Chapter 2 - The Secret My Sister Died Trying to Tell Matteo
The gunmen did not enter.
That was what scared me.
Men who wanted to kill someone normally came closer.
These men fired three shots, shattered two windows, and disappeared.
It was intimidation.
A message.
Matteo knew it.
He waited thirty seconds before moving.
“You hurt?”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
I did.
His hands checked my shoulders, arms, face.
“You're bleeding.”
A tiny shard of glass had cut my temple.
He wiped the blood away with his thumb.
Then he stopped.
His gaze lowered to his hand.
Something in his face became unreadable.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere safe.”
I laughed.
“Your mansion?”
“Yes.”
“That's not an answer that makes me feel better.”
“It isn't supposed to.”
He took my hand.
I pulled away.
“I can walk.”
He let go immediately.
“Fine.”
I followed.
Not because I trusted him.
Because someone had just shot through a hotel window at me.
The drive to his house took twenty minutes.
He did not touch me again.
But he kept looking at the reflection of the car behind us.
Three vehicles.
Two disappeared.
One remained.
When we entered the mansion, Matteo ordered the doors sealed.
Then he turned to me.
“Tell me about Eva.”
“My sister.”
“I know.”
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“She worked at St. Catherine's.”
“She was a nurse.”
“Yes.”
“She told me she was investigating missing medication.”
Matteo's expression darkened.
“She was.”
“What was she investigating?”
“A private distribution network.”
“Meaning?”
“Drugs were being diverted before reaching hospitals.”
I stared.
“By whom?”
“Vitalis Medical.”
Alisandre's family company.
I felt sick.
“My sister accused them.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew?”
“I knew something was wrong.”
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
“Because when I tried, people died.”
The room went silent.
“Who?”
“Three accountants. Two doctors. Your sister.”
I stared at him.
“My sister died because she came to you.”
“Yes.”
“You could have protected her.”
“I tried.”
“It wasn't enough.”
“No.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
Matteo picked up his phone.
“Find the old St. Catherine's files.”
A man named Luca nodded.
He was broad, quiet, and had a scar on his jaw.
He looked at me.
“You're Eva's sister.”
“Yes.”
“She talked about you.”
My chest tightened.
“What did she say?”
Luca smiled faintly.
“She said you were stubborn.”
I nearly cried.
“That's what she called me.”
“She was proud of you.”
Matteo looked away.
Something had changed.
Not attraction.
Not yet.
Recognition.
He understood that I wasn't just a maid who had accidentally wandered into his life.
I was connected to a wound he had never managed to close.
Hours later, Luca returned with a file.
Eva's name was on the first page.
Then mine.
My address.
My niece's name.
I grabbed the file.
“What is this?”
Matteo took it.
“Whoever was watching Eva has been watching you.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
I went cold.
“Three years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Eva hid evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Matteo opened the file.
A photograph.
My sister standing outside a warehouse.
Beside her was a man.
I recognized him.
Matteo's own uncle.
Enzo Duca.
I looked at Matteo.
“That's your uncle.”
“Yes.”
“Why was he with Eva?”
“I don't know.”
“Did you trust him?”
“I did.”
The room went silent.
Then another photograph appeared.
Alisandre.
Enzo.
And Gabriel Vitali.
All three entering the same warehouse.
My hands shook.
“Your fiancée.”
“She has lied to me.”
“So has your family.”
Matteo looked at me.
“Apparently.”
He stood.
“I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Why were you working at the Grand Balario tonight?”
“Because I need the money.”
“For?”
“My niece.”
“Who is she?”
“Emily.”
“Parents?”
“My sister was her mother.”
“And her father?”
“Dead.”
Matteo nodded.
“How much do you need?”
“I don't want your money.”
“I didn't offer it.”
“You were going to.”
He almost smiled.
“I was.”
“Don't.”
He stepped closer.
“You think I gave you the coat because I wanted to own you?”
“I don't know why you gave it to me.”
“Because you were cold.”
“That simple?”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“Men like you don't do simple.”
His expression softened.
“Maybe I want to.”
Before I could answer, Luca returned.
He was pale.
“We found the clinic camera footage.”
“Show me.”
The video showed my sister entering a warehouse.
Then Gabriel Vitali.
Then Enzo.
Then a fourth man.
A man wearing a Duca ring.
Matteo stared.
“That isn't my ring.”
I looked closer.
The crest was almost identical.
But the central line was reversed.
Luca whispered:
“Rocco Duca.”
Matteo's face hardened.
“My grandfather.”
“Dead twenty-five years,” I said.
“Yes.”
The video date was six months ago.
Impossible.
Unless someone was using his identity.
Or everyone had been lied to about his death.
Then my phone rang.
Emily.
I answered.
“Hi, baby.”
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“Your niece is safe.”
My blood turned to ice.
“Who is this?”
“Tell Matteo to open the Black Vault.”
The call ended.
I looked at Matteo.
“What is the Black Vault?”
May you like
He went pale.
“A place my father told me never to enter.”
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