MasukLeonardoAfter an endless day of trying to put my ducks in a row, sleep refused to come.The mansion had long since surrendered to the night. The laughter that had echoed through the halls earlier was gone, replaced by the familiar silence that settled over the estate after midnight.I used to love this peacedful time until...well I started questioning my very existence. Now I hated the silence. It gave me too much time to think. The untouched glass of whiskey sat on the corner of my table, the ice having melted hours ago. Beside it lay the file Luther had left me earlier in the evening on Olivia. I'd been postponing going back to it all day but as I opened the door that led to my balcony, I felt it's weight around my hand again. I had read it so many times that I no longer saw words, just questions. I consoled myself that the file had been compiled at the last minute, surely whatever I had seem, Christopher probably didn't have the time to double check everything. Three deliber
Leonardo The office door closed behind me with a solid click and I could breath again. Out there, people laughed. Dogs stole slippers. My wife smiled at my misery. But in here, reality waited. Luther stood by the window while I poured myself a whiskey I had no intention of drinking. "The shipment," I said. Luther who had been typing something on his phone answered, "Recovered boss, but the trucks were burned after the attack." "And the cargo?" I asked "Gone." He said. My jaw tightened. This was three months of negotiations. Thousands of rounds and not to mention millions of pounds and everything was gone overnight. "Did they leave a message?" Luther nodded once."They carved a symbol into the driver's chest." I didn't ask which who the symbol belonged to because I already had a feeling that Vincent was behind it. The bastard never hid behind anonymous killings. He wanted everyone to know he'd been there. Fear was his signature. I set the untouched glass o
Olivia The silence after I mentioned Melanie was almost impressive. Leonardo stared at me, his coffee forgotten in his hand. Before either of us could say another word, footsteps echoed down the hallway. They were fast and measured. The only other person who walked like that other than Leonardo was one of his minions. True to form and shape, Luther appeared in the kitchen doorway, dressed in his usual black suit, his face giving away absolutely nothing. "Boss." He said Leonardo let out a quiet sigh. "What is it?" Luther's eyes briefly flickered toward me and CeCe. "We have a situation." "Of course we do," Leonardo muttered. CeCe quietly slid his toast onto a plate without much interest to whatever Luther was about to say. "I have somewhere to be." He remembered. "You sit back down," Leonardo said without looking at him. CeCe obediently sat and Luther continued as though nothing had happened. "The harbor called." He said and it was my turn to sigh inwardly whi
Olivia Leonardo reached for the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, his eyes never leaving me. "I've missed that." He said looking at me. I raised an eyebrow. "The coffee?" "The smile." He said. I let out a soft chuckle. "You should lower your expectations." "I'd rather not." He leaned against the kitchen island, looking far more relaxed than I'd seen him in weeks. "So..." he began. "Does this mean we're finally calling a truce?" He gestured upstairs and I knew he was referring to Cassie being home. I tilted my head. "Were we at war?" I asked. He laughed quietly. "It certainly felt like it." "That's because you kept standing in the line of fire." CeCe made a strangled sound that was suspiciously close to laughter. "I suddenly remembered I have somewhere else to be," he announced, grabbing a slice of toast. I looked at him, I knew he was running away from me and Leonardo, probably giving us space. "You've been looking for cheese for the last ten minu
Olivia The mansion felt lighter. It was strange how the return of one tiny person could breathe life back into a house that had been suffocating for weeks. Cassie's laughter echoed somewhere down the hallway, followed by Rosa's mock scolding and another burst of childish giggles that made me smile before I could stop myself. For once, I wasn't thinking about revenge or rummaging through Leonardo's family secrets,god knew I had done enough of that. Things had unfolded exactly as I'd hoped. Cassie was home, and that was enough for me. I wandered into the kitchen, drawn by the smell of fresh coffee. CeCe was pacing between the kitchen island and the refrigerator, rummaging through shelves like a starving bear looking for its last meal. He turned the moment he sensed me. "Well," he said dramatically, placing a hand over his chest. "Look who's smiling. Should I call a priest? We may be witnessing a miracle." I rolled my eyes as I walked over to the coffee machine. "I'm smiling
Leonardo I had spies in every corner of the city. Politicians, Police commissioner's and even Judges. These were men who would sell their own mothers for the right price. Nothing happened without me hearing about it. So why the hell did my wife always know first about critical things that could ruin the family name? I stood in my office, staring at the security footage playing on the monitor for what had to be the tenth time. There was Olivia at my mom's place. Calm and collected. She walked out of my mother's house like she had just been with a friend. I paused the footage and zoomed in. There was nothing to suggest that she was with someone or she had been receiving instructions on what to say from somewhere. Just Olivia... walking in with that unnerving confidence she seemed to wear like a cloak...alone. Which meant she had gone prepared, she had done her homework beforehand. A knock interrupted my thoughts. "Come in." I said and Luther stepped inside. "We







