The Dragos ⬇️

The Bonferronis ⬇️

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Enjoy this chapter and also point out my mistakes! 💞

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(Leo's POV)

          Regret panged in my chest as soon as Arie walked out the door. I knew I was being a complete dick to her, however, I couldn't help it. Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the past few sleepless nights or maybe just the feelings I strangled down after she decided to end our relationship. It was the pain I refused to face. I understood why, but fuck, it still stung. With her being so close to me now, it stirred up the resting emotions inside me. And the situation with Verona only had me on a heightened edge. Someone tried to kill my wife in a place she was supposed to be the safest, so everyone was on the line of being a suspect here, including the people closest to me.

          Verona's soft voice shook me out of my daze and brought me back to the present time. She was having a conversation with Zarina, her personal maid that she was awfully comfortable with. She had been by Verona's side and took care of her every need when I was out taking care of business. Verona found a close friend in her, although she was cautious of everyone around her. I was relieved Zee, as Verona liked to address her as, was there when I, Athena, or my siblings weren't available because we were the only people she could be around without any fear.

(Hailee Steinfeld as Zarina/Zee Passero.)

Athena took the tray of food from Zee and placed it on the bed beside Verona. "Enough with the talking and eat. We need to get your energy back up. The sooner, the better."

"Thank you, Athena." I gave her a nod. "I got this from here. You two may leave us alone."

          "Of course." Athena smiled and faced Verona. "I'm not in the mood of being a mother to this one anyway."

          "Funny!" Verona exclaimed with a little smile on her pale face that was a result of the weakness in her body.

          Athena chuckled. "Take care." She kissed the top of Verona's head and squeezed my hand before sliding off the bed.

          "Get well soon, V!" Zee smiled wide and bowed before leaving with Athena.

I carefully reached over and took ahold of the tray, placing it on the bedside table close to me. "Looks appetizing!" I remarked solemnly, looking up and down the big glass of green vegetable shake. Verona mumbled something inaudible under her breath that tickled my ear but didn't register. "Hm?"

          "Nothing." She shook her head, staring into her lap.

          "Verona." I clasped her hand and forced her gaze to mine. "Tell me."

          She sighed. "I said, you didn't have to be rude to her."

"To who? Zarina?" I shook my head with a chuckle. "It would've been rude if I told her to get the fuck out like I do to others, but I'm nice to her 'cause she's your friend."

She rolled her blue pearls whilst trying to suppress a smile. "I appreciate it, but I'm not talking about her. I'm talking about Sophie's friend, Arie."

I inhaled sharply and looked away at the tray to pick up the bowl of diced fruits. "I don't want anyone in here that I don't allow. Not after what happened." Picking up a fork, I slowly stabbed it into a slice of apple. "We don't know who did this to you, or whether they'll harm you again, so I'm not going to take any chances with your protection. Especially not allowing someone we don't know to come in here."

"The rest of your family knows her," Verona countered in a low voice. "She seems like a genuine person. She's a friend, Leo."

"That's the thing, tesoro (sweetheart)." My brows drew together in distress as I set the bowl aside. "I don't trust my own family right now, let alone an outsider. Anyone could be responsible for the attack on you. My father, my siblings, cousins. Each one of them is a suspect right now, and I'm betting my money on nonna."

Verona visibly tensed upon the mention of my grandmother as she shifted uncomfortably and gazed away at the floor. "I understand."

"Look at me," I ordered, placing a finger under her chin and turning her head to face me. "Do you think she did it?"

"Non lo so (I don't know)," she answered, releasing a shaky breath. "I didn't see who the person in the costume was."

"Nonna wouldn't exactly dress up in a big Mickey Mouse costume just to stab you herself," I retorted in a quipped tone. "I'm asking if you think she might be responsible for this."

          "I don't know," she repeated her answer again, a bit more timidly this time.

