Chapter 18

Isadora

I didn’t want to be doing this. But the need to know was gnawing at me, pulling me deeper into a place I wasn’t sure I could come back from. The moment Laura opened her laptop, I felt that familiar weight settle over me. She might’ve been my best friend, but she couldn’t understand what it was like to live in a world of secrets and half-truths. I didn’t want her dragged into this, but I didn’t know how to do it alone.

“So, what are we looking for exactly?” Laura asked, her fingers already flying across the keyboard.

I leaned forward, trying to ignore the tension in my chest. “Anything. Anything that links my dad’s company to Luca, or… anything strange that happened recently. There has to be a connection.”

Laura shot me a look but didn’t ask questions. I could tell she wanted to—wanted to demand more answers—but we both knew there were limits to what I could share.

Her fingers paused for a moment. “You think your dad’s been involved in anything illegal?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted, my voice almost a whisper. “But something changed when I started staying with Luca. The company was on the verge of collapse… and then suddenly, everything was fine.” I clenched my fists under the table. “Too fine.”

Laura clicked away, her eyes narrowing with focus. “Let’s see what we can find.”

I tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach as she typed. I needed answers, but I wasn’t sure I could handle the truth.

Minutes passed, each one stretching longer than the last. Laura glanced at me, her face a mix of disbelief and unease. She didn’t say anything at first, but I could see it in her eyes—the same thing that was growing in my gut.

“What?” I asked, voice tight.

“I found something,” she said slowly, scrolling through the pages of search results.

My heart raced. “What is it?”

She clicked on one of the links, her brows furrowing. “Your dad’s company was practically on the brink of bankruptcy last year. He’d been racking up debt, losing investors. There were talks of selling parts of the company to stay afloat. But then… right around the time you started staying with Luca, everything flipped.”

I leaned forward, anxiety creeping through me. “What do you mean? How did it flip?”

Laura scrolled down the page, her fingers pausing over a financial report. “There’s this mysterious investor—unnamed, which is… weird. And, right after the investment, the company’s financials skyrocket. They suddenly start pulling in a ton of revenue, erasing debt that had been piling up for months.”

I swallowed hard, the pieces slowly falling into place. “How much money are we talking about?”

Laura hesitated. “More than enough to make a difference.”

More than enough to make a difference.

My mind raced as the information spun around me. Luca’s cryptic words echoed in my head.

Start with your own family.

I wanted to shake it off, tell myself it was all a coincidence. But deep down, I knew better. There was something dark and tangled at the heart of this. Luca knew something I didn’t. And if I was going to figure it out, I had to keep going.

I looked at Laura, my voice quieter than usual. “Can you find out more about that investor? I need to know who they are.”

She nodded, already clicking away. “I’ll see what I can do.”

As Laura worked, I tried to calm my racing thoughts. I couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling in my chest—the realization that my father, the man I’d looked up to my whole life, might be involved in something I couldn’t even imagine.

The thought was a bitter pill, but there was no turning back now.

Laura broke the silence again, her voice low. “This is weird, Isadora. The money came in through a series of offshore accounts. It’s almost like your dad had… inside help.”

Inside help.

Luca’s voice flashed in my mind.

Start with your own family.

My stomach twisted as the pieces fell together. Luca had been involved in this. Somehow, I could feel it. The fact that the money started flowing again as soon as I moved in with him… it wasn’t a coincidence. He was tied to this, and he wasn’t telling me everything.

“I don’t like this,” Laura said, her voice barely audible. “This feels like money laundering, or something shady. Whoever this investor is, they’re cleaning money through your dad’s company.”

My breath hitched. “And I’m stuck in the middle of it.”

Laura looked at me, her expression conflicted. “You’re not stuck, Isadora. But if this is true, you need to be careful. If Luca is involved in this, things are more dangerous than you realize.”

I clenched my fists, trying to steady myself. I didn’t want to hear that. I didn’t want to acknowledge that the man I was starting to trust could be playing me, could be leading me into something dark and deadly.

But as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn’t walk away. Not now. I needed to know the truth. No matter the cost.

----

That afternoon, I found myself standing in front of Luca’s door again. The weight of everything I’d uncovered pressed on me, but I wasn’t going to back down. If he wanted me to start with my family, I was going to do it. And I wasn’t going to stop until I had the answers.

I knocked once, then pushed the door open without waiting for permission. Luca was sitting behind his desk, but as soon as I entered, his eyes locked onto mine, a knowing look on his face.

“Found what you were looking for?” he asked, voice smooth, like he knew exactly what I’d uncovered.

I didn’t answer right away. I walked straight to the desk, leaning over it, meeting his gaze with a defiance I didn’t know I had.

“You lied to me,” I said, my voice low but fierce.

Luca didn’t flinch. Instead, he sat back in his chair, studying me with a quiet intensity. “About what?”

“About my father,” I said. “About everything.”

He raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering between me and the papers on his desk. “I told you to start with your own family.”

“And I did,” I shot back. “And now I know everything.”

He exhaled slowly, his eyes narrowing. “You think you know everything, Isadora. But there’s more you’re not seeing. More you’re not ready to understand.”

My heart pounded in my chest, but I stood my ground. “You’re the one who’s been helping him. That’s how the money suddenly started flowing again. Don’t pretend I don’t know what’s going on.”

Luca leaned forward, eyes locking onto mine with a mixture of amusement and something else—something darker.

“Maybe you know more than you think,” he said, voice low. “But you don’t know everything, Isadora. And trust me, you don’t want to.”

The warning was clear. But I didn’t care anymore. I was in too deep to turn back now.

“Try me,” I said, my voice steady despite the rising tension between us.

Luca’s lips curled into a small, dangerous smile. “You’re playing a dangerous game. And it’s only just begun.”