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LEONARDO

        "Leo?" Her gentle voice called out. Her arm wrapped around my waist as she pressed her head against my back. I opened my heavy eyes and hummed as a sign I was awake. "I thought you'd be sleeping by now, dimples," I murmured; she had woken me up from drifting to sleep. I had just gotten into bed after a long day in the office. I hated going in; remote working was much more relaxing.

"Mmm..." She curiously started, her small hand moving up and down my abdomen. "What would you do if I did go missing?" My eyebrows furrowed, and I turned a little to see her face. Her sparkling grey eyes met mine in the dark.
I blinked at her. "You won't go missing," I firmly refuted, making her lightly chuckle, an amused smile on her face.

I fully turned on the mattress as she continued, "I mean hypothetically, if I did." A frown grew on my face. I didn't agree with her hypothetical situation either.

I inhaled as I began, "Let's see..." Her smile widened as she looked at me expectantly. "I'd search for you day and night, from one end of the earth to another, the stars, on the moon. Then, I'd kill the bastards who ever touched you, their families, their friends. All of them. Then I'd—" I pulled her close to me, making her sweetly laugh as I wrapped my arms around her warm body and finished, "I'd keep you in my pocket forever." I pinched her nose, and she chuckled as I held her with a smile, her head against my chest. "And never let you go," I whispered, kissing her temple. She was beautiful; her eyes gazed up at me in such love that I had never felt before her.

She sighed, with a small smile on her face. "I hope it all never gets to that point," she thoughtfully murmured, letting out a short yawn as she snuggled against me.

                   My hand gently stroked her head. "It won't, mia cara," I reassured her, letting my eyes close and the sleep take over.



I had only slept ten minutes.

My eyes glanced over at the clock as I sat up in my chair. Only ten minutes of sleep. I was sitting in my office, a mountain of different papers spread across the desk and a screen filled with what felt like hundreds of tabs waiting for me to delete.

Nothing had been successful so far. Giovanni's properties were empty, the man was nowhere to be found, and there wasn't a single trace of him anywhere. Where Daphne had described having met Giovanni the night she was almost taken, he had already vacated that property. My finger tapped against the wood as I pondered. I was losing ideas as well as time. It had been four days since Maria had gone missing.

Four whole days without knowing whether she was alive or hurt. I missed her. I missed her so badly that it pained me. Whenever I would go, whatever I would do, I only thought of Maria. I couldn't eat without knowing if she was eating well or sleep without knowing if she was alright. I was struggling to pull myself together the longer time went on. I needed to see her, to hold her, to tell her how sorry I was for not protecting her.

I was furious. Giovanni was the first person I had properly suspected, and I didn't act on my intuition. My guilt was tormenting me every single day.

My skin was stinging beneath the sharp blade that had torn through it an hour ago. The deep red blood that once seeped out from the lines I had inflicted on my arm was drying. Several scars had reopened and were beginning to soak my long, white shirt sleeve. I was falling back to how I was before, consumed by regret and insomniac.

I sharply drew in my breath just as the doorbell rang. Standing immediately, I moved quickly to the front door as if Maria would be standing there waiting for me, safe and well. The moment I opened the door, I was disappointed. It was the delivery man. I knew him; he regularly came when Maria was still around. She would order things constantly; the parcels never stopped when she stayed with me.

Somehow, I missed that, her never-ending deliveries and excitement whenever she would open them. I sighed the moment I saw him. He was a nice older man, but not the person I desperately wanted to see.

"Mornin'! Delivery!" It was his usual cheerful phrase whenever he came over. I nodded, taking the small box before my eyebrows narrowed at the name, and I looked back up at him. "I didn't order anything," I told him, restraining my frustration. I pushed my glasses up my nose, blinking at him.

It wasn't his fault that he was the last person I wanted to see. His eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, it's definitely this address..."

