The Devil Who Claimed Me

The moment Dominic arrived, he hurried into Matteo’s office, deliberately wearing an anxious expression.

"Mr. Bellini, it’s bad."

Matteo was already on edge after everything that had happened that morning. He looked exhausted, his temper hanging by a thread.

"What is it now?" he spat.

"The arms shipment has vanished," Dominic said.

Matteo froze.

"The convoy left the warehouse sometime during the night, but it never reached its destination. The tracking system went offline. The drivers are missing, and the containers are gone."

"What?" Matteo stared at him in disbelief. His voice rose sharply. "How? We have the best security and transportation network in the business. How could an entire convoy vanish?"

Dominic remained silent for a moment. He adjusted his glasses, as though carefully considering what to say. Then he lowered his voice.

"Someone might have tipped off the enemy."

Matteo’s expression darkened. "You mean we have a mole?"

"I’m not sure," Dominic replied with a small shrug. "But it certainly looks that way."

Suspicion immediately took root in Matteo’s mind. The sudden seizure of the port, the missing shipment, the tracking system going offline – none of it could be a coincidence.

There had to be a traitor among them.

His fists clenched, his face twisting with fury.

"Track every vehicle," he roared. "Call every contact we have. Find those containers. I want to know where they went and who took them."

Dominic watched him carefully. For the briefest moment, a cold sneer touched his lips. But it disappeared just as quickly.

He lowered his head respectfully. "I’ll do everything I can to track the convoy."

With that, he turned and walked out.

The moment the door closed behind him, Dominic’s expression changed. There was no anxiety in his eyes, only quiet satisfaction.

Inside the office, Matteo began pacing furiously.

"This isn’t supposed to happen." He dragged a hand through his hair. "The Bellini network has moved weapons through those routes for years. We’ve never lost a shipment like this. Never."

He stopped and looked toward the window. "Something is wrong."

His jaw tightened. "Something is terribly wrong."

His phone suddenly rang.

Matteo snatched it up. "What?"

A board member’s furious voice came through the phone. "What the hell is going on, Matteo? I just received a call from the bank."

Matteo frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Several transactions to our suppliers have been suspended. The bank says they need to investigate the accounts."

Matteo’s expression hardened. "What investigation?"

"I don’t have that information. You tell me." The man’s voice rose with every word. "My phone has been ringing nonstop since morning. Suppliers are demanding their payments. Clients are furious. Everyone wants answers!"

Matteo pressed a hand against his forehead. A dull headache had begun pounding behind his eyes.

"I’m calling an emergency board meeting." His voice was strained. "You have to explain everything."

Beep.

The call ended.

Matteo stared at the phone. Heat crawled up his neck, his humiliation quickly turning into rage.

Delayed payments. Frozen accounts. Suspended transfers.

Within hours, millions of dollars belonging to Bellini-controlled companies had become inaccessible.

His breathing grew heavier.

"Fuck."

He slammed the phone onto the table.

Later that afternoon...

The conference room erupted into chaos.

Angry voices filled the boardroom. Documents were scattered across the table, accusations flying from one side of the room to the other.

Matteo sat at the head of the table, his fingers pressed against his forehead.

He had thought they would come up with a solution in the meeting. Instead, he was being buried beneath questions.

"We’ve already lost access to several accounts," one board member said. "The port is gone. We have no explanation for the missing shipment. Several subsidiaries are running out of cash. This cannot continue."

"Investors are pulling out," another director added. "They are demanding to sell their holdings immediately. If this continues, our business partners will start cancelling contracts."

"Logistics companies have already cancelled several shipments," a younger director said grimly. "If we can’t restore the supply chains soon, we could lose those contracts permanently."

"Enough." Matteo’s voice thundered across the room.

Everyone fell silent.

His face was rigid with fury. "We are dealing with temporary setbacks."

