Chapter 32
Her eyes flew wide, his action accentuated by the crackling sound in the burning fireplace.
Her lips parted repeatedly, tongue-tied and speechless at what he had just done. She rubbed her now bare neck, which hadn’t been hurt when he tugged the necklace off, as he had done it with so much precision.
“You—” she tore her eyes away from the fireplace, now glaring at him, who was already looking down at her. “You had no right to do that.” She took a sharp breath in, trying to build back her resolve, which always seemed to crumble anytime she was with him.
“Hmm? Don’t I?” He chuckled, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
Anna was perplexed. What was she going to say once Domenico asked her for the necklace he had given her? What if he hit her—or worse—when she couldn’t provide it?
She balled her fists as a tear slipped out of her eyes. She hit his chest repeatedly. “What the hell is your problem, Leone?” Her voice broke at the end.
She bit her lip hard, staring back at him, who didn’t seem to be even affected by the hits. Instead, her hand had begun to hurt due to how hard and sturdy his chest was.
“What do you fuckin want?” She cried, she felt so frustrated and overwhelmed already, she didn’t need him fueling it.
She pushed him away—no, he let her—and then she ran out of the library without looking back.
She ran to her room, slamming the door behind her as her heart thudded in her chest. Why had he done that? To put her in more trouble? Clearly.
She prayed Domenico never asked about the necklace, else she’d be screwed. She was well aware that it was worth millions of dollars.
Thanks to Leone, she had another problem to think about. She was too tired for all this.
Later that day, the butler informed her she was to have dinner with Domenico and the Don. Her heart skipped a beat, and she slowly nodded.
She couldn’t get her heart to be calm—it thudded aggressively in her ribcage like it could just burst out. Cold sweat rolled down her back once she got to the dining hall.
For a fleeting second, her fear was replaced with rage upon seeing Leone sitting leisurely on one of the chairs.
The butler pulled out a chair for her, one directly in front of Leone. Anna clutched her fork tightly as she ate.
“I had Antonio look into Diego today for an autopsy. His face was destroyed to a completely unrecognizable state,” the Don spoke.
Funny how the murderer sat leisurely at this table, relaxed like he hadn’t been the one to do it. Anna pressed her lips between her teeth, burying her face in the food she was eating but still keenly listening to what they were saying.
“What did the autopsy say?” Domenico asked impatiently, his eyes briefly falling on Leone, who was sipping a glass of wine.
“The body we found isn’t Diego’s body. The one behind the murder must have switched the bodies,” Enzo explained.
“Fuck it!” Domenico cursed. It was completely obvious who the murderer was, yet nothing was being done about it.
“Clearly, with the plot twist, the funeral would have to be on hold till his body is found.”
Anna noted how calm the Don remained—evidence of how much he had witnessed as the Don of the Vicenzo empire, since he seemed unphased by this. As for Domenico, he was visibly shaking with rage.
Her eyes fell on Leone, whose eyes were already shamelessly on her. She quickly looked down at her food.
The butler came in to tell the Don something, which had him leaving the dining hall immediately.
Her heart raced. The last thing she needed was getting in the middle of Leone and Domenico’s heated conversation.
Anna cleared her throat. “I’m full. I should head back now,” she said.
Domenico nodded at her, and Anna wasted no time getting up from her seat and heading out of the dining hall. As she left, her eyes briefly fell on Leone—his lazy eyes fixed on the glass of wine he twirled. Anna instantly shut the door and walked away.
…….
The butler came back into the dining hall with a glass bowl which contained red apples. He placed it in front of Leone. Leone took an apple, taking a large bite from it.
“The moment I find the evidence I need, you will be locked up in the dungeon where you fucking belong,” Domenico seethed.
“Want an apple?” Leone smirked, pushing the bowl of apples closer to him. “I usually don’t share my apples, but I feel so generous today.”
Domenico angrily pushed his chair back with a loud screech. This twat always managed to push him to the wall, and he couldn’t wait to put a bullet through his skull.
“What the fuck did you do with Diego’s body?” he growled.
It was no secret that Domenico was relatively close to Diego. They did a lot together, and to Domenico, Diego was like a second father. Diego would advise what and what not to do, prepping him to become the next Don of the Vicenzo empire.
Leone didn’t care. He didn’t give a fuck about what the two idiots did together. He found it rather pathetic how Domenico followed him around like a little mouse.
The only sin Domenico had committed was speaking ill of his mother—a sin which could only be rewarded with a free gateway to the afterlife.
Death wasn’t uncommon here, and it was because this one mattered to Domenico that he was throwing tantrums, which did nothing but entertain Leone.
Leone pushed his chair back slowly, leaning his head on the backrest as he leisurely crossed one leg over the other.
He took another slow bite from the apple, savoring the taste. “You know what they say about apples— the better the manure, the better the taste,” he winked.
