Chapter 128: Hidden Intention
"I know you. I can find you here..." Alben laughed, then complained about the weather. "That damn rain!"
He didn’t wait for an invitation, he stepped directly past Roderick into the narrow corridor, shaking the moisture from his shoulders.
Roderick closed the door and turned around, his expression completely flat. "What are you doing here?"
Alben walked into the small living room, his eyes scanning the modest furniture before he turned back to face his host. "I’m just bored at home. I want to go around, and I remembered you."
Roderick stood still. "Tell me, what happened. It is impossible that you came here just because you’re bored."
"Oh, come on! Give me some water."
"No, I’m going to sleep. I’m tired. If you don’t have anything to say, just leave. We can meet tomorrow at the mansion."
Alben sighed and sat down on the sofa. "Well, you can’t send your guest away just like that."
Roderick looked at Alben seriously. "What is it? Don’t ask me to go to the event again. I’m not interested at all."
Alben laughed. "No, don’t worry."
"So?"
Alben shifted his posture. "Well, I came here to... ask for your favor."
"What is it?"
"You know, Salvatore is losing his mind."
"About what?" Roderick felt tense when the man mentioned Salvatore.
"About Milo."
Roderick crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw tightening. "Milo is not your concern, is he supposed to be?"
"He is everyone’s concern when he interferes with Salvatore," Alben said, his voice dropping. "Salvatore even canceled important meetings because of that little chicken. You need to convince Salvatore to release Milo from his care, or we need to kill him."
Roderick didn’t move an inch. "It is not my business. If Salvatore is completely happy with him, whatever he chooses to do with the boy is his decision alone. Why do you insist so hard on separating them now?"
Alben smiled, seeming like he expected Roderick’s reaction. "Well, I don’t really care about Milo as a person. It is just... annoying sometimes to see how much influence he has. Convince Salvatore at least to hand the boy over to me. I can manage him better."
Roderick let out a short, cold chuckle through his nose, his eyes locking onto Alben with total disdain. "Don’t assume I don’t know your true intention. You don’t care about Salvatore. You want to keep all of the Hartley assets. You wanted to kill Milo as well."
Alben’s expression darkened, his posture turning rigid. He didn’t expect Roderick to call him out like this.
"You should know your position," Roderick continued, his voice steady and entirely unyielding. "You are here, with your feet on the ground and holding as much money as you have now, all because of Salvatore. You should not cross the line."
Alben’s jaw clenched, his eyes turning vicious as he stared at the man. "Don’t lick his ass, bastard."
"I have my pride to show total loyalty to the right place," Roderick snapped back, his voice rising a fraction of an inch as his anger flared. "I show loyalty to the man who saved my life. I don’t act like some stray dog that has no gratitude and tries to betray its owner the moment a new, better cage appears."
Alben clenched his hands, but he tried to calm himself. "What? Betray?"
He stood up and walked to Roderick.
Roderick stayed still.
Without a single warning, Alben threw his right fist forward, striking Roderick squarely in the jaw.
The impact was loud. Roderick stumbled backward into the small coffee table, the wood groaning under his weight as he quickly regained his balance.
He stood up fast. He drove his knee directly into Alben’s midsection.
They erupted into a fistfight. They kicked and punched each other across the carpet.
Roderick threw a heavy left hook that caught Alben across the cheekbone, drawing a smear of dark blood.
But Alben lunged forward, using his weight to tackle Roderick flat onto the floorboards.
"Get off me!"
"You think you can talk to me like that?!"
"Bastard!"
Meanwhile, in the shadows of the corridor, the door creaked open by two inches. Teo peeked out into the room, his entire body shaking with a violent, helpless terror.
His hands were clamped tightly over his mouth to suppress a shriek as he watched the two strong men hurl themselves at each other.
He had never seen Roderick fight like this. The violence of the kicks and punches made the walls vibrate.
Alben scrambled on top of Roderick, his knee pinning Roderick’s chest flat against the carpet. Roderick tried to reach for his waist to draw his weapon, but Alben was faster.
