CHAPTER 26

Lucas stopped sleeping properly.

That was the first visible sign.

He told himself it was just stress. The cove. The near drowning. The confusion of that night. Memory loss.

But Jamie’s voice kept replaying.

They’re the mafia.
We’re prisoners.
Ask him where about the missing servants.

Lucas would sit in his room staring at the ceiling, trying to remember something concrete.

Trying to remember when Matteo every threatened him. Or Enzo.

But all he remembered was Matteo calm. Matteo controlled. Matteo reasonable.

And that was the problem.

If Jamie was lying — why did the doubt feel so heavy?

If Jamie was unstable — why did the guards suddenly feel more noticeably watching his every move?

Lucas began questioning small things.

Why were there cameras in the garden? Security of course.

Why did staff never speak freely? Professionalism?

Why did Enzo always appear before any conflict escalated?

But every time he tried to follow the thought fully—

It felt slippery.

Like he was chasing paranoia.

And slowly, that uncertainty began turning inward.

Maybe Jamie was right.

Or maybe Jamie had infected him.

Lucas began doubting his own mind.

Enzo confronted Jamie two nights later.

Not in his room.

In the corridor.

No guards.

No audience.

Just the two of them.

Enzo blocked his path without touching him.

“You crossed the very line I told you not cross,” Enzo said quietly.

Jamie tilted his head and drawled. “Which one? Because you have so many for me.”

Enzo’s jaw tightened.

“You destabilized him.”

“Lucas?” Jamie scoffed lightly. “He deserves the truth.”

Enzo stepped closer.

Close enough that Jamie had to look up slightly.

“You didn’t tell him the truth,” Enzo said. “You told him half of it.”

Jamie didn’t answer.

Because that was true.

Truth without context was a weapon.

Enzo’s voice dropped lower.

“He hasn’t left his room.”

Jamie’s stomach shifted.

Not guilt.

Not exactly.

But something sharp.

“He’s processing what I told him like a normal person,” Jamie said wondering if he was lying to himself.

“He’s unraveling,” Enzo corrected.

Silence.

Enzo’s gaze sharpened.

“You think this is a game. You push. Matteo absorbs it. You escalate. He adjusts.”

Jamie crossed his arms.

“And?”

“And you forget there are other casualties.”

That landed heavier than Jamie expected.

Enzo’s eyes hardened.

“If Lucas breaks, that’s on you.”

Jamie bristled.

“That’s on Matteo.”

“No,” Enzo said evenly. “That’s on the one who chose chaos.”

The words lingered.

For the first time, Jamie didn’t have an immediate comeback.

Enzo stepped back slightly.

“You wanted reaction,” he continued. “You’ll get it.”

Jamie’s pulse quickened.

“From you?”

Enzo almost smiled.

“No.”

Matteo didn’t isolate Jamie.

He didn’t yell.

He didn’t threaten.

Which made it worse.

Instead, he came to Jamie’s room the following afternoon.

Dressed in a tailored black suit.

Impeccable.

Controlled.

“We’re attending a dinner tonight,” Matteo said calmly.

Jamie looked up from the chair near the window.

“A dinner.”

“Yes.”

“With?”

“Investors. Media executives. Board members.”

Jamie’s eyes narrowed.

“And why would I go with you? I thought I was your prisoner?”

Matteo adjusted his cufflinks.

“Because Lucas will be there.”

Jamie’s breath stilled.

“And?”

“And you will behave.”

Jamie let out a quiet laugh.

“Or what?”

Matteo’s gaze settled on him.

“If you want him to trust you again, you’ll want him to see stability not chaos.”

Jamie’s jaw tightened.

“You’re using me.”

Matteo’s expression didn’t change.

“I’m correcting the narrative.”

The cold precision of that phrase made Jamie’s stomach twist.

“This is about your reputation,” Jamie said.

“It’s about perception,” Matteo corrected.

Silence.

Jamie studied him carefully.

“You want him to think I’m unstable.”

