Chapter 14

The 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.