Page 197 of Matteo

I stare at him for a moment longer. This guy has issues, but so do I, and together, we’re a mess.

A beautiful mess.

Chapter 45

MATTEO

This is all kinds of fucked up.

I was so wrong. I doubted the woman I love, and I hurt her badly. I ruined what we had—all because of something the old man did. Him pulling hospital funding, led to internal sabotage by a man I trusted with my life.

I sat for hours in my office after Elizabeth left, trying to comprehend the enormity of what she’d revealed, and the circumstances that led to where we are now. Her acknowledging that she also had a part to play in this should make me feel better, but it doesn’t, because the distance between us is as great as ever. I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to fix it, but I’m not one to give up easily.

Later that evening I go to the old man’s penthouse. Not with an army of my brothers, and not for another fucking dinner. Because I need to tell him, and I need to know. The housekeeper lets me in and leads me to the Great Room. He’s sitting on a sofa reading a newspaper. He looks frailer than last time, like he needs my fucking kidney badly.

I’m not so sure that he’s going to get it.

He looks up as I walk in.

“Need to talk to you about something,” I say.

He studies me for a moment, and then I see the fear settle in his eyes. Maybe he thinks I’ve come here to tell him I’ve changed my mind.

“We found him.” I don’t sit down. “The person who was doing all this. The one behind the technical glitches at the company. It was Alex.”

“Alex?” He looks completely shocked, just like was.

“Alex Crawford.”

“Alex. Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever suspect?”

I shake my head. “Never. I was completely blindsided. He’s smart and he hid his tracks well, but we baited him out. Or rather, Elizabeth did.”

“It was just Alex?”

“What do you mean?” He’s hinting at something I’m not understanding.

He folds his newspaper and places it on the coffee table beside him. “Are you sure he was working alone?”

I hadn’t even thought about that. The question didn’t arise, and Alex never mentioned anyone else. But the old man seems to think he didn’t act alone. I shrug. “It was just him, but he tried to frame Elizabeth.”

The old man scoffs. “Why?”

I pace around in front of him, not wanting to sit, and eager to keep this short, so I can quickly make my exit. “Because she was smart enough to figure out that it was an inside job. It wasn’t an external threat.”

“Hmmm.” He rests his elbows on the armrest, before intertwining his fingers together. “I can’t say I’m too surprised.”

“About Alex?”

“About it being someone internal.”

“You suspected that?” I ask, in disbelief. “From the start?”

He pauses. “I wasn’t sure.”