Bound By Business

Chapter fourteen: Beneath the Surface

Luca hesitated, then looked up, desperation etched into his features. “Marcus approached me months ago. He said he wanted to expose Marco for the liar he is, to reveal all the corruption at the heart of Moretti Real Estate.”

“And you believed him?” Alex asked, his voice cutting like a blade.

Luca swallowed hard, his hands twisting in his lap. “He showed me proof—or at least, what looked like proof. Documents, financial records, things that suggested Marco had been hiding more than just bad business deals. He said if I didn’t help him, he’d expose me too.”

I stepped forward, my voice sharp. “Expose you for what, Luca? What are you hiding?”

Luca’s shoulders sagged, and he avoided my gaze. “I… I’ve made mistakes. Taken risks I shouldn’t have. If Marcus exposed those, I’d lose everything—my job, my family, my reputation. He said helping him was the only way to protect myself.”

“And you thought betraying the company was the solution?” Alex demanded, his voice rising, his fists clenching at his sides.

“I didn’t think it would go this far!” Luca shouted, his voice breaking. “I thought I could feed him minor information, things that wouldn’t really hurt the company. But then he started asking for more. And when I tried to back out…” He trailed off, his face paling further.

“What happened when you tried to back out?” I pressed, my tone steady but insistent.

Luca hesitated, his hands trembling as he stared down at the carpet. “He threatened my family. My wife, my children. He sent me pictures of them—at school, at the park. He said if I didn’t keep helping him, they’d pay the price.”

The room fell silent, the weight of his words sinking in like a lead weight in my chest.

I exchanged a glance with Alex, whose expression was a mix of anger and disbelief. “Do you have proof of these threats?” I asked.

Luca nodded, his movements shaky as he reached for his laptop. “I saved everything—the emails, the messages. I didn’t know what else to do. If I ignored him, my family wasn’t safe. If I helped him, at least I could control how much damage I caused.”

Alex crossed his arms, his gaze icy. “You controlled nothing. You gave him the tools to ruin us, and now you’re scrambling to justify it.”

“I didn’t want this!” Luca snapped, his voice cracking. “I didn’t know how far he was willing to go. I thought—”

“You thought wrong,” Alex interrupted, his voice sharp and unforgiving.

As Luca pulled up the files, the pieces of Marcus’s plan began to fall into place. The messages were chilling: detailed instructions, veiled threats, and promises of protection if Luca complied.

“He’s playing a long game,” I murmured, scrolling through the emails. “This isn’t just about taking down the company—it’s personal.”

Alex stood behind me, his hands gripping the back of my chair. “He wants to destroy my father. And he’s using people like Luca to do it.”

Luca looked up, his eyes pleading. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make this right. Just… don’t let him hurt my family.”

I turned to Alex, who hadn’t looked away from Luca. “We need him,” I said quietly.

Alex’s jaw tightened, but after a long pause, he nodded. “Fine. But if you lie to us again, Luca, I’ll make sure Marcus isn’t the only one you have to fear.”

Back at the estate, tension filled the air like an invisible storm. The information Luca had provided confirmed what we’d suspected: Marcus had been orchestrating a campaign of sabotage for months, using insiders like Luca to destabilize the company from within.

But there was something else, buried in the messages—a coded phrase that appeared multiple times: “The king falls at dawn.”

“What do you think it means?” Alex asked, leaning over my shoulder as I stared at the screen.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, frowning. “But it’s clearly significant. Marcus isn’t just targeting the company—he’s planning something bigger.”

Alex straightened, his expression dark. “We need to tell my father.”

I hesitated. “Marco won’t take this lightly. If we go to him with this, he’ll go on the offensive. And that might be exactly what Marcus wants.”

“So what do you suggest?” Alex asked, crossing his arms.

“We need more information,” I said. “Something concrete that ties Marcus directly to these plans. If we act too soon, we risk playing right into his hands.”

The following morning, I woke to a flurry of messages from Laura. Another leak had surfaced, this time targeting Marco directly. The documents, though heavily doctored, painted a damning picture of him as a ruthless businessman willing to sacrifice ethics for profit.

The media was already running wild with the story, and investors were beginning to panic.

“This is it,” Alex said as we gathered in Marco’s office. “He’s making his move.”

Marco’s expression was grim as he scanned the leaked documents. “He’s been building to this for months,” he said. “And now he thinks he has enough to take me down.”

“He doesn’t,” I said firmly. “The leaks are fabricated, and we can prove it. But we need to act fast before the damage becomes irreversible.”

Marco nodded, his gaze hardening. “Do whatever it takes. Stop him.”

By midday, we had launched a full-scale investigation, combing through every piece of evidence Luca had provided. Laura’s team worked tirelessly to trace the source of the latest leak, while Alex and I focused on decoding Marcus’s plans.

The phrase “The king falls at dawn” continued to haunt me, its meaning elusive but ominous.

“I think it’s a timeline,” I said finally, looking up from my notes.

Alex frowned. “A timeline for what?”

“For his endgame,” I replied. “Whatever Marcus is planning, it’s happening soon. And we need to be ready.”

That evening, Alex and I sat in the library, the weight of the day’s events pressing down on us. The fire crackled in the hearth, casting flickering shadows across the room.

“This isn’t just about the company,” Alex said suddenly, breaking the silence.

I looked at him, surprised. “What do you mean?”

“It’s about my father,” he said, his voice low. “Marcus wants to destroy him, not just professionally but personally. And if we don’t stop him…” He trailed off, his gaze distant.

“We will,” I said, my voice firm. “We’ve come this far, Alex. We’re not letting him win.”

He looked at me then, his blue eyes searching mine. “How do you do it, Carter? How do you stay so damn strong through all of this?”

I hesitated, caught off guard by the vulnerability in his tone. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I just… keep going. Because if I stop, everything falls apart.”

He nodded, a faint smile tugging at his lips. “I guess that’s what makes you so good at what you do.”

For a moment, the tension between us softened, replaced by a quiet understanding. But the moment didn’t last.

My phone buzzed on the table, and when I picked it up, my stomach dropped.

The message was brief but chilling: “Tick tock. The king falls tomorrow.”