Chapter 5 - The Secret Bianca Left Behind
Dante arrived at Leah's townhouse at 9:43 p.m.
She opened the door wearing pajamas and holding a mug.
Her expression immediately hardened.
"No."
"We need to talk."
"It's almost ten."
"I know."
"Congratulations on understanding clocks."
"Leah."
She sighed.
"What happened?"
"The side entrance camera."
Her expression changed.
"What about it?"
"It was deliberately disconnected."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
"Then why are you here?"
Dante hesitated.
"Because the outages happened when you used that entrance."
Leah stared at him.
"You think someone was watching me?"
"I think it's possible."
"And naturally your solution is to arrive and tell me what I'm going to do."
"I haven't told you anything."
"Yet."
His jaw tightened.
"I want security outside."
"No."
"Leah."
"There it is."
"What?"
"Instruction number one."
"This isn't about control."
"It never is, according to you."
Dante looked frustrated.
"This could be serious."
"I understand."
"Then let me protect you."
Leah set her mug down.
"That's the problem."
His expression changed.
"You only know how to love people by protecting them."
Silence.
Neither had expected the word.
Love.
Leah looked away first.
Dante's voice became quieter.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me."
"Say it again."
"No."
He stepped closer but stopped well before touching her.
"Leah."
She turned.
"For years, every time something real happened between us, you called me family. Every time you cared too much, you turned it into an order. Every time I got close enough to think maybe—"
Her voice broke.
She stopped.
Dante looked devastated.
"Maybe what?"
"Don't."
"Maybe what?"
"That you loved me."
There.
The truth finally existed outside her body.
Dante didn't answer.
And his silence hurt more than she expected.
Leah laughed bitterly.
"Exactly."
She reached for the door.
Dante placed his palm against it.
Not forcing it shut.
Just stopping her for one second.
"I was twenty-three when you came to the estate."
Leah froze.
"You were thirteen."
"I know."
"Bianca told me that whatever happened, you needed to feel safe there."
Leah slowly faced him.
Dante continued.
"By the time you were grown, I didn't know how to look at you differently without feeling like I was betraying something."
Leah's anger softened, but only slightly.
"So you decided for both of us."
"Yes."
"That's not noble, Dante."
"I know."
"You hurt me."
"I know."
"You made me think I imagined everything."
His eyes dropped.
"I know."
Leah had never heard Dante admit fault this way.
No defense.
No explanation disguised as excuse.
Only truth.
"Then why now?"
He looked at her.
"Because another man took your hand."
She almost laughed from disbelief.
"You're jealous?"
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
"But that's not why I'm here."
"Then why?"
"Because you left."
He swallowed.
"And the house still stands."
Leah frowned.
He gave a humorless smile.
"You always said it wouldn't survive without you."
"Dante—"
"I thought I needed to keep you safe."
His voice lowered.
"I didn't realize I'd built my entire life around knowing where you were."
Her heart pounded.
Before she could respond, his phone rang.
Raphael.
Dante answered.
"What?"
His expression changed.
"Send it."
A photograph appeared on his screen.
He stared at it.
Leah saw the color drain from his face.
"What is it?"
Dante turned the phone.
It was an old financial document.
Bianca's name appeared at the bottom.
So did Leah's mother's.
Leah stared.
"What am I looking at?"
Dante read the accompanying message.
Then looked at her.
"My aunt didn't meet your mother by accident."
Leah went still.
"What?"
"They knew each other years before you came to the estate."
The document contained payments.
Dozens of them.
From a Raviieri-controlled company.
To Leah's mother.
Beginning before Leah was born.
Leah sat down slowly.
"Why?"
Dante didn't know.
But beneath the financial record was another document.
A handwritten note from Bianca.
Three words were underlined twice.
May you like
Tell Leah everything.
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