“Delete My Number,” She Said—Then Six Men Stepped Aside for the Crime Lord She’d Been Secretly Writing To
Chapter 11
Months later, Clara returned to the Black Swan Inn.
She sat at the same table.
The chair opposite her was empty.
Matteo entered.
Six men followed him.
The room became silent.
The six men stopped.
Then stepped aside.
Matteo walked toward Clara.
She smiled.
“Is this seat taken?”
He looked at the chair.
“No.”
He sat.
Clara laughed.
“You stole my question.”
“You stole my letters.”
“I didn’t steal them.”
“You kept them.”
“So did you.”
Matteo reached inside his coat.
He produced a small bundle.
Her letters.
Every one.
Clara looked at them.
“You kept all of them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He answered without hesitation.
“Because they were the first honest things anyone had ever given me.”
Clara’s eyes filled with tears.
“I told you to delete my number.”
“I remember.”
“You didn’t.”
“I couldn’t.”
She smiled.
“There are no numbers.”
“I know.”
They laughed.
Outside, the rain began.
Just like the first night.
But everything was different.
Clara no longer feared him.
And Matteo no longer needed people to fear him.
