Marco slammed his fists onto the desk, the sound echoing through his office like a gunshot. “It’s all falling apart.”
His breathing was ragged, his hands shaking as he scanned the reports in front of him. Deal after deal—gone.
Business partners who had once been loyal were now cutting ties, backing out, turning their backs on him. The threat Valeria had warned him about?
It was real. Marco ran a hand through his hair, his pulse hammering as he scrolled through the latest financial reports.
“Boss.”
Luca stood in the doorway, his expression grim. Marco didn’t look up.
“Tell me you have good news,” he muttered. Luca stepped forward, placing a thick folder onto Marco’s desk.
“I don’t.”
Marco’s stomach twisted. He flipped the folder open, his eyes scanning the documents. Leaked trade routes. Stolen shipments. Internal security breaches.
It wasn’t just one hit. It was a full-blown attack. Someone was dismantling his empire from the inside. “This isn’t coincidence,” Marco said, his voice low, dark.
Luca nodded. “Someone is feeding them information. I just need time to find concrete evidence.”
Marco’s fingers curled into fists. “Who?”
Luca hesitated. Marco’s eyes snapped up, burning with fury. “Who, Luca?”
Luca exhaled. “I don’t know yet. But I have a lead.”
Marco leaned forward, his patience wearing dangerously thin.
“Find them.”
Luca nodded once. “And when I do?”
Marco’s jaw tightened. “We burn them to the ground.”
Carmen couldn’t shake the feeling. Something about Ella felt wrong. At first, she had ignored it, telling herself she was overthinking. But now?
Now, Matteo was saying things. Things that unsettled her. Like today. Matteo sat on the floor, coloring, his little brow furrowed in concentration. Carmen smiled, kneeling beside him. “That looks amazing, sweetheart.”
Matteo didn’t respond. He simply kept coloring.
“What are you drawing?” she asked softly. Matteo shrugged. “Just a family.”
Carmen’s chest tightened. She studied the picture. There was Matteo, smiling. There was Ella, holding his hand.
And there, next to them—the faceless man again.
But Marco and Carmen?
They were drawn far away, small, barely there.
“Matteo, baby,” Carmen forced a smile, “why do you always draw Nanny?”
Matteo finally looked at her, his little eyes serious. “Because Nanny says she would never let anything happen to me.”
Carmen froze. “What?”
Matteo kept coloring. “Nanny says some parents don’t deserve their kids.”
Carmen’s blood turned ice cold. “Sweetheart… when did she say that?”
Matteo shrugged. “Just sometimes.”
Carmen felt a wave of nausea rise in her stomach. This wasn’t normal. Something was very, very wrong. She needed to talk to Marco. But Marco was too distracted.
And Carmen?
She was starting to feel completely alone.