Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The 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 looks like.”

The detective studied him carefully.

“Then maybe you should ask him yourself.”

He gestured toward the hallway.

“Interrogation room three.”

Damon walked toward the door slowly.

Each step felt heavier than the last.

His heart pounded against his ribs.

Because for the first time since Luca had entered his life, Damon was afraid of the answer he might receive.

He stopped outside the interrogation room.

Through the one-way glass, he could see Luca sitting at the metal table.

Hands cuffed.

Expression calm.

Too calm.

As if being arrested were just another inconvenience.

Damon felt anger rise in his chest.

How could he look so composed?

After everything.

After leaving without explanation.

After the video.

Damon pushed the door open.

The room went silent.

Luca looked up immediately.

Their eyes met.

For a brief moment, something raw passed between them.

Relief.

Damon noticed it instantly.

Luca had expected many things tonight.

But Damon showing up wasn’t one of them.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Luca said quietly.

Damon laughed bitterly.

“That’s the first thing you say?”

Luca studied him.

“You’re angry.”

“Of course I’m angry.”

Damon stepped closer to the table.

“You disappeared.”

“I had to.”

“You got arrested.”

“Not part of the plan.”

“And then I see a video of you asking for a contract to kill me.”

Silence filled the room.

Luca exhaled slowly.

“So you saw it.”

Damon’s voice hardened.

“Explain.”

Luca leaned forward slightly.

“I was trying to get inside the syndicate.”

“By pretending to kill me.”

“Yes.”

Damon shook his head.

“That sounds convenient.”

“It’s the truth.”

Damon pulled the tablet from his coat pocket and tossed it onto the table.

The paused video stared back at them.

“You look pretty convincing.”

Luca watched the frozen frame.

“They cut the video.”

Damon’s voice sharpened.

“Cut what?”

“The part where I refuse the job.”

Damon froze.

“What?”

“The conversation continued after that.”

Luca’s eyes lifted to meet Damon’s.

“I told them I wanted the contract so I could control it.”

Damon frowned.

“Control it?”

“If someone else accepted it, they’d come after you immediately.”

“And if you accepted it?”

“I could stall.”

Damon’s mind raced.

“Delay the assassination.”

“Yes.”

“And dismantle the syndicate from inside.”

Luca nodded once.

“That was the plan.”

Damon stared at him.

“You could have told me.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because if anyone inside your company is connected to them…”

Luca’s voice lowered.

“…they’d know.”

Damon went quiet.

Because he had already begun to suspect something similar.

The financial irregularities.

The strange authorization codes.

Someone inside Moretti Holdings had been manipulating things.

But Damon still wasn’t ready to let Luca off that easily.

“So you lied to me.”

Luca didn’t argue.

“Yes.”

“And you disappeared without warning.”

“Yes.”

“And now you’re sitting in a police station with evidence linking you to half a dozen murders.”

“Most of that evidence is fabricated.”

“Most?”

Luca held his gaze.

“I wasn’t always a good man, Damon.”

The words hung in the air.

Damon looked away.

Because he already knew that.

He had seen glimpses of the violence Luca carried inside him.

But he had also seen something else.

Restraint.

Guilt.

Humanity.

“Then why didn’t you run tonight?” Damon asked quietly.

Luca blinked.

“The back exit was open,” Damon continued.

“You could have escaped before the police arrived.”

Luca’s voice softened slightly.

“I thought about it.”

“But you didn’t.”

“No.”

“Why?”

Luca hesitated.

Then answered honestly.

“Because running would make me look guilty.”

“And getting arrested doesn’t?”

“It buys time.”

Damon frowned.

“Time for what?”

Luca leaned closer.

“For you to figure out who inside your company is feeding information to the syndicate.”

Damon felt a chill crawl down his spine.

“You really think someone inside Moretti Holdings is involved?”

“I’m certain.”

“And you know who it is.”

Luca didn’t answer.

Damon’s eyes narrowed.

“You do.”

Luca’s silence confirmed it.

“Who?” Damon demanded.

Before Luca could respond

The interrogation room door opened.

Two detectives stepped inside.

“Time’s up.”

Damon turned sharply.

“I’m not finished.”

“You’ll have to continue this later.”

They moved toward Luca.

One detective grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet.

“Where are you taking him?” Damon asked.

“Processing.”

Damon stepped forward.

“He hasn’t been charged yet.”

“He will be.”

The detective began leading Luca toward the door.

Damon’s frustration spiked.

“This is ridiculous.”

Luca stopped suddenly.

The officer pulling him frowned.

“Move.”

But Luca looked back at Damon.

His voice was calm.

But urgent.

“There’s something you need to do.”

Damon frowned.

“What?”

“Check the financial records again.”

“I already did.”

“No.”

Luca shook his head slightly.

“Look at the executive authorization codes.”

Damon’s mind flashed back to the strange payment he had noticed earlier that night.

“You mean the one that belonged to”

Luca cut him off with a single word.

“Exactly.”

Damon’s breath caught.

“That’s impossible.”

Luca’s eyes darkened.

“Nothing about this situation is impossible.”

The detectives pushed Luca forward again.

But before he disappeared through the door

He said one more thing.

“Be careful who you trust.”

Then he was gone.

Damon stood alone in the interrogation room.

His mind raced.

Executive authorization codes.

The strange payment.

The account that belonged to someone who technically shouldn’t have access anymore.

Someone whose death had changed Damon’s life forever.

Damon left the station quickly.

He needed answers.

Within an hour, he was back inside his penthouse office.

His laptop glowed in the dim room.

He reopened the financial files.

The suspicious transfer appeared again.

Damon pulled up the authorization log.

His pulse quickened.

Because Luca had been right.

The payment had been approved using an executive code that hadn’t been active in years.

Damon whispered the name under his breath.

“…Father.”

Lucius Moreau

The code belonged to him.

But Lucius Moreau had been dead for over a decade.

Damon leaned back in his chair slowly.

“How is that possible?”

Then another thought hit him.

Someone inside the company had access to old executive credentials.

Someone powerful.

Someone close.

Someone Damon trusted.

Damon began tracing the transaction path.

It led through several shell companies.

Then finally stopped at a familiar name.

Damon’s stomach dropped.

Because the final authorization had been approved by someone still very much alive.

Someone who had been standing beside him through every crisis.

Someone who had comforted him after his mother was shot.

Someone who had promised to help him destroy the syndicate.

Damon stared at the screen in disbelief.

The name glowing there felt almost unreal.

Matteo Laurent.

Across the city, inside a private office overlooking the skyline, Matteo Laurent poured himself a glass of whiskey.

A man stepped into the room.

“It’s done,” the man said.

Matteo smiled faintly.

“Luca Raines?”

“Arrested.”

“And Damon?”

“He saw the video.”

Matteo swirled the amber liquid slowly.

“Excellent.”

The man hesitated.

“What about the financial records?”

Matteo chuckled softly.

“Oh, Damon will find those eventually.”

“And when he does?”

Matteo’s smile widened.

“By then it will be far too late.”

He lifted his glass.

“To the fall of an empire.”