MasukThat night, bloodshed swept through the estate.Leon began a brutal purge of the Moretti family.The elders who'd sided with Maria and tried to control him were disarmed and secretly executed.By the time the enforcers dragged Sofia before Leon, the once arrogant heiress had wet herself in terror.He sat in a high-backed chair, slowly wiping a silver revolver."Leon! You can't do this! My father won't let you get away with it!"Leon looked down at her, his eyes utterly flat."You enjoyed pretending you were losing the baby, didn't you?"He snapped his fingers. Several men came forward with a bowl of thick, black medicine and forced Sofia's mouth open."Then I'll make it real."Sofia screamed as blood ran down her legs.Leon gave his final orders without expression."Take every piece of ID she has, break both her legs, and dump her in the seediest red-light district you can find."Tell those thugs they can do whatever they want with her as long as she stays alive."Once he'd dealt with
"Sofia, stay calm."Maria kept her voice low, but Leon heard the smug satisfaction in it."Leon's having trouble accepting it. Give him time. He'll come around."Sofia's voice trembled with tears."But... but he won't even look at me now."What if he finds out the truth about the poisoned bullet...""Shut up!" Maria snapped."If we keep quiet, who will ever know I pulled the guards from that alley five years ago and let the Lucchesi men through?"That slum girl Elena knew nothing but fighting and killing. How could she ever be worthy of the title of Donna?"All I did was let the Lucchesi family get rid of her for me."Maria snorted, sounding pleased with herself."And you were smart to tip me off in North America."If I hadn't forged that wedding invitation, Leon would never have given up on her and taken the oath with you."Don't worry. Once he's calmed down, use the baby to win him back."Dead is dead. How can a corpse compete with everything the living can give him?"Outside the doo
Leon dropped to his knees. Carl was so startled he stepped back.The once untouchable Don was kneeling before him.Carl gritted his teeth, pulled a medical report from his coat, and threw it in Leon's face."Read it yourself! See what her so-called betrayal five years ago was really about!"Leon unfolded the report with trembling hands.Every word hit him like a hammer, shattering the composure he'd always prided himself on.He stared at the words "five years ago" as a roar filled his ears."No... that's impossible..." he muttered.Carl looked down at him, angry and grief-stricken."What's impossible about it?"Five years ago, a Lucchesi hitman fired a poisoned bullet at you in a back alley. She took it in the back for you!"There's no antidote for Viper! She was in agony from that poison every day for five years!"She was afraid you'd do something reckless and get yourself killed. So she played along with the Donna, pretended to betray you, and drove you off to North America!"She dra
Inside the trading club, the blood oath ceremony, the ultimate symbol of the family's power, was proceeding like clockwork.Leon wore a crisp black suit with a rose pinned to his lapel.He played the perfect Don throughout. His smiles and toasts were flawless.But his eyes kept drifting to the empty seats in the VIP section to his left.They'd been reserved for Elena and her adoptive mother. Neither had come.That nameless panic closed in on him again.Leon took his glass of red wine to the enforcers' table.Before he could raise it, Carl, who'd always been devoted to Elena, kicked a solid wooden chair out of his way.Carl stared at Leon with a mocking smile."Don Moretti, is that how you plan to make your toast?"Don't the rules say you should first toast the soul you sent to hell with your own hands?!"The men beside Carl went white with terror and pinned his shoulders."Carl! Have you lost your mind? Apologize to the Don!"Carl tore himself free."Apologize? Like hell I will!"He tu
After leaving the hotel's private club, Leon felt as if a hand were squeezing his heart. He could barely breathe.Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Elena lying in a pool of blood, staring at him with that hollow, final look.The doctor had assured him the baby in Sofia's belly was fine.Even so, the tightness in Leon's chest left him struggling to breathe.Once Sofia fell asleep, he went to the smoking room at the end of the hall.His hand shook as he lit a cigar. The first drag made him cough violently.The truth was, his relationship with Sofia had begun with a terrible mistake.In his fourth year carving out territory in North America, he'd just swallowed up the biggest gang there and was stretched to the breaking point.Sofia, the daughter of the North District's top arms dealer, had been chasing him for four years.At a victory party, she'd slipped a hallucinogen into his drink and worn the black trench coat Elena loved.Drugged and hallucinating, he'd mistaken Sofia for Elena
As soon as we sat down, Leon ordered chilled sashimi and several rich, spicy Sicilian meat dishes.As he rattled off the dishes, my heart clenched.I couldn't eat anything raw, cold, or spicy.Leon had a sensitive stomach too. He never used to eat food like that.It was obvious who he'd ordered it for.I called the waiter over and quietly asked for a light vegetable soup.Somehow, that struck a nerve with Leon.He slammed his silver lighter onto the table. "You're nothing but skin and bones, and you're still dieting?"Even that flicker of concern from him made my heart ache.I tried to keep my expression calm."I'm not dieting. Luke always used to tell me he liked me better thin."At the sound of Luke's name, Leon's face darkened. His murderous gaze seemed to pierce right through me.Sofia immediately stepped in with a bright smile."Elena, don't take it the wrong way."When we were overseas, all I did was mention wanting to lose weight, and Leon blew up and gave me lecture after lectu







