The Mafia Boss Walked In as His Supervisor Whipped the Shy Employee—Then the Entire Office Froze!
Chapter 10
The fire destroyed most of the server room.
But Matteo’s investigators recovered enough data to continue.
Dawson was taken into custody.
He agreed to testify.
The story he told was worse than Clara expected.
Adrian Cole had built a network inside the company.
Fake shipments.
Inflated expenses.
Insurance claims.
Stolen goods.
The money moved through several businesses.
Dawson had been a low-level participant.
Thomas Bennett discovered the scheme.
He threatened to expose it.
Cole confronted him.
Then Thomas disappeared.
The accident had been staged.
But the ledger had survived.
Thomas had hidden copies throughout the company’s records.
He knew he might not live long enough to explain them.
Clara listened to Dawson’s testimony without speaking.
When it ended, she walked outside.
Matteo followed.
“You okay?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“That’s fair.”
She looked at him.
“My father knew he was going to die.”
“Yes.”
“He left clues for me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he trusted you.”
Clara shook her head.
“I was twenty-two.”
“You were his daughter.”
She looked toward the city.
“I wish he’d told me.”
Matteo stood beside her.
“Maybe he thought silence would keep you safe.”
“It didn’t.”
“No.”
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Clara asked:
“Why did you really come into that office?”
Matteo looked at her.
“I told you.”
“No. You told me about the company.”
She turned toward him.
“But you looked at me like you already knew me.”
Matteo was silent.
Finally, he said:
“Your father once saved my life.”
Clara’s eyes widened.
“When?”
“Years ago.”
He explained.
Matteo had been younger.
He had been shot during a confrontation at the docks.
Thomas Bennett found him bleeding behind a warehouse.
Instead of calling the police, Thomas helped him escape.
“He didn’t ask who I was,” Matteo said.
“He just helped.”
Clara swallowed.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your father asked me never to.”
“Why?”
“He said if anything happened to him, you should live without knowing about my world.”
Clara stared at him.
Matteo continued:
“I respected his request.”
“Until now.”
“Until I saw Dawson raise that whip.”
Something changed in Clara’s expression.
“You came because of my father.”
“I came because of him.”
Matteo paused.
“But I stayed because of you.”
Neither moved.
The words remained between them.
Then Matteo’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face hardened.
“Where?”
He listened.
“Keep him alive.”
Clara’s heart dropped.
“Who?”
Matteo looked at her.
“Adrian Cole has disappeared.”
