CHAPTER 11

Matteo had never tolerated failure.

He built his empire on efficiency, discipline, and absolute control. If you weren't good enough, you didn't belong. Simple.

For weeks now, Andrea Romano had been slipping.

Mistakes. Miscommunications. Deals falling through.

Matteo had given him more chances than he usually would. Maybe because finding someone trustworthy was harder these days. Maybe because he didn't have time to train another assistant from scratch.

But after today?

No more chances.

The shipment was worth seven million dollars.

A custom arms deal—high-grade weapons, military-level security clearances. The kind of trade that needed precise coordination, airtight logistics, and a single mistake could send everything crashing down.

The client? The Marchesi Family.

A ruthless crime syndicate with a reputation for unforgiving business practices. You didn't make mistakes with them. You didn't keep them waiting.

And yet—

That's exactly what happened.

The contract had one crucial condition:

"Delivery confirmation must be made by 8:00 PM, or the deal is off."

Andrea knew this. Everyone knew this.

But at exactly 7:55 PM, as he prepared to send the final confirmation—

His system glitched.

Or at least, that's what it looked like.

In reality?

Sasha had already taken care of it.

A small, almost invisible piece of code embedded in his email system. A delay of just ten minutes.

Not enough to be suspicious.

But just enough to cost him everything.

The moment the clock struck 8:01 PM, a single message came through:

"Deal is off. Find someone else."

Andrea froze. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. He tried calling. No answer.

Tried again.

Straight to voicemail.

Panic hit like a gunshot.

"No, no, no—" He refreshed his screen. Restarted the system. Checked the logs. Nothing.

The deal was gone.

Seven million.

Months of negotiations.

Gone.

At 8:05 PM, Matteo's phone rang.

He answered. Listened.

Said nothing.

Then, slowly, he placed the phone down.

The room was silent.

Everyone inside—his executives, his security, his top men—watched him carefully.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

Because they knew Matteo in silence was more dangerous than Matteo in rage.

And then—

The explosion.

"WHERE IS HE?"

The roar shook the entire floor of the building.

A chair slammed against the wall. A glass shattered. Papers scattered across the desk as Matteo stood, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Andrea entered the office hesitantly.

Matteo's gaze snapped to him like a predator locking onto prey.

"Do you have any f*ing idea what you've just done?"

Andrea opened his mouth, but Matteo was already moving.

Faster than anyone could react, Matteo grabbed a stack of documents from the table and hurled them across the room.

"You lost a seven-million-dollar deal because you couldn't press a f*ing button on time?"

Andrea swallowed hard. His face was pale, sweat lining his forehead.

"I—I don't know what happened. The system—"

"DON'T BLAME THE SYSTEM!" Matteo's fist slammed into the desk, sending another shockwave through the office.

Andrea flinched.

The entire room was watching.

Matteo's chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.

"You're done," he said, voice cold.

"Boss, wait, I can fix—"

"Get the f** out of my sight."*

No second chances.

No room for redemption.

Matteo didn't even wait to see Andrea leave. He was already done with him.

His access was revoked. His connections cut.

As far as Matteo was concerned—

Andrea Romano no longer existed.

Across the building, in her private office, Sasha watched the security footage on her screen.

She didn't need to be in that room to know exactly what had happened.

She saw the way Matteo moved. The way his anger consumed him like a wildfire.

The empire he once ruled with absolute control was now slipping through his fingers.

And the best part?

He had no idea who was pulling the strings.

Sasha leaned back in her chair, fingers tapping against the desk.

"Checkmate."

The next morning, Andrea Romano was escorted out of the building.

No second chances. No discussion.

Matteo had made up his mind.

He needed someone better.