ALESSANDRA If Leonardo's plan was to punish me through the silent treatment, then it was definitely working. He refused to pick up my calls or reply to my texts ever since I returned to the De Castello mansion two days ago. Although I was relieved to be reunited with Mia once again, I couldn't help but worry each time my calls went to voicemail. “Ugh!” I threw my phone on my sister's bed out of frustration. I stayed in her room in the mornings and then, I slept in my room at night since I still had appearances to keep up. Mia grabbed my phone as I sat down on the chair, scrolling through the messages. She was on her back, facing the ceiling with her legs on the wall as she said, “Look, maybe he's just busy, Alessandra. You know, he might be doing one of those important operations that Father used to go on every month.”The so-called operations she was referring to was my father's monthly visit to the strip clubs and escort agencies but no one wanted to tell Mia the truth. She stil
ALESSANDRA The room was heavy with silence as we stared at each other. Leonardo's intense glare pinned me in place, making me squirm. I wanted to say the words of apology I had rehearsed earlier but they refused to come out, no matter how hard I tried.Leonardo leaned back on the chair and crossed his legs with an air of leisure. “Well? Don't you have anything to say to me?” he snapped, his voice edged with impatience. I stiffened at his harsh tone, finally realizing why I wasn't able to say the words I was supposed to say. It was because of him, his overbearing attitude and his condescending demeanor. “Why did you refuse to pick up my calls, Leonardo?” I blurted out. The moment the words left my mouth, I wanted to kick myself for straying off topic. But I couldn’t back down now. “Are you angry that I ruined your business relationship with the White Star Gang? Do you regret saving me?”My husband's eyes flashed with anger when he heard my words. Deep down, I dreaded his response so
ALESSANDRA After what happened between us, Leonardo and I spent the rest of our nights secluded in the bedroom, making love again and again. I felt a pang of guilt for leaving Keith and Dante to handle the burden of explaining things to our family members. However, Leonardo seemed utterly indifferent."What good are they if they can't even cover my back?" he remarked dismissively.That's why I couldn't help but wonder why these men were loyal to him. He was clearly worse than my father, yet he had the unwavering trust and support of all his men.I let him spoon me through the night, no romantic words exchanged until he slipped away the next morning. He left behind a note, reminding me about my work over the weekend. It was kind of sweet, but also a bit rude, especially since we had just reconciled our differences.Still, I refused to let anything ruin my day. I got down from the bed and started walking towards the shower when my feet touched something. Confused, I bent down to see it
ALESSANDRA “Where is it?”This was it, the moment where I knew I should do the smart thing. In my situation, I knew I couldn't afford to cross my allies, those people I was sure would bail me out of any dangerous situation as long as they still considered me useful. If this mission turned out successful, I was going to be finally free to live the life I wanted. That was what they promised me right?“Leonardo picked it from the floor,” I told her, my heart racing in my chest as I lied through my damn teeth. “It looked like it had a phone number and I managed to see the numbers written on it.”Bianca praised me with a smile, “That's excellent, Alessandra. I will go and fetch you a pen and paper so you can write it down.”I finally released the breath I was holding when I saw her scurry to the kitchen. There was no logical reason for deceiving her like this, and I didn't even want to search for one. Deep down, I couldn't bear to betray Leonardo after he had saved my life.Yes, that mus
ALESSANDRA The couple in front of me remained oblivious to my presence as they continued to kiss each other. Once I was able to process my thoughts, I approached them, my steps fast and hasty. Mia was the first to notice me, her eyes widening in surprise. Ignoring her, I tapped Dante on the back, causing him to turn around just as I slapped him hard across the face.“Lexi!” Mia exclaimed in horror. She immediately positioned herself between us. “You didn't need to do that-”I exploded, “You better keep quiet if you don't want me to hit you too!” My attention shifted to my brother-in-law, “She is 16, Dante. How could you do this?!”Mia tried to defend him, “But I was the one who kissed him first!”“I don't care!” I yelled back. Clearly she wasn't thinking straight because her horny teenage hormones but Dante was supposed to know better. And it seemed he did. Because he stepped forward to face me, hands running down his face, “Shit, Alessandra. I don't know what I was thinking,” he a
LEONARDO “Fuck!”I slammed the phone on the table and threw a glare at the woman standing by my side. Marcella flinched away from my angry eyes, her body rigid with tension. She asked me, her voice quavering slightly, “What's wrong, Leo? Did I do something wrong?”I opened my mouth to speak, but the harsh words in my mouth clung stubbornly to my throat. Marcella was one sly bitch who loved to use others to do her dirty work but I just couldn't reprimand her harshly like I wished. Not with that name. Not with that face. “Look, if it’s about Alessandra…” She raised her hands defensively, “I didn’t fight with her. I only told her you were busy because you looked so frustrated when you couldn’t track down Orlando’s cousin…”As she continued to defend herself, I sifted through my thoughts, trying to understand why my wife was so upset. Dante’s affair seemed to be a major issue, but it felt like there was she was also angry with me for some unknown reason. My eyes wandered to my wristwa
