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The level of hatred and assurance in her voice immediately let Leonardo know that she wasn't speaking metaphorically.

His eyebrows narrowed at Camille as he approached her, grabbing her by her top and yanking her close, dragging her onto her feet. His face was right before hers, the muscles in his jaw tightened as he stared right into her eyes, his intimidating gaze keeping her silent.

"What did you do?" Leonardo could feel it, an ominous sense that something bad was about to come out of Camille. Something he never ever wanted to hear. His heart thundered against his rib cage, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as he realised something wasn't right.

Camille laughed. Leonardo's face twisted at the deluded woman as she laughed right into his face, a careless and arrogant look in her eyes. She menacingly smirked.

"I set fire to it. The whole place should be burning by now." She leaned in and whispered, "And you'll never see her again."

His eyes widened.

His world froze for a single moment.

A fire.

Just like how it was years ago, Leonardo was faced with another fire. He swallowed roughly, trying to remain composed as he realised he was sweating and unable to breathe properly, finding it harder and harder to control himself.

His panicked thoughts were brought to an end the moment Camille began cackling with laughter, a sadistic sound leaving her. His eyes were filled with fury, he pushed her as he let go of her shirt, making her slam to the ground. Leonardo turned and made his way back to his car, his pace hastened as the severity of the situation was beginning to hit him; Maria could actually be dead.

He couldn't get a single word out of his mouth and could only drive to find her. Vincenzo and Marco knew exactly what his silence meant. Leonardo's rock-hard exterior had completely hidden his alarm inside. As Vincenzo followed, Marco gathered the men and began making his way down to find Maria. Not a single word Iris was saying was getting through to his brain; Leonardo could only think of Maria only.

His clammy hands clutched onto the wheel as he sped down the road, following the directions given. He passed traffic lights, drove straight through pedestrian crossings, and made his way down to the location. They hadn't even arrived at the secluded place yet to recognise the strong presence of smoke polluting the air.

Leonardo parked randomly and immediately bolted out of the car, slamming the door shut as he looked up, his eyes filled with panic as they landed on the thick black smoke. The thick, vibrant flames were evident from the inside.

Maria was in there, and there was no way he was repeating the past.

Leonardo was already running into the building by the time the police and his own men had gotten there. He couldn't hear Iris' cries for him to stop and was in the burning building before anyone could stop him.

Leonardo would die saving Maria if he had to. He couldn't think of anything else but protecting her life.

But the moment Leonardo entered, the immense heat of the fire hit him with a wave of memories that halted him in his tracks, in the middle of the burning property.

Sienna.

He could see it all happening once again.


Leonardo burst through the front door, and a massive wave of heat slammed him in his face, the smoke immediately seeping into his eyes. He staggered backwards, his large arm raising to cover his face as a deep cough left him, his whole body instantly beginning to sweat. Then, his eyes started to water. The hot smoke had distorted his vision as he took a few steps forward.

He staggered onwards through the thick smoke; the heat was immense. Leonardo could hardly see as he moved, each heavy blink changing the colours of the flames surrounding him. The red and orange streaks of fire engulfed the walls around him. He was avoiding burning furniture, stepping over indecipherable items as he tried to make his way through the building. Leonardo's throat burned as he coughed and coughed over and over again; his lungs felt as though they could explode.

Then his mind took him back to the past. The fire. Leonardo could remember the exact feeling of claustrophobia and panic, the fear of the burning walls closing in on him, the feeling of his chest compressing second by second as he was losing his breath, the imminent sense of death. His heart raced as he began to panic. Leonardo had stopped in the middle of the angry and intense burning flames. It was all he could see, all he could hear. His whole mind was distorted by the flashing colours around him, the crackling spits of fire scattering around him. Leonardo could hardly make it through the hot flames, unable to clearly see where to go. The flames were engulfing anything they could touch, climbing the walls and swallowing the furniture.

Suddenly he was back into his old house, the frightening feeling of anxiety and terror filling him. Leonardo was gasping for air, struggling to calm himself from the panic attack building in him. He hadn't faced another fire like that since. Leonardo could barely handle seeing a fireplace, let alone what he was experiencing once again. But he wouldn't let it stop him; Leonardo was facing his fear, facing the fire that he had once battled with before. He felt dizzy and nauseous but forced himself to continue. There was no way history would repeat itself; Leonardo would not lose anyone again.

Leonardo searched and searched through the fire for her, forcing down the panic boiling within him. He was determined; Leonardo wiped his sweating face, unable to feel anything through the adrenaline pushing him to find Maria. He couldn't feel when the scorching whips of flames struck him through his search, when the blazing heat burned through his hands as he pushed open doors that were ablaze, battling to find her.

