CHAPTER FIVE:- THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

The screen flickered to life, casting a cold glow over the dimly lit office.

Leonardo sat stiffly behind his desk, one hand hovering over the laptop’s keyboard while the other drummed against the armrest. His gaze remained locked on the screen, his expression unreadable.

Amara stood behind him, arms crossed, her heart hammering.

The file loaded.

And then—

A video began to play.

The footage was grainy but clear enough. The setting was a dimly lit underground club, the kind where rules didn’t exist and power belonged to whoever had the most blood on their hands.

A man sat at the center of it all.

Not just any man.

Leonardo DeLuca.

But this wasn’t the calculated, composed crime lord Amara had come to know. No. This version of him was WILD. UNHINGED. His eyes burned with fury, his suit stained with something dark—something RED.

In the video, he wasn’t seated at the head of the table. He wasn’t giving orders.

He was being *held down*.

By two men.

Amara’s stomach twisted. She had never seen Leonardo at a disadvantage. Never seen him look HUMAN.

Then another figure entered the frame.

Dante.

Even through the screen, his presence was suffocating. He moved with his usual arrogance, but there was something DIFFERENT in his eyes—something sharp.

Amara’s blood ran cold.

She knew what this was.

A power play. A moment where Dante had OWNED Leonardo.

A moment he had captured on film to remind him.

The video continued.

Dante crouched in front of Leonardo, speaking too low for the camera to pick up, but whatever he said made Leonardo’s muscles go rigid. His jaw clenched. His fingers curled into fists.

Then—*a gunshot*.

Amara flinched.

The video ended abruptly.

Silence filled the office.

Leonardo didn’t move. His entire body was coiled, his knuckles white against the desk.

Amara swallowed. “What was that?”

Leonardo’s voice was eerily calm. “A mistake.”

She narrowed her eyes. “A mistake? That wasn’t just a mistake, Leonardo. That was LEVERAGE. Dante has been waiting for the perfect moment to use this against you.”

He finally looked at her. “And yet, you’re the one he gave it to.”

Amara’s breath caught.

She knew what he was implying.

“Leonardo—”

“Why did Dante think you’d use this against me?” His voice was low, but there was an EDGE to it now, something razor-sharp.

She exhaled, trying to keep her voice steady. “Because he wants you to believe I will.”

Leonardo pushed back his chair and stood. He moved slowly, deliberately, each step closing the space between them.

When he finally reached her, he lifted a hand, tracing a finger along the line of her jaw.

“You’re playing a dangerous game, CARA MIA,” he murmured.

Amara refused to back down. “So are you.”

His grip tightened, just slightly. Enough to remind her that she wasn’t in control here. That she never *had* been.

Then—without warning—he *laughed*.

A low, dark sound that sent chills racing down her spine.

“Dante thinks he’s clever,” Leonardo mused, his fingers slipping to her throat, pressing lightly. “But he doesn’t understand something important.”

Amara’s pulse pounded beneath his touch. “And what’s that?”

Leonardo leaned in, his breath brushing against her ear.

“I don’t break,” he whispered. “And I don’t lose.”

A shiver ran down her spine.

For a moment, they stood like that—caught in a silent battle, neither willing to be the first to step back.

Then, just as suddenly as he had touched her, Leonardo released her.

He turned back to the laptop, ejecting the USB drive and slipping it into his pocket.

“We need to move,” he said, his tone shifting back to business. “Dante made his first move. Now, it’s time to make mine.”

Amara exhaled slowly.

Something told her that whatever Leonardo had planned…

Dante wasn’t going to like it.

And neither was she.

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