Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Forged Orders
Victor Hale stood inside Matteo Viscari’s private office, holding Clara Bennett’s dismissal letter like he had already won.
He smiled.
Then he said:
“You should have learned that curiosity gets people removed.”
Clara did not move.
She kept the access report in her hand.
And she noticed one thing.
Victor was not surprised by the evidence.
He was worried about it.
That told her everything.
For months, Clara had watched powerful people pretend.
Executives pretended they were confident.
Employees pretended they were not afraid.
Victor pretended he was loyal.
But fear always revealed the truth faster than words.
“You’re not denying it,” Clara said.
Victor slowly placed the dismissal paper on Matteo’s desk.
“Denying what?”
“The orders.”
“The signatures.”
“The terminal access.”
Victor walked closer.
His expensive shoes made almost no sound against the polished floor.
“You’re a secretary, Clara.”
His voice remained calm.
“That means you organize meetings. You manage schedules. You answer calls.”
He looked at the papers.
“You don’t investigate executives.”
Clara held his gaze.
“And you don’t create fake orders using someone else’s authorization.”
The silence became heavier.
Victor studied her carefully.
Almost like he was trying to understand how someone like her had become a problem.
“You made one mistake.”
Clara raised an eyebrow.
“What mistake?”
“You started believing Matteo trusted you.”
That sentence bothered her more than she expected.
Not because it was cruel.
Because there was a small possibility Victor was right.
Matteo had laughed once.
He had opened a door that had been closed for nine years.
But trust?
That was something different.
Clara lowered the documents.
“I don’t need Matteo to trust me.”
Victor smiled.
“Everyone needs something.”
“Maybe.”
She stepped closer.
“But I don’t need his approval to know what’s wrong.”
For the first time, Victor’s expression changed.
Only slightly.
But Clara noticed.
He was used to fear.
Not resistance.
The private elevator opened again.
Both of them turned.
Matteo stepped out.
His coat was gone.
His black shirt sleeves were rolled slightly.
The man looked less like an untouchable businessman and more like someone who had spent the last hour fighting against memories he did not want.
His eyes immediately went to Victor.
Then Clara.
Then the documents.
“What is happening?”
Nobody answered.
Victor recovered first.
“Matteo.”
His tone became disappointed.
“Your secretary accessed confidential records.”
Clara almost laughed.
Almost.
She looked at Matteo.
“Interesting.”
Matteo’s eyes moved to her.
“What?”
“He says I accessed confidential records.”
Victor frowned.
“Because you did.”
Clara lifted the report.
“I accessed records showing someone used your authorization code to fire employees, cancel contracts, and move company assets.”
Matteo looked at Victor.
“Is that true?”
Victor did not answer immediately.
That pause was enough.
Matteo noticed.
Everyone noticed.
Victor adjusted his suit.
“There are explanations.”
“Then explain.”
The command was quiet.
But it carried weight.
Victor looked toward Clara.
“She is manipulating your emotions.”
The room froze.
Clara blinked.
“What?”
“You have been isolated for years.”
Victor continued.
“You lost Leo. You built walls. Then suddenly someone enters your life, makes you laugh, and convinces you that everyone around you is against you.”
Matteo’s expression became unreadable.
Victor stepped closer.
“I’m trying to protect you.”
Clara watched Matteo carefully.
She expected anger.
Instead, he looked tired.
Not weak.
Tired.
Because Victor had touched something painful.
The memory of Leo.
The fear of losing someone else.
Clara understood something.
The betrayal was not only about money.
It was about using Matteo’s grief against him.
“She’s right.”
Matteo spoke quietly.
Both of them looked at him.
Victor frowned.
“What did you say?”
Matteo walked toward the desk.
“She’s right about one thing.”
He picked up the documents.
“Someone has been using my name.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“But you don’t know who.”
“No.”
Matteo looked at Clara.
“Not yet.”
That was not forgiveness.
But it was enough.
Clara knew she had been given another chance.
Matteo placed the papers down.
“Where did you find the access logs?”
“Internal system records.”
“Who gave you permission?”
“Nobody.”
Victor immediately reacted.
“There.”
He pointed.
“She admitted it.”
Matteo raised his hand.
Victor stopped.
A small movement.
But everyone understood.
Matteo was still in control.
“She found something important.”
Victor looked offended.
“Matteo.”
“You’re dismissed from this conversation.”
The words landed harder than shouting.
Victor stared.
“You’re choosing her?”
Matteo looked at him.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m choosing the truth.”
Victor’s face became cold.
Then he smiled.
A dangerous smile.
“Truth is expensive.”
He walked toward the elevator.
“And sometimes the people searching for it are the ones who pay.”
The doors closed.
Clara waited.
Only when Victor disappeared did she release the breath she had been holding.
Matteo looked at her.
“You’re reckless.”
She looked back.
“You laughed at me this morning.”
“That doesn’t mean you can break into company systems.”
“I didn’t break in.”
“You bypassed procedures.”
“That sounds less illegal.”
A tiny movement appeared on Matteo’s face.
Almost a smile.
Almost.
Then it disappeared.
Clara noticed.
“You do that often.”
“What?”
“Almost smile.”
Matteo looked away.
“Don’t analyze me.”
“Too late.”
He stared at her.
Most people would have stopped.
Clara did not.
“You miss him.”
Matteo became still.
“Leo.”
The name changed the room.
“You think laughing means you’re forgetting him.”
Matteo said nothing.
“But you’re not forgetting him.”
Clara looked at the photograph.
“You’re just afraid that if you feel happy again, it means he mattered less.”
Matteo’s jaw tightened.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
She nodded.
“I don’t.”
Then she looked back.
“But I know grief.”
The room became quiet.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Matteo walked toward the computer.
“Show me everything.”
Clara opened the files.
Together, they reviewed every suspicious order.
Every fake approval.
Every false meeting record.
The pattern became clearer.
Someone had carefully created a version of Matteo.
A cruel version.
A man who fired employees without warning.
A man who destroyed partnerships.
A man who abandoned loyal people.
Someone was turning his reputation into a weapon.
Then Clara stopped.
“Wait.”
Matteo looked at her.
“What?”
She opened one final document.
A termination order from six months earlier.
The employee name was hidden.
But the approval date was visible.
Matteo looked at it.
His face changed.
“What?”
“This date.”
Clara turned the screen toward him.
“You weren’t here.”
Matteo stared.
“I was at Leo’s memorial.”
Clara nodded slowly.
“That’s impossible.”
The room went silent.
Because someone had used his authorization code on the one day Matteo had been away from the company.
The one day he had been surrounded by hundreds of witnesses.
The one day nobody could have believed he was working.
Matteo leaned closer.
Then he saw the attached file.
A scanned note.
A handwritten message.
Only one sentence.
Clara read it aloud.
“People will forgive a grieving man for anything.”
Matteo’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Something colder.
Someone knew exactly how to manipulate him.
Someone knew exactly where his pain was.
Then Clara noticed something else.
A small symbol in the corner of the document.
A mark.
Almost invisible.
She zoomed in.
Matteo saw it.
And for the first time that night…
he looked afraid.
May you like
Because he recognized the symbol.
It belonged to Leo.