I looked down at the square box and nodded at him. "That's fine. Thanks." With the door closed, my ears picked up on Bear's paws following me as I went to the living room, sitting down. He hung around me as I placed the box on the table, staring at it in curiosity.

I thought about it in a way; if it was something harmful, the guards I had placed in the building would've flagged something up. So I tore through the sticky tape and opened the brown box. My eyebrows furrowed at the sight of it.

A silver recorder.

It had been a long time since I'd seen one of those. I hissed slightly at the tightness of my skin on my arm; the deep scars were starting to remind me that I had done something wrong. Maria hated it; she would be so hurt if she saw what I had done to myself. But I couldn't help it. It was the psychological punishment for my wrongdoing. I rubbed my eyes, her face in my mind.

As Bear sat beside me, I pressed play, my other hand running through his soft fur. Briefly, I closed my eyes to wait for whatever was coming.

There was an intake of breath at first, then an unexpected feminine voice spoke. "Hi..." It was a soft and steady voice that was completely unfamiliar.

I blinked in surprise, leaning back as I held the recorder in my hands, intently staring at it as Bear lay on my legs, his tail waggling. "I've been thinking about making this for a long time," her words were hesitant and seemed restricted, as though she didn't know what she was saying. I began to wonder if the recorder was actually for me and not Maria, though the box was definitely addressed to me.

"But not with a single idea of how to properly start this," the more she spoke, the more I deciphered that it was a young woman speaking. It was light but quiet and gave away that the person sounded educated. There wasn't a distinct accent that threw me off.

"I'll start by introducing myself. As unexpected as it sounds, I'm...I'm Sienna."

My eyes expanded at the sound. Sienna? My whole body froze at the sentence. I sat up straight, and my heart felt like it had skipped a beat in my chest. I blinked in surprise, my pulse racing and my jaw becoming loose. The shock filled me as she continued to speak. "But I used to be called Sisi a lot."

Her warm voice continued, "I want to start by apologising...my wish to Maria to keep caused a lot of problems for the two of you. As I got older, I didn't expect it to influence the both of you this much. It isn't fair."

"I'll keep this short," she softly added, "I'm sure we have a lot to discuss when we meet one day. She doesn't know that I've sent this, that I know this to me but I knew I had to do this. Maria has been too good to me not to. I left like that for my own reasons. I begged Maria not to tell anyone, and she respected my wishes. I'll always be grateful to her for that, so please don't let this affect your relationship. I know how much she loves you."

"And... Leonardo—" her breath hitched at the same time as mine. The last time she had called my name, her voice was so small, so high-pitched. "I miss you all. I do. When I'm ready, I will come back, but...not yet. For now, please don't blame Maria, please don't shut her out."

"Don't blame yourself either," her voice sympathetically continued, "one day it'll all make more sense." She slowly exhaled before ending the recording with, "I'm sorry."

I must have listened to that recording at least five times, over and over, to the point where I had practically memorised it. Astounded, I sat there, gripping the recorder in my hand. If I hadn't believed Sienna was alive before, it definitely hit me then. My sister was alive, mature, and talking to me. She knew where I was and what I knew. She had actually reached out to me.

My eyes closed as the hot tears rolled down my cheeks. I rapidly blinked them back as I tried to process what I had just heard. The back of my hand wiped my cheeks, shaking. I became overwhelmed in shock at the sound of her. My sister. My own sister was speaking to me. Not to talk about herself, not to explain everything, but to defend Maria.

I barely had the time to think over everything when my phone started ringing. My hands quickly wiped my face as I composed myself, answering Marco's call.

"It's Daphne, she remembers more."

I sat up immediately, my eyebrows narrowing at the news. "What else does she remember?"

"The other person," Marco pressed; he sounded like he was driving. "She doesn't know her name, but—"

"Her name?" I interrupted in confusion. "It was a woman?"

