Chapter 3 - Danny’s Return
Danny Bennett arrived at the mansion with his hands zip-tied and two men escorting him.
Chloe ran toward him.
“Danny!”
Leo raised one hand.
The guards stopped her.
Danny looked exhausted.
His face was bruised.
“What happened?”
Danny shook his head.
“I messed up.”
Leo stared at him.
“That’s not new.”
Danny looked at Chloe.
“I didn’t know they were following me.”
“Who?”
“People from New York.”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“Which people?”
Danny swallowed.
“The Valenti family.”
The name changed the atmosphere.
Leo turned to one of his men.
“Lock every gate.”
Chloe looked between them.
“Why does everyone keep talking like I’m the only person who doesn’t understand what’s happening?”
Danny looked ashamed.
“They came to me three weeks ago.”
“Why?”
“To ask about you.”
Chloe froze.
“What did you tell them?”
“Nothing.”
Leo grabbed Danny by the collar.
“You’re lying.”
“I swear.”
Danny’s voice broke.
“I told them there was no way to reach Chloe.”
Leo released him.
Danny stumbled backward.
Chloe stepped between them.
“He’s my brother.”
Leo looked at her.
“That has never stopped me from handling a threat.”
Danny looked at Chloe.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“By coming back?”
“I had nowhere else to go.”
The brothers and sisters stared at one another.
Danny finally confessed.
A man named Vincent Valenti had offered him money to reveal where Chloe was staying.
Danny refused.
They beat him.
Then they gave him a choice.
Give them Chloe.
Or they would hurt someone else.
“Who?” Chloe whispered.
“Your boss.”
She stared.
Her old boss.
A woman who had once given Chloe a second chance after Bradley had humiliated her at work.
Chloe’s eyes filled with tears.
“They know everyone around me.”
Leo nodded.
“That’s why you need to stay here.”
“I don’t want to spend my pregnancy hiding.”
“You won’t.”
“What then?”
Leo walked to the window.
“We end it.”
Chloe frowned.
“End what?”
“The threat.”
That evening, Leo gathered his senior men.
Chloe accidentally overheard part of the conversation from the hallway.
“They’re testing us.”
“They want Leo to react.”
“They’re trying to make him look weak.”
Then another voice spoke.
“Kill the girl.”
Chloe froze.
A chair scraped sharply across the floor.
Leo’s voice followed.
“Say that again.”
Nobody did.
She walked into the room.
Every man fell silent.
“You were talking about me.”
Leo stared at her.
“Go upstairs.”
“No.”
“Chloe.”
“I am done being moved around like furniture.”
The room remained silent.
She looked at the men.
“If someone wants me dead because of this baby, then I deserve to know who.”
Leo looked at her for a long moment.
Finally, he said:
“Vincent Valenti.”
Chloe had never heard the name before.
Leo had.
And apparently, he hated it.
“Why?”
“Because his father died believing I stole something that belonged to his family.”
“What?”
“A shipping empire.”
“That doesn’t explain a baby.”
“No.”
Leo’s eyes hardened.
“It explains power.”
Then he revealed a deeper truth.
Years ago, Leo had been engaged to Bianca.
The marriage was supposed to unite the Moretti and Valenti families.
But Bianca had betrayed him.
She had secretly worked with Vincent’s father.
Leo broke the alliance.
The war that followed had lasted years.
Now Vincent wanted revenge.
And Leo’s unborn child was the perfect symbol.
“A Moretti heir born outside their control would destroy everything they have spent years building,” Leo said.
Chloe rubbed her stomach.
“So they want my baby because it represents your future.”
“Yes.”
The room fell silent.
Then Chloe asked the question that had haunted her.
“What happens after the baby is born?”
Leo did not answer immediately.
Finally:
“You can leave.”
“With my child?”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“But you?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The answer surprised her.
She had expected possession.
Instead, there was something more dangerous.
Restraint.
That night, Chloe could not sleep.
She went downstairs for water.
She found Leo in the kitchen.
His tie was gone.
His sleeves were rolled up.
He was making coffee.
“You cook?” she asked.
“Poorly.”
She smiled.
“That’s the first normal thing I’ve learned about you.”
He looked at her.
“You’re tired.”
“So are you.”
They stood quietly.
Then Leo said:
“I meant what I told you.”
“About leaving?”
“Yes.”
She looked at him.
“What if I don’t want to?”
His eyes lifted.
The silence between them changed.
He walked closer.
“You should not say things like that unless you mean them.”
“I do.”
Leo stopped inches away.
“I’m not a safe man.”
“I know.”
“I hurt people.”
“I know.”
“I have enemies.”
“I know.”
“You should run.”
Chloe took his hand and placed it over her stomach.
“But I’m still here.”
Leo looked down.
For a moment, all the power disappeared from his face.
He felt the tiny movement beneath her skin.
His breath caught.
The baby kicked again.
Leo looked stunned.
Chloe smiled through tears.
“That’s your son saying hello.”
He looked at her.
“Or your daughter.”
“You think it’s a girl?”
“I don’t know.”
Another kick.
Leo almost smiled.
Then every light in the mansion went out.
The security alarm screamed.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Leo instantly pulled Chloe behind him.
“Stay here.”
She grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He turned.
“Stay behind me.”
He drew his weapon.
May you like
The mansion descended into chaos.
And somewhere outside, someone had already breached the first gate.
