Chapter 5 - The Cousin Who Wanted Leo Dead
Damian appeared at Blackwood two days later.
He entered calmly.
No weapons.
No threats.
Just a smile.
“I'm glad you're alive.”
Leo stared.
“You tried to kill me.”
Damian laughed.
“No.”
“The evidence says otherwise.”
“The evidence says someone wanted you to think it was me.”
Leora stood beside Leo.
She didn't trust him.
Damian looked at her.
“So you're the maid.”
“Yes.”
“The one who saved him.”
“Yes.”
He smiled.
“Then you should know something.”
“What?”
“You're in more danger than he is.”
Leo stepped forward.
“You don't scare her.”
Damian looked at him.
“Not yet.”
He left.
Leora turned.
“What did he mean?”
Leo shook his head.
“I don't know.”
That night, they learned the truth.
Damian had been secretly investigated for years.
He wasn't the mastermind.
He was an intermediary.
The real person controlling the network was someone neither of them expected.
Vera Moretti.
Leo's grandmother.
She had faked her death six years earlier.
She had orchestrated the internal war.
She had manipulated Samuel.
She had convinced Leo's father to distrust his son.
And she had ordered the attempt on Leo's life.
Why?
Because she wanted the empire.
Vera had created a plan to eliminate every heir.
Leo was the final obstacle.
But she had made one mistake.
She had underestimated Leora.
Leora found the hidden accounting trail.
She noticed patterns others missed.
She connected payments to names.
Then dates.
Then properties.
Every trail led back to Vera.
Leo looked at the evidence.
“You're terrifying.”
Leora smiled.
“I'm a maid.”
“Exactly.”
“You thought I was invisible.”
“I know.”
“You were wrong.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
They grew closer.
Slowly.
Carefully.
One night, Leo took her hand.
“I don't want you involved anymore.”
She looked at him.
“Too late.”
“I mean it.”
“So do I.”
“This isn't your fight.”
“It became mine when you collapsed on my floor.”
He smiled.
“Your floor?”
“The marble floor.”
“You polished it.”
“Yes.”
“I bled on it.”
“Yes.”
“Sorry.”
“Very.”
He laughed.
Then kissed her.
The kiss was brief.
Soft.
Almost hesitant.
But it changed everything.
Leora stepped back.
“This is a terrible idea.”
“I know.”
“You're a mafia heir.”
“I know.”
“I'm a maid.”
“I know.”
“You're rich.”
“I know.”
“I'm not.”
“I know.”
She stared at him.
“What exactly do you know?”
“That I love you.”
Her eyes filled.
She hadn't expected the words.
Neither had he.
But they were true.
Then gunfire erupted outside.
The window shattered.
Leo pulled her down.
Vera had found them.
May you like
And this time, she wasn't sending men.
She was coming herself.
