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“You want the truth? Fine. Here it is. Your mother was never supposed to be with Giacomo. She was sold to him—given away by her father like property to pay off a debt. He was cruel from the beginning, but over the years, he became something worse. A monster. He beat her, broke her spirit, and treated her like she was nothing. I saw the bruises, Daniele. I saw the terror in her eyes. I was the one who found her unconscious—bleeding on the cold tiles of a bathroom floor after he’d nearly killed her.

“That was the night everything changed. She was pregnant with you. And she knew… she knew if she didn’t escape, he would destroy both of you.

So she ran. To me. For safety. For salvation.

And I took her in. I gave her my name. My home.

I married her not because I had to, but because I loved her.

And we raised you together, as our son. We were a family, Daniele.

A real one. And we were happy—until now. ”

He takes a sharp step back, shaking his head. “Stop. Just stop. I’ve heard enough of your fucking lies, Matteo. You think you can rewrite the past to make yourself the hero? Save it. I’m done listening to your bullshit.

“They aren’t lies. And you know they aren’t.” I step closer, but he takes two steps back again. “I am sorry if I ever made you feel like you were never good enough for me, Danny boy. You are my world, and you always will be.”

The silence that stretches between us is loud. I want to reach for him and hold him to my chest the same way I did when he was just a boy. But I hold myself.

The ball is in his court now.

“Fuck you and fuck your stupid empire that meant more to you than me.” He turns on his heels sharply and walks out, leaving nothing behind but the wreckage of everything I tried to hold onto.

For the first time in a long time, I feel something I cannot control.

Loss.

And worse than that?—

Defeat.

The door slams shut behind him. The silence that follows is unbearable. I stand there, unmoving, staring at the space Daniele just occupied, his words still ringing in my ears like gunfire.

“For the rest of my life, I will hate you.”

I press my fingertips against my temple. Control. Breathe. But it’s useless. The tension in my chest is unbearable, pressing down like a vice, suffocating me in ways I refuse to name.

Daniele is my son. My son.

Not by blood. But by something far greater.

And yet, he looks at me as if I’m nothing to him. As if the years I spent raising him, protecting him, guiding him, none of it ever mattered. I should be furious. I should get up, go after him, shake him by the shoulders until he sees the truth. Until he sees me.

Giacomo.

He’s poisoned my son’s mind, twisted his grief into something sharp enough to drive straight into my chest. And Daniele—angry, lost Daniele—has swallowed every lie whole.

You never looked at me the way a father looks at his son.

I am reminded of how Beatrice never wanted him to know the truth of his paternity. She wanted him to know only me as his father. I promised her that I would keep this secret, and now I’ve failed her, too.

How the fuck do I fix this?

Daniele isn’t a child anymore. He’s a grown man, one who has been made to believe that his entire life was built on a foundation of lies. And the worst part? He’s not entirely wrong.

I should have told him the truth—I should have gone against Beatrice’s wishes and jumped the gun. Maybe then Giacomo wouldn’t have had the ammunition to turn him against me.

“Fuck.” The curse is felt right down to the very depths of my soul.

A knock sounds at the door.

I already know who it is.

“Come in.”

Valerio steps inside, his usual smirk absent. His sharp blue eyes scan me. He exhales, shutting the door behind him.

“Well, that went about as well as we knew it would.” He sighs heavily. “I’m sorry, boss.”

Valerio comes to stand beside me. “I think if we kidnap him and lock him up and starve him a little, he will come out right. We could add in a good spanking or two.”

I let out a breath that’s almost a laugh. Almost.

“This isn’t a joke.”

Valerio shrugs. “Didn’t say it was. I’m entirely serious. What did he say?”

“He hates me.”

Valerio exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Matteo…”

I don’t need his sympathy. I don’t need anything. What I need is to fix this and get my son back.

“Giacomo fed him a story—one where I stole his mother away, ruined her life, and then had her killed.” I shake my head, jaw clenched tight. “And he fucking believes it.”

