Chapter 9 - The Truth Leo Died Protecting
Adrian Moretti stood in the hallway like a ghost from Matteo Viscari’s past.
Nine years.
That was how long Matteo believed Adrian had disappeared.
Nine years of unanswered questions.
Nine years of believing Leo’s death was a simple tragedy.
But now Adrian was standing in front of him.
Alive.
Older.
Carrying answers.
Matteo stared at him.
“You disappeared.”
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
“You let everyone believe you abandoned the family.”
“I had to.”
Matteo stepped closer.
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“You chose to.”
Adrian accepted the accusation.
“I did.”
Clara watched them carefully.
There was history between them.
Not the kind created by business.
The kind created by years of trust.
And betrayal.
“Tell me who killed Leo.”
Matteo’s words filled the hallway.
Adrian looked at Victor.
Then back at Matteo.
“Before I tell you…”
He paused.
“You need to understand something.”
Matteo’s eyes narrowed.
“I’m running out of patience.”
“Leo knew that would happen.”
The sentence stopped him.
Adrian continued.
“Leo always said you were the strongest person he knew.”
A pause.
“But he also said your anger would become your greatest weakness.”
Matteo looked away for a moment.
Because that sounded exactly like Leo.
Clara stepped forward.
“Enough memories.”
Everyone looked at her.
“We need facts.”
Adrian studied her.
“This is Clara?”
Matteo looked at him.
“How do you know her?”
Adrian gave a tired smile.
“Because Leo knew about her.”
The room froze.
Clara frowned.
“What?”
Adrian reached into his coat.
He removed a small notebook.
Old.
Worn.
Familiar.
Matteo immediately recognized it.
“Leo’s.”
Adrian nodded.
“He gave this to me three days before he died.”
Matteo’s expression changed.
“You had his notebook?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
Adrian looked at him.
“Because Leo told me not to.”
Matteo’s anger returned.
“Everyone keeps using my brother’s name as an excuse.”
Adrian didn’t react.
“Then listen to what he wrote.”
He opened the notebook.
Pages filled with Leo’s handwriting.
Names.
Dates.
Observations.
Then Adrian stopped at one page.
“This was the last thing Leo wrote.”
Matteo looked down.
The handwriting was rushed.
Different from the rest.
Like Leo was writing quickly.
If Matteo finds this, it means I failed.
Matteo’s face changed.
Adrian continued.
But if Clara Bennett is beside him, then maybe I was right.
Clara froze.
“Me?”
Adrian nodded.
“Leo knew you.”
“That’s impossible.”
“He watched the company.”
Matteo looked at Adrian.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian closed the notebook.
“Leo knew everyone around you.”
Clara looked confused.
“Why would he know me?”
“Because you were one of the few people who treated Matteo like a human being.”
The words affected Matteo more than he expected.
Adrian continued.
“Leo noticed you months before you became his secretary.”
Clara stared.
“He knew I existed?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Adrian looked at Matteo.
“Because Leo was worried about you.”
Matteo said nothing.
“He believed you were slowly becoming someone he wouldn’t recognize.”
Clara looked at Matteo.
Adrian continued.
“After Leo died, you stopped trusting people.”
Matteo looked away.
“You built walls.”
A pause.
“You became exactly what the person who betrayed you wanted.”
Nobody spoke.
Because it was true.
The fake orders were not only about money.
They were about changing Matteo.
Making him isolated.
Making him impossible to reach.
“Who did it?” Matteo asked again.
Adrian took a breath.
“The person who ordered the attack…”
He looked at Victor.
“Was not Victor.”
Victor’s face changed slightly.
Matteo noticed.
Adrian continued.
“Victor made mistakes.”
Victor looked down.
“But he was trying to protect Leo’s investigation.”
Matteo looked at Victor.
“You lied to me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Leo asked me to.”
Matteo looked back at Adrian.
“And you?”
Adrian lowered his eyes.
“I helped Leo investigate.”
“Then why disappear?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Because I found the person behind it.”
The room became silent.
“And?”
Adrian looked at Matteo.
“The moment I knew who it was, I understood something.”
“What?”
“That Leo wasn’t killed because he discovered the betrayal.”
A pause.
“He was killed because he was about to expose the person who ordered it.”
Matteo stepped forward.
“Name.”
Adrian looked at him.
“I think you already know.”
“No.”
Matteo’s voice became dangerous.
“I want you to say it.”
Adrian hesitated.
Then he said:
“Your uncle.”
The room froze.
Matteo stared.
“My uncle died ten years ago.”
“Yes.”
Clara looked confused.
“Then how?”
Adrian opened another file.
Inside were financial records.
Old transfers.
Hidden accounts.
“Your uncle wasn’t the person controlling everything.”
Matteo looked at the documents.
“Then who?”
Adrian pointed to the signatures.
“Someone who inherited everything after his death.”
Matteo’s eyes moved.
Then stopped.
Because he recognized the authorization code.
The same code used for the fake orders.
The same code used against him.
Clara looked at him.
“Matteo?”
He didn’t answer.
Because the truth was too familiar.
Someone had not stolen his identity.
They had access because Matteo gave it to them.
Years ago.
Before Leo died.
Before everything changed.
“Who?” Clara asked.
Matteo slowly looked up.
His expression was broken.
Not angry.
Broken.
Because the person behind everything was someone he had defended.
Someone he had trusted.
Someone who had attended Leo’s funeral.
Adrian spoke quietly.
“The person who destroyed your family…”
A pause.
“Was the person you called family.”
Victor closed his eyes.
Because he already knew.
Matteo looked at the documents again.
Then he saw the final page.
A transfer authorization.
Signed after Leo’s death.
Approved by one person.
The same person who had been managing the company’s recovery.
The same person who had convinced Matteo to stop searching.
The same person who had told him for nine years that Leo’s death was an accident.
Matteo whispered the name.
“Daniel Viscari.”
Clara looked shocked.
“Your cousin?”
Matteo nodded slowly.
Daniel Viscari.
The man who had stood beside him.
The man who had helped rebuild Viscari Holdings.
The man everyone believed was loyal.
Adrian looked at Matteo.
“Leo discovered Daniel was moving company assets before the attack.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he found something worse.”
“What?”
Adrian’s voice lowered.
“Daniel wasn’t working alone.”
Matteo’s eyes hardened.
“Who else?”
Adrian looked toward Victor.
Then toward the dark hallway.
“Someone who helped him hide everything.”
A pause.
“Someone inside your security team.”
The lights suddenly flickered.
Everyone turned.
The building alarm activated.
Victor immediately looked toward the security monitors.
His face changed.
“What?”
Matteo looked at him.
“What happened?”
Victor stared at the screen.
Then answered:
“Someone accessed the old Viscari archive.”
Clara frowned.
“The files Leo left?”
Victor nodded.
But there was something else.
A message appeared on the monitor.
Only one sentence.
You found the truth too late.
Matteo stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
Now watch what happens when everyone learns who you trusted.
The screen went black.
And for the first time in nine years…
May you like
Matteo Viscari was not afraid of losing his empire.
He was afraid of losing the people who had survived beside him.
