Chapter 3 - Light in the Shadows
Within a week, the cold, gloomy Moretti mansion was completely transformed.
Clara moved into a beautiful guest room adjacent to the nursery. She filled the house with warm light, played soft music in the hallways, and insisted that Leo eat his meals at the kitchen table instead of being served alone by formal staff.
Under Clara’s devoted care, Leo blossomed. The nightmare-filled nights vanished. His hollow cheeks filled out, his bright laugh echoed through the corridors, and he followed Clara everywhere like a little shadow.
For Rico, watching Clara became an addiction.
Every evening, the ruthless mafia boss returned from his brutal, dangerous world to find Clara sitting on the living room rug, teaching Leo how to paint with watercolors or reading him bedtime stories.
Rico found himself coming home earlier every day. He traded his legal meetings and syndicate dinners for quiet evenings in the estate library, watching Clara laugh as Leo covered her nose with yellow paint.
"You smile more when you're painting," Rico observed one evening, leaning against the doorframe of the playroom, his dark suit jacket discarded, his shirt sleeves rolled up.
Clara looked up, wiping a splash of green paint from her cheek, her brown eyes sparkling. "And you look less terrifying when you're not scowling, Mr. Moretti."
Rico let out a rich, rare laugh that sent a strange, pleasant shiver down Clara's spine. He walked over, kneeling on the carpet beside her and his son.
"Call me Rico," he said softly, taking a paintbrush from Leo’s tiny hand