Chapter 4 - The Man Everyone Thought Was Dead
Matteo Costa had been dead for sixteen years.
At least, that's what Chicago believed.
His funeral had been enormous.
Politicians attended.
Judges attended.
Businessmen sent flowers.
Three churches competed to claim his funeral.
The newspapers called him a violent criminal who had finally lost the war.
But Robert Hayes had known better.
"He didn't die."
Damian stood at the window.
"Your father discovered it."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know he's alive?"
"Because people are still following his instructions."
The pieces became horrifyingly simple.
Matteo had created a hidden network inside the Costa organization.
Men who didn't answer to Damian.
Men who answered to someone else.
And Isabella was one of them.
"We need to leave Chicago."
I laughed.
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
"You think the Falcones will stop?"
"No."
"You think Matteo will stop?"
"No."
"Then what's the point?"
Damian looked at me.
"Keeping you alive."
I didn't know what to say.
For years, I had survived alone.
Now a dangerous man was offering me protection as though it were something normal.
I hated how safe I felt around him.
That was the problem.
The investigation moved quickly.
The ledger was hidden in a safety deposit box.
My father had left instructions.
But only I could access it.
The clue was inside the watch.
A sequence.
Nine.
Three.
Seven.
Apex.
Damian knew immediately.
"The old Apex warehouse."
We went at dawn.
Rain covered the city.
Apex Logistics looked different from the outside.
Ordinary.
Boring.
Safe.
Inside, Damian's men cleared every floor.
I followed him into an old accounting office.
"Your father worked here?"
"Yes."
I looked at the old cabinets.
My memory surfaced.
I had been here once as a child.
My father brought me to work.
A man had given me a candy bar.
Tall.
Gray hair.
A gold ring shaped like a serpent.
I remembered.
"Matteo."
Damian looked at me.
"You saw him?"
"I think so."
"What did he say?"
"He called me little angel."
Damian went silent.
Then the office lights turned on.
A speaker crackled.
A man's voice filled the room.
"Amelia Hayes."
I froze.
"Congratulations."
Damian raised his gun.
"Matteo."
The voice laughed.
"Hello, nephew."
Damian stepped toward the speaker.
"You should have stayed dead."
"I tried."
"You're going to die."
"Eventually."
A video screen came alive.
An old man sat in a dark room.
Gray hair.
Sharp face.
Serpent ring.
Matteo.
Alive.
Beside him stood Isabella.
My stomach dropped.
She smiled.
"Hello, Amelia."
Damian's gun tightened in his hand.
"Where is she?"
Matteo laughed.
"Always impatient."
He looked at me.
"Your father was very loyal."
"Until you killed him."
"I didn't kill Robert."
"You're lying."
"Ask Damian."
I turned.
Damian stared at the screen.
Matteo continued.
"Robert died because he discovered your fiancé's true ambition."
I looked at Damian.
"Isabella?"
"No."
Matteo smiled.
"Not Isabella."
I felt a chill.
"Then who?"
He looked directly at the camera.
"Damian."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
Damian's face didn't change.
Matteo continued.
"He thinks he took control of the organization."
"He thinks the men follow him."
"He thinks his father's legacy belongs to him."
"But Robert discovered the truth."
Damian stepped closer to the screen.
"Enough."
Matteo smiled.
"Ask him who ordered your father's murder."
I turned to Damian.
He looked at me.
"I didn't."
Matteo laughed.
"You see?"
"Always the same."
"Your father taught you to lie before he taught you to lead."
I stepped back.
Damian reached for me.
I flinched.
He stopped.
That hurt him more than anything Matteo had said.
"I would never hurt you."
I looked at him.
"I don't know what to believe."
Matteo's voice became softer.
"Then come to me, Amelia."
Damian stepped forward.
"No."
Matteo ignored him.
"Bring the ledger."
"You'll kill her," Damian said.
"No."
Matteo smiled.
"I'll tell her what Robert was really protecting."
The screen went black.
I stood frozen.
Damian said my name.
"Amelia."
"Don't."
"He wants you scared."
"He knows too much."
"I'll find him."
"I need answers."
"I'll get them."
"No."
I turned toward him.
"I'll get them myself."
He stared at me.
"You don't understand this world."
"I've understood enough."
His voice softened.
"You don't belong here."
I laughed bitterly.
"Neither did my father."
Silence.
He reached into his coat and pulled out the old watch.
"You do realize I can protect you."
"No."
His eyes hardened.
"You think you're protecting me now?"
"No."
"I've been protecting you since the first day you walked into that building."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
He hesitated.
Then said something I wasn't prepared to hear.
"Because your father asked me to."
"That's all?"
His eyes stayed on mine.
"No."
My heart beat faster.
Before either of us could speak, a gunshot shattered the window.
Damian pulled me down.
Glass exploded.
A sniper.
His men returned fire.
He dragged me into the hallway.
"Move!"
We ran.
The warehouse filled with gunfire.
Then a second explosion.
The ceiling shook.
I fell.
Damian caught me.
He wrapped one arm around me.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Look at me."
I did.
His face was inches away.
For one second, the gunfire disappeared.
There was only his hand against my waist.
Then Sofia's voice came through the radio.
"Boss, we found the ledger."
Damian looked away.
"Where?"
"In Amelia's father's old locker."
I opened my mouth.
"What's inside?"
Sofia's voice trembled.
"Photographs."
"Of what?"
Silence.
Then:
"Of Damian."
I looked at him.
"What photographs?"
Sofia answered.
May you like
"Damian as a teenager."
"Standing beside Matteo."
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