I could see the same fear crawling on her face every time nonna was brought up. She was scared of her, and I knew why. Nonna always had an aura that brought out people's worst fears before their very eyes. She knew how to manipulate and break a person just with her words. I had seen her drive a man to kill himself with just a brief exchange. She'd oppressed many all throughout her life. It worked on my own father for a while too. Fortunately, it never worked on me or my siblings, but she did get to Wren quite a few times, calling him an outsider and what not. The main cause of his alcoholism was that cunning woman. She didn't spare my own wife who fell for her disgusting tactics. And I loathed her for that.

Gently, I squeezed Verona's hand and said, "You don't have to be scared of her."

          She chuckled and looked at me incredulously. "She isn't scary to you because you're her grandchild. She's the queen and she hates me, so she can do anything she desires," she emphasized with a little tremble in her voice. "Anything."

          "She was the queen and you will be the queen soon," I stated sternly. "I just want you to stand up to her."

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You and I both know it." She shook her head in response, peering at the fiddling hands in her lap. "Tesoro, you're too nice."

"And you don't like that?" she whispered softly, not meeting my gaze.

I frowned at the misconception swirling in her head. My hands reached up and caressed her cheeks in a feather-like stroke. "Verona, I love that about you. Among all the wrong and bad in my life, you're the only nice and pure thing keeping me in check. I would've lost myself a long time ago if it weren't for you."

          After Arie left me, I was crawling into a hole that wasn't looking too bright. I wanted to focus on work, but I knew I was going to lose it soon enough. And Astor's confession to the horrors he inflicted on Verona, raping her, killing her along with our unborn child, only fueled my guilt trip. It was all going to kill me over the fact that I wasn't strong enough to keep her safe, or anyone else for that matter. Wendy was dead, Arie was hurt, my sister was raped.

          But then they found Verona barely alive in a secret room in Astor's mother's house back in Ireland. Mama Aguillard would've never struck me as a woman who'd support her son in all the monstrous things that he'd done to my family. Nonetheless, I didn't hesitate to kill her.

When Verona was brought to me, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was surreal. She was unconscious in Mike's arm and looked so weak and fragile that it broke my heart. She was literally bones with scars over her thin skin. I couldn't stand to leave her side after that. When she opened those blue eyes I'd fallen for in the first place, I knew I was going to be okay. It broke me to know the things Astor did to her, and it still haunted me to this day. She recovered slowly, but the trauma was something she could never leave behind.

A sense of hope returned in my life with her, and I couldn't thank her enough. However, at the same time, guilt tore through me like a blunt knife. Every time I laid my eyes on her, I was reminded of my incompetence. I couldn't save her from Astor's brutality. I couldn't save our child who he killed. But she always managed to minimize my inner suffering to almost nothing with the smile she tried to hold on her face only for me because she knew I blamed myself for everything wrong that had happened to her.

          Killing and destroying people never resonated a sense of guilt within me, but when it came to the people closest to me, that emotion left no stone unturned. If Verona had died the other day in my arms, that would've put me in a state of mind I'd never recover from. She was my first love. My fucking wife, for fuck's sake. And knowing that she was harmed in my own place squeezed my heart painfully.

          With a sigh exiting my lips, I brushed back a few strands of her black hair. "I adore you, tesoro, and I admire your kindness amid the world we live in and despite everything you've been through. But I can't stand the fact that you're kind to everyone even when they don't deserve it."

          "So you want me to speak up?" she asked with a subtle hint of frustration lingering in her voice.

          "Yes."

          She nodded slowly and let out a little chuckle as a shade of red emerged on her face. "When I spoke up, I was beaten brutally. That's how we met, remember?" Her brows pinched together, her teary eyes glued to mine. "I spoke up to Astor and you know what he did." She glanced at the dark scars on her arms that stood out against her soft pale skin as her tears dropped. "He was your friend, and he hurt your own sisters too. And now this." She motioned to the wound on her belly. "Now someone from your family is trying to kill me."

Her distressed words ripped my heart right out of my chest as she silently cried to herself. "I'm so sorry." Taking her hands into mine, I brought them up to my lips and gave them a gentle kiss. "I shouldn't have brought you into all this. It's my fault."

