Chapter 17 - MATTEO'S EMPTY HOUSE
Matteo had not slept.
He stood in Vivian's bedroom with the lights off, looking at the ring she had left on his pillow.
The staff had stopped speaking when he entered the room. The guards avoided his eyes. Even the housekeeper, who had served the family for twenty years, moved as though the walls might repeat her words.
He had ordered the estate searched.
He had sent men to every property Vivian had ever visited. He had called Mara Ellis, Vivian's attorney, and three former friends whose names he had found in old correspondence.
No one had answered.
At sunrise, he had gone to the ballroom and watched the staff remove the decorations from the New Year's celebration.
The room looked smaller without the guests.
He remembered Vivian standing in the doorway of the billiard room. Her face had been pale, her eyes wide, one hand resting on her stomach.
He remembered saying that it meant nothing.
He had used those words because he wanted them to be true.
They were not.
His phone rang.
Marco.
“We found the cottage.”
Matteo straightened.
“Where is she?”
“She left before we arrived.”
“Who was with her?”
“Mara Ellis. Daniel helped them.”
Matteo's jaw tightened.
“Bring Daniel to me.”
“He's not at the estate.”
“Find him.”
Marco hesitated.
“Boss, there's another problem. The Northline accounts have been accessed from an outside terminal. Someone is copying the files.”
“Who?”
“We're tracing it.”
Matteo looked at the papers on his desk. The financial transfers had been hidden in layers of shell companies. He had noticed irregularities months earlier but had allowed Stefan to reassure him that the accounting team was handling them.
Then Camille had entered the picture.
Matteo had known Stefan wanted her close to him. He had told himself he could use the arrangement to discover what his uncle was planning. He had also known that he was crossing a line with Vivian.
He had told himself he could stop before it mattered.
He had been wrong.
“Get me every document,” he said.
Marco lowered his voice.
“There's a guardianship petition. A draft. It names you as the sole custodial parent after the birth.”
Matteo stared at him.
“What?”
“It claims Vivian is unstable and involved in financial fraud.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Stefan's attorney.”
“Was I listed as a petitioner?”
“Yes.”
Matteo's stomach turned.
“Remove my name.”
“Boss, the document hasn't been filed yet.”
“Then make sure it never is.”
He ended the call and looked at the ring again.
A knock came at the door.
His mother, Elena Draven, entered without waiting.
“You look terrible.”
“Where is Stefan?”
“Not here.”
“Do you know about the guardianship petition?”
Elena stopped.
That was enough.
Matteo turned.
“You knew.”
“I knew Stefan was concerned about the succession.”
“He planned to take my child.”
“He planned to protect the family.”
“My wife is my family.”
Elena looked at him with something close to pity.
“You have made this more difficult than it needed to be.”
Matteo stepped closer.
“Did you know about Camille?”
His mother said nothing.
“Did you know she was in my bed?”
Elena's expression hardened.
“I knew she was useful.”
Matteo stared at her.
May you like
For the first time, he understood that his family had not merely tolerated the betrayal.
They had arranged the room and waited for him to walk into it.
