Chapter 183: The Money Trail
Lila POV
“Lila, open the door.”
Marco’s voice came through the other side, low but urgent.
I was still sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at nothing, replaying every word Dante had said to me earlier.
The man you’re looking for doesn’t exist anymore.
I didn’t even realize how long I had been there until Marco knocked again, louder this time.
“Lila.”
I stood up slowly, my legs still a little stiff, and walked to the door. When I opened it, Marco was there, his phone in his hand, his expression tight in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.
“What happened?” I asked immediately.
He didn’t answer right away. He just looked at me for a second, like he was deciding something.
“Can I come in?”
I stepped aside without saying anything.
He walked in, closing the door behind him. I noticed he locked it.
That made my chest tighten.
“Marco… what’s going on?”
He didn’t sit. He stayed standing near the table, his hand still gripping his phone.
“I found something,” he said.
Something in his tone made my stomach drop.
“What kind of something?”
He exhaled slowly.
“The kind that changes everything.”
My fingers curled slightly at my sides.
“Just tell me.”
Marco finally looked at me properly.
“This is about Enzo.”
My heart stuttered.
Everything inside me sharpened instantly.
“What about him?”
Marco walked closer and placed his phone on the table between us.
“I’ve been digging into the accident.”
I didn’t interrupt.
“I didn’t believe it was clean from the beginning,” he continued. “Too many things didn’t add up. The timing. The way it happened. The way everything was handled after.”
My chest tightened.
“Handled by Dante,” I said quietly.
Marco didn’t deny it.
He unlocked his phone and turned the screen toward me.
“Look at this.”
I stepped closer.
It was a list.
Numbers. Dates. Transactions.
At first, it didn’t make sense.
Then my eyes caught something.
Large transfers.
Repeated.
All within a short period.
Right after the accident.
“What am I looking at?” I asked.
Marco’s voice dropped.
“Money.”
“I can see that.”
“Not just any money.”
I looked at him.
“Explain.”
“These are offshore transfers,” he said. “Clean. Hidden. Hard to trace.”
My stomach twisted.
“And?”
“And they weren’t random.”
He tapped one of the entries.
“They were directed.”
“To who?”
Marco hesitated.
That hesitation—
It scared me more than anything.
“Marco.”
He looked at me, his expression serious.
“Someone funded Enzo’s disappearance.”
My breath caught.
“What?”
“These transfers weren’t for business. They weren’t for expansion. They weren’t for protection.”
“Then what were they for?”
His jaw tightened.
“For making someone disappear.”
The room felt smaller.
“Disappear…” I repeated slowly.
“Yes.”
My mind started racing.
Enzo.
The accident.
The missing body.
The lies.
Dante’s silence.
“You’re saying… Enzo didn’t just disappear on his own.”
“I’m saying he had help.”
My chest rose and fell faster.
“Who?”
Marco didn’t answer immediately.
And that—
That pause—
I already knew.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head slightly. “No, Marco.”
He didn’t look away.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I said.
“I can’t.”
My heart started pounding harder.
“No.”
“Lila—”
“No.”
“Listen to me first.”
“No,” I repeated, my voice breaking slightly. “You’re not going to say that. You’re not.”
Marco’s voice softened, but it didn’t lose its weight.
“I already checked it three times.”
My hands started trembling.
“You’re wrong.”
“I wish I was.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
I stared at the screen again.
At the numbers.
At the dates.
At the pattern.
Everything lined up.
Too perfectly.
Too clean.
“Who sent the money?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Marco didn’t rush it.
Didn’t soften it.
Didn’t hide it.
He said it clearly.
“The account belongs to Dante.”
My world didn’t shatter.
It didn’t explode.
It just… went quiet.
Too quiet.
Like everything inside me just stopped.
“That’s not possible,” I said softly.
Marco didn’t move.
“It is.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He wouldn’t—”
“He did.”
“He said—”
“He lies.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“No,” I whispered. “Not about this.”
“He already did.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Lila—”
“He told me Enzo was dead.”
“And now we know that might not be true.”
“That doesn’t mean he—”
“It means he’s involved.”
Silence.
I turned away from the table, pacing slowly.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I muttered.
