Chapter 2: The Don Enters

The cold steel of the gun barrel felt like a sharp contrast to the cold sweat drenching Noah’s forehead. Seconds ticked by like an eternal torment. He could feel his own pulse thrumming against the tip of the weapon—fast, wild, and erratic. Noah stared straight into Matteo’s dark irises, searching for a sliver of mercy, but all he found was a deadly, hollow abyss.

"One," Matteo began his countdown. His voice wasn’t loud, but it echoed through the cramped room, now stifling with the scent of gunpowder and the acrid smoke of burning hardware.

Noah opened his mouth, but his voice hitched. He knew that one wrong word meant his brains would be splattered against the walls of this apartment—a place he’d rented under a fake identity.

"Two. Three."

"I... I didn't sell that data to anyone!" Noah finally managed to force the words out. His voice trembled slightly, but there was a hard edge to it. "Just check the logs if you don't believe me. I didn't send the data to an external server. Everything is still here, on the drive I just destroyed."

Matteo didn't lower his weapon. He simply tilted his head, as if evaluating the quality of honesty in Noah’s tone. "Four. Five."

"Damn it, are you even listening?!" Noah hissed, his adrenaline starting to override his fear. "I just wanted to see how good your IT team was. Turns out, they’re trash. It only took me forty minutes to break through that triplelayer encryption protocol you’re so proud of. If I had malicious intent, the De Luca family would have been bankrupt ten minutes before you even got here!"

Silence reclaimed the room. The gunmen behind Matteo looked tense, their fingers tight on the triggers of their assault rifles, waiting for the command to riddle Noah’s slender frame with bullets. However, the corner of Matteo’s lip suddenly lifted. It wasn’t a friendly smile, but the smirk of a predator who had just discovered a fascinating new toy.

Matteo lowered his pistol, though he didn't holster it. He glanced toward the door. "Out," he commanded sharply.

"But, Signor—" one of his men tried to protest.

"Out. Guard the corridor. Don’t let a single rat pass," Matteo cut him off without taking his eyes off Noah.

With hesitant steps, the tactical team retreated, leaving Noah alone in the ruined apartment with the most feared man in the city. Matteo stood slowly, stepping around Noah’s desk, which was littered with smoldering motherboard remnants. His polished leather shoes crunched over severed LAN cables, a sound that grated sickeningly on Noah’s ears.

Matteo picked up a halfmelted chip from the desk. "Forty minutes?" he asked flatly. "My IT team told me that system was impossible to breach from the outside without a physical key."

Noah tried to regulate his breathing, attempting to sit straighter even though his back was still pressed against the cold wall. "Impossible is just a word for people who don’t understand machine language. I found a gap in your server’s cooling system. I used temperature manipulation to overload the sensors, and while your system was busy rebooting, I slipped in through the back door they forgot to lock."

Matteo studied the chip in his hand before tossing it to the floor. He looked fascinated, though a controlled rage simmered beneath his composure. He approached Noah again, this time without a weapon in his hand, yet his presence was far more intimidating than the gun barrel had been.

Suddenly, Matteo leaned down and gripped Noah’s throat with one powerful hand. He lifted Noah slightly off the ground, forcing the young man to stand on his tiptoes to gasp for air.

"Ugh!" Noah groaned, his hands reflexively gripping Matteo’s ironhard wrist.

"Do you think this is a game, hm? You violated my privacy, stole financial data, and now you’re being arrogant in front of me because you’re 'smart'?" Matteo’s voice was now only inches from Noah’s face. The scent of his expensive masculine cologne—a blend of sandalwood and tobacco—pierced Noah’s senses. "I could have you rotting at the bottom of the harbor before sunrise, and not a single soul in this world would come looking for a hacker like you."

Noah coughed, his face beginning to redden. "I... I’m not afraid to die," he whispered hoarsely, his eyes locked on Matteo’s. "But... it would be a damn shame if a brain like mine had to die just because your ego got bruised."

Matteo’s grip tightened for a second, pushing Noah to the brink of losing consciousness, before he released him harshly. Noah collapsed to the floor, coughing violently as he gulped in as much air as possible.

Matteo stood tall, adjusting his slightly rumpled suit as if he had just finished an ordinary business matter. He looked down at the weak, sprawled form of Noah with an appraising gaze. Noah’s courage—or perhaps his madness—was something he rarely encountered. Usually, people would weep or beg when he put a gun to their heads. But this kid—this kid had insulted his security system while under a death threat.

"Why did you do it?" Matteo asked again, this time more demandingly. "Money? Did the Riccardis send you?"

Noah shook his head slowly while still holding his aching throat. "I work alone. I don’t need dirty money from people like you or the Riccardis. I just... I was bored. I wanted to know if there was anything in this world I couldn't unlock."

That answer gave Matteo pause. Pure honesty, without pretense or hidden motives. It was the most dangerous and the most valuable thing in the underworld. Matteo stepped closer, crouching down again in front of Noah. He reached out and tilted Noah’s chin, forcing the young man to look at him.

"You have talent, Noah Valen," Matteo whispered. His thumb brushed the corner of Noah’s lip, which had begun to bleed from the impact of the raid. The touch felt strange—not an attack, but filled with a dark sense of ownership. "But you’re too careless. Leaving a backdoor active while I was monitoring my personal server? That’s a rookie mistake."

Noah snorted weakly. "It wasn't a mistake. It was bait. I wanted to see how fast you’d get here. Turns out, ten minutes. A new record for you."

Matteo chuckled, a low sound that sent a strange vibration through Noah’s body. He brought his face close to Noah’s ear, making his warm breath felt against the young man’s sensitive skin.

"Death is too easy for you, Noah. Too fast," Matteo whispered with a tone thick with ominous promises. "I have other plans for the 'usefulness' of this brilliant little brain of yours. You’ve opened the door to my house, so now, you are my responsibility."

Noah felt his skin crawl. "What do you mean?"

Matteo didn't answer. He simply stood and signaled toward the door. Two of his men immediately entered. "Take him. Make sure he doesn't touch any electronics. If he tries to hack anything, cut off a finger."

"Wait, hold on! You can't just take me like this! My stuff—"

"Your stuff is trash, Noah," Matteo cut him off coldly, not looking back as he walked out of the apartment. "From now on, you only work for me. Or you can choose to die right here, right now."

Noah went silent as the rough hands of Matteo’s men hauled him to his feet. He looked at his ruined desk one last time, realizing that his life as a freeroaming hacker had just come to an end, and he had just walked into a lion’s den far more dangerous than any firewall he had ever breached. Outside, the roar of black cars waiting for him sounded like they were ready to usher him into an even deeper darkness.