He was desperate; Leonardo heaved for oxygen as he continued to stagger through the house, breathless and lightheaded. He would never allow himself to pass out. He stumbled as he kept going and would never let his eyes stay closed and succumb to the unconsciousness. Maria was his life.

His head began to spin the higher he managed to go up the stairs. The railings had been burnt off and dissolved into a mass of ashes below him. Leonardo climbed as fast as he could, unafraid of the flames desiring to devour him. But he slowed the moment his mind began tormenting him once more. Leonardo squeezed his sore eyes closed, groaning out loud as he held onto his throbbing head, breathing frantically. Then he covered his eyes hard, hyperventilating and shaking his head roughly as he attempted to calm himself.

He could hear it; Sienna's piercing screams shot through his ears again, completely halting his tracks to Maria. Leonardo whimpered, shaking uncontrollably as he held onto his ears, unable to bring himself out of his trauma. "Stop..." he whispered shakily to himself, "stop haunting me!" Leonardo forced in a breath, tightly squeezing his eyes together before reopening them. He pushed past his painful memories and continued to stride forwards. Nothing could stop him. He had freed himself from the heavy shackles of his past.

The moment he stepped forward, Leonardo had unchained himself from the burdens that had held him down for so many years. He went forward courageously, passing all the debris and falling items around him, swiftly making his way up the building to find Maria. He wouldn't leave without her, nor would he let himself pass out. The higher Leonardo managed to reach, the less the flames had swallowed up. There was still a chance that Maria was alive and unscathed.

Maria was barely conscious when Leonardo had finally found her. He pushed the door open wide and bolted in. Relief had never swept over him quicker than the moment his eyes landed on Maria. She was there lying on the ground, her back facing him. Her bare legs lay on top of each other; she was curled in a fetal position, the short, white dress on her barely covering her body. His eyes very briefly noticed Giovanni with a pool of blood surrounding his head on the ground. The flames hadn't reached the bedroom completely yet though they had been trailing behind Leonardo.

Leonardo froze for a single second, his eyes wide as his heart missed a beat as he let out a breath. He stood in shock, almost falling to his knees at how weak he felt. His moving legs woke his mind as he reached her, on the floor. "Maria..." Leonardo had never sounded so relieved. His frantic hands scooped beneath her, lifting her frail body up as he held her in his arms, his panicked eyes scanning her.

She looked nothing like the Maria he knew.

His jaw slowly lowered at the sight of her. Leonardo's heart shattered inside.

Maria had been tortured. It was evident without her even having to say a word.

Her body was covered in black and blue. Her appearance was unlike anything he had ever seen. Her once moist lips were dry and chapped, drained of colour just like her face. She was unnaturally pale, contrasting with her naturally tanned skin. Maria was limp in his arms; in such a short time, she had lost a visible amount of weight.

"Maria," Leonardo could only let out, unable to stop his voice from shaking. The tears brimmed in his pained eyes, spilling down his cheeks as he took in her state. He adjusted her in his arms, terrified to hold her too tightly as if she was a glass figure, fragile and easy to break. Her eyes were closed with deep bags beneath them. She was struggling to breathe, her chest drawing in deeply for breath, irregularly breathing out. Her body was clinging onto life.

"Fuck," Leonardo whispered in a mixture of frustration and regret, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand as the emotions ran high through him. He exhaled in agony, struggling to compose himself at the broken sight of Maria. "Ria, can you hear me?" His voice was uncontrollably shaking; Leonardo was heartbroken, and the guilt and shame began to attack him in that moment. He could not protect the love of his life. He would carry that regret forever.

"Mia cara, please," Leonardo held in a sob, his chin quivering. "Ria, I'm sorry, please. Can you hear me? Ria, I need to know if you're okay." He buried his head into her neck as the tears ran down his cheeks, pulling her close as his arms wrapped around her, her body under his protection.

Maria could feel it: his affection, his loving presence around her. But she had lost her senses, believing she was under a dream. Her heavy eyelids slowly opened slightly, unable to fully show Leonardo her stormy eyes. He moved back and cupped her face at the sound of a gentle groan of discomfort coming from her. He let out a quiet sound of sadness as he looked into her broken eyes.

There was no life in her glossed eyes. They were unfocused. Leonardo gazed into them in heartbreak; she didn't hold the same warm look in them anymore.

Maria's vision was blurred. Her strong headache had affected her sight. "L-Leo..." Leonardo's eyes widened at her quiet voice; he gently lifted her chin, looking into her eyes that slowly closed again.