          "Don't blame yourself." She shook her head whilst squeezing my hands. "I knew what I was getting into when I married you, so it's not your fault."

          "I've only caused you pain, nothing else."

"No."

"Yes!" I ground my teeth together and rose from the bed. As I took a few steps toward the windows, I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in defeat. "Your brother died because of me, Verona. They wanted to get to me, so they killed him." I turned around to watch a sob break her. "You... died!" I pushed the air through my clenched teeth as my heart fell. "Your grave is still there with someone else's body in that fucking casket. I thought it was you. They made me believe it was you, and I didn't try hard enough to get to the bottom of it. I'm the reason you suffered. I'm the reason our baby d-died," I choked up a bit, but kept myself together. "You have no idea how much it kills me."

Red circled her eyes as they stared at me. Tears pooled down her flushed cheeks like steady raindrops that had no intention to stop just yet. "Your mother died because of me too," I reminded her as her lips quivered. She hung her head and let out another agonized cry that I was responsible for. Sauntering back to the bed, I took a seat beside her once again and lifted her chin. "Any woman would hate me by now for all the pain I've caused you."

          "I can't hate you, Leo. I just can't," she said as her hands cupped my face lovingly. "Because if I do, I'd have n-no one." Her voice cracked when those words escaped her lips. "I'd have no one in my life. You're the only thing I have left. And when you're not there, I feel so a-alone. So lonely."

          I leaned forward and embraced her tenderly, making sure I didn't hurt her wound. "I'm so sorry for everything." I soaked in her warmth and held her shaking body as her pain engulfed me. Pulling back a bit, I wiped her tears with my thumbs. "I'll have the jet ready. You and I will leave right now and go away from here where no one can hurt you."

          "No." She took a deep breath and removed my hands from her face to clasp them in hers. "You missed Mike's wedding. We are not missing your brother's. Not because of me."

"I don't care. Your wellbeing is more important than a stupid wedding with my entire disaster of a family."

"It makes for the best stories." She managed to crack a smile through her sadness which brought a calming feeling to my heart. "I have plans with zietta anyways. She won't be very happy if I leave."

I chuckled and pursed my lips together. "You're going to kill me one day." I kissed her lips softly and brushed a hand through her hair. "Hungry?"

"Very." She nodded and smiled as I began feeding her myself. She almost threw up her shake, and I didn't blame her. It looked like shit, and I could only imagine the taste. However, she finished up everything and ingested her medicine after. She then slouched back carefully and rested against the pillows stacked by the headboard as her hand lightly laid on her injury.

Putting her hand aside, I lifted her shirt a little and took a peek at the bandage concealing the stab wound. Anger filled me as I imagined the culprit harming her. When I'd get my hands on that person, they'll beg for death.

"You should sleep."

My head quirked up at the sound of her voice. "No, I'm good."

"Zietta told me you haven't slept in days." She patted the mattress to the other side of her. "Sleep. Lei sembra un vecchio uomo (You look like an old man)."

"Ha!" I tried to stifle my laugh, but it got the best of me. She giggled to herself but immediately put a hand on her wound due to the jolt of pain that one action sent through her. "Just lay down."

I fixed the pillows behind her and helped her lie down where she could rest comfortably before placing myself beside her. The room darkened with a simple press of a button on the remote to allow us to sleep. I couldn't lie, I was fucking exhausted. The thoughts of the attacker had kept me up for the previous couple of nights. The paranoia of losing her didn't let me sleep for even a minute, but now I just wanted to close my eyes and not worry for just a few hours.

          "Can I tell you something?" she whispered.

          "Of course." I sat up a bit and gave her my complete attention.

          Her eyes found mine amid the soft rays of the setting sun caving in through the shades that weren't doing a brilliant job keeping it out. "I'm scared."

          I frowned before kissing her lips reassuringly and laying down. "I promise I'll find who did this. When I do, you get to decide what you want to do to that person." I trailed a finger over her cheek. "I won't let anyone hurt you again."