"Si. A woman she described to smell expensive despite being far away," Marco explained. I leaned forward a little, frowning at his words. Another woman was involved? Marco coughed before continuing, "I'm not sure what that means, but Daphne said she had a mild French accent too. She was visiting Giovanni that same day, and she heard them talking about the missing girls, laughing about it. Daphne was escaping from his bedroom when she saw her in the living room. That property has been vacated."

I inhaled sharply before saying, "Hang on." Marco paused as I distantly stared at the glass table before me, a French woman. It couldn't be...

Anything was possible at that point. I had no time to hesitate. "Did she say anything about her appearance?"

"Pretty," Marco answered in an unsure tone. "I know it doesn't help, but she also said she was brunette with a hint of blondness." I stood straight away after hearing that. I carefully placed the recorder into a drawer, placed my glasses on top, and began walking. My mind was sending off alarms the moment a familiar face came into my head. Bear jumped onto his feet, his tail waggling. He followed me as I went into the cloakroom, quickly grabbing a jacket and slipping on my black shoes. It made sense. The description made perfect sense. It was one person, and one person only.

"Meet me at Francis' place."

"Why there?" Marco inquired in confusion.

"It's Camille. She's the other person."

Francis Lemaire's mansion was extravagant, to say the least.

A massive mansion, filled with unnecessary garbage that only someone as newly rich as Francis would splash their money on.

I ignored the gasps and seductive stares from the women in the pool and entered through the unlocked double doors of his property. They splashed around in his pool, dancing and laughing in their revealing clothes and bikinis, enjoying the luxury Francis allowed them to indulge in. Women were Francis' downfall. His excessive libido and thirst for women and alcohol ruined him. He would pay for it. I passed countless women hardly wearing any clothes; their giggles and gazes were nothing I wanted to indulge in. Marco cleared his throat beside me, clearly struggling to figure out where to place his shaking eyes in a field full of lustful women.

They backed away with intimidation at the ice-cold stares I'd shoot back at them if they dared to bat an eyelash. I was there to confront one person only. I was already flooding with irritation and anger.

I found Francis lying on his large sofa in his open lounge with a woman on top of him. A woman that wasn't Camille.

She was curvy and wearing beach attire; her large behind was fully open, her thong not doing much to cover up. His place was massive; the whole mansion was, with its tall ceilings and big, wide windows connecting to the outside. He had a lot of natural light shining in. It was no surprise that he was unaware of our presence; his face was too busy sucking another woman's off, whilst the other two were busy entertaining him elsewhere. It was too much: the suggestive and provocative music playing, the constant dancing and giggling, the flaunting of their bodies.

He was being delighted in all corners of his house, a party just for him. He was ready to untie her bikini, their makeout becoming more intense until Marco turned off the music by pulling the wire, finding the speaker right behind him.

The girls stopped in confusion, small gasps coming from them as their eyes focused on us in a mixture of confusion, desire, and playfulness. I stood with my temper beginning to spark in me. I pressed my lips together, my jaw tightening as I grew more impatient standing there. Francis sat up with a confused expression, his eyes lighting up at the sight of us. His hands held the woman's hips, an amused grin stretching across his face. He seemed to be unable to read the room.

"Don!" He exclaimed as the woman climbed off him. He stood shirtless with only his long shorts on in the sweltering heat. He glanced between us in confusion and happiness. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Or have you come to let off some steam?" He brightly questioned with his arms apart proudly. I was practically grinding my teeth as annoyance surged through me.

"Get rid of the girls," I simply told him, my voice low and authoritative. His smile faltered as he seemed to realise that I wasn't there to play games. He quickly said something in French that made the women disperse from his mansion without asking any questions. He ran his hand through his hair, sensing the ill atmosphere between us. Pulling his shirt on, he awkwardly chuckled as he asked, "What brings you here?" his tone was much less playful.

"Your wife," my eyebrows narrowed as I stared down at him in disdain. "Where is she?"

He frowned, blinking a few times before meeting my eyes once more. "I have no idea. Why?"

