Shadows and Secrets

Chapter 4 

 Shadows and Secrets

A letter arrived in a plain envelope,it slipped under Luca’s door at midnight.

He had been sipping a glass of red wine, watching the city lights flashes beyond the windows of his penthouse when he noticed it. No return address. No name. There was nothing but a white envelope lying on the shiny floor.

Luca hesitated for a while, checking around if he could see the person who delivered the ex elope but no one. Then he picked it up. His fingers brushed the smooth paper, and his pulse quickening filled with many questions on what may be the content of the paper.

 Carefully, he unfolded the letter. The words were typed, impersonal, yet they sent a chill through his spine:

"He's in danger. They're watching and could take advantage of him anytime soon. This reunion isn’t an accident. Protect him—or walk away before it’s too late."

Like a vice, the weight of those words weighed down on him. His first instinct was to dismiss it as he asked himself several questions: A prank? A bluff? But something in his gut told him otherwise. 

Damien had enemies which he knew were plenty of them. But who? And why warn Luca, of all people? And not Damien himself?

He exhaled, forcing himself to stay calm and think. He’d deal with this later.

For now, he had a bigger problem which was Damien Blackwell thought he was a traitor.

"You expect me to believe this is a coincidence?"

Damien’s voice was sharp, and controlled at the same time but Luca could hear the fury beneath it.

They stood in Damien’s office which had glass walls, sleek furniture, and the air was thick and filled with tension. Damien tossed a file onto the desk, its pages spilling out. Confidential reports. Financial leaks.

All of them pointing to Luca.

Luca scoffed, crossing his arms and looking into his eyes “You think I leaked your company’s data?”

Damien’s jaw clenched. “Everything started the moment you came back into my life.”

“Oh, please,” Luca sneered, stepping closer. “You think I need your business scandals? I have my own empire now.”

“Then prove it,prove you aren't the one who did this” Damien shot back at him. His blue eyes, which were usually unreadable, were burning with something deeper—something dangerously close to betrayal.

Luca held his gaze, refusing to back down as he was certain he never did what Damien was accusing him of. “I don’t owe you a damn thing, Damien. If someone’s after you, maybe you should take a good, hard look at your own boardroom.”

Damien’s expression didn’t waver as Lucas said that but something flashed there—doubt, maybe. He knew Luca wasn’t stupid enough to risk everything just for revenge and now he was lost on who meant to have done such to him.

A knock on the door broke the quiet between them before either of them could speak another word.

The assistant stepped in, looking hesitant. “Mr. Vale has a visitor. Dr. Julian Wells.”

Luca stiffened hard as he heard that name.

Julian?

Damien’s gaze darkened instantly, he wasn't expecting anyone of that name. “Who the hell is Julian Wells?”

Luca was about to respond when the door flew open and Julian entered as if he were the owner.

"Luca, you have been avoiding me."

Julian avoided Damien and listened to the scenario with a silky voice and a lazy expression. He was dressed nicely,with an expensive perfume clinging to his skin.

With a deep sigh, Luca gripped the edge of the desk tighter as he spoke. "Now is not the time for that, Julian."

Julian's smile got bigger. “Oh? Too busy playing house with your husband?” He looked quickly at Damien, confronting him while also measuring him.

Damien didn’t rise to the bait. His expression remained cold, but his eyes held something sharper. Possessive. Territorial.

Luca knew that look well.

“This conversation is over,” he said flatly, stepping past Julian. But Julian caught his wrist.

“You never did like unfinished business,” Julian murmured. “You walked away from me before. I won’t let you do it again.”

Luca yanked his hand back. “We were never anything, Julian. And if you think I’m going to entertain your games—”

“I don’t play games, Luca. When I want something, I take it.”

The tension in the room was suffocating for Damien.

Damien finally stood up, his presence was commanding. "Then you should know Luca isn't yours to take."

Julian chuckled, stepping back as he took a few steps towards Damien“We’ll see about that.”

With one last look at Luca—it was a promise, a threat—Julian walked out, leaving silence in his wake

Damien turned to Luca immediately “Explain. Now.”

Luca pinched the bridge of his nose. “He’s an old... acquaintance.”

“Acquaintances don’t look at you like that,” Damien muttered.

Luca let out a bitter laugh. “Jealous, are we?”

Damien’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t answer.

Because before he could, his assistant rushed in—pale, frantic. “Sir. There’s someone downstairs. She’s demanding to see you.”

Damien frowned. “Who?”

The assistant swallowed. “Veronica Hayes.”

Damien’s ex-fiancée.

Luca stilled.

Veronica. The woman Damien had almost married.

“She says it’s urgent,” the assistant added. "She is pregnant, too."

The words hit like a sledgehammer on Damien's head.

His face went blank instantly, but Luca saw the flash of shock in his face.

He hardly saw Damien walking by his side, briskly they headed for the elevator. He tried to ignore the stinging in him, and the searing burn in his chest as he followed Damien, his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. He didn't want to believe what the security said but he prayed it was never true.

Pregnant?

Damien wouldn’t—

Would he?

The elevator doors opened, revealing Veronica who was standing in the lobby waiting for Damien to arrive, she was standing elegantly as she had always been.

The blue gown she wore fit her body well, and her once-hard gaze had softened upon seeing Damien. However, Luca's stomach twisted for reasons other than the little baby bumps.

It was the way she looked at Damien—like she owned him and he belonged to her.

Luca’s fingers curled into fists but he couldn't react because he wasn't comfortable standing over there.

Damien stopped a few feet away from her, his voice was low when he called out her name. “Veronica.”

She gave him a small, knowing smile as she responded with a snap. “Damien. We need to talk.”

Luca stepped forward before he could stop himself. “Is it true?” His voice was calm. Too calm. 

Veronica’s gaze flashed to him, her smile turning into saccharine. "Looks like you have moved on—or at least pretended to."

Luca refused to react. “Answer the question.”

With bright eyes, Veronica cocked her head. “Yes. We are expecting a baby. And it’s yours, Damien.”

The words landed like a gunshot.

Damien remained silent, his entire body rigid.

Luca let out a slow breath, his heart pounding. “Then prove it.”

Veronica arched her brow. “Excuse me?”

“Prove it,” Luca repeated, stepping closer. “A DNA test. Right now.”

Damien’s head snapped toward him, but Luca didn’t care.

Because something about this didn’t add up.

Veronica was too poised, too certain.

And that sent every alarm in his mind screaming.

Just as Veronica was about to respond to him, there was a loud crash that shattered the moment instantly.

Glass exploded from the windows as gunfire rang out severally from outside. 

Chaos erupted as everyone shattered for their safe place.

Damien grabbed Luca, yanking him behind cover so as to protect him. While the security scrambled, shouts filled the air and everyone ran for their dear lives.

Luca’s mind flashed back to the letter. "He’s in danger. They’re watching."

This wasn’t just about business.

Someone wanted Damien dead.

And now, they weren’t hiding anymore.