          Pushing out shaky air from her mouth, she rested a hand on her reddened chest and stared at the ceiling for a while as I watched her with care. My fingers raked over her arm in a feathery manner until she fell asleep. It didn't take me long to doze off into a deep slumber either.

***

          The constant ringing of my phone jerked me awake. My eyes opened up a fraction as I groaned and turned to grab the device off my nightstand. Five missed calls from Vince flashed brightly on the screen which forced me to rub my eyes and sit up a little. I looked to my side to see if my stupid phone didn't wake Verona up, but she was wide awake with a tiny smile on her lips.

          "How long have you been up?" I asked her after clearing my throat.

          "Ever since your phone started ringing," she replied.

          "Why didn't you wake me up?"

          "You were sleeping." She shrugged. "If it was very important, someone would come up here personally."

          "True." I laughed and pecked her forehead before calling Vince back. He didn't waste a second to pick up. "Bark!" I ordered.

Vince, being Vince, barked like a mad dog going crazy over cars. He was loud enough that even Verona heard him through the phone and started laughing. That idiot also inserted a couple of howls between the annoying yapping that almost had my wife in laughing tears. I was trying to act tough, but Vince's immaturity got the best of me as usual and I cracked.

          "Okay, that's enough."

          "You wanted me to bark, so I did," Vince countered from the other end of the line.

"Just tell me what you want."

          "Mike told me to call you and tell you that everyone's here."

          I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I can't come right now."

          "Go if it's important," Verona voiced herself. "I'll be fine."

          "You sure?" I furrowed my brows as she nodded in response to my question. "Okay. Vince, send Zarina up here."

"Yes, boss."

After hanging up the call, I slid off the bed and sauntered to the closet leisurely to throw on a shirt. I washed my face in efforts to wake myself up more. Two hours of sleep wasn't enough, and Vince was going to hear it from me. I made my way out into the room again and sat by Verona's side.

"You can go back to sleep now."

"I will when Zee arrives."

Speaking of the devil, a knock on the door was my queue to leave. After a kiss on Verona's cheek, I opened the door and let Zarina in who bowed and went to her friend while I walked out alongside Vince.

          "Everyone's down there?"

"Except Mike," Vince informed me.

"Where's he?" I asked as we entered the elevator and descended.

"He left with Valentina a few minutes ago which is why he asked me to call you. A quickie I'm guessing." He rolled his eyes. "Horny married couples."

I turned to him slowly and cocked a brow. "Can you shut up for once?"

          "Boss, it wasn't for you," he began babbling as I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache caving in. "It's for the other married couples. I mean why would you put yourself through that when you could have a different partner every week with no strings attached? I ain't trying to settle down ever. Maybe when I get to my fifties, I'll think about it, but I'm only twenty-six right now and got a long way till then. I mean, how do you do it? Handle work and a wife? It must be..."

          "Shut the fuck up!" I shouted when the elevator doors finally opened. "Gesù Cristo! First, you wake me up and then you won't fucking shut up." My feet stomped on the marble as we made our way toward the area everyone was assembled in. "Call Mike and tell him to get his ass here right now. He can bone some other time."

          He grinned knowing that he got under my skin as usual. "Yes, boss!"

          Two men opened the doors for me and let me into the large hall where my entire family was gathered along with Sophie's and the few guests we trusted to be in this palace. As I walked further in, eyes turned to me, but mine found Arie's who was wrapped in Gus' arm. She didn't blink and neither did I. The eye contact lasted a second too long before I looked away and continued walking with Vince.

          "Get me a glass of bourbon," I instructed one of my men standing by the wall as I neared a sofa.

          He nodded and started to leave when Federigo came in. "Get him water instead," he ordered for me and motioned me to sit opposite him.

          I bit my tongue from saying anything snarky and plopped down, eyeing him warily as Zio Valerio, Federigo's older brother, sat down beside him. "How's your wife doing?"

"Alright, zio," I answered him and looked at my father with a suspicious gaze as everyone else in the room conversed with one another, not paying any attention to us as intended. "Just need to find out who is responsible for this stunt."

