Chapter 6 - The Bride Stopped the Wedding
By morning, the celebration had collapsed into chaos.
Richard demanded Isabella’s phone.
She refused.
His attorneys threatened lawsuits.
Matteo’s attorneys threatened worse ones.
Then the bride walked into the library.
Sofia Moretti was still wearing her wedding gown.
“Dad.”
Richard turned.
“Go upstairs.”
“No.”
“This doesn’t concern you.”
“It concerns my husband.”
Richard stared at her.
Sofia looked at the fraudulent agreement.
“You used our marriage.”
“I protected this family.”
“You used my wedding to steal companies.”
Richard’s voice hardened.
“You don’t understand business.”
“I understand betrayal.”
The groom, Nicholas DeLuca, entered behind her.
He looked at Richard.
“The partnership is canceled.”
“You don’t have that authority.”
“I do on my side.”
Richard stared at his new son-in-law.
Nicholas continued.
“And unless you want every guest downstairs hearing the recording, you’ll leave.”
“You would humiliate your wife’s family?”
Sofia answered.
“You already did.”
Richard looked around.
Nobody defended him.
Not Matteo.
Not Vittorio.
Not his daughter.
Not his son-in-law.
His eyes finally settled on Isabella.
“A waitress.”
Isabella held his gaze.
“Yes.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Twenty years of planning undone by a waitress.”
Matteo stepped beside her.
“No.”
Richard looked at him.
“Undone by the same mistake you made with her father.”
“What mistake?”
“You assumed people without power couldn’t hurt you.”
Richard said nothing.
Matteo continued.
“Daniel Bennett had no empire.”
He looked at Isabella.
“Neither does his daughter.”
Then back at Richard.
“But both of them noticed the truth.”
Richard left the estate before sunrise.
The evidence from Daniel’s files triggered investigations into the old financial scheme and the attempted fraudulent partnership.
The wedding remained legally intact.
The business alliance did not.
Hours later, Isabella stood outside the estate waiting for a rideshare.
A black sedan stopped beside her.
The window lowered.
Matteo sat inside.
“Get in.”
“No.”
He blinked.
“No?”
“I’ve spent enough time being ordered around by billionaires tonight.”
“I wasn’t ordering.”
“That sounded exactly like ordering.”
Matteo considered this.
“Would you like a ride home?”
“Better.”
She opened the door.
Inside, Matteo handed her an envelope.
She frowned.
“What’s this?”
“A job offer.”
Isabella stared at him.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“Doing what?”
“Internal investigations.”
“I’m a waitress.”
“You discovered a conspiracy at a wedding while carrying champagne.”
“That doesn’t make me an investigator.”
“No.”
Matteo leaned back.
“It makes you better than several investigators I already employ.”
She almost laughed.
Then she looked at the salary.
Her eyes widened.
“That number is ridiculous.”
“I know.”
“I’m not accepting money because I helped you.”
“Good.”
He took the envelope back.
“Then earn it.”
Isabella studied him.
“You really trust me?”
Matteo looked out the window.
“No.”
She frowned.
Then he looked back at her.
“But I want to.”
May you like
For Matteo Rossi, that was considerably more dangerous.
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