Chapter 18: The Lavandor Ball

Chapter 18

Leone placed the document back into the black envelope, his tongue running around the walls of his mouth. 

He knew something was off about her from the first day he had seen her. That night at the alley hadn’t been the first time he laid his eyes on her. Leone’s lips twitched as his memory jogged:

One month ago.................

Leone’s lazy eyes roamed around the place, a fair for only the top billionaires in Italy. Dark clouds hovered above the sky, the sun almost thinning from plain sight. The wind was cold but not cold enough to be wary of, as each and every person was draped in expensive fur coats.

His midnight black hair was combed to the side to rest on his temples, his stark gray eyes swirled with mirth as he observed each and every person at the fair. 

Rico stood behind him, going through the files in his hand.

The Lavandor Ball was hosted by the richest family in Italy, the Lorenzos. An outdoor gathering for the rich to flaunt their status—one which the Don of the Lorenzo Empire prided in. They were the strongest mafia clan in Italy, after all.

After a good 30 minutes, the Lorenzos finally showed up, taking the spotlight from everyone else. Francesco and his wife, Lucia, took their seats, but they didn’t come alone. They came with their three daughters, whom he hadn’t bothered to spare a glance at—but the youngest one… blonde hair, sea-blue eyes.

Unlike her sisters, she stood out not by the clothes she wore, but by her demeanor. She failed to fit, to blend into the society she had come to be part of.

And then someone stood in front of him, blocking his view of her. It was Francesco, the Don of the Lorenzo Empire. Francesco had a wide grin on his face as he stretched his hand for a handshake.

Annoyance smeared all over Leone’s face as he didn’t bother to hide the fact that the distraction from staring at the girl irked him. Nevertheless, he shook his hand, and that seemed to have broadened Francesco’s already wide grin.

“I’m thankful you honored my invitation, Leonardo,” Francesco returned his hand to his pocket. “You’ve been a great help to this empire, a huge support for us.”

A stoic expression remained fixed on Leone’s face. Humans were indeed gullible and foolish. “My pleasure.”

Francesco left him to attend to his other guests. Leone hadn’t bothered to mingle—that wasn’t why he was here in the first place.

His head whipped to where the blonde head had been standing, and his eyes narrowed when he didn’t see her there.

Rico, who had finished organizing the files, let out a smile of relief after confirming everything was intact. He turned to Leone to tell him they could take their leave now, but his mouth clamped shut upon sensing his bad mood.

It was terrible enough that his game of chess was putting his life on the line by secretly supporting the Lorenzo Empire—which was treason against their clan. He didn’t want him doing something that would completely send him to his grave. Before he could utter anything, Leone left him there.

His shrewd gray eyes scanned the crowd as he searched for her—and there she was. He finally spotted her talking to one of the servers who handed her a glass of wine.

She took the glass from him and gave it to her sister, who received it with a sour expression. Her eyes searched through the crowd, like she was searching for someone, and when her sisters and parents weren’t watching, she slipped away.

He followed her from a distance, making sure he didn’t lose her. His feet halted, his eyes narrowed on seeing her talking to a man—eyes livid with joy as she jumped into his arms to embrace him.

Leone turned back and left the scene. He sat at a table, a stoic expression on his face, and Rico, who was seated with him, kept wondering why they weren’t leaving now—but he didn’t dare ask, not with that look on his face.

“Leonardo.” Leone turned to see Francesco standing beside him. He got up from the table and followed Francesco to a secluded area. 

“I just want to thank you again. You have been nothing but a great help for this clan,” Francesco said.

Francesco had no idea he was Enzo’s second son—his archenemy—and he intended to keep it that way for his own personal advantage.

“It’s nothing, Don.” He smiled, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “You know it’s not for free, though.”

Francesco nodded. From what he had deduced from this man, he operated like the devil—what he gives, he takes in tenfold.

Leonardo was a man who had appeared in his life when he was in dire crisis, when his mafia group was almost taken down by the Vicenzo mafia group. He had single-handedly supplied them with enough weapons to fight them off. Not just that, he had been funding the clan with millions of pounds for years. His empire would have been in the dust if it weren’t for him.

At first, he had doubted this man, doubted his true intentions. He had ordered his top men to do a background check on him, but no dirt was found. He had a clean record—a big-shot CEO in Spain. 

Francesco was more than glad to give him anything he wanted—anything at all. He had even offered to make him his consigliere, his second-in-command, but this man had blatantly refused his offer. Now, he didn’t mind offering him whatever he wanted.

“Of course, Leonardo, you can have anything you want—anything at all.” The sides of his eyes crinkled as he grinned.

“I want your daughter,” he declared, making Francesco’s eyes widen for a second.

He nodded his head. He would be more than glad to give him one of his daughters. Having him as his son-in-law would be a blessing. “Of course. Sofia and Francesca are very beautiful and smart. They’ll be more than happy to be your bride.”

Leone’s eyes scrutinized him, noticing how his smile had begun to crack. “I want the one with blonde hair.”

Color drained from his face. “Annalisa?”