LEONARDO This motherfucker was really trying to piss me off. As I turned off the auto-mode and took control of the steering wheel, I cast a look at the black car through the rearview mirror. The car was no longer alone but it had three more cars accompanying it. My blood boiled in my veins as I gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white.Whoever these people were, they must have followed me from my office which meant that my headquarters' location had been exposed. The first black car rammed into me again, causing my car to skid against the asphalt but I quickly regained control this time. My senses became more sharper and attuned to the situation as I avoided being flanked by all three cars. The last car hit me harder this time, but I quickly countered the skid to avoid the close call. I slammed on the brakes, letting the SUV shoot past me, then floored the accelerator, ramming its rear bumper with all the force I could muster. The SUV swerved, momentarily losing control.Taking
ALESSANDRA Today was finally my first day of work. Last night, I kept trying on different outfits, each one carefully chosen for the day ahead. Leonardo had assured me that the job interview was just a formality, but I still wanted to impress the restaurant owner and show I was more than capable of handling the position.Although I was very happy to finally leave the house during the day, my spirits were a little dampened because of my fight with Mia. I finally remembered that I didn't tell her about my new job. She would have been so happy to hear I was going to be working if she wasn't so mad with me about Dante. I just hoped Leonardo was able to convince Dante to leave her alone. For both our sakes. The thought of Leonardo also reminded me that I had also gotten into a fight with him. I tried my best to tell him about the secret affair his brother was having with my sister but he seemed too busy with his mistress than listen to me. Deep down, I wondered why I was so possessiv
ALESSANDRA A week later...I ate breakfast and was reading a novel when I suddenly received a phone call from Rocco. Anxiety gripped my heart as I picked up the call and said. “Hello, Rocco.”“Leo has woken up, and he's been asking for you.” He announced. “I'll text you the address so you can come visit him immediately.”I shot up from my seat. “Really? I'm coming!”My heart pounded in my chest as I changed my clothes and rushed into the waiting car. When we finally arrived at the location Rocco sent us, I was already a bit dizzy from anticipation as I entered the house, ignoring the guards’ greetings. I just wanted to confirm it myself. I needed to see him with my two eyes and touch him with my fingers to convince myself that he was truly awake. After taking several turns in the large house, I finally found Isabella in the hallway. As I closed the distance between us with hurried steps, I called out to her. “Isabella, where's he?”Isabella pointed at the door near her with a smile
ALESSANDRA By a few minutes before six in the morning, Henrietta finally emerged from Leonardo's room, wiping her hands with a white handkerchief. She and Cortez looked exhausted, though Cortez tried to hide it better than Henrietta.She yawned and said, “He's out of danger for now. But he still needs to be checked for any other internal injuries and broken bones.”I turned to Cortez. “Is there something you can do about this?”“I'll make some calls to find someone in the city to help us,” Cortez replied grimly. “But that means we'll have to move him if possible.”I suddenly understood why they had been beating around the bush when speaking to me. The thought of Leonardo not being nearby sent a cold shiver down my spine. I needed him close, and I couldn't trust anyone else right now. I didn't want him out of my sight until he regained consciousness.A undercurrent of tension and unspoken words passed between me and my enforcer as we stared at each other. Henrietta's eyes darted betwe
ALESSANDRA After what happened to Keith, Rocco and Cortez decided to conduct another identity check of every single person staying was in the private house. I stayed behind, personally watching over my unconscious husband alone while they carried out their operations.Although I had been very firm and strong on the surface when facing Keith, the truth was that I was extremely shaken by the extent of my Father's vicious plans. If I had arrived a second later, I would have surely lost Leonardo. So who could I trust now? Who exactly was my ally and my foe here?A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts. Since the knocks were light and gentle, I already had an idea who was the visitor was so I called out, “Come in.”Isabella poked her head in and said, “Cortez wanted me to tell you that he's going to personally fetch a doctor to treat Leonardo.”“Alright, thank you.” I replied. After carefully examining Leonardo's injuries, Rocco and I had come to the conclusion that his life w
ALESSANDRA When I finally arrived at the address Isabella sent me, I rushed into the house to see Rocco talking to Cortez. He leaned against the wall, one of his hands holding his abdomen while he chugged down large gulps of whiskey from the bottle. I approached them quickly and asked, "Where's Leonardo? I want to see him right now.”“He's now receiving treatment from Keith.” Cortez replied. With a single glance, he grew alarmed as he pulled me close. “Is something wrong? Were you attacked?”I shook my head. “Not me. But I think Leo's in danger.”Rocco frowned. “What do you mean?”I told them what my younger sister, Mia had told me. The expression on both their faces was not pleasant at all, but then Cortez finally said, “I have already tightened security around the place, but I'll do an extra round just to make sure no one sneaks into the place.”“I'm afraid that person is already in this building,” I snapped, running my hand in through my hair. My mind raced as I thought deeply ab
ALESSANDRA I paced back and forth in the living room of my private residence that evening, waiting for some news from Rocco and the rest. As soon as Sofia gave me that address, we held a meeting as soon as I got home. Rocco folded his arms and stared at the note on the table. “How sure are you that this isn't some sort of trap? We can't afford to have them ambush us.”I smiled reassuringly. “That's why we have Cortez here.”“Yes,” My second mafia lieutenant confirmed, stepping forward. “I'll have a few police officers on standby for backup, so they don't have the upper hand over us.”“But that would actually leave us defenseless here.” Rocco protested. “Well, it's not like they know our new mafia headquarters, and I'll just hide here until you guys return, so don't worry about it.” I assured him. When there were no further objections, Rocco finally fell silent, so we were able to make a very meticulous plan to save Leonardo. That evening, I stayed at home with my phone glued to my
ALESSANDRA On the last day of the ultimatum, I sent word to Sofia to come for a meeting. Isabella and Rocco tried to convince me to wait until the ultimatum was over, but I just couldn't wait anymore. The previous night, I had a frightening nightmare that the couple had delivered Leonardo's corpse to me. That dream had scared the shit out of me that night, so I decided to take care of this mess once and for all. “What am I here, Alessandra?” Sofia questioned. Apparently, she wasn't pleased to be summoned on a Saturday because she had plans with Giovanni to go shopping. “Did you call us to give some good news about our agreement? Where's Dante?”“He's not here, and I didn't tell him anything about the deal you offered me.” I said. The couple's eager faces instantly dropped when they heard my words, but I didn't care. I came here for a mission, so I wasn't going to rest until I fulfilled it. Sofia slammed the table and fumed. “Then it means you are prepared to see your husband again
ALESSANDRA After waiting for several days, Cortez finally returned with news about his investigation. According to him, Sofia was an orphan from the city of San Remo who snuck out the country illegally through a stowaway. She was then caught by a prostitute smuggling ring and worked for them for four years before she met Giovanni, who paid for her freedom. “Are you sure that's all you have about her?” I asked Cortez. A wave of desperation and helplessness gripped my heart when I discovered he had brought nothing useful like I'd hoped. Today was the second day after Giovanni had given us that ultimatum, but I still didn't have anything on him or his woman. The clock was ticking, and I feared Leonardo's life would soon be forfeited if I didn't do something. Cortez glanced away before nodding, “Yes, that's all I could find. You can ask somebody else to search if you'd like.”I observed him for a few more seconds, trying to see if I could actually trust him. After the little disagreem
ALESSANDRA Silence enveloped the room after my confession. Cortez didn't look as surprised as I would have imagined while Rocco's expression darkened as he tried to process what this revelation would mean for his friends. “Your father killed his brother?!” Isabella half-asked, half-screamed. I understood her reaction the most because I had struggled to live with the secret for years. In the mafia, everyone did anything they could for power and money. But there was one concept that was sacred to all, something that allowed them to preserve their last sense of humanity. Family. Both betrayal and murder of one's kin were frowned upon, and if someone dared to touch another's family, then that person was definitely prepared to go to hell and beyond that. That's why most grudges were always settled with a person's death. "I'm so sorry, Alessandra.” Isabella wrapped her arms around me as my vision blurred with tears. Rocking me gently, she added, “Now it makes sense why you didn't wan
ALESSANDRA That night, another private meeting was held between all of Leonardo's mafia lieutenants. No one believed us about Giovanni's reappearance at first until we showed them the pictures he gave us. Some were still in disbelief, while the others were completely shocked that my ex-husband was the one behind Leonardo's demise. Cortez stepped forward and said, “I'll get a search issue for him and arrest him. It's best we use the police to deal with him since he might have other allies that we're not aware of.”“No,” Rocco growled, pacing back and forth in the office. “We both know that the police can't be trusted in this case. I say we solve this issue between us no matter what.”As they argued back between us, I remained stuck in my head, wondering how the hell Giovanni survived. Before my marriage with him, he had been very gentle and attentive, a stark contrast to Leonardo's intense personality. My mother even swore that I'd have a happy marriage, and I believed her. After a