Chapter 18

The Truth Matteo Wants  

Damon didn’t respond right away.  

Matteo’s voice came through the phone, calm and patient, like a man who knew he had control of the conversation.  

“I assume you’re still there,” Matteo said.  

Damon clenched his jaw.  

“I’m here.”  

Luca watched him closely from across the office.  

Matteo continued.  

“Good. Because what I’m about to say isn’t something we should discuss over the phone.”  

Damon leaned against his desk.  

“You already mentioned my mother. I think we’re past polite conversations.”  

A soft chuckle came through the speaker.  

“You’ve always been straightforward. I admire that about you.”  

Damon’s patience was wearing thin.  

“What do you want, Matteo?”  

“To help you.”  

Damon laughed, but it was cold.  

“You expect me to believe that?”  

“I expect you to listen.”  

Damon fell silent.  

Matteo lowered his voice.  

“Meet me in the private boardroom. Fifteen minutes.”  

“And why would I do that?”  

“Because if you don’t,” Matteo replied calmly, “you might never learn who really killed your mother.”  

The line went dead.  

Silence filled the office.  

Damon slowly lowered the phone.  

“Well,” he said.  

“That was subtle.”  

Luca crossed his arms.  

“You’re not going.”  

Damon looked up.  

“You heard him.”  

“I heard a trap.”  

Damon shrugged.  

“It probably is.”  

“And you’re still thinking about it.”  

“Yes.”  

Luca stared at him.  

“You can’t be serious.”  

Damon stepped away from the desk.  

“My mother died five years ago in what everyone called an accident.”  

Luca didn’t interrupt.  

“But if Matteo knows something about it…”  

He glanced back at Luca.  

“I have to hear it.”  

Luca ran a hand through his hair.  

“You realize this could be exactly what they want.”  

“Probably.”  

“They could be trying to isolate you.”  

“Also possible.”  

“And you’re still going.”  

Damon’s voice softened slightly.  

“I’ve spent five years wondering what really happened that night.”  

His eyes darkened.  

“If there’s even a chance Matteo knows the truth…”  

“…I’m taking it.”  

Luca sighed.  

“Then I’m coming with you.”  

“No.”  

“That wasn’t a request.”  

Damon smirked faintly.  

“You’re impossible.”  

“So are you.”  

Fifteen minutes later, they stepped into the private boardroom.  

The room was empty.  

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the city skyline, washed in the gray light of early evening.  

Damon walked slowly toward the long conference table.  

“Looks like we’re early.”  

Luca didn’t relax.  

“That’s not what worries me.”  

“What does?”  

“The fact that Matteo wanted this meeting.”  

Before Damon could reply, the door opened.  

Matteo stepped inside.  

Perfect suit.  

Calm smile.  

As if nothing in the world had changed.  

“Damon,” he said warmly.  

“Thank you for coming.”  

Damon didn’t return the smile.  

“You mentioned my mother.”  

Matteo glanced briefly at Luca.  

“And you brought company.”  

“He stays.”  

Matteo thought for a moment, then nodded.  

“Very well.”  

He walked toward the table and placed a thin folder down.  

“I assume you’ve been looking into the financial irregularities.”  

Damon’s expression hardened.  

“You mean the money used to hire assassins?”  

Matteo raised an eyebrow.  

“Such dramatic wording.”  

“It fits.”  

Matteo ignored the comment and opened the folder.  

“Tell me something, Damon.”  

“What?”  

“How much do you remember about the night your mother died?”  

Damon froze slightly.  

“That’s not relevant.”  

“On the contrary.”  

Matteo slid a photograph across the table.  

Damon picked it up.  

His breath caught.  

It was an old surveillance image.  

His mother leaving the Moretti headquarters late at night.  

Damon frowned.  

“This was taken the night she died.”  

“Yes.”  

“And?”  

Matteo leaned back in his chair.  

“She wasn’t supposed to be there that night.”  

Damon’s pulse quickened.  

“What do you mean?”  

“She had access to something.”  

“What something?”  

Matteo’s smile faded.  

“Company financial records.”  

Damon blinked.  

“My mother wasn’t involved in corporate operations.”  

“Officially, no.”  

“Then why was she looking at financial files?”  

Matteo folded his hands.  

“Because she suspected someone was stealing from the company.”  

Damon’s mind raced.  

“Stealing how?”  

“Large sums of money.”  

“For what purpose?”  

Matteo paused, then said quietly,  

“To fund a private security operation.”  

Damon’s stomach tightened.  

“Security?”  

“Yes.”  

“For eliminating threats.”  

The realization hit Damon slowly.  

“You mean assassinations.”  

Matteo nodded once.  

Damon stared at him.  

“So my mother discovered someone inside the company was paying killers.”  

“Yes.”  

“And then she conveniently died.”  

Matteo didn’t deny it.  

Damon’s voice turned sharp.  

“And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with that?”  

Matteo met his gaze calmly.  

“I didn’t say that.”  

The room went still.  

Even Luca shifted slightly.  

Damon’s voice dropped.  

“Explain.”  

Matteo leaned forward.  

“The night your mother died, she confronted the person responsible.”  

“Who?”  

Matteo didn’t answer right away.  

Instead, he asked a different question.  

“Do you remember who was the last person to see her alive?”  

Damon frowned.  

“The police said she left the building alone.”  

“Yes.”  

“But someone spoke to her before she left.”  

Damon’s pulse pounded.  

“Who?”  

Matteo looked directly at him.  

“You did.”  

The words hit like a shockwave.  

Damon blinked.  

“That’s not possible.”  

“You were here that night.”  

“I was twenty-two.”  

“Yes.”  

“And angry.”  

Damon shook his head.  

“I barely remember that night.”  

Matteo slid another document across the table.  

A security log.  

Damon’s name appeared clearly on it.  

Entry time.  

Exit time.  

His hands trembled slightly.  

“You’re saying I”  

“I’m saying,” Matteo interrupted gently, “that your mother died shortly after speaking with you.”  

Luca stepped forward.  

“This is manipulation.”  

Matteo shrugged.  

“Or truth.”  

Damon looked up slowly.  

“Why tell me this now?”  

Matteo’s eyes gleamed.  

“Because someone else is trying to kill you.”  

“And?”  

“And I believe that person is connected to the same secret your mother discovered.”  

Damon’s mind spun.  

“Then why haven’t you said who it is?”  

Matteo stood.  

“Because I’m not certain yet.”  

Luca scoffed.  

“You expect us to believe that?”  

Matteo looked back at Damon.  

“Tell me something.”  

“What?”  

“If someone inside your company is responsible for the assassins…”  

His voice lowered slightly.  

“…how sure are you that the person standing next to you isn’t involved?”  

The accusation hung in the air.  

Damon turned slowly toward Luca.  

Luca’s eyes narrowed.  

“Careful,” he said quietly.  

Matteo smiled faintly.  

“Just raising possibilities.”  

As Damon stood there, trying to process everything, the boardroom door burst open.  

A security officer rushed inside.  

“Mr. Moreau!”  

Damon turned.  

“What is it?”  

The guard looked shaken.  

“There’s been another attack.”  

Damon’s heart dropped.  

“Where?”  

The guard swallowed hard.  

“At the hospital.”  

Damon felt the blood drain from his face.  

“Dr seraphine?”  

“Yes, sir.”  

The guard hesitated before finishing.  

“And this time…”  

“…the assassin didn’t miss.”