Leo’s jaw tightened. His hands, resting on the desk, curled into fists. "Bella’s uncle."
Jay went still. The air in the room seed to thicken, pressing down on him. His breath caught in his chest.
"Alexa’s plan," Leo continued, his voice flat, controlled, like he was reading from a report, "was to have that man kidnap Bella. To have him—" He stopped. His hands had curled into fists on the desk, knuckles white. His jaw was tight, the muscles working beneath his skin. "To have him r*pe her. So that when she ca back to , I wouldn’t want her anymore. So that I would leave her. And Alexa could have ."
The words hung in the air, ugly and vile, staining the silence.
Jay felt sick. His stomach turned. His hands curled into fists at his sides, nails digging into his palms. He thought about Bella... what if Alexa had carried out her plan? His Bella Bell... he couldn’t even imagine, and even the thought made him want to cry and kill Alexa multiple tis.
"She was pregnant," Leo continued. "She thought no one would suspect her. Who would think she was capable of sothing like that?"
"What did you do?" Jay’s voice was barely a whisper.
Leo’s eyes went cold. "I waited. She gave birth. I waited a little longer. Then I sent her a ssage. Asked to et. She was foolish enough to co. And she brought the baby with her."
"She brought the baby?"
"She said she would throw him in an orphanage for ." Leo’s voice was flat, but his hands were shaking now, just slightly, the only sign of the storm beneath. "She was willing to abandon her own child so she could be with ."
Jay felt bile rise in his throat. His stomach churned. He thought about the innocent baby. Alexa was so ruthless.
"My n took her. Kidnapped her. She’s sowhere she will never hurt anyone again." Leo reached into his drawer and pulled out a photograph. He slid it across the desk, the paper gliding smoothly over the polished wood. "Her na is Alessandra Riva."
Jay picked up the photograph. The woman in the image looked almost exactly like Alexa. Sa hair color. Sa face shape. Sa build. But her eyes were different, softer, sadder, like soone who had seen too much pain, too much darkness, too many things that couldn’t be forgotten.
"I found her three months ago. I was surprised seeing her face so similar to Alexa’s." Leo’s voice was quiet now, almost gentle. "She was held hostage by the forr Mafia X. She was caged, abused, broken. I rescued her, thinking she would be useful."
Jay stared at the photograph, at the woman’s hollow cheeks, her tired eyes, the way she held herself like she was expecting to be hit.
"I got her out. I gave her a choice. She could go free, disappear, start a new life sowhere far from here, or she could take Alexa’s place."
Jay looked up. "She agreed?"
"She was timid at first, scared. But she had nothing. No family, no ho, no future, no one to miss her if she vanished." Leo paused, his expression softening for just a mont. "And I was offering her a baby, a family, a husband, a second chance."
He paused again, longer this ti.
"She’s happy now. She loves that child. She takes care of him. Archer thinks she’s his wife. He doesn’t know the truth. He never will."
Jay set the photograph down carefully, like it might break. He looked at his brother, at the cold satisfaction in his eyes, the careful control, the way he had dismantled Alexa’s world piece by piece without her even noticing.
"Does Bella know?"
"No."
"Does Archer know?"
"No."
"Does anyone?"
Leo’s lips curved. It wasn’t a warm smile. It wasn’t a kind smile. It was the smile of a man who had won, who had outmaneuvered his enemy without raising a hand. "Just you. And Freya. And a few n who will never speak of it."
Jay sat back, processing, shocked. His mind was reeling, trying to absorb everything Leo had just told him. The plan, the doppelganger, the baby, the woman who had tried to destroy Bella was now nothing more than a ghost, erased from the world as if she had never existed.
"What about the baby?" Jay asked quietly.
"Alessandra loves him. She’s a good mother. He’s safe. That’s what matters."
Jay nodded slowly. He thought about the rumors, about the whispers that had been spreading through the company for months. Alexa had tried to destroy Bella one last ti, and Leo had already dismantled her world piece by piece, brick by brick, without her even knowing.
"How did you know?" Jay asked. "About her plan? About the man?"
Leo’s eyes went distant, looking at sothing Jay couldn’t see. "I have people. In places. Watching. Always watching." He looked at Jay, his gaze sharp, focused. "I will never let anyone hurt her, Jay. Not Alexa. Not anyone."
Jay believed him.
He stood, pushing back his chair. The wood scraped against the floor, loud in the silence. "I’m going to go check on Dom. Make sure he’s still alive."
Leo nodded, already turning back to his desk, reaching for his pen, his attention shifting to the papers in front of him.
At the door, Jay paused. His hand rested on the fra, his back to his brother.
"Bro."
Leo looked up.
"She’s lucky. Bella. To have you."
Leo’s lips curved, small and private, a smile that was ant for no one but himself. "I’m the lucky one."
Jay left, closing the door behind him. The click of the latch echoed through the quiet hallway.
Leo sat alone in the quiet office, thinking about Alessandra, about the baby, about the woman who had tried to destroy his wife and was now nothing more than a ghost, locked away sowhere no one would ever find her.
He thought about Bella—about her smile, her laugh, the way she fit against him when she slept.
And he smirked.
Alexa had tried to take everything from him—his marriage, his wife, his happiness.
And now she had nothing.
No na. No face. No future.
Just a cold, dark room where no one would ever hear her scream.
He picked up his pen and went back to work.
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