Chapter 3 - The Truth Hidden Behind His Protection
For ten seconds after Leo said those words, I forgot how to breathe.
The person watching you is someone you trust.
Not a stranger.
Not an enemy hiding in the dark.
Someone inside our world.
Someone who knew our routines.
Someone who knew where I would be.
Someone who knew enough to make Leo Rossi afraid.
I stood in the middle of our bedroom, holding the phone against my ear, staring at the locked door between us.
“Who is it?”
Leo didn’t answer.
That was becoming his greatest talent.
Not lying.
Not denying.
Just refusing to give me the truth until he decided I was ready.
And tonight, I was done waiting.
“Leo.”
His breathing changed.
A small thing.
Most people wouldn’t notice.
But I had spent three years learning every version of his silence.
The silence before a business decision.
The silence before a confrontation.
The silence when he was hiding pain.
This was the last one.
He was scared.
“You need to stay away from the windows,” he said.
I frowned.
“What?”
“Clara, listen to me.”
“No.”
My voice sharpened.
“I asked you who is watching me.”
“I know.”
“Then answer.”
A pause.
“Not over the phone.”
I laughed once.
A bitter sound.
“Of course.”
“Clara.”
“No, you don’t get to do this.”
I walked toward the window anyway.
Immediately, his voice changed.
“Stop.”
The command was so sharp that I froze.
Not because I obeyed.
Because I heard what was underneath it.
Panic.
Real panic.
“Why?”
“Because I don’t know if the cameras have been compromised.”
My heart dropped.
The cameras.
The security system.
The entire estate.
Suddenly, every expensive feature that had always made me feel protected felt different.
Like I had been living inside a machine controlled by people I didn’t know.
“How long have you known?”
“About the threat?”
“Yes.”
“Three days.”
Three days.
I closed my eyes.
Three days.
He had known for three days that someone was watching me.
And he said nothing.
“You let me walk around this house?”
“Yes.”
“You let me go shopping?”
“Yes.”
“You let me attend meetings?”
His silence answered before he did.
“Yes.”
The anger returned.
Hotter this time.
“You knew someone was targeting me, and you said nothing?”
“I increased security.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It was the safest option.”
“For who?”
The question landed between us.
Because we both knew what I meant.
For me?
Or for his control?
Leo didn’t respond immediately.
When he finally spoke, his voice was lower.
“For you.”
I looked at the door.
The locked door.
The same door that had convinced me he was my greatest threat only hours earlier.
Now I didn’t know what to believe.
And that terrified me.
“Open it.”
“I can’t.”
My eyebrows tightened.
“What?”
“I can’t open it remotely.”
“You locked it.”
“Yes.”
“Then unlock it.”
A long silence.
“Clara…”
“No.”
I felt my voice breaking.
Not from sadness.
From exhaustion.
“I am not asking you to explain your entire life right now. I’m asking you to open a door.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
Another pause.
Then:
“Because whoever is watching the house may be waiting for you to leave.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
Because suddenly the locked room felt less like a prison.
And more like a shield.
But I didn’t want to admit that.
Not yet.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect you to stay alive long enough to hate me tomorrow.”
That sentence silenced me.
Because that was Leo.
The man who could negotiate million-dollar deals without blinking.
The man who never showed weakness.
Was willing to let me hate him if it meant keeping me safe.
I hated that it confused me.
I hated that a part of me understood.
“Where are you?”
“Outside the bedroom.”
I looked at the door.
“You’ve been there this whole time?”
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
The anger in me weakened for a second.
Only a second.
Then I remembered.
“You still locked me in.”
“I know.”
“You still made that choice for me.”
“I know.”
His honesty was almost worse.
I wanted him to argue.
I wanted him to defend himself.
Instead, he accepted every accusation.
Like he already hated himself enough.
“Leo.”
“Yes?”
“Who sent the message?”
Silence.
Too long.
“Leo.”
“It wasn’t a message.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“The number you received.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw it.”
I stared at my phone.
“You’re watching my phone?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
“The same person who sent it sent another message to my security team.”
My fingers tightened.
“What did it say?”
His voice became quiet.
“She's closer than you think.”
The room suddenly felt smaller.
“Who?”
“Clara.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I’m done with this.”
I walked to the door.
“You don’t get to keep secrets and call it protection.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me.”
“I’m trying.”
“No. You’re controlling.”
The word hurt him.
I knew it did.
Because Leo Rossi could handle hatred from enemies.
But not from me.
“I need you to understand something.”
His voice became softer.
“The reason I didn’t tell you is not because I think you’re weak.”
“Then why?”
“Because you’re the strongest person I know.”
I stopped.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“It does.”
A pause.
“Because the person we’re dealing with knows you. They know your habits. They know your emotions. And if they know you’re aware of them…”
He stopped.
“What?”
“They’ll change their plan.”
The silence that followed felt heavy.
Then I heard something.
A sound.
A knock.
Not from my door.
From his side.
Three short knocks.
Leo went silent.
“Leo?”
No answer.
“Leo?”
Then I heard his voice.
Different.
Professional.
Dangerous.
“Stay away from the door.”
My body froze.
“What happened?”
“Clara.”
The warning in his voice made my stomach tighten.
“Do not open it.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
A lie.
Because five minutes ago, I would have.
But now?
Now I understood something.
Leo wasn’t afraid of me leaving.
He was afraid of what would happen after I left.
I heard movement outside.
Voices.
Muffled.
Then silence.
“Leo?”
Nothing.
I waited.
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Finally, the lock screen changed.
The red warning disappeared.
The door unlocked.
I didn’t move.
Not because I didn’t want to leave.
Because for the first time that night…
I was afraid of what was waiting outside.
The door slowly opened.
Leo stood there.
No jacket.
No calm expression.
No perfect businessman mask.
Just a man who looked exhausted.
Behind him were two security officers.
Their faces were serious.
But Leo’s eyes never left mine.
“You’re okay,” he whispered.
I looked at him.
“You look surprised.”
“Because I was afraid I wouldn’t get to see you again.”
The honesty stopped me.
Then I noticed something.
A small cut on his hand.
Blood.
“What happened?”
He looked down.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters.”
“Clara.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“What happened?”
His jaw tightened.
Then he finally said:
“Someone tried to access the security system from inside the house.”
Inside.
Again.
Someone inside.
“Who?”
Leo looked toward the hallway.
Then back at me.
“We don’t know yet.”
That answer frightened me more than if he had given me a name.
Because Leo Rossi always knew.
He always had answers.
Unless this time…
The enemy was close enough that even he couldn’t see them.
I looked at the crimson dress I was still wearing.
The dress that started everything.
The dress I thought was the reason he locked me away.
But now I knew.
It was never about the dress.
It was about someone who wanted me outside that house.
Someone who knew I would wear red.
Someone who knew I would attend the gala.
Someone who knew enough about my life to predict my choices.
I looked at my husband.
The man I thought had betrayed me.
The man who had lied.
The man who had locked me away.
And somehow…
The man who might have saved me.
But one question remained.
May you like
If Leo was protecting me from someone inside our world…
Why was he still protecting that person from me?