"You don't know where your own wife is?" I seriously questioned, my impatience beginning to lace through my words. I had no patience when it came to Maria. I needed her found and by my side as soon as possible.

His eyebrows furrowed at my hostility before he replied in a detached voice, "'Wife'? We're divorcing. Where she goes and what she does is nothing of my interest anymore." I felt my whole body go rigid as I stared at him in disbelief and scoffed. It wasn't exactly a shock, but it did drive a wedge in the situation.

"What was the reason?" I questioned again, my patience wearing thin. I was being filled with fury.

"Reason for what?" His slowness irritated me.

"Reason for divorce," I quickly demanded, my infuriated eyes staring down at him as my fist clenched by my side. I could already sense his answer, and it would never satisfy me. My heart pounded with rage, my mind already giving me ideas on how to appease my growing frustration that would become untameable.

Francis chuckled, pouring himself a glass of beer and taking a sip. He shrugged as he carelessly responded, "jealously. She was always trying to force me to be hers only. But I'm a free man. I don't like being tied down to—" I could no longer hold in the punch that man needed from a long time coming.

I punched him so hard that he fell to the ground with a loud thud, his glass shattering all over the hard floor as I shook with fury, my eyebrows knotted together. My fist was trembling with rage. I fought to compose myself; my heart was thundering, and my breathing was shallow. The nerve of him. His hand held his cheek, his wide and confused eyes staring up at me with anger at my action. "What the fuck? What was that for?"

"You're useful, Francis." I simply said, slightly breathless, and I exhaled to compose myself. My pulse was on fire through me as I sat down before him on the sofa, staring down with a burning gaze. "I need her last location, her last movements, and her whereabouts. That will be my final use of you." I adjusted my watch on my wrist, fixing my cuffs.

He winced, still shocked. "What did she do?" He slowly asked, his eyes revealing the fear he always had for a Romano. Francis could never stand strong and proudly before me. I lightly scoffed as he brought himself to sit slightly on his knees in front of me, recognising that I had the power to end him right then and there.

"'What did she do?'" I bitterly chuckled, "What the both of you have done. Your desire and inability to commit have turned your wife into a vengeful lunatic at the cost of Maria." I was seething, forcing the wrathful words out in fury. I always knew his love for her was dangerous, and now it had implicated Maria severely.

"Marco, have him tied up. We'll need him for our next location."

Francis' eyes widened in alarm. "W-What?"

My two guards came walking in, their equipment ready to escort him. My phone began ringing again in my pocket. I walked towards the front door, away from Francis' splutters and proclamations of innocence, as I answered the phone call.

"Iris," I said, speaking before she could get a word in. "I know who the other person is—"

"Ria was seen at a rest stop three hours away! That was early on this afternoon," Iris interrupted, her voice breathless and desperate. "And the other girls have been released—I'm with Rosa now!" My eyes expanded at the news, and my whole body froze at the sound of Maria's name again. It was good news, finally. I let out a breath of relief and shock, my heart pumping, eager to see her.

"The police have already been informed, but you know what they're like. Pick me up so we can go there."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," I quickly responded, feeling the same level of desperation as her.

"Finally," Iris breathed out, her hopeful voice filled with agony. She sniffed; I was sure she was fighting back the tears on the other side. "There's news from her. Finally," her voice cracked, relieved and worried for Maria.

"When you come," Iris said, her voice firm, "bring all the weapons and people you have. We have to find her tonight."

"We will," I replied in a definitive voice, agreeing. There was no way I was letting Maria suffer another day. My eyes followed Francis, who was struggling against the ties around his wrists as he was taken outside, still unable to shut his mouth. "I have a way to find her." I was determined; my whole face hardened as I thought about Giovanni, how perfect it would be to execute his final demise. He would pay for touching her.

I refused to remain calm.

I would search the depths of the entire Earth to find her, and nothing could ever stop me.

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~ Author's Note ~

Leonardo picked up the missing pieces to the puzzle and will do anything to save Maria.

But will be able to do so quickly?

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