The Mafia Boss Walked In as His Supervisor Whipped the Shy Employee—Then the Entire Office Froze!
Chapter 5
Clara spent the night awake.
She kept thinking about her father’s handwriting.
He had worked for the shipping company before her.
He had always told her to keep her head down.
“Do your work,” he used to say.
“Don’t get involved in other people’s trouble.”
Now she wondered whether those words had been fear rather than wisdom.
The next morning, she brought the document to Matteo.
He had already been waiting.
“Tell me about your father.”
Clara sat down.
“His name was Thomas Bennett. He was an accountant.”
“I know.”
She looked surprised.
“You knew him?”
“No. I knew his records.”
Matteo opened a file.
Thomas Bennett had reported irregular shipments three times.
Each report had been dismissed.
Then his employment ended.
Six months later, he died.
Officially, it was an accident.
A vehicle had gone off a wet road late at night.
Clara stared at the page.
“My father wasn’t reckless.”
“I know.”
She looked up.
“How?”
Matteo was quiet.
“Because I’ve read the accident report.”
“What does it say?”
“The brakes failed.”
Clara’s heart stopped.
Her father had always maintained his car carefully.
She remembered him checking the brakes every month.
Matteo continued.
“The vehicle was inspected afterward.”
“And?”
“The brake lines had been cut.”
Clara’s hand covered her mouth.
For years, she had believed her father’s death was an accident.
Matteo watched her.
“I didn’t tell you yesterday because you were already frightened.”
Clara stood.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“You suspected my father was murdered and didn’t tell me?”
“I had no proof.”
Her eyes filled.
“Then why bring me here?”
“Because someone is still using the same accounts.”
Clara wiped her face.
“Who?”
Matteo closed the file.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
For the first time, Clara realized something.
Matteo hadn’t rescued her because he happened to walk into the office at the right moment.
He had been investigating the company.
Her father’s records had brought him closer.
And Clara’s presence had given him something he didn’t expect.
A witness.
But the investigation had already been noticed.
That afternoon, Nina found Clara in the hallway.
“You need to be careful.”
Clara looked at her.
“Why?”
Nina glanced around.
“Dawson isn’t the worst person here.”
“What do you mean?”
Nina slipped a folded paper into Clara’s hand.
“Someone in accounting has been changing the records.”
Clara opened it.
A list of employee names appeared.
Several had been fired.
One had disappeared.
At the bottom was a name circled twice.
Thomas Bennett.
Clara looked up.
Nina was gone.
