Sofia's Pov continues:
I froze, holding my breath as the sound of footsteps echoed towards me. The door creaked open, and Mattia's voice called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?" I swiftly moved away from the wall, trying to compose myself. "Matt, it's me," I said, attempting to sound casual.
Mattia appeared at the door, a mixture of shock and surprise on his face. "Sofia, what are you doing here?" I hesitated, unsure how to proceed. Should I confront him about what I overheard or play it cool? "Hey, I was just coming back from the café and thought I'd drop by before you leave for the trip you told me about yesterday," I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
Mattia's expression changed to a state of fright as we heard another voice and footsteps. "Who do we have here?" I looked behind Mattia to see a tall, bulky man with a dark look and stoic face.
Mattia turned toward the man, who was looking between Mattia and me. "Who is she?" he asked. "She's a friend," Mattia responded. "What is she doing here at this moment, near your office?" the stranger asked. Mattia gave a tense response, "She is a friend, and she means no harm."
"Well, you can tell that to the boss. Let's go," the bulky man responded as he turned and went back into the office. Mattia gently pulled me into his office while holding my wrist. We stood before his office table, facing another stranger standing with his back to us as he looked out the window.
We stood in silence, waiting for him to turn around and face us. I glanced up at Mattia, who appeared nervous. I also felt uneasy because of the silence. To distract myself, I used the opportunity to take a close look at the man. Sincerely, he was a fine specimen. He was very tall, about six feet two or three inches, with dark espresso hair color. He looked powerfully built, and I knew beneath his expensive two-piece suit lay well-developed muscles.
I was already attracted to this stranger's physique without seeing his face, which I knew would look nice as well. Even without saying a word, his aura was strong and intimidating. How did Mattia meet such a mysterious man?
After what seemed like five minutes of painfully tense atmosphere, the stranger finally turned around, and I stared gobsmacked at the very familiar face. It was Alexandro Bianchi, the only young and well-renowned billionaire in the country and the owner of this city. His reputation was well-known by all.
My jaw dropped to the floor, and my eyes opened widely as I gaped at the last person I was expecting to see at Mattia's office. Mattia touched my arm gently, which seemed to bring me out of my trance. I suddenly became conscious of my environment, and the pressure I felt before seemed to flow into my body ten times more than before as the man stared deeply into my eyes with his piercing green eyes, as if he could see all that was going through my mind.
I turned to Mattia and asked him, "Who are you?" "Keep quiet, Sofia," he responded gruffly. I turned back to the billionaire as he coldly spoke to the bulky man who met us at the hallway and said, "Bruno, how much did she hear?"
"With her expression, I think she heard the most significant details, if not all, Boss," Bruno replied. Mattia quickly interrupted him and said, "I doubt she heard that, and she's not a threat to us. I'm sure she'll keep this as a secret without telling anyone."
"Mattia, there's nothing like assumption in this life. It's either she's with us or not. You know the rule, Mattia," Alexandro said coldly as he looked between both of us. "Boss, I don't think we should keep her alive," said Bruno.
I trembled as I heard what he said. I slowly looked at Mattia, whose eyes were wide as saucers, and then I turned to Alexandro, who was still looking at me with the same cold eyes. They were going to hurt me, I thought, as I started to feel lightheaded.
It was as if the whole room was closing up on me as I started getting flashbacks of the death of my parents—the woods that were burning, the cracked walls, debris, and the thick smoke that made my throat so dry I couldn't swallow my saliva.
The last thing I heard was Mattia's voice as he kept calling my name before I lost consciousness.