Chapter 40Her chest tightened, her heart sank at the very thought of it. Worst of all, she couldn’t even refuse. She hated to say it, but she’d rather go there with Domenico than Leone at this point—she didn’t want to be anywhere near him.She had a million things to say, and the word “No” constantly resounded in her head, waiting for her to voice it out, but she held it back in.The Don kept staring at her, waiting for a response, but was it needed, when there was only one thing she could say?“Yes, Don,” was all Anna could muster, and she quickly excused herself from there, not wanting to be anywhere near Leone. She couldn’t even ask how long she would be staying. All she felt was this ache in her chest that prevented her from saying anything more or staying here any longer.…………When she got to her room, she was a bit shocked to find Chiara packing her things in a suitcase.Wasn’t it just minutes ago that the Don broke the news to her, and suddenly her things were getting packed u
Chapter 39Anna’s lips were tightly pressed against each other, not daring to respond to his earlier question because it smelled like some sort of trap, and the last thing she wanted to do now was fall into any of his traps.The look in his eyes, daring her, as if a little slip-up from her was all he needed to have her where he wanted her.As much as she wanted to say something, dare him because she knew he couldn’t have her—she was no food—she didn’t. This was his territory, and perhaps if they were in her room at the Don’s mansion, she’d have said her thoughts, but not here. Her eyes, that had tried to stay on his, now slowly drifted, lowering to stare at his well-toned chest. His strong, muscular arms—and they drifted lower—and she wondered if he was allergic to wearing a shirt and only did so when he was outside his mansion. She instantly tore her eyes away from him.Her hands turned clammy, but she tried to control it all. She cleared her throat. “I didn’t know you paint,” she s
Chapter 38Leone had been on a Zoom meeting with Francesco, Don of the Lorenzo empire, when the alarm went off and he was notified that someone was here.Surely, anyone who dared disturb his important meetings by coming here unannounced was bound to face doom.Rico was on a business trip to Albania, which meant it was obviously her who had come here again, because no one else would dare make that mistake—or else they had no use for their heads.Seeing it was her, he hadn’t thought twice before ending the call, not caring about what Francesco had to say next.He had thought she would run away from him after what he had said to her, and the news about the so-called massacre that happened here might have reached her too—but who knew this little rabbit would hop right back to him?He should be flaming with anger. No one else had stepped into this room aside from his mother. The only reason he painted was because of her, and this room was for them only. But somehow, he wasn’t burning with
Chapter 37Anna flipped the pages of the book in her hand, her eyes following every word, her lips pursed.She now sat in an outdoor garden from where she could see some of the guards and the servants who did their work.Anna couldn’t fully place her hands on it, but something was off. The air carried so much stiffness; even the workers didn’t bother to dwindle around. Like programmed robots, they minded their work.“Madam Anna,” she heard the soft feminine voice call her, and Anna instantly turned to see Chiara standing behind her, who gave her a bow. “Your lunch is ready.”Anna mustered a smile. “Please bring it to my room,” she instructed, and Chiara nodded.Anna was in no mood to have lunch alone in the spacious and lonely dining hall—that, and also risking having dinner with the two brothers who were always at each other’s throats.Where one had begun acting strangely nice to her, the other one—who had done nothing but pick on her and make her life even more miserable than it alr
Chapter 36Domenico struggled for breath, his own life flashing in front of him. He tried using both his hands to free himself from Leone’s grip, but his attempts were futile, and it seemed like this time around Leone was really intent on killing him. Tears spilled from his eyes as he battled for his life.“Leone,” the Don called, and Leone rolled his eyes before letting go of Domenico’s neck. Domenico gasped for breath, his eyes dilating as his lungs struggled to collect the air.“Anything but that, Leone. You know that,” Enzo said, his tone grave.“No one touches what is mine. You know that, Don,” Leone’s jaw ticked as he stared at his father, who was ready to pull all strings to ensure he didn’t lose his son.It was shameful that Domenico, the future Don of this empire, now had his life in the hands of his younger brother. He didn’t want anyone witnessing this.Enzo took a sharp breath in. “Anything else but that,” his tone sharp and clear, his eyes unwavering. He walked away from
Chapter 35Enzo stood at a far corner, with a grim expression on his face, his lips pressed into a thin line. He watched Domenico and his men carry out their work. He already knew how this was going to end, and the thought of it all made him shake his head.Yes, it was true that Diego had been his consigliere, and the least he owed him for his dedication to the empire was a decent burial, but what he also didn’t need was any of his sons going 6 feet under the ground.His memory jogged back to the conversation he had with Leone:“Dig around my tree, huh?” Leone chuckled, something that left him a bit starstruck because everyone knew how much he cherished that tree—the only standing memory he had left of his late mother because she planted the tree herself.“Alright then.” Leone’s eyes remained a wild shade of gray.Enzo knew neither of his sons were normal, but this one—Leone—his was on an entirely different level.“So you are okay with digging around the tree, to clear your name from