Page 34 of The Omega Accountant

My fingers returned to the keyboard, mind once again engaging with the numerical evidenceIalone had been able to decode.Notjust omega serving alpha purpose, but equal contributor to partnership neither had anticipated when this journey began.Theultimate vindication against those who would have dismissed me as mere pawn, as useful scapegoat, as biological vulnerability rather than intellectual asset.

"Let's finish what we've started,"Isaid, certainty hardening my voice asIprepared to dismantle, through pure intellectual prowess, the machinations of those who had underestimated what this omega could accomplish.

11

LUCA

The whispered argument reached me through ventilation ducts like fragments of a broken confession—not meant for my ears yet impossible to unhear.Ipressed my back against the cool wall ofMatteo'sprivate bathroom, whereI'dretreated moments before his father's unscheduled arrival with a contingent ofCorvinocaptains.Theyhadn't noticed me slipping away, assumingIwas merely an omega seeking distance from alpha confrontation.

They had no idea how carefullyI'dtrained myself to listen from shadows.

"—cannot stand for this disgrace.Theomega accountant over theSouzaalliance?"DonCorvino'svoice carried the particular timbre of controlled rageI'dheard in many alphas—a deceptive calm stretched thin over violent intent. "Youhave twenty-four hours to rectify this mistake,Matteo.Annulthe claiming.Returnthe omega to his proper place.OrIstrip you of everything—your position, your inheritance, theCorvinoname itself."

The silence that followed weighed more than any response could have.Inthat pause lived the shattering of legacy, the fracturing of bloodlines that defined our world's most sacred currency.Family.

"You would disinherit your only son over this?"Matteo'svoice emerged lower than his father's, a controlled bass note that revealed nothing of what must be churning beneath.

"Over this?No."DonCorvino'slaugh held no humor. "Overyour complete rejection of everythingIbuilt.Theomega is merely the final evidence of your unsuitability.TheSouzaalliance would have secured our position for generations.Instead, you choose to follow your knot rather than your brain."

"My brain is precisely what tells me theSouzaalliance is poison,"Matteoreplied, his voice unwavering. "Sofiawould have brought nothing but treachery.AndLucahas uncovered financial manipulation you thought well-hidden."

"And yet you still don't see," theDoncountered. "Iwanted you to find it.Tounderstand the necessity of whatI'vebuilt withEmilio.Torecognize power requires sacrifice of sentiment."

My breath caught.Theimplications spun outward like ripples in dark water—had the missing money been deliberate?Atest forMatteo?Forme?

"Twenty-four hours, my son.Decidewhere your loyalty truly lies—with your family legacy or with an omega who will be forgotten the moment his heat fades."

Footsteps receded, a door closed with careful precision rather than satisfying slam.Powerdid not announce itself with noise in theCorvinofamily.Itwhispered in measured threats, in controlled exits, in the absence of rage where rage would be justified.

I remained motionless against the wall, processing whatI'dheard with the same methodical focusIapplied to financial discrepancies.Thesituation had evolved beyond missing millions, beyond my safety, beyond even the claiming that had altered our biochemistry.NowMatteostood to lose everything—his birthright, his position, his name itself—because of me.

BecauseIhad been the variableDonCorvinohadn't calculated correctly when orchestrating his merger with theSouzafamily.

The bathroom suddenly felt too small, the walls pressing inward with each breath that carriedMatteo'slingering scent—sandalwood and cedar now permanently threaded with notes of my honey-citrus.Ourclaiming had altered more than just legal status; it had rewritten our molecular signatures into something neither of us could erase.

YetDonCorvinoexpected precisely that—erasure.Annulment.Returnto separate entities as if our bodies hadn't transformed to recognize each other at levels beyond conscious control.

I emerged from the bathroom to findMatteostanding at the windows overlooking the city, his powerful frame silhouetted against fading daylight.Theset of his shoulders revealed none of the burden his father had just placed upon them—the impossible choice between birthright and claimed omega.Betweenlegacy and what we had become to each other.

"You heard," he said without turning, not a question but a recognition of my presence that transcended ordinary awareness.

"Yes."Isaw no point in denying it.Ourbond, still new and incompletely understood, had apparently sensitized him to my proximity in ways neither of us had anticipated. "Yourfather wants you to annul the claiming."

"Among other impossibilities."Hisvoice carried no inflection, no hint of the turmoil that must exist beneath such perfect control.

I moved toward him slowly, uncertain of my place in this moment.Theclaiming had altered our biological relationship, yet so much remained undefined between us—partnership formed through crisis rather than choice, intimacy forced through heat rather than natural progression.

"Matteo."Hisname emerged softer than intended. "Iwon't be the reason you lose everything."

He turned then, his expression containing complexityIcouldn't fully interpret—something fierce and tender simultaneously, something that transcended alpha possession or mafia calculation.

"You're not."Thesimplicity of his response belied the weight behind it. "Myfather's inability to recognize what matters beyond power politics is the reason."

"But the choice he's forcing?—"

"Is no choice at all."Heclosed the distance between us, one hand rising to trace the claiming mark at my neck with unexpected gentleness. "Thisisn't politics or strategy anymore,Luca.Thisis..."Hepaused, seeming to search for words that didn't exist in the vocabulary of mafia heirs or alpha biology. "Thisis us."

The words landed with unexpected weight.Us.Notalpha and omega, not boss and accountant, but something neither of us had vocabulary to define yet.

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