With a rapid move, Alben pulled his gun and shoved the muzzle directly against Roderick’s forehead.
Roderick froze instantly, his breath hitching in his throat as his muscles locked under the direct threat of the weapon.
He stared up at Alben’s bloody, panting face, his own eyes wide but steady.
Teo held his breath, tears of absolute panic spilling over his eyelids as he watched from the doorframe. His heart was hammering so loudly he was certain they would hear it.
He knew that if Alben pulled the trigger right now, he was completely powerless to stop it; he was too small and unarmed.
But a cold instinct settled in his mind—if Alben killed Roderick, Teo had to stay perfectly silent and stay alive, because he was the only witness who could report it to Salvatore.
He has to be alive.
Alben held the gun against Roderick’s skin for five long seconds, his chest heaving as he stared down at his opponent.
The raw rage in his eyes slowly cooled a bit. He knew that killing Roderick in his own home would start an immediate war with Salvatore that he couldn’t win.
With a frustrated growl, Alben pulled the gun away from Roderick’s head, standing up unsteadily and wiping the blood from his cheek with the back of his hand.
"Well... keep your mouth shut if you don’t know how to use it," Alben muttered, his voice rough and breathless.
He turned on his heel, walked out of the front door, and slammed it shut so hard that the wood rattled in their frames.
Roderick lay on the floor for a moment, his chest heaving as he pulled air into his lungs. He sat up slowly, rubbing his bruised jaw, his eyes fixed on the closed door.
"Bastard!" he growled into the empty room.
The next morning, the heavy rain continued to fall over the Portello estate. Roderick arrived at the mansion exactly at seven, later than usual. His face was slightly swollen.
Teo walked closely behind him, his head lowered as they entered the grand foyer. He kept his hands tucked into his pockets, his posture filled with deep, visible embarrassment and guilt over his past mistake. He felt terrified as they moved through the long corridors, his shoes clicking softly on the marble.
Roderick guided Teo into the office. "Wait in here. I will tell Salvatore," Roderick instructed quietly.
Teo nodded quickly, sitting down on the sofa. He stared down at his knees, his hands trembling slightly as the anxiety of being back inside Salvatore’s place weighed heavily on his mind.
After about half an hour of quiet waiting, the door swung open. Salvatore walked into the room, dressed in his sharp charcoal vest and a white shirt, looking entirely dominant and fresh.
He stopped near the sofa, his gray eyes locking onto Teo’s rigid form.
"You came back?" Salvatore asked, his deep voice carrying a flat, unreadable weight that made the air in the office turn completely cold.
Teo stood up quickly, his entire body stiffening as he looked down at the floor, refusing to meet the man’s gaze. "Yes... Roderick said I can come back..."
Salvatore walked over to the desk, putting a document down before turning his full attention back to the boy. "Did you enjoy your time staying at his house?"
Teo swallowed hard, his throat dry as the guilt completely consumed his voice. "I... I want to stay here. I am really sorry for what I did. I regretted it. Please."
Salvatore took a slow step toward him, his massive frame intimidating him.
Teo flinched spontaneously, his shoulders jerking upward as he braced himself for a harsh reprimand or a blow. He knew everyone could die in seconds in this house.
"Don’t worry about it now," Salvatore said, his voice dropping into a low, steady rumble that carried a sharp, explicit warning. "But understand me clearly. I am sure you know that the next time you do the same mistake, I will really shoot you on the spot. I’m serious."
Teo trembled violently, his breath catching in his throat as he shook his head frantically. "I will not do it again. I promise you! I will not betray you!"
Salvatore walked closer. Teo flinched again, closing his eyes, but instead of a strike, he felt the heavy, warm pressure of Salvatore’s large hand coming down flat on the top of his head. The man rubbed his hair once, a firm, grounding gesture.
"I try to trust you again, Teo," Salvatore murmured, his gray eyes steady as he pulled his hand back. "Don’t disappoint me a second time. Now go to the kitchen and apologize to Milo."
"Yes!" Teo choked out, his face flushing with a massive wave of relief as he quickly bowed his head and hurried out of the office, eager to prove that he truly regretted it.
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