Leandro

The night was filled with dim lights and soft laughter. The party at the Mancini family villa was elegant, exclusive, and with security at every turn. Leandro, the patriarch of the organization, wore his usual tight black shirt, suspenders, and dark glasses, even though it was already nighttime. In his arms, his daughter was half asleep, playing with her face, while he held her as if she were his most precious treasure.

But his eyes, hidden behind dark glasses, kept searching for a silhouette: Luisa.

His wife was laughing next to an old family acquaintance. The man leaned in too far when he spoke to her, and that… ignited something in Leandro's heart.

"What does that idiot say to my wife?" he murmured, gently stroking his daughter's hair as she ran her foot over his face, giggling in her sleep.

Leandro didn't need to shout. A glance was enough for one of his men to approach Luisa's interlocutor and push him away with excuses. Luisa noticed it immediately.

With a mischievous smile, she approached her husband.

"Did you really have him removed out of jealousy?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

Leandro settled his daughter more comfortably in his arms and raised an eyebrow.

—It wasn't out of jealousy... it was caution. No one should be speaking to you so closely without my permission.

Luisa approached and gave him a short kiss on the lips.

—You're a possessive fool.

"And you're still mine," he replied, lowering his voice and enveloping hers with his gaze. "Every time you smile like that, you make me think I could start a war just so no one else will look at you."

She smiled sweetly, touching her husband's cheek. As her daughter snuggled deeper into his arms, Leandro felt that, for once, his whole world was complete. Amidst the danger, the darkness, and the broken alliances... his only certainty was the family he held in his arms and heart.