Chương 4
Norah turned toward her.
“You’re the one who hid the request.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed.
“And you’re the one who watched the account records and waited.”
The exchange was sharp enough that Matteo raised a hand.
“Enough.”
Both women stopped.
He looked between them.
Neither was innocent.
Neither was completely wrong.
That was the problem.
The easiest stories were the ones where one person was evil and everyone else was right.
Real life was harder.
People made small compromises until the compromises became something they could no longer explain.
“Where is Carlo?” Matteo asked.
Norah checked her phone.
“He was supposed to meet with you this afternoon.”
“Was?”
“He canceled.”
“When?”
“Thirty minutes ago.”
Matteo looked at the clock on the wall.
The timing was too convenient.
Not proof.
But enough.
“Call him.”
Norah hesitated.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
She stepped aside and made the call.
The room stayed quiet while the phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
She tried again.
The second call went directly to voicemail.
Matteo looked at the ceiling for a moment.
A habit he had developed years ago when he needed to stop himself from reacting too quickly.
His father used to act first and justify later.
Matteo had spent most of his adult life trying not to become that man.
But restraint did not mean ignoring instinct.
It meant choosing what to do with it.
“Send me everything you found,” he said.
Norah nodded.
“I already organized the files.”
“Of course you did.”
A small smile appeared on her face.
Only for a second.
Then it disappeared.
Matteo noticed.
“You did the right thing.”
She looked surprised.
“I delayed.”
“You investigated.”
“I was scared.”
“That’s different.”
Norah looked away.
People rarely admitted fear around him.
They usually disguised it as professionalism or silence.
He respected honesty more than confidence.
Evelyn stood slowly.
“What happens now?”
Matteo looked at her.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether you tell me everything.”
Her expression hardened again.
“I told you what I know.”
“No.”
He walked around the desk.
“You told me what protects you.”
The sentence hurt because she did not immediately deny it.
Instead, she sat there silently.
The silence became an answer.
Matteo left the office before she could respond.
He needed air.
Not because he was overwhelmed.
Because he was angry enough to make a mistake.
The hallway outside was warmer than the office.
The estate moved around him.
Staff members carried laundry baskets.
A gardener spoke quietly near the back entrance.
Someone laughed in the distance.
The normal sounds bothered him.
They made the problem feel smaller than it was.
He walked toward the kitchen.
Lily was still there.
She sat at the table now, her stuffed rabbit beside her plate.
Anna was helping her with a glass of water.
The moment Matteo entered, Lily immediately looked at the floor.
That reaction stopped him.
A child should not have to check whether she was allowed to exist in a room.
“Hey,” he said.
Lily looked up.
“I wanted to ask you something.”
She nodded.
“Do you like the kitchen?”
She looked confused.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked around.
“Because my mom works here.”
Anna smiled faintly.
A tired smile.
The kind parents had when their children said something simple that carried more weight than expected.
Matteo pulled out a chair.
“Can I sit?”
Lily nodded.
He sat across from her.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
He was used to conversations where people wanted something from him.
Money.
Protection.
Permission.
Fear.
Children were different.
They did not negotiate the way adults did.
“Did you know the floor was scratched before today?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
“Did anyone tell you not to walk there?”
She looked at Anna.
Her mother gave a small nod.
“It’s okay,” Matteo said.
“You can answer.”
Lily touched the rabbit’s ear.
“Ms. Evelyn said we should be careful.”
“Careful how?”
“Because Mr. Moretti doesn’t like things damaged.”
The words bothered him.
Not because they were untrue.
He did not like careless behavior.
But somewhere along the way, that expectation had changed into something else.
A fear of disappointing him.
“Did I ever tell you that?”
She thought about it.
“No.”
“Then why did you think it?”
The little girl shrugged.
“Everybody knows.”
Anna looked down.
Matteo felt something tighten in his chest.
Everybody knows.
That was the kind of sentence powerful people rarely questioned.
Reputation became a second person living inside the room.
A version of themselves created by everyone else.
“Lily,” he said.
She looked at him.
“You don’t have to apologize for needing something.”
Her eyes moved to her brace.
“I make people work more.”
The sentence was so quiet that he almost wished he had not heard it.
Anna closed her eyes.
A mother’s pain was different from anger.
Anger wanted action.
Pain wanted time.
“You don’t make people work more,” Matteo said.
“But my leg—”
“Your leg is not a problem.”
She stared at him.
“It’s something you have.”
The girl considered that.
Children did not accept words just because adults said them.
They tested them.
Matteo understood that.
Promises meant nothing without proof.
He stood.
“I’m going to fix the entrance.”
Lily looked worried.
“The floor?”
“No.”
He glanced toward the doorway.
“The path.”
She looked at Anna.
Then back at him.
“Are you mad?”
The question was simple.
But it carried the weight of every person in the house who had ever been afraid to ask him something.
Matteo took a second before answering.
“Yes.”
Lily’s face fell slightly.
He continued.
“But not at you.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“I’m mad that someone made you think you did something wrong.”
The room became quiet.
Anna looked away quickly.
Matteo knew she was trying not to show emotion.
He respected that.
People carried dignity differently.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Controlled.
Evelyn appeared at the entrance.
But she was not alone.
May you like
Her phone was in her hand.
Her face had changed.
