Chapter 118: Chapter-118. (Trust Me).
Matteo freaking Romano.
I could not stop myself from looking at him. His sharp features glowed against the fire’s light.
His eyes were calm, but a spark of danger shone through them, just like a predator waiting for its prey.
My chest tightened as a hundred questions raced in my head, but only one left my lips.
"Whatever you know, explain clearly," I said, my voice was low yet firm.
Matteo, on the other hand, did not answer right away. His eyes slid toward Edward. It was a silent exchange flashing between them, one filled with something I did not quite understand.
Finally, Matteo tilted his head slightly and called out, "Alfred."
The butler, who had been with us from the start, stepped inside.
Matteo then signalled towards Emma, who was still in my arms, and ordered in this chilly voice, "Take the little one outside. Let her play in the garden."
Emma’s head jerked upward, looking at both of them like a rabbit coming out of its burrow.
She instantly shook her head, pressing her face deeper against me. Her small arms clung tighter around my neck.
"I don’t wanna go," she mumbled, her voice muffled but stubborn.
Matteo’s expression flickered, which he recovered in the blink of an eye. And it was not good.
Edward turned to us as our gaze met. The next moment, he stood up abruptly, scrapping his chair, cutting through the thick air.
He walked towards us, and his expression softened as he knelt beside us.
"Emma, it’s just the garden. You’ll like it. There are lots of flowers, and space to run. Bunny can come too," he said, gently keeping his calm.
Her lips pressed together as she looked between us. The doubt on her look made me want to convince her more; that’s when Edward held her hand.
His grip was firm yet soft on her tiny hands, as he spoke up, "I will be right here when you come back," he promised.
He brushed a stray curl from her forehead as he completed, "Just for a little while. Trust me."
Emma blinked up at him, then at me. I hesitated looking at him, but Edward gave me a small nod.
After a long while, Emma finally slid off my lap as Edward handed her to the butler. Her bunny dangled from her arm as she shuffled toward the door, glancing back one last time.
My heart felt a pang of guilt, but she had to leave. This conversation was not something I wanted her to be part of.
She was too innocent to hear all of it.
The moment the heavy doors closed behind them, the air in the room shifted. Lighter for Emma, heavier for the rest of us.
Matteo leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. His tone was calm, but it carried the weight of steel.
"There are two worlds," he began slowly as his eyes took all of us in.
I took in some deep breaths as I composed myself for the upcoming truth.
Matteo’s voice then fell into my ears, "One you see, and one you don’t. The world of light, where people walk blindly, thinking they know how things work. And the world underneath it....hidden, silent, ruthless, where the Syndicates rule."
My stomach tightened at those words.
"It was the Black Vultures," Matteo continued, his eyes flicking to me. "A Syndicate that thrives on blood and contracts. They’re not just smugglers or thieves. They deal in human lives. One of their divisions is made up entirely of bounty hunters."
Sophia gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. She asked, "Bounty hunters?"
"Yes." Matteo’s gaze didn’t waver. "If someone gives them money, they’ll hunt the prey. Doesn’t matter who. A man, a woman, even a child. They’ll find them. And the worst part?"
He leaned back in his chair, his voice dropping lower. "They let the client choose how it ends. Slow or fast. Painful or clean. Sometimes, they’ll even allow... games."
The last statement sent a chill down my spine.
Sophia shook her head, horror flashing across her face. "That’s sick. That’s... that’s inhuman."
I sat in silence, my mind racing, carefully piecing together everything.
Caroline’s blackmailer. The men who chased me and Dave. The accident. The fear that never left me.
My breath caught in my throat as the puzzle began to form a picture I didn’t want to see.
Matteo’s eyes never left me, like he could read the thoughts tearing through my head. "You have already seen their work," he said smoothly. "Haven’t you?"
I swallowed hard as I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
Edward’s fists clenched on his knees, his expression tight, his eyes flickering with a storm he was holding back, which confused me even more.
Why was he so angry? It was Dave and I who went through all of it, so why does his reaction seem too personal?
Sophia whispered, "You mean... they were after Elena all this time?"
Matteo’s lips curved into the faintest smile, though there was no warmth in it. "Not Elena. The Morrises."
The name hung in the air like a blade. My pulse spiked, my hands trembling against my lap.
"What do you mean?" I forced the words out. "Why the Morrises? Why Dave’s family?"
Matteo didn’t answer immediately. He studied me, his gaze sharp and unblinking, before finally leaning back, his fingers tapping lightly against the arm of his chair.
"Because," he said softly, almost too calmly, "the Morrises weren’t as clean as you thought."
My heart skipped a beat knowing that I was about to dive into the deep sea of secrets.
A hundred memories of Dave’s family flashed in my mind.
Their dinners, their laughter, their perfect smiles that had felt so safe, so steady. And suddenly, I wondered how much of it had been real.
Matteo’s words didn’t just threaten the present; instead, they cracked open the past. A past I thought I knew.
And in that moment, I had this feeling that whatever truth was coming next, it wasn’t just about Edward or Matteo. It was about me too.
About the past, I thought we all thought that we had left behind.
And I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.