Chapter 158: The Old Man’s Despair
New Orleans, Federal Office of Public Integrity
By the time Luca Hale and Captain Rico arrived, Patrick Halloway had already been waiting outside for quite a while.
The two men had known each other before, but it was only after Gordon Luiz’s downfall that they realized they were working for the same person.
That revelation had only made Luca seem even more mysterious in their eyes.
Not that either of them minded.
Who wouldn’t want to work for a boss with limitless resources and a background no one could fully grasp?
Luca greeted Patrick with a nod.
"Everything ready?"
Patrick smiled confidently.
"Don’t worry, Boss. It’s all been arranged. Gordon’s already waiting in the interrogation room."
"Good."
Luca slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Let’s go."
---
The interrogation room was quiet.
Gordon sat alone with his head lowered, motionless.
The proud aura that had once defined him was gone.
His neatly combed black hair had turned noticeably gray in just a matter of days. Deep lines marked his exhausted face, and his shoulders sagged beneath an invisible weight.
Anyone seeing him now would struggle to believe this broken old man had once been Gordon Luiz, one of New Orleans’ most feared business titans.
Success had lifted him high.
Failure had buried him even deeper.
That was simply how life worked.
Only the person living through it truly understood the bitterness.
The steel door opened with a metallic click.
A faint flicker returned to Gordon’s dull eyes.
He slowly lifted his head and watched Captain Rico and Patrick walk inside first.
He recognized both of them immediately.
Patrick, especially.
The Apex Legal Group had worked with the Luiz Conglomerate for years. Gordon had once tried to recruit him with an enormous salary to become the conglomerate’s chief legal adviser.
Patrick had refused.
Now the same man had become one of the sharpest blades pointed directly at him.
Every legal strike had been precise, efficient, and devastating.
"I’ve already confessed everything worth confessing," Gordon said quietly. "Why are you still here?"
Captain Rico grinned, flashing a row of white teeth.
"We’re not the ones who wanted to see you, Mr. Luiz."
Gordon frowned.
"Not you?"
His eyes shifted toward the doorway.
"...Then who?"
Before the final word left his mouth, the answer walked in.
"That’s right."
Luca stepped through the doorway with an easy smile, hands still tucked into his pockets.
"It’s me."
He stopped a few feet away.
"How’ve you been, Mr. Luiz?"
"...Luca Hale."
The name escaped Gordon’s lips almost as a growl.
The calm he’d painstakingly built over the past few days cracked apart the instant he saw him.
Everything...
Everything he’d lost traced back to the young man standing in front of him.
His empire.
His reputation.
His freedom.
Even his son had been thrown behind bars because of him.
Hatred surged through him once again, so intense it felt ready to burst from his chest.
"So..."
Gordon let out a bitter laugh.
"You’ve already won."
"What more do you want?"
"Did you come all the way here just to show off in front of a prisoner?"
"If that’s your goal..."
He slowly leaned back.
"...Congratulations. You’ve succeeded."
His eyes drifted shut for a moment.
Looking at Luca’s youthful face, he was finally forced to acknowledge a truth he’d refused to accept.
He was old.
The tide had changed.
Men like him had become yesterday’s news.
Luca smiled faintly.
"Mr. Luiz, you’re giving me far too much credit."
"I’m really not that bored."
He sat down across from Gordon, folding his hands on the table.
"I came because there are a few things you deserve to know."
"You’ve spent decades in this industry."
"I’d hate for someone like you to spend the rest of your life without knowing the truth."
Gordon slowly opened his eyes again.
Whatever he’d expected...
It wasn’t this.
Luca leaned forward slightly, his expression unreadable.
"Tell me something."
"Have you ever thought that you and Dexter don’t resemble each other at all?"
The words landed like a hammer.
"...What are you trying to say?"
For the first time since Luca entered the room, Gordon’s voice shook.
His face turned even paler.
Both fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles lost all color.
Luca gave a small, almost amused smile.
"What do you think I’m saying?"
He straightened in his chair.
"This isn’t a psychiatric hospital, Mr. Luiz."
"You know exactly where I’m going with this."
"You’re lying!"
Gordon slammed both hands onto the table.
His breathing became ragged.
"You’re trying to get inside my head!"
Luca didn’t even bother responding.
Instead, he looked toward Rico.
"Captain."
Without another word, Rico stepped forward and carefully placed a document on the table.
He even flattened the corners before sliding it toward Gordon.
Silence filled the room.
Slowly...
Reluctantly...
Gordon lowered his eyes.
His gaze settled on the report.
Then...
It stopped.
No biological relationship.
Those three words shattered everything.
His entire body froze.
The color drained from his face until it took on a sickly gray-purple hue.
His chest tightened violently.
He grabbed at his collar, gasping for air as though someone had wrapped chains around his lungs.
His eyes darted across the report again.
His hands began trembling.
He looked back at Luca, and for the first time...
The hatred in his eyes disappeared.
What remained was desperation.
"Luca..."
His voice cracked.
"This... this is fake."
"You made this to break me."
"Didn’t you?"
Luca looked at him almost pityingly.
"If you think it’s fake..."
He shrugged.
"...then verify it yourself."
"You still have people willing to do favors for you."
"You know that."
That single sentence crushed the last fragile support holding Gordon together.
Luca had absolutely no reason to fabricate something like this.
Which meant...
There was a very real chance it was true.
A bitter laugh escaped Gordon’s lips.
How ridiculous.
He had sacrificed everything...
Destroyed countless lives...
Even tried to shoulder every crime after his arrest...
All for a child who might not even be his.
Worse...
The entire conflict with Luca had started because of that same child.
His breathing slowed.
When he raised his head again, the hatred aimed at Luca was gone.
It had found a new target.
His eyes filled with something far darker.
"Luca."
His voice became strangely calm.
"You can go now."
Luca smiled.
He stood without another word.
Patrick and Rico followed him out.
As the heavy door closed behind them, Luca knew Gordon wouldn’t accept the report blindly.
He would verify every word himself.
And once he did...
There would be no coming back.
---
Not long after Luca left, another officer entered the interrogation room.
It was a middle-aged detective Gordon had known for years.
The officer sighed as he stepped inside.
"I told you before."
"Even if you helped me years ago, I can’t make Dexter’s charges disappear."
"I know."
Gordon’s voice was eerily calm now.
"I’ve given up on that."
He slowly pushed the report across the table.
"I only need one favor."
"Tell me whether this..."
He looked down at the document.
"...is real."
The detective picked it up.
His eyes scanned the pages.
A look of genuine shock flashed across his face before he quickly concealed it.
After a long silence, he nodded.
"...Alright."
"I’ll verify it for you."