Chapter 3 - The Shadow of the Son
Francesca didn't even look up from her tea. "Leo, lower your voice. You are frightening our guest. This is Bella Marino, the young woman I told you about."
Leo Moretti—the feared Don of the Moretti syndicate—turned his cold, calculating gaze onto Bella. He walked over slowly, his hands buried deep in his trouser pockets. He circled her like a wolf inspecting a stray lamb that had wandered into its territory.
"So, you're the barista," Leo murmured, stopping right in front of her. He leaned down slightly, his stormy eyes scanning her face, noting the slight tremor in her hands and the faded denim of her jacket. "You have a clean record. No family ties to the rival families. No history of espionage. But I don't believe in coincidences, Miss Marino. My mother dropping her groceries right outside your specific café window seems a little too convenient."
Bella felt a sudden spark of anger override her fear. She set her teacup down with a sharp clink and stood up to face him, despite the fact that he towered over her.
"Mr. Moretti, with all due respect, I didn't plan the weather, I didn't tear your mother’s grocery bags, and I certainly didn't ask your four giants to drag me out of my workplace this morning," Bella said, her voice steady and sharp. "If my presence here is an inconvenience to your criminal paranoia, I will gladly leave and walk back down the hill."
Francesca chuckled softly behind her teacup.
Leo’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint passing through them. No one spoke to him like that. No one dared. Yet, looking at the fierce determination in Bella’s brown eyes, he felt a strange, unfamiliar spark of intrigue. She wasn't looking at his wealth, and she wasn't cowering from his power. She was just entirely, fiercely herself.
"You have a sharp tongue for someone who earns minimum wage, Miss Marino," Leo said, his voice dropping an octave.
"And you have a lot of suspicion for someone whose mother just wanted to have tea," Bella shot back.
"Enough, Leo," Francesca intervened, her voice carrying a maternal authority that even the Don couldn't defy. "Bella is my guest. And she will be staying here for the next few weeks."
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Bella’s eyes widened. "Staying here? Wait, Mrs. Moretti, I appreciate the tea, but I have a life. I have an apartment—"
"Your apartment building was purchased by a shell company owned by the Leone family three days ago, Bella," Leo interrupted coldly, pulling a dossier from his coat and tossing it onto the table. "They are our fiercest rivals. They know my mother was saved by a girl in a barista uniform. They are already looking for you to find out what you know. Out there, you are a target. In here, you are under my protection. Whether you like it or not."