“It does.”
“No, it doesn’t. Why would Dante fund Enzo’s disappearance?”
Marco didn’t answer immediately.
“Marco.”
“There are only two reasons someone does that,” he said finally.
I looked at him.
“One,” he continued, “to protect him.”
My heart skipped.
“And the second?”
“To control him.”
My stomach dropped.
“No…”
“Yes.”
“No,” I said again, more firmly this time. “Dante wouldn’t hurt his own brother.”
Marco’s expression didn’t change.
“He already did.”
“That’s not the same.”
“It is.”
“No, it’s not!” I snapped.
Silence filled the room again.
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to think.
Trying to make sense of everything.
“Maybe it’s not what it looks like,” I said.
Marco didn’t respond.
“Maybe he had a reason.”
“I’m sure he did.”
“Then we need to ask him.”
Marco let out a quiet breath.
“You think he’ll tell the truth?”
I hesitated.
No.
He wouldn’t.
I already knew that.
“He told me to find Enzo,” I said suddenly.
Marco frowned.
“What?”
“He told me… if I want answers, I should find him.”
Marco’s expression shifted slightly.
“That’s not something he would say unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless he knows you’ll find something.”
My chest tightened again.
“What kind of something?”
Marco didn’t answer.
And that silence—
It was starting to feel like a pattern.
“Say it,” I pushed.
“He’s preparing you.”
“For what?”
“For the truth.”
My throat felt dry.
“And what is the truth?”
Marco looked at me carefully.
“That Enzo didn’t just disappear.”
“I know that.”
“That someone made it happen.”
“I know that too.”
“And that someone…”
His voice lowered.
“…is Dante.”
The words landed heavier this time.
Because now—
There was proof.
Not just suspicion.
Not just feeling.
Evidence.
Cold.
Clear.
Unavoidable.
I turned back to the table and stared at the phone again.
At the numbers.
At the transfers.
At the truth.
“He paid for it…” I whispered.
Marco didn’t correct me.
“Everything… the accident, the cover-up…”
“Not necessarily the accident,” Marco said. “But what came after? Yes.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“He knew,” I said.
“Yes.”
“He knew Enzo was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And he didn’t tell me.”
“No.”
I let out a shaky breath.
“And he still looked me in the eyes… and lied.”
Marco didn’t say anything.
Because there was nothing to say.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
Then opened them again.
Sharp.
Clear.
“Where is he?”
Marco frowned slightly.
“Who?”
“Dante.”
“I don’t know.”
“Find him.”
“Lila—”
“Find him,” I repeated, my voice steady now. “Because I’m not asking him anymore.”
Marco watched me carefully.
“What are you going to do?”
I met his gaze.
“I’m going to find Enzo.”
Silence.
“You’re sure about this?”
“Yes.”
“You know this won’t be easy.”
“I don’t care.”
“You know this could be dangerous.”
“I know.”
“You know Dante won’t let you—”
“He doesn’t get to decide that anymore.”
Marco studied me for a long moment.
Then slowly…
He nodded.
“Alright.”
My heart steadied.
“Good.”
“But there’s something else,” he added.
I frowned slightly.
“What?”
Marco picked up his phone again, scrolling for a second before showing me another screen.
“This isn’t the only thing I found.”
My chest tightened.
“What now?”
“These transfers…” he said, pointing at the screen, “they didn’t just go to one place.”
I leaned closer.
“There are multiple accounts involved.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means this wasn’t a simple operation.”
“How many people are involved?”
Marco hesitated.
“More than we thought.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“And we don’t know who they are?”
“Not yet.”
Silence.
Then—
My phone buzzed.
Both of us froze.
I slowly reached for it.
Unknown number.
My heart started pounding again.
“Don’t answer,” Marco said immediately.
But something inside me—
Something stronger—
Made me swipe.
“Hello?”
Silence.
“Who is this?”
Nothing.
Then—
A voice.
Low.
Familiar.
And it made my entire body go still.
“…Lila.”
My breath caught.
My heart stopped.
Because I knew that voice.
I knew it better than my own.
But that was impossible.
Because that voice—
That voice belonged to someone who was supposed to be dead.
“Enzo…?”