Chapter 142: Chapter-142. (Act Of Kindness).
"You have to talk to him, or else I will." The shout made me jerk up from my sleep. I looked around, and Emma was still beside me.
It made me sigh in relief for a moment when a whisper, and then again, the shouting fell into my ear.
"No, I will not calm down, and you will solve this today and now." As my brain processed all the shouting, I blinked, recognizing the voice. It was Sophie.
Without giving any thought, I walked towards the hall as the voices got clearer by the passing of each second. As I entered the hall, I saw Sophie and Edward standing there arguing with each other.
Sophie’s arms were crossed tightly over her chest, her eyes blazing.
Edward, on the other hand, looked exhausted. His jaw was tightened, as his fingers raking through his hair as if he had already been trying to calm her for a while.
"What is happening here?" I asked, my voice still groggy from sleep but firm enough to break their argument.
They both froze, turning toward me as if caught doing something they shouldn’t.
Sophie’s eyes widened, the anger fading into guilt almost instantly. Edward looked equally uneasy, glancing away before he scratched the back of his neck.
"Elena... you are awake," Sophie said quickly, her tone awkwardly soft now.
"I am, and considering the shouting, I don’t think I had a choice." I muttered, rubbing my temple.
Neither of them replied. I frowned, scanning their faces, "Would any of you like to tell me what’s going on?"
"It’s nothing. Just... couple stuff," Sophie said too quickly, shaking her head.
Edward nodded almost immediately after her as he completed, "Yeah, just something small. It’s fine."
I stared at them both, unimpressed. They couldn’t lie to save their lives. My sleep haze was fading fast, replaced by a sharp edge of alertness.
"Couple stuff?" I repeated slowly tucking my hands in my sweat pants’ pockets.
"Then why does it sound like someone’s about to throw a chair through the wall?" As I commented Sophie’s eyes darted away while Edward sighed, looking like he wanted to disappear.
My instincts told me something was off...deeply off. The words I had heard which also made me wake up played in my mind again.
You have to talk to him, or else I will.
Talk to him. The words echoed through my mind.
And then, it clicked.
"Were you talking about Matteo?" I asked suddenly as I recalled the conversation I had with Sophie or should I say when she almost jump over me ready to kill the first person she saw to protect Emma.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Sophie’s lips pressed together tightly as Edward’s shoulders stiffened. Neither of them spoke. That was all the confirmation I needed.
Now, I was definitely awake.
I crossed my arms and stared directly at Sophie knowing full what it was about and just wanted to get it out of their mouths, "Were you asking Edward to confront Matteo?"
Sophie hesitated, her face filled with guilt before she finally gave the smallest nod.
I groaned softly, dragging a hand down my face. "Oh, God."
"Elena, please..." she tried to say something probably giving an excuse, but I cut her off sharply.
"Are you seriously considering that?" I demanded, my voice rising by each second.
Her eyes flared with stubbornness.
"What else am I supposed to do?" she snapped making me almost scared for a moment.
"You know what he’s planning! You know he’s trying to manipulate everything...your property, your name, your life, and them Emma! If Edward doesn’t stop him now, it’ll be too late!"
I stared at her like she had lost her mind. And maybe she had from the expression she had.
"Sophie, do you even understand who Matteo is?" I said carefully, forcing my voice to stay calm even as frustration burned in my chest.
She crossed her arms again, defensively, "I know enough to know he’s dangerous."
"Dangerous?" I repeated, letting out a small laugh that sounded more exasperated than amused.
"That’s would be an understatement of the year," I said as irritaion seared my skin.
Edward looked between us, visibly torn. He turned to her as he tried to speak as softly as he could, "Sophie, Elena’s right. You don’t mess with Matteo. He’s not someone you just... confront."
But Sophie wasn’t listening. Her anger was running wild.
"Then what are we supposed to do? Sit around and wait for him to destroy everything? Watch him manipulate Elena into doing whatever he wants?" Her voice cracked slightly near the end, and for a moment, I saw the fear behind her anger.
She wasn’t just furious, she was scared for me, but fear didn’t justify foolishness.
"Sophie," I said more gently now, "I know you’re trying to help, but listen to me. Matteo isn’t some arrogant businessman or corrupt politician. He’s on another level entirely. You don’t threaten him. You don’t push him. You don’t even stand too close unless you are ready to deal with what comes next."
She frowned, still not understanding which made annoyed more at her.
I took a breath and sat down on the edge of the couch, my tone quieter but colder, "After Edward introduced us all to Matteo, I did my own research. I didn’t find much, which, in itself, was the first red flag. A man that rich, that influential, should have a clear record, but Matteo’s? It was... incomplete. Redacted. Controlled."
Edward looked away. He already knew this. Of course, he was gis cousin and he had spent a part of his life in that world. He was freaking part of it.
Taking a deep breath, I continued, "But the few things I did find were worse than I imagined. Money laundering. Illegal clubs. Smuggling. Drug connections. Even murder which were unproven, of course, but whispered in enough corners to be real."
Sophie’s eyes widened slightly as her confidence faltered.
"Do you see why confronting him is suicide?" I asked softly.
She did not speak for a while as the silence thickened almost like a burden setting us down.
Sophie looked away, her jaw trembling slightly as she mumbled in her low wavering voice, "But we can’t just let him..."
"I know but we cannot just hasitly take some steps which do us worse than good," I said sharply.
Edward sighed, as he agreed with me, "Yes, she is right, Sophia. He’s dangerous, but he’s not reckless. If we go after him the wrong way, we might lose before the game even starts."
"Exactly, and if you try to confront him, Sophie, it won’t just be you in danger. He will come after everyone I care about, and that includes you, Edward, and even Emma." I said with a warning in my voice.
At the mention of Emma, Sophie finally froze. Her shoulders slumped, and her anger faded into fear.
I took that as my chance to step closer, lowering my voice., "You think I wasn’t terrified after yelling at him that night?"
She looked at me as I continued, "I thought I had crossed a line that couldn’t be undone. Matteo isn’t the kind of man you challenge and walk away from unharmed. I still don’t know why he didn’t retaliate."
Sophie’s lips trembled slightly, but she stayed silent.
I sighed softly. "Look, I get it. You’re scared. You’re angry. So am I, but rushing at him like a storm isn’t going to help us. If anything, it’ll destroy everything I’ve been trying to build."
Edward finally placed a hand on Sophie’s shoulder. "She’s not wrong. We have to be careful. Matteo doesn’t forgive easily, he calculates" he said quietly.
Sophie swallowed hard and nodded reluctantly, though her eyes still burned with defiance. "I just don’t want him to hurt you again," she whispered.
That made my chest tighten.
I placed a hand on her arm gently, as I tried to put on a small smile, "I know, but trust me, I am not that helpless woman anymore. I know what I’m dealing with now."
She looked at me for a moment before sighing and stepping back, defeated.
Edward glanced between us before clearing his throat awkwardly. "Maybe we should all get some rest. It’s been a long night."
Sophie nodded, though she looked far from calm.
I watched as the two of them slowly walked toward their room down the hall, their footsteps fading with every second.
The house fell quiet again...the kind of silence that carried leftover tension, like smoke that refused to clear.
I stood there for a while, staring at the closed door behind which they had disappeared.
My pulse was still unsteady, but my mind was sharp.
Sophie didn’t understand that what kind of man Matteo was, and part of me wished she never would, because I knew he was far more dangerous than Dave.
When it came to Matteo, every act of kindness came with a price. And sooner or later, he had come to collect.