Federigo laughed and puffed out the smoke from the cigar he had between his lips. "If I wanted that ragazza (girl) dead, I would've done it a long time ago."

I slouched back and narrowed my eyes at him. "Father, tell me the truth."

"Don't make me repeat myself again, Leonardo," Federigo's voice sharpened with a glimmer of anger before he motioned to his older brother. "Ask your zio. Maybe he did it."

Valerio cussed in Italian and looked at my father, punching his leg for throwing him under the bus. "I may be a monster, but there are times I draw a line. That girl has been through enough and I have no trouble with her." He shook the glass of alcohol in his hand and took a short sip. "That Aguillard son of a bitch ruined our girls."

Federigo's jaw twitched in anger. "Don't remind me. Having Belle marry him is my biggest regret."

"And then you let her marry the younger Aguillard." Valerio shook his head in disappointment. "What were you thinking?"

"She loves that boy," my father answered, looking at Belle who was having a conversation with Athena.

"And that's the only reason he's alive," I chimed in and grabbed the glass of water from a butler, chugging it down whole. "And because of Bruno. He's a good father to him."

"We can't kill Alicio, but I really wish you brought Astor to me," Valerio growled under his breath. "I would've shown him what happens when you mess with a Bonferroni."

"Four years too late now," I sighed and looked around only to catch Arie gazing at me. She immediately turned away which forced a chuckle out of me.

          "Maybe Marsilia is behind the attack," Valerio suggested.

"That'd make sense," I said.

"Can we just kill her? She has lived too long." My uncle smiled wickedly. "When the day comes, I'll throw a party on her grave."

"Allow me to sharpen my knives and put her in that grave then, brother," Caterina, my aunt, the third and the youngest Bonferroni child, chirped up, walking behind my sofa and running a hand through my messy hair.

          "Although I try to stay away from murder, I'll be more than happy to assist in hers," Edoardo, Zia Caterina's husband, hopped on the Nonna murder express.

(Krista Allen as Caterina Verdino and Idris Elba as Edoardo/Ed Verdino. I personally think Idris Elba is a gorgeous man with his fine English accent and that beautiful face 😍 Raise your hand if you agree.)

          "Unless you want a war, let's keep the plans to ourselves for now." I rolled my eyes.

Every time the three siblings got together, they always joked and devised a plan to have nonna killed, but they clearly never went through with any of it. They knew the catastrophe it would cause, especially with her being the president of the country. There was no doubt in her being a good leader, but she wasn't a favorite one around the house because of the shit she had said and done in the past. She didn't know how to filter her words around anyone. The fact that she carried the mentally of ancient times never worked out in her favor either.

"That narcissistic hag thinks that we are beneath her royal status," Zia Caterina spat through her teeth. "I'll show her what this peasant can do one day, brothers. Mark my words." She turned her attention to me and pinched my cheek as if I was still a little child. "How's Verona doing?"

          "She's breathing which is good." I lightly slapped her hand away. "Zia, I'm a grown ass man. Stop pinching my damn cheek."

          "Always my little nephew first, then a grown ass man, and then a king." She laughed and ruffled my hair. "I just wanted you to know I had nothing to do with Verona's attack. You know I'd never hurt anyone dear to you. And Verona is family after all."

         I could sense the sincerity in her voice and see it bright in her eyes. Just like her older brothers, Valerio and Federigo, she wasn't scared of admitting to something she'd done or scared of anything for that matter. If any one of them had a hand behind this, they would come forth, but since they don't, they're out of the suspicion line, leaving their kids, the Dragos and other people in the room on my radar.

"And you know I try to stay away from all the violent shit that takes place, I wouldn't willingly attempt to kill someone," Zio Ed explained himself. "But if it comes to Marsilia, please allow me to put my hands around her racist neck."

          I laughed. "Will do."

          "What did I miss?" Mike strode toward us at a leisure pace with his hands in his pockets.

          "Nothing yet," I said. "You've kept me waiting. Where the fuck were you?"

          "Wife problems," he answered with a sigh.

"AKA boning," Vince smirked.