"Temporary?" The senior-most board member stared at him in disbelief. He pushed a thick stack of documents across the table. "Our losses have multiplied in less than twenty-four hours."

Another director leaned forward. "The market is already questioning the company’s stability. Investors are losing confidence, and you dismiss all of this as a temporary setback?"

A third director spoke more cautiously. "Perhaps we should suspend some operations until we understand exactly what is happening."

Matteo’s eyes flashed. "You want to shut down my businesses?" His voice trembled with anger. "Do you think I can’t handle this?"

The board members exchanged uneasy glances. Their expressions had changed. There was no longer respect in their eyes.

Only concern and doubt.

One of them finally spoke. "We are questioning whether the company can survive under the current management."

The words struck Matteo like a slap. He slowly rose from his chair.

"What did you say?"

The director held his ground. "The board has a responsibility to protect the company. We will do whatever is necessary."

Another senior member leaned forward. "Right now, you are incapable of handling this crisis." He paused. "You should step aside."

Matteo’s eyes blazed. "This company belongs to the Bellini family. I am the rightful heir. My father made me his successor."

He pointed accusingly at the directors. "None of you can force me out."

"You are losing control," another director said. "We need someone experienced enough to handle this crisis."

Matteo’s breathing became ragged. The room seemed to blur around him. All he could hear was the pounding of his own heart.

Then his anger exploded. He swept his arm across the table. Files and documents crashed onto the floor.

"You think I’m responsible for this?"

No one answered. They simply stared at him, some with shock, while others with fear.

Matteo suddenly lunged toward the director who had suggested he step aside and grabbed him by the collar.

Several men immediately rushed forward.

"Matteo, calm down."

"Let him go."

"Get your hands off me." Matteo fought against them, but they managed to pull him away.

The middle-aged director stumbled backward, one hand pressed against his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

Matteo shrugged off the men restraining him. "You are all traitors." He pointed at the board members one by one. "You are plotting against me."

Uneasy glances passed around the room. This was no longer the Matteo Bellini they had known.

He wasn’t thinking clearly. He wasn’t searching for solutions. Instead, he was attacking anyone who dared to question him.

"I will not spare any of you." Matteo stormed out of the conference room.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

Then someone finally broke the silence. "This is insane."

Another director shook his head. "He has lost control. We need to take him down before he destroys everything."

The crisis only worsened as the day wore on.

One by one, the people around Matteo began stepping away. Executives resigned. Advisers stopped answering his calls. Business partners demanded additional protection clauses before signing anything with Bellini-controlled companies.

Even longtime allies began distancing themselves. And Matteo became increasingly unstable.

He began seeing enemies everywhere. Anyone who disagreed with him was a traitor. Anyone who questioned his decisions was plotting against him.

He fired experienced managers simply because they challenged his orders. He threatened board members and ordered his men to investigate employees who had served the Bellini family for decades.

Every decision pushed the empire closer to the edge. Yet Matteo remained convinced that he could still save it.

’This is temporary.’ He repeated the words over and over in his mind. ’We’ll recover.’

But the numbers told a very different story.

Money was frozen. Investors were fleeing. The legitimate businesses were bleeding cash. Suppliers were demanding payment. And the board had already begun quietly searching for another leader.

That evening, Matteo stood alone in his office. The city lights glittered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, but he barely noticed them.

His gaze remained fixed on the Bellini headquarters below.

For generations, the Bellini name had inspired fear and respect. It had been built through power, money, and blood. But tonight, for the first time, Matteo felt fear. He was afraid of losing everything.

He slowly clenched his fists. "Who is behind all this?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

Somewhere in the shadows, someone was systematically tearing apart everything his family had built.

The money was trapped. The investors were leaving. And now even his own people were turning against him.

Matteo’s eyes hardened. "I need to find out."

He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, the call connected.

"You are the only one I can trust right now," Matteo said, his voice low and tense. "Come to my office. I have something to discuss with you."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!