Xavier had been shocked when Chiara returned home in the afternoon and said they were going for a picnic. He became hopeful that it would be another chance to escape but his hope was dashed when she said they were going to have the picnic in the garden. When they arrived at the garden, Chiara went towards the gazebo near the garden, while Xavier went to explore the garden. The garden had a rich variation of flowers and they were all well groomed. He was admiring some begonias when Chiara came up to him. "Do you like them?" She asked him. "Yes. My favorite is Dahlia. What is your favorite flower?" She looked around the garden and shook her head. "I don't like flowers." He looked at her with surprise. "Why do you have this beautiful garden if you hate flowers?" "I don't hate them and I don't like them. The garden came with the house and it gives the house a homey feel." He la

Chiara was shocked to see Xavier waiting for her in the foyer when she arrived. He looked at her with so much hatred and anger, he was staring daggers at her like he would kill her at any moment. Already accustomed to such stares, she ignored him. "What did you do to him?" "You are going to be more specific if you want an answer from me." She replied and strode in the direction of her bedroom. "Nick. Did you have your men kill him because you don't want your hands dirty?" He stood in front of her and observed her clothes. She was still in the same clothes she wore earlier in the morning and there was not a trace of blood on them. "I am not scared of blood, not in the very least. If I decide to let my men kill for me, it is just division of labour." She walked around him and continued walking in the direction of her bedroom. "You psychopath, what did you do to Nick?" His voice rang after her. "I do not remember

The mansion came into view as Chiara drove down the driveway which encircled a water fountain. She parked her car in the driveway and walked towards the main entrance door. The mansion was a three storey building with about thirty rooms in total. It had fifteen bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, three guest bathrooms, a library, a study which Leonardo used as his office, a family room, two living rooms, a kitchen, dining room, a gym, basement, a theater room, two laundry rooms and wine cellar. It also had an indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool, the garage and servants quarters were in another building, west of the mansion. The compound was enclosed by a rather tall fence and it was highly secured, there were fifteen men guarding the house, inside and outside. The interior of the mansion had a modern design and it was lovely. It was a Friday and Leonardo had called to remind her of the dinner. Her parents held a dinner once every month which she was mandated to attend. H

Leonardo stormed into her office the following afternoon. She was in the Manager's office for Tempo libero hotel, one of their many hotels when Leonardo barged in. Richard, the manager immediately left the office, leaving Chiara alone with her furious father. "You just cost me a deal." He spoke in a calm voice but his body was radiating a lot of anger. "Which deal?" She returned to checking the files on the table as she spoke. "The new hotel in Las Vegas." "What happened?" She asked even though she already guessed what went wrong. "Mr. Brown pulled out of the deal and he is currently out of the country to have a dick reconstruction surgery or whatever the fuck he called it." Mr. Brown was the owner of a private bank and a hedge fund company, he was a very rich man with many successful investments. She raised her head and stared at him. She did not need to read him to know he was amused and angry at her. "I will fix it

They were having a celebratory dinner and Leonardo was hosting it. They were in a private dining room in one of their restaurants, Leonardo had reserved the whole room and only the waiting staff were around. The Coscarellis, Nicolettis and Marianos were present for the dinner. The long rectangular table was large enough to hold ten people but only nine people were sitted. Leonardo sat down at one end of the table with Elvera on his right hand side and Chiara on his left hand, while Carlos sat down on the other end with his wife on his right hand side and his nephew on his left hand. Marcos was sitting beside his father, Amedeo, who was sitted next to Elvera and Adrian sat down next to Chiara. "Please, let us eat." Leonardo said and everyone started eating. The food was passed around as everyone enjoyed the feast in silence. After the meal, dessert was served and conversation started around the table. Adrian tried engaging Chiara in a discussion about her fas