…
Was Matteo.
Damon turned slowly toward Luca.
“Tell me something honestly.”
Luca nodded.
“Who hired you?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you spoke to someone.”
“Yes.”
“What was his name?”
Luca hesitated.
“Adrian.”
Damon froze.
He knew that name.
Very well.
Adrian Kessler.
The man who had handled Moreau Holdings’ private security contracts for years.
Which meant the person who hired Luca…
Had access to Damon’s inner circle.
Damon looked slowly across the table.
His gaze landed on Matteo.
Who was watching him with quiet interest.
And suddenly Damon realized something scary.
The enemy had never been outside his company.
He had been sitting at the same table the entire time.
Latest chapter
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 24
Chapter 24Rain hit Damon the second he stepped outside the station.Cold. Sharp. Immediate.It soaked through his shirt within seconds, but he barely noticed.His mind was already moving too fast.Matteo had Luca.Not the police.Not some nameless syndicate extraction team Damon could track through shell companies and security leaks.Matteo.Which meant this was no longer about strategy.No longer about corporate sabotage or boardroom manipulation or quiet financial corruption hidden behind polished glass and expensive suits.This was personal now.Terrifyingly personal.Because Matteo Laurent had just stopped pretending.Damon stood beneath the station awning for exactly three seconds before pulling out his phone and dialing Seraphine.She answered immediately.“You sound like you’re outside.”“I am.”“What happened?”Damon’s voice came out flatter than he intended.“Luca’s gone.”A pause.“Gone how?”“Not escaped.”He stepped into the rain and started toward his car.“Taken.”Serap
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 23
Damon forgot how to breathe.For one suspended, impossible second, all he could do was stare at the screen.His mother.Alive.Moving.Looking directly at him.Not as a memory.Not as a portrait on a wall or a voice trapped inside grief.But real enough to make his chest cave in.Evelyn Moreau sat at a polished desk, her posture still elegant despite the tension in her shoulders. She wore a dark silk blouse, her hair pinned back the way she always did when she was preparing for something difficult.There was fear in her eyes.Not panic.Not helplessness.Fear sharpened by certainty.Damon moved closer to the laptop without realizing he had stood.His fingers pressed against the desk hard enough to ache.On screen, Evelyn took a slow breath.“If you’re watching this, Damon…”Her voice wavered only slightly.“…it means Matteo finally made his move.”Damon shut his eyes briefly.Then opened them again.He couldn’t look away.“He may not move like other men,” Evelyn continued. “That has a
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 22
Damon didn’t sleep.By dawn, the city beyond the penthouse windows had turned pale and cold, washed in a gray light that made everything feel unreal.He was still sitting in his office.Still staring at the screen.Still looking at Matteo Laurent’s name on the financial authorization log like it might change if he blinked long enough.It didn’t.The transfer trail remained exactly where he’d found it buried beneath shell accounts, ghost signatures, and legacy executive codes.Lucius Moreau credentials.Reactivated.Used.And then routed through a private executive approval layer only three people should have been able to touch.Damon.Matteo.And his mother.His chest tightened.His father’s code.His mother’s investigation.Luca’s arrest.The fake video.The board pressure.Every road kept circling back to the same place.Matteo.Damon stood abruptly and paced the office, running a hand through his curls hard enough to sting.“No,” he muttered.Then louder:“No.”Because if this was
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 21
Chapter 21The video kept playing.Damon didn’t blink.The screen showed Luca standing inside the warehouse, shadows cutting across his face. Armed men surrounded him. Their voices were muffled by the recording, but Luca’s words were unmistakably clear.“I want the contract on Damon Moretti.”The clip ended.The tablet screen went black.For a moment, the world felt unnaturally quiet.Damon’s chest tightened.“That’s not the full video,” he said slowly.The detective studying him raised an eyebrow.“You’re certain?”“Yes.”“Why?”Damon hesitated.Because the truth sounded ridiculous.Because trusting Luca after seeing that footage felt almost irrational.But Damon still said it.“Because Luca wouldn’t say something like that without a reason.”The detective folded his arms.“Mr. Moretti, the man was arrested in a syndicate warehouse filled with illegal weapons and hired killers.”“I know.”“And you’re still defending him.”Damon’s jaw tightened.“I’m saying the situation isn’t what it
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 20
Red and blue lights flooded the shattered warehouse windows. Sirens screamed through the night. Luca didn’t move. Around him, the armed men reacted immediately. Some reached for their weapons, while others bolted toward the back exit. “Police!” someone shouted. “Everyone move!” The syndicate leader speaking with Luca cursed under his breath. “You brought them here.” Luca’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t.” The man didn’t seem convinced. “You think we’re stupid?” Outside, tires screeched as police vehicles surrounded the building. Megaphones crackled through the air. “THIS IS THE POLICE! EVERYONE INSIDE THE BUILDING DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!” The syndicate members scattered. Some ran while others prepared to fight. But Luca remained perfectly still. Something didn’t add up. The police had arrived too quickly and too precisely. It was almost as if someone had known exactly where he would be. The syndicate leader grabbed Luca by the collar and sl
Love wasn't in the contract Chapter 19
Chapter 19 The hospital hallway smelled like antiseptic and fear. Damon stood outside the ICU doors, staring through the glass window as doctors moved around the bed inside. His doctor,seraphine vale lay motionless beneath white sheets. Machines beeped steadily beside her. Alive. But barely. The assassin’s bullet had come frighteningly close to killing her this time. Damon pressed his hand against the cold glass. “How many times,” he whispered quietly, “do they plan to try?”Now everybody related to me will pay the price?!”Behind him, Luca leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. Watching. Thinking. Calculating. The attack had confirmed what Luca feared all along. This wasn’t just one enemy. It was a network. A syndicate. And Damon stood directly in the middle of it. That meant one thing. The people behind it would never stop.Luca looked at Damon again. The man looked exhausted. Not physically. Emotionally. Years of buried trauma were starting to surface, piece by piece. Firs
You may also like
You’re Courting Me?! (MxM)
Sen_TLP13.7K viewsMy Rival My lover
glorypens20.8K viewsThe Devil In A Suit
Night Raven19.1K viewsScammed of his heart
CandyK28.0K viewsThe Way He Looks At Me
Evermore16.7K viewsSeducing My Fiance's Uncle
Anne dia2.3K viewsHis Dangerous Possession
Bernice. G.92 viewsGroom Of Three Sins; Alpha's Mate is a Male?
Rida463 views