Maria's lips parted, but the words her heart desired to express weren't able to come out. She curled up against him, and he was ready, ready to leave and save her as the sounds of the cracking fire began to increase behind him.

A sudden whack on Leonardo's back stung. It wasn't a fallen item but a hit. Leonardo placed Maria down carefully and stood to see Giovanni holding a bloodied trophy. He glanced down at Maria. It must have been the same she used to hit him; the blood was streaming down from his temple. He held a sadistic smirk across his face, an evil glint in his eyes as he stared at Leonardo.

Leonardo let out a sadistic laugh as his dark eyes stared down at Giovanni with a detestable, burning gaze of death inside of them. Breathless, his fury restricted him from throwing out all of the curses and anger desperate to be released. He could've killed him; he could've used up all of his energy to finish that demon that had dared to torture his love, but an instinct, a tingling reminder that Maria's life was on a time limit, was more important than getting his revenge.

Before Giovanni could utter a word, Leonardo punched him. It was two simple punches to get him to pass out again. Leonardo didn't waste much time, and he'd get his opportunity later to end him.

He dragged Giovanni and pushed him against the glass window so that it shattered as he fell out. His eyes followed Giovanni's falling body to the safety net far down below; the police and firefighters were circling the area. It wouldn't be long until the firefighters reached the two of them.

Leonardo wouldn't wait for that to happen.

He quickly grabbed the duvet and covered the windowsill, hiding away the shards of glass beneath. He went back over to Maria, his hands beneath her body and lifting her away from the door and towards the window, getting close when unexpectedly, as her body tugged backwards, she let out a sharp scream at the same time that made him flinch.

He stopped immediately at that sound. Leonardo's eyebrows furrowed. The hot sweat dripped down his face. He was breathless. He looked down in confusion, seeing the pain across her face. Then his eyes slowly trailed down Maria's body, down to her leg.

Leonardo had never been so shocked before. His eyes expanded as his legs weakened, and he unwillingly moved downwards, his knees to the ground as he held her. He slowly placed her body down and examined her ankle with his eyes, the wretched pain twisting his heart.

He was in anguish; the bloodstained chain clung to her open flesh, and the dark bruises had spread around her calf. Then his eyes moved back to Maria, her face scrunched in pain as she was falling in and out of consciousness.

The ordeal she had been through, no one but Maria could only know.

Leonardo held in the tears, wiping his sweaty face. He wiped his clammy hands on his trousers and quickly began to work. The fire wouldn't wait for anyone. He followed the chain, there was no way of pulling it from her leg. Finding the source on the wall, he grabbed the metal with two hands and began to pull.

Leonardo yanked and yanked the chain on the wall in a determined trance that no one could intervene in. He wouldn't leave Maria. Their end would not be in that burning building. His muscles burned as he strained them, pulling and pulling against the metal, attempting to force it off the wall. His wet palms didn't help; Leonardo was tugging and tugging, his bottom lip had curled into his mouth.

It wasn't easy. Leonardo must've been pulling for over five minutes, and the fire was only getting worse. He tried everything, even the trophy. Leonardo was giving it his all to free Maria from the chain that had held her like an animal.

Leonardo had never worked so hard in his life. He pulled and pulled to the point that his hands had been scarred, and the chains had scalded his skin. He grunted as he pulled, desperate and determined to free her. He couldn't lose hope.

The final pull to loosen the chain free set him backwards. He stumbled back, his eyes wide as he held the heavy chain in his hands, away from the wall. Leonardo's hands were shaking; he couldn't feel the searing pain coursing through them. He seemed to be astonished himself as he stared at it and the wall.

He moved on, soon noticing the hungry flames had started to eat at that same wall the metal was attached to. He turned to Maria and held her again, the chain in his hand.

Leonardo kissed her wet forehead in peace knowing that they were going to get out. Holding her tight, Leonardo sat on the duvet on top of the windowsill, her weak body against his.

"I'm sorry, mia cara," he whispered, closing his eyes as he kept in his tears. He looked down. They would fall right in the middle of that net. It was all he could see, ignoring all the people surrounding the place.

With that known, Leonardo closed his eyes and moved backwards, clutching onto Maria and protecting her head. He would land first with her body protected by him.

They fell right down, exactly as he thought, in the middle of the net, and from there, everything turned black for the two of them.

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~ Author's Note ~

Well that was an intense chapter to write!

Leonardo had overcome his fears and finally found Maria in the fire. Thoughts after their ordeal?

What will come of Giovanni and Camille?

How will Maria deal with the trauma? Will her leg be okay?

Thoughts on this chapter?

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Thanks for reading!

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