Matteo didn’t deny it.

“I want him to see reality,” he said.

“And what reality is that?”

“That you react emotionally. Violently. Without any care.”

Jamie stood slowly.

“And you don’t?”

Matteo’s gaze flicked over him.

Measured.

“I don’t.”

The implication hung heavy.

Jamie felt something dark and reckless bloom inside him.

“You’re confident,” he said quietly.

“Yes.”

“That I’ll lose control.”

Matteo stepped closer.

Not threatening.

But deliberate.

“You won’t be able to help yourself.”

The challenge was subtle.

Calculated.

Jamie felt it like a hook under his skin.

“You think I’ll embarrass myself.”

“I think,” Matteo said softly, “you care about Lucas too much not to.”

That hit.

Harder than anything else.

Because it was true.

The dinner was grand.

A private event in a coastal glass mansion overlooking the sea.

Executives in tailored suits. Women in silk gowns. Champagne flowing.

It looked legitimate.

It felt legitimate.

Which made Jamie’s earlier accusation echo louder in his mind.

Lucas stood near the balcony when Jamie entered.

He looked tired.

Pale.

But composed.

When he saw Jamie — dressed sharply in a charcoal suit — he blinked.

Surprised.

“You look…” Lucas started.

“Stable?” Jamie finished dryly.

Lucas hesitated.

Matteo appeared beside Jamie, placing a hand lightly at the small of his back.

Not possessive.

Not aggressive.

Just intimate enough to imply closeness.

Jamie stiffened slightly.

Optics.

Lucas noticed.

His eyes flicked between them.

“This is what you meant?” Lucas asked quietly. “Business empire?”

Matteo smiled smoothly.

“Entertainment requires presentation.”

Jamie watched the room carefully.

Board members approached Matteo with respect.

Investors referenced streaming numbers.

Journalists praised Uniflix’s expansion.

It was flawless.

Too flawless.

Lucas looked overwhelmed.

Conflicted.

Jamie stepped closer to him while Matteo was briefly occupied.

“Does this erase everything?” Jamie asked quietly.

Lucas swallowed.

“I don’t know.”

Jamie’s heart twisted.

“That’s not an answer.”

Lucas looked at him, genuinely strained.

“I don’t know what’s real anymore.”

The confession felt like a crack widening.

Jamie felt guilt flicker.

This wasn’t just about Matteo anymore.

Lucas looked exhausted.

“You said they were mafia,” Lucas continued quietly. “But this is—”

“Polished,” Jamie said.

“Yes.”

Jamie glanced around.

Power didn’t have to look criminal.

That was the point.

Before he could say more, Enzo appeared at Matteo’s side across the room.

Watching.

Assessing.

And for the first time—

Jamie realized something.

This dinner wasn’t just about Lucas.

It was about him.

Matteo wanted to prove something.

Not just legitimacy.

But control.

If Jamie reacted emotionally, if he accused publicly, if he destabilized the narrative—

He would look irrational.

And Lucas would lean toward Matteo.

Jamie felt the trap close around him.

Matteo returned moments later.

Calm.

Impeccable.

He leaned slightly toward Jamie’s ear.

“Careful,” he murmured softly.

Jamie didn’t look at him.

“You’re enjoying this.”

Matteo’s voice was quiet.

“No.”

“Liar.”

Matteo’s fingers tightened almost imperceptibly at Jamie’s back.

“You wanted escalation,” he said. “This is it.”

Jamie realized something unsettling then.

Matteo wasn’t punishing him.

He was outmaneuvering him.

And Lucas—

Lucas was the battlefield.

Across the room, Lucas watched them.

Uncertain.

Tired.

Doubting everything.

Including himself.

And Jamie understood the real cost of his move.

He had planted doubt.

But doubt didn’t just grow outward.

It grew inward.

And now Lucas was questioning his own memory.

His own sanity.

Jamie had wanted to break the illusion.

Instead—

He may have broken something else.