Chapter 10
Alessandro did not accuse Matteo of killing Sofia.
He wanted to.
Instead, he waited for facts.
That choice changed everything.
Hospital records showed Sofia suffered a spontaneous cerebral aneurysm.
No poisoning.
No assault.
No evidence that anyone caused it.
She collapsed in the master bedroom while Rosalie was downstairs preparing Livia’s lunch.
Matteo did not cause Sofia’s death.
The major betrayal was different.
He had been with her twenty minutes before she collapsed.
And he had lied about it for eighteen months.
Estate access records confirmed his arrival.
Rosalie remembered seeing his car.
Matteo finally admitted it.
Sofia confronted him.
She demanded he tell Alessandro about the hotel debt and the Moretti negotiations that day.
Matteo refused.
She threatened to leave Alessandro and take Livia for several weeks until Alessandro separated the family from the business.
Matteo panicked.
Not because he wanted Sofia gone.
Because he believed her leaving would destroy Alessandro at the exact moment the companies were unstable.
So he did what Matteo had always done.
He tried to control the crisis.
He told Sofia Alessandro would never choose her over the family.
He told her taking Livia would make Alessandro fight her.
He told her leaving would trigger a scandal that could collapse confidence in the companies.
Sofia became furious.
She told Matteo to get out.
He left.
Twenty minutes later, she collapsed.
Alessandro stared at his cousin.
“You knew those were the last words anyone from this family said to her.”
Matteo’s eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“And you let me spend eighteen months believing her last day was peaceful.”
Matteo's breathing broke.
“I thought telling you would destroy you.”
Alessandro’s voice dropped.
“You keep saying that.”
Matteo looked at him.
“Every betrayal becomes protection after you do it.”
Silence.
Then came the deeper twist.
Sofia’s phone contained a voice memo recorded after Matteo left.
Her breathing sounded strained.
But her words were clear.
If anything happens to me, Matteo didn't hurt me.
Alessandro closed his eyes.
Then Sofia continued.
But he has become the man who decides what Alessandro is allowed to know.
That is more dangerous than Alessandro understands.
Alessandro slowly opened his eyes.
Matteo had not killed Sofia.
He had done something that, to Alessandro, felt almost as intimate.
He had spent years controlling the truth around him.
And after Sofia died, Matteo chose Bianca as the next person who could keep Alessandro stable.
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The wedding was never only Bianca’s plan.
Matteo had built it from the beginning.
