Chapter 5 - Matteo Tried to Bribe Me With the Money We Needed for My Mother’s Treatment, and I Finally Understood How Far He Was Willing to GoThe offer arrived two days later.
Five million dollars.
A single envelope.
No name.
No explanation.
Inside was a note.
Forget what your daughter saw.
My hands shook.
Then another line:
Your mother's treatment will be paid in full.
I stared.
They knew everything.
The dialysis.
The hospital.
The debt.
Emma's school.
My apartment.
Every weakness.
They were offering me enough money to erase all of them.
For a moment, I hated them for making me consider it.
Because I thought about my mother's hospital room.
Her machines.
Her tired face.
Five million could change everything.
But then I looked at Emma.
She was six.
Sitting at the kitchen table.
Drawing pictures.
She trusted me.
I couldn't sell that.
I called Alessandro.
He came within twenty minutes.
He read the note.
His face hardened.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
“They used your mother's illness.”
“They knew.”
“Yes.”
I folded the note.
“What if I took it?”
He looked at me.
“I wouldn't judge you.”
That surprised me.
“You wouldn't?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm not the one paying your bills.”
He paused.
“But they would own you forever.”
I understood.
Money wouldn't save my mother.
It would chain me to the people threatening my daughter.
I burned the note.
Alessandro watched.
Then said:
“Thank you.”
I looked at him.
“You're welcome.”
He smiled faintly.
That night, he told me about Matteo.
They grew up together.
Shared the same table.
Played together.
Survived together.
When Alessandro's father died, Matteo stayed beside him.
He became family.
“What happened?”
“Power.”
Alessandro looked at his hands.
“People tell themselves they deserve more.”
“Did Matteo ever say why?”
“He thinks my father promised him the empire.”
“Did he?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why?”
“Because he believes the promise mattered more than reality.”
I looked at him.
“You trusted him.”
“Yes.”
“Do you regret it?”
“I regret giving anyone enough power to hurt me.”
That sentence stayed with me.
The next morning, my mother got worse.
Her doctor said she needed immediate treatment.
I called Alessandro.
He sent the money.
I tried to refuse.
He stopped me.
“This isn't a debt.”
“I can't take charity.”
“It's not charity.”
“What is it?”
“Family.”
I stared at him.
He smiled faintly.
“You don't get to argue.”
I laughed.
“That's my line.”
“I'm learning.”
That was the first time I realized our relationship was changing.
He wasn't just protecting Emma.
He was protecting us.
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And I wasn't simply helping him catch a traitor.
I was beginning to care about the man behind the empire.
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