ALESSANDRA My eyes widened in surprise at her words, and I turned to my husband for an explanation. “Marcella? As in your sister's name?” I asked.Leonardo's lips lifted at the corner, but the smile didn't reach his emerald eyes. He explained, “When my younger sister died due to my father's negligence, he immediately adopted a little girl after a week and named her after my sister. Marcella is part of the family.” My aversion towards Marcella instantly deepened as I watched her eyes crease with happiness at Leonardo's words. She said, “Oh, thank you so much, Leo. You don't know how long I have waited for you to say that about me.”“I see,” I replied, my gaze drifting down to her outstretched hand as I processed the information. Davide De Castello had clearly treated this woman well, judging by the way she interacted with everyone, and Leonardo seemed to have a soft spot for her. When Marcella saw that I wasn't going to shake her hand, she sent a distressed look to Leonardo, who ign
ALESSANDRA I spent the entire day locked up in our new bedroom with Leonardo. When I woke up again, my eye fluttered open to see Leonardo sleeping beside me. Here I was, lying on my front with his arms draped over me protectively. With his handsome face in view, I couldn't help but admire him quietly. I traced his features with my fingertips, from his relaxed eyebrows to his Roman nose and full lips, down to his sharp jawline. He seemed so surreal in this moment, especially since I had specifically told him not to come back for me eight years ago.It all started when my father ordered my mother to bring me to social events. During dinner, he glanced at me and said I was growing into a woman, so it was time to start looking for a husband. Distressed, I called Leonardo and begged him to save me. I was talking about eloping with him but the truth was that I had a different plan in mind. I gave my virginity to Leonardo at the age of 16, hoping that it would force my father to marry him
ALESSANDRA It was hard to wrap my head around the news I had just received but there was one thing I was sure about, it was the fact that I wanted nothing to do with this operation. This whole situation was much bigger than I had anticipated, and it was the kind that would surely get me killed. I shook my head, trying to gather my thoughts, and then said, “I'm really sorry, Bianca, but I can't do this. Do you have any idea what would happen to me if I get caught? Ivan and his men already attacked me a few days ago.”Bianca set her teacup down on the table as she faced me. “No, that wasn't Ivan,” she said. “It was your father who hired those men to attack Leonardo's apartment. Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we?”“Are you telling me that my father sent those men to attack the apartment?” My body trembled with anger as I saw her nod calmly. Clenching my fists tightly, my voice rose, “Mia lives with us. What the hell is wrong with you people?”Bianca
ALESSANDRA Bianca and I returned to the De Castello mansion in the evening, carrying some shopping bags filled with brand clothes and shoes. Although we had known each other for a long time, this was the first time we had entered a brand store together. Our shopping tastes were quite different. I preferred simple clothing with light colors and flat, while Bianca liked sophisticated dresses with high heels that made her look like a lady even though she knew how to kick ass. She also wasn't fazed by exorbitant prices, but I nearly had a heart attack swiping Leonardo's card at the checkout. Giovanni had beaten me many times for it. In public, he would always pressure me into buying the most expensive things but he would beat the shit out of me when we were alone. Claimed that the only thing I was good at was spending his hard-earned money. As we stepped into the foyer, Bianca suddenly halted. "This is where we part, dear," she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I hope Leonardo
ALESSANDRA A few minutes later, Rocco finally closed the door with an unconscious Marcella in his arms. His eyes were filled with anger when he glared at me but I ignored them all. When the door closed shut, I turned to the only man I truly feared and questioned him, “Where the hell is my sister-““What am I going to do with you, Lexi?” Leonardo murmured, his hands suddenly grabbed my neck, the pressure digging into my flesh. His voice was devoid of any mention as he continued, “I can't have you pulling this stunt at will, baby. With the way you are behaving, you will surely get us killed.”A burning sensation spread through my chest as I struggled for air. Considering the tightness of his grip, a part of me worried Leonardo was truly trying to kill me but we both knew that wasn't going to happen. I wheezed a few times and stopped struggling as I replied, my voice heavy with boldness and defiance, “I was serious when I asked you not to bring your mistresses to the house. Why is it so
ALESSANDRA My mind was stuck in a state of shock after I heard Rocco's confession. It felt like my entire world has just shattered around me, leaving me standing alone in a dark place. Nothing could have prepared me for what I had just heard, and the fact that I was hearing it from this person made it even worst. My mouth went dry, as I shook my head in denial. “You are lying,” I accused. Leonardo was only 19 then. How could his father be so ruthless to do such a thing to his own son?As the tense silence continued, a voice spoke from the end of the hallway, “He's telling the truth, Alessandra.”I turned to see Dante and Mia standing a few feet away. My strength immediately drained, causing my heels to bend awkwardly. With shallow breaths, I asked, “H-How did this happen? I told him not to go back to New York City.”Dante opened his mouth to speak when he suddenly realized that we were not alone. He turned to Rocco and said, “You can take Mia back to her room. I will speak to her.”
LEONARDO After arguing with Alessandra, I stayed in the office, staring at my black gloves. I eventually took them off, revealing my strong, long fingers, except for my pinky. The missing limb had been replaced by a prosthetic, but it was still different from the others. For some reason, I can't stop thinking about my fight with Alessandra. Her accusing glares and her hurtful words are imprinted on my mind, causing to sink deeper and deeper in the dark chasm of my mind.This was my biggest secret, now exposed to my wife. I heard them talking behind the door, but for some reason, I didn't stop them. A part of me felt ashamed, but it was necessary for her to know the truth.I didn't want to keep lying to her. If she didn't despise my work, I would have taken her with me on every damn operation.The feeling of self-loathing threatened to consume my very soul, yet I had no intention of leaving her. Alessandra was the reason I didn't feel pain all those years in my father's house and in p
ALESSANDRA I searched the entire mansion for my husband, but he was nowhere to be found. Guilt consumed me when I thought about how I had treated him, like a heartless monster, incapable of feeling any human emotion because of the lives he took. But he was no different from me, a victim of the world he was born into.After a while, I gave up and decided to go to Mia instead. She was the one I always confided in with all my problems, mainly because she was such a great listener.When I reached her room, I noticed guards stationed outside, which immediately set off alarm bells in my head. They greeted me and allowed me to pass through, but I noticed the door was locked. I turned to them with a stern expression and asked, “Why is the door locked?”They share a look with each other before one of them responded, “It's being locked from within. Dante instructed us to come fetch you to join her and guard the door until he returned.”“Why? Is there something wrong?” My eyes darted between u
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