Chapter 9

Elias' POV

It was almost time to close the auction house. I packed my things and was about to leave when my phone rang.

I looked at the screen. The call was from the Moretti estate.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Good evening, Elias," Peter said. "The boss has finished his meetings. He has scheduled an appointment with you for this evening."

"This evening?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes," Peter replied. "We'll be expecting you."

After the call ended, I stood there for a moment.

I talked to myself. "Damon is always busy. Why would he ask to see me in the evening? That's usually his time to rest."

I picked up my notebook and the ledger, then left for the Moretti estate.

The taxi dropped me off in front of the estate's large gate. I paid the driver and stood there, staring at it.

I had never imagined I would one day enter the Moretti estate.

I took a deep breath. It was a big risk, but I had no choice.

I straightened my tie, walked to the gate, and pressed the doorbell.

The guard looked at me and said, "We don't allow visitors at this time."

Before I could answer, his phone rang. He listened for a few seconds, then nodded and opened the gate.

"Go in," he said.

I was suprised, but I walked inside.

The guards searched me carefully before letting me enter.

 As I walked through the estate, I saw many bodyguards carrying big rifles. They looked ready to protect the place at any moment.

My heart was beating fast. I was scared, but I stayed calm. I reminded myself that I was only here to do my job.

One of the guards led me into a large building. Many people were busy working inside. We walked upstairs, where I saw Marco, Damon's right-hand man.

Marco checked me one more time before opening the door.

When I stepped into the hall, I saw Damon standing there. Beside him was an older man who looked a lot like him. I guessed he was Damon's uncle.

There were guards everywhere. It felt more like a secret meeting than a normal appointment.

The strangest part was that no one else was allowed into the estate at this hour, yet they had allowed me inside.

That made me wonder if Damon had something very important to tell me.

I knew something else was going on besides the reason I came here, but I stayed calm.

A guard showed me where to sit. I sat down and took out my notebook and the ledger. 

Then I looked at Damon and said,

"I would like to ask you some questions about this ledger you brought to the auction house the other day."

Damon did not answer. He stayed quiet and looked at me with a cold, scary stare. After a few seconds, he slowly nodded.

Even though I felt nervous, I continued asking my questions. The room felt uncomfortable, mostly because of Damon.

"How long have you been doing business with this shipping company?" I asked.

Damon stayed silent for a moment. Then he said, "About twenty-five years."

Before I could write it down, the older man beside him spoke.

"Thirty years," his uncle said in a firm voice.

Damon looked at his uncle with a cold stare, but he did not say another word.

I was about to ask another question when Damon stopped me.

He looked at me and said, "Why don't I ask you a question instead?"

My heart started beating faster. I felt nervous, but I stayed calm and kept a professional smile.

"Go ahead," I said.

Damon leaned forward and asked, "Why did you make Barrister Dury kill himself?"

My eyes grew wide. I was shocked by the question.

I looked at Damon with a confused face and said,

"I don't understand what you're talking about. I don't even know who Barrister Dury is and I would never tell anyone to hurt themselves.”

Damon gave a small laugh.

"Don't pretend you don't know," he said.

"How could you make an innocent man lose his life? He did nothing to deserve what happened to him."

His words filled the room with silence. I knew this meeting had become much more serious than I expected.

At that moment, I knew Damon was serious. I could see it in his eyes.

I answered him in a firm voice, "Don't ever accuse me of a crime I know nothing about."

Damon stood up and walked toward me. I quickly stood up too, ready to defend myself if I had to.

Soon, we were standing face to face, looking into each other's eyes.

Then Damon said,

"You are just like your father. He killed his best friend in cold blood."

His words made me very angry.

I pushed Damon away and shouted,

"Don't ever talk about my father like that! He did nothing wrong!"

Right away, Damon's uncle pulled out a gun and pointed it at me.

I became very scared, but I tried not to show it. Everyone in the room was staring at me.

Then Marco turned to Damon's uncle and spoke.

“Sir, please drop the gun,” Marco said.

Damon’s uncle turned to Marco and said, “Don’t tell me what I should or should not do.”

Then he looked at me and shouted, “I am Sebastian Moretti, the brother of the man your father murdered. I was there when your father pulled the trigger and killed my brother. I should do the same to you because you are just like him.”

Damon quickly stepped forward.

“Uncle, please put the gun down,” he said. 

“Don’t pull the trigger. We should not take the law into our own hands.”

Uncle Sebastian kept the gun pointed at me for a few more seconds. Then, at last, he slowly lowered it.

Damon turned to me and said, “I will still find proof that you are the one responsible for all these murders.”

I packed my things. Before I left, I looked at Damon and said, "Good luck trying to prove something that isn't true."

Then I turned around and walked away.

I was still scared, so I walked as fast as I could before anyone tried to stop me. I got on a bus and headed home.

On the way home, I suddenly remembered the gun Sebastian had pointed at me. It had a strange symbol on it. The symbol looked exactly like the one I saw on the note I found at the auction House.

That made me even more confused. I could not solve the mystery, but deep down, I knew something was very wrong.