CHAPTER 15
He stood, walking around the desk until he was directly in front of me.
“Then why didn’t you come to me. sooner?” he asked quietly.
I looked away, suddenly feeling exposed. “Because this was personal. I thought I could handle it myself.”
“And now?”
“And now,” I sighed, meeting his eyes. again, “I’m admitting that I can’t. Happy?”
“Ecstatic,” he said, though his voice held. no mockery. If anything, it was laced with something akin to admiration.
Matteo reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face before stepping back. The gesture was unexpected and intimate in a way that left me momentarily stunned.
“I’ll have my team on it by the end of the
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day,” he said, returning to his desk. “In the meantime, let’s go over what you managed to retrieve. If Luca‘ s as desperate as he seems, there’s bound to be something useful in here.”
I nodded, grateful that he did not press the matter further. As he plugged the flash drive into his computer, I could not help but watch him. Matteo Vitale was a man of contradictions – cold and ruthless one moment, warm and understanding the next. It was maddening and fascinating all
at once.
“Amara,” he said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “What exactly did you transfer?”
“A small portion from one of their less guarded accounts,” I replied. “Enough to hurt, but not enough to raise immediate alarms.”
His lips curved into a slow, approving smile. “Clever. You are more resourceful than I gave you credit for.”
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“I will take that as a compliment,” I said
dryly.
“You should,” Matteo said, his tone
‘Because it’s not often I
serious now. “Because it‘
give them.”
We spent the next hour reviewing the files I had managed to pull, Matteo pointing out key details and connections that I had missed. He was keen on the details, even calling on the phone for meeting schedules on some business associates that he found to be transacting with The Obsidian before. I did not know his relationship with the people or businesses that he found on the files, but there were moments when he frowned at some names, cursing, and smirking at the others. The only I could guess was that at least one of them would be shot dead sooner or later, and a few might be forced to turn back from The Obsidian and ally with the Vitalus Circle.
Finally, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Matteo leaned back in his chair.
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“This is a good start,” he said. “But if we are going to take Luca down, we will need more than this. Are you ready to go all in, Amara?”
I met his gaze as I weighed the question. This was not just about revenge anymore. It was about survival, about reclaiming what had been taken from me.
“I’m ready,” I said firmly.
Matteo nodded with a spark of approval in his eyes. “Good. Because from here on out, there’s no turning back.”
He stood, walking over to the window as he spoke. “I’ll have my team start on the access issue first thing tomorrow. In the meantime, get some rest. You‘ ve earned it.”
“Matteo,” I called, and he turned to me.
However, my gratitude was put on hold when the door suddenly opened, revealing Bethany with a smile on her bright red lips.
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“Oh, Amara. I didn’t know you were here.”
My jaw clenched, seeing her presence here when the night was about to come. What is she doing here?
I wanted to ask, but… who am I to do so?
I shouldn’t have any business with his personal affairs. But why do I feel like…
I forced my lips to move and smile, “I’m actually leaving already. We just wrapped up. I’ll let you two have the room,” I said and left without looking back, though before the door shut, I heard her excited footsteps fading as she moved farther away from the door, and I could only imagine in my head that she must have gone closer to Matteo.
