Chapter 7 - The Truth Leo Never Told Her
The hospital was heavily guarded.
Chloe spent the night under observation.
Leo never left.
At three in the morning, she woke to find him asleep in a chair beside her bed.
He looked exhausted.
His head rested against the wall.
She studied him.
Without the suit.
Without the weapons.
Without the army of men.
He looked human.
She touched his hand.
His eyes opened immediately.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“You scared me.”
She smiled.
“I thought you didn’t get scared.”
“I do.”
“For me?”
“For you.”
She looked at their hands.
Then she asked:
“Why did you really choose me?”
Leo was silent.
“I know about Danny,” she continued. “But there’s more.”
“There is.”
“Tell me.”
Leo looked toward the window.
“My father wanted an heir.”
She waited.
“He believed blood mattered more than love.”
“Did you?”
“I did for a long time.”
He told her about his childhood.
He had grown up surrounded by violence.
His mother had been the only person who tried to give him something normal.
His father had taught him that weakness got people killed.
When Leo was twenty-four, his father died.
Everyone expected Leo to inherit.
He did.
But he hated every minute of it.
Then he met Bianca.
“She loved the family name,” Leo said.
“She didn’t love you.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“She betrayed me.”
Leo looked at Chloe.
“I promised myself I would never build a family through obligation again.”
“Then why did you agree to have a child with me?”
“Because I thought it was business.”
“And now?”
His answer was immediate.
“Now I know I was wrong.”
Chloe’s throat tightened.
“You love me?”
Leo nodded.
“Yes.”
The room seemed to become very quiet.
“You should have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
Chloe smiled through tears.
“The mafia boss was afraid to tell a woman he loved her?”
“Yes.”
She laughed softly.
“Ridiculous.”
Leo leaned forward.
“I have killed people.”
“I know.”
“I have ordered things I can never undo.”
“I know.”
“I cannot promise you a normal life.”
“I don’t need normal.”
“What do you need?”
“You.”
His eyes closed briefly.
Then he kissed her forehead.
The moment was broken by the doctor.
“Mr. Moretti.”
Leo turned.
“There’s a problem.”
“What?”
“The baby is under stress.”
Chloe’s heart stopped.
The doctors moved quickly.
Hours passed.
The baby's heartbeat stabilized.
Leo did not leave her side.
By dawn, the doctor reassured them.
The baby was safe.
But the pregnancy was now considered high-risk.
Leo immediately hired specialists.
Chloe expected him to become more controlling.
Instead, he became more attentive.
He learned which foods she liked.
He attended every appointment.
He read medical reports.
He even learned how to assemble the baby’s crib.
The entire staff of the mansion tried not to laugh when he assembled one side backward.
Then came the final revelation.
One of Leo’s investigators discovered the true traitor.
It was not Elena.
It was Bianca.
Bianca had been feeding information to the Valenti family for months.
She had been the one who exposed the pregnancy.
The one who manipulated security.
The one who ordered Elena killed when Elena tried to confess.
Leo confronted Bianca at the old family estate.
Chloe was not there.
Bianca stood in the drawing room.
“You were always too sentimental.”
Leo stared.
“You murdered Elena.”
“She was going to ruin everything.”
“You betrayed me.”
“You rejected me.”
“I rejected your lies.”
Bianca laughed bitterly.
“You chose a nobody over me.”
Leo’s face hardened.
“No.”
He stepped forward.
“I chose Chloe.”
Bianca’s expression twisted.
“She will never understand your world.”
Leo looked at her.
“She understands enough to know she would rather build a future with me than live in your past.”
Bianca was arrested.
The Valenti alliance fractured.
Vincent disappeared.
But Leo knew the war was not over.
Because Vincent had one final weapon.
May you like
And it was not guns.
It was a secret about Chloe’s family.