I pause, trying to breathe through the storm building in my chest. “She was everything to him, Valerio. His sun, his constant. He clung to her like a lifeline. When she died… he shattered. I watched it happen, piece by piece. And I didn’t know how to fix it. I didn’t know how to reach him.”

My voice lowers, rough. “And now Giacomo’s dug his claws into that grief—twisted it until it’s poisoned him.

Turned his love for her into hate for me, turning it into a weapon—and aiming it straight at me.

And he’s not just angry, Valerio… he’s grieving all over again.

Only this time, I’m the villain in his story. ”

Valerio’s expression darkens. “That son of a bitch.”

I glance at him. “Daniele or Giacomo?”

Valerio snorts. “Both.”

I tilt my head to the ceiling, feeling the weight of everything come down on me. I run a hand down my face. What the fuck am I supposed to do?

Valerio watches me carefully. Then, in a quieter voice, he says, “Do you want my advice?”

I exhale through my nose. “Do I have a choice?”

“Nope.” He nudges his shoulder against mine. “Don’t fight him on this.”

I narrow my eyes. “You want me to just let him believe Giacomo’s lies?”

“No,” Valerio says smoothly. “I want you to give him space. Right now, he’s drowning in anger, confusion, and grief.

His world just got turned upside down—and now he knows he’s not your blood.

It’s a lot for any man to take. If you push back, it’ll only make him fight harder. Let him burn himself out.”

My stomach twists at the idea of doing nothing. But Valerio isn’t done with his advice.

“And when the time comes,” he continues, “when Giacomo finally shows his hand, when Daniele sees what kind of monster he really is—then you step in.”

I roll my shoulders, considering his words. It’s a risk. But maybe he’s right. Daniele has to see the truth for himself.

And if he doesn’t? If he stays loyal to the man who has orchestrated this entire war?

Then I will have to do what I’ve always done.

Win.

No matter the cost.

The weight of Daniele’s words lingers, pressing against my chest like a slow, suffocating vice. I sit on the edge of the desk, letting the silence stretch between Valerio and me, knowing that no matter how much I try to shove this feeling away, it refuses to be ignored.

I hate you. Three words I never thought I would hear from him.

I glance at Valerio, who is watching me with an unusual seriousness. He knows me too well—knows that I am at war with myself right now.

Finally, I exhale, forcing the tension in my shoulders to ease. “So what do I do in the meantime? Just let him run a rampage in the streets of Manhattan?”

Valerio smirks, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “You do what you do best.”

I arch a brow. “Which is?”

His grin turns sharper. “You destroy the bastard who put you in this position in the first place.”

A slow, dark chuckle escapes me. There it is, that familiar, ruthless focus settling back into place. The storm inside me shifts, redirecting itself toward the man who has orchestrated this entire disaster.

Giacomo.

“Then let’s make him bleed.”

Valerio nods approvingly. “Now that’s the Matteo I know.”

I look at the clock. I’ve been away from Maria for too long.

“Send word to Dario,” I say, already moving toward the door. “I want every lead on Giacomo and Emily verified within the next twenty-four hours. I want this issue done and over with within the next two weeks. Enough is enough.”

Valerio grins. “You got it, boss.”

I step out of the office, my thoughts already shifting to the next battle. I lost the last two, but the war isn’t over yet.

As I make my way down to my car, my mind begins to shift focus to something else—or rather someone else.

Maria.

She is my anchor in all of this. The one person whose loyalty is unwavering. The one person who doesn’t see me as a monster or a king of sorts—just as Matteo.

And yet, she’s hiding something from me.

She thinks I don’t notice but I do. The way she hesitated after the gala. The flicker of something in her eyes when I asked if she was okay.

She’s keeping something from me.

And I intend to find out what it is.

Whatever she’s hiding… I’ll tear the truth from the shadows myself.