"We weren't having sex," Mike retorted in frustration. "You're the one who always thinks about sticking it in my wife. Keep her out of your dirty mind before I snap your neck, puta."

"We should settle the dispute in the arena then," Zia Caterina proposed the idea and rubbed her hands together. "Michael versus Vincent. Let's see who wins."

"Let's not, Zia," I chuckled and stood up from the sofa. "Maybe some other day. I'll go against Zio Valerio then too. It's always fun to put him down."

"Pick on someone your own size, Leo," Sebastian, Zio Valerio's oldest son, sneaked up behind me and patted me on my back.

(Arthur Kulkov as Sebastian/Seb Bonferroni.)

          "Thought you were going to miss the wedding, Seb." I turned around and cocked a brow whilst crossing my arms.

          "Well, Daniel wanted to attend his Uncle Wren's wedding," he informed me solemnly before letting a smile flourish on his face and pulling me in for a hug. "How you doing, brother?"

          I pulled back and let out a breath. "I've been better."

          "Haven't we all?" Beatrice, Sebastian's wife, put her hand on my forearm and grabbed my attention.

(Zhenya Katava as Beatrice Bonferroni.)

          "Beatrice," I acknowledged her and exchanged a social kiss on the cheek.

          "We heard about what happened." Seb put his arm around his wife's waist and pulled her closer to him. "Do we know who did this?"

          "No, which is why I have everyone here to figure out who's responsible. You two are in the clear, so you should probably get to your room."

"I'll tell Dan that his Uncle Leo said hi when he wakes up. The kid passed out as soon as we got here." Beatrice smiled and squeezed my arm. "Good luck finding the culprit."

I nodded as they left the hall, and that was the queue. Raising my hand midair, I motioned my men to get in position with a swirl of a finger. A few of them blocked the doors while the others secured the perimeters so that no one could leave.

          With a loud clap of my hands, I grasped everyone's attention at once. "Alright, everyone knows what happened the other day, and until I find the person behind the attack, no one's going anywhere." I allowed an evil smile to emerge on my face as I slid my hands into the pockets of my sweats and took a couple steps forward, looking around the room. "Sit tight. It's going to be a long night."

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Yay or nay?

I wanted to have the interrogations in this chapter too, but as usual, I got carried away. The first half of the chapter made me cry like a bitch. A lot of crying is going on in both Escort Me Baby and this, and I can't help it.

Thoughts on Verona?

What do you guys think of her relationship with Leo?

I've given you guys a peek into Leo's head, and more will come in the next chapter. What do you guys think?

Everyone is on Leo's radar for the attack. Do you think he'll hold Arie accountable to an extent or no?

Who could be responsible for the attack according to you guys?

I'm revealing the cousins slowly because there are so many 😂 I kinda regret having so many, but it'll be fun in the long run and I hope the family trees are helping 'cause they're certainly helping me A LOT.

Further comments, theories, and questions are always welcome.

🔴⬇️⬇️PLEASE READ⬇️⬇️🔴

Some comment in the previous chapter got to me personally. And I've thought about not replying to comments at all. Just be patient with me and watch this story unfold because I've fallen in love with it in my mind and that's what I intend to do with you guys. I cannot throw out every suspense and mystery right now, because then the story ends. If you wanna know everything right now, message me and I'll reveal it, then you won't have to wait for my updates and read the book at all.

The impatience to know everything right off the bat is really fucking with my head and it's not fun at all.😢😖 It makes me wanna cry and I don't cry easily (except when dogs die in movies or when I write a sad scene and that's only because I need to feel the emotion in order to write about it 😂). Patience is all I ask.

We have this whole second book to go and a third one on Leo and Arie. Everything will be revealed slowly and will make sense. And I will be doing Verona's POV in the future, so please be patient, that's all I ask. If you're confused about anything, just let me know. I'm always more than happy to clear it up and talk to you guys in the comments or in private message. I'm not scary. I've made so many amazing friends like this that I adore talking to, and I love every single one of my readers, and truly respect your opinions. 💞

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Much love ❤️
~Reet