Chapter 3 - The Broken Ledger
By midnight, the Varric estate was under full lockdown. Heavy iron gates locked down the perimeter, steel shutters descended over the lower floor windows, and armed men swept the grounds every fifteen minutes. Yet inside the dimly lit primary suite, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Nico was asleep in a carved mahogany crib positioned right next to Matteo's desk. For the first time in nearly a month, the child slept without thrashing, his breathing steady and slow. Liana sat in a plush armchair beside the crib, her fingers lightly resting on the edge of the blanket.
Matteo sat behind his desk, surrounded by stacks of financial records, medical files, and police reports surrounding his wife Elena’s death. A glass of amber bourbon sat untouched at his elbow.
"You haven't slept," Matteo remarked, his eyes not leaving a computer monitor displaying encrypted transaction logs.
"I can't," Liana replied softly. "Every time I close my eyes, I hear the monitors at the hospital. I feel like if I look away, Nico will start screaming again."
Matteo paused, his fingers lingering over the keyboard. He looked at her. "Tell me about your son, Noah."
Liana let out a long, shuddering breath. "He had blue eyes. Just like Nico. He loved the sound of running water. When he got sick, I asked Dr. Sterling why he needed so many blood draws. Sterling told me I was being overly hysterical... a young, single mother who didn't understand medicine. I trusted him because he was the chief of pediatrics. I blamed myself when Noah died. I thought my body had failed him, that my milk had poisoned him."
"It wasn't you," Matteo said firmly, his voice cutting through her lingering guilt. "It was a predator hiding behind a white coat."
He turned the computer screen toward her. On it was a series of wire transfers spanning the last eighteen months. Large, offshore deposits flowing into a shell corporation registered in the Cayman Islands under the name Aegis Biometrics.
"I had my financial team dig into Sterling’s accounts the moment he vanished," Matteo explained. "He wasn't just taking a salary from the hospital. He was receiving monthly retainers from Aegis. And do you know who owns the primary shares of Aegis?"
Liana shook her head. "I don't know anything about corporations."
"The Moretti family," Matteo spat the name like poison. "My main rivals in the eastern district. For two years, we’ve been in a cold war over commercial shipping docks. I thought they were just street thugs with expensive suits. But this... this is pharmaceutical warfare."
Liana stood up and walked over to the desk, her brow furrowed as she looked at the bank statements. "Look at these dates," she pointed a slender finger at the screen. "July 14th, August 2nd, September 10th. These payouts don't match standard monthly schedules. They happen in spikes."
Matteo narrowed his eyes, analyzing the dates. "July 14th was the day Nico was born. August 2nd was when your son Noah was admitted to St. Jude’s."
"And September 10th?" Liana asked.
Matteo searched his memory, his face suddenly turning pale. "September 10th... was the day Elena’s toxicology reports were officially sealed by the city coroner’s office."
The connection was undeniable. The Morettis weren't just testing a dangerous neuro-agent on infants; they were buying off the entire medical and legal infrastructure to keep it quiet. Elena Varric hadn't died in a simple car crash. She had discovered the truth about Aegis Biometrics and Dr. Sterling, and she had been eliminated before she could tell her husband.
Suddenly, a sharp knock echoed on the heavy double doors of the study. Marcus stepped inside, carrying a thick yellowed folder with a broken red wax seal.
"Boss," Marcus said, his voice tense. "We intercepted a courier trying to leave Sterling’s suburban home. He had this in a hidden floor safe."
Matteo grabbed the file, ripping it open. Inside were clinical trial logs, stamped with red CONFIDENTIAL markers. Pages upon pages of infant patient numbers, dosage logs, and sensory reaction notes.
Liana’s heart hammered against her ribs as Matteo flipped through the pages. She reached out, her hand trembling. "Is Noah in there?"
Matteo paused, his expression softening with rare sympathy. He scrolled down a list of patient identification codes until his eyes rested on a line marked Subject 042 - Deceased. Beside it was a copy of Noah’s birth certificate and a detailed log of the experimental toxin doses administered to him.
Liana choked back a sob, placing a hand over her mouth. "They treated my baby like a laboratory rat..."
Matteo’s eyes burned with a dark, terrifying fire. He didn't just see a grieving mother standing before him; he saw the living casualty of the same monster that had attacked his own family. He slammed the folder shut, the heavy thud echoing in the quiet room.
"They took your son, Liana," Matteo swore, his voice laced with absolute, uncompromising wrath. "And they tried to take mine. But they made one fatal mistake."
"What?" Liana asked through her tears.
"They left you alive to find me." Matteo stood up, buttoning his jacket, the warmth leaving his posture as the mafia kingpin fully reemerged. "Marcus, arm the team. We aren't waiting for them to come to us. We’re raiding the Aegis testing facility tonight."
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"And what about Nico?" Liana asked urgently, stepping between Matteo and the door.
Matteo looked at her, his eyes locking onto hers with a profound sense of trust that took her by surprise. "Nico doesn't leave your side. You are the only person in this world he trusts right now, Liana. And starting tonight, you’re the only person I trust with him."
