Fated reborn - Chapter 214: Chapter 214

Luciano POV.
I didn’t even finish buttoning my jacket as I slid into the car. Victor followed behind me, his usual calm demeanor replaced by a quiet urgency in his eyes. We didn’t need to speak; we both understood that something was wrong. I could feel the tension thick in the air.
The drive was fast but silent. I kept my gaze fixed out the window, watching the streetlights flash by, my mind already working through a dozen possibilities. Clara’s message had already set everything in motion. Something had happened. And if it involved the company, it was never a small thing.
We pulled into the parking lot, and I could feel the knot in my stomach tightening. The usual calm of the morning was gone. I had learned a long time ago not to ignore that instinctive unease.
Victor and I walked into the building without a word. The door closed behind us with a dull thud that seemed louder than usual in the empty hall. The quiet only made everything feel heavier.
Clara was standing by the elevator, looking like she hadn’t slept at all. She wasn’t in her usual sharp suit, instead wearing something a bit more casual. Still professional, of course, but I could see the strain in her posture. This wasn’t her typical control.
“Luciano,” she said, her voice clipped but strong. “Victor.”
“Clara,” I nodded, stepping closer. “What’s going on?”
She glanced at both of us before speaking. “We have a situation. It’s… about the company. Some things have been shifting in ways we didn’t anticipate.” She hesitated, swallowing. “The agreements, the meetings, the new partnerships—we didn’t set them up. But someone did. And it's not looking good.”
I felt my chest tighten, a cold realization hitting me like a wave. "Who?" My voice was rougher than I intended.
She didn’t need to say anything more. I could see it in her eyes.
"He's gone," I muttered, the weight of it sinking in. The silence stretched between us, the memory of Henry's destruction still fresh. "But the damage is still there."
Victor spoke, his voice sharp with intent. “What damage exactly? How bad is it?”
Clara’s lips pressed into a thin line, and I could tell she was struggling with the words. “We’ve been tied up in so many loose ends. Henry’s actions—his deals—those things aren’t just going to disappear with him. He’s left a mess we need to clean up. Fast.”
The weight of the words sat heavily in the air. Even after everything Henry had done—his manipulations, the broken trust, the damage to the pack—there was still the aftermath to deal with. The damage wasn’t just physical; it was systemic. He’d left a trail of chaos, and now it was up to us to pick up the pieces.
Victor crossed his arms, his usual calm replaced by something darker. “What exactly is the problem now?” His eyes never left Clara as he spoke.
“The contracts,” she replied, her voice quieter now. “The partnerships Henry set up—they’re unstable, not what they seemed. There are clauses that could come back to bite us. If we don’t act fast, we could lose control of everything.”
I ran a hand over my face, trying to push past the frustration that threatened to overwhelm me. “What’s our first step?”
Clara sighed, looking at the ground for a second before meeting my gaze again. “We need to pull back. Reevaluate everything and find a way to salvage what we can without drawing attention to ourselves. If people find out we’re cleaning up after him…” She trailed off, and the threat hung in the air like a shadow.
Victor nodded slowly, his eyes flicking toward me. “It’s a tightrope walk, then.”
I was already thinking a few steps ahead. “We need to act quickly. If we let this fester, it’ll turn into something worse. The longer we wait, the harder it will be to fix.”
Clara’s expression tightened. “I agree. But we have to tread carefully. We don’t want to trigger any more damage than Henry already has. We have to be sure of our next moves.”
I glanced at Victor, whose face was unreadable. He didn’t need to say it out loud, but I could tell he was already thinking of the ways we could handle this. The ways we could ensure we didn’t let the pack fall apart because of someone who was long gone.
I let out a slow breath, feeling the weight of it all settle on my shoulders. It wasn’t just business anymore. This was personal.
“We’ll fix it,” I said, the finality in my tone making it clear there was no other option. “I’ll deal with the contracts. Clara, can you handle damage control on the ground? We need to make sure no one realizes how bad things got. Not yet.”
She nodded, her eyes hardening. “I’m on it.”
Victor was already moving toward the door. “We’ll clean it up, one piece at a time.”
I watched him leave, feeling the weight of the moment press in on me. It wasn’t just about saving the company anymore. It wasn’t about fixing the mess Henry left behind. It was about holding everything together. And right now, I have no idea how close we were to falling apart.
I turned back to Clara. “Stay on top of things. If anything comes up, let me know.”
“Always,” she said, her voice steady now. “We’ll handle it.”
I wasn’t sure how, but I was starting to realize that sometimes, the only thing we could do was keep moving forward, even when the past was trying to pull us under. The weight of Henry’s betrayal had cut deep, but I’d be damned if we let it destroy everything we’d worked for.
Outside, the garden was still. The quiet, the stillness, felt like a small reprieve. But even as I looked out over it, I could sense the tension that hung in the air. There was a storm coming, and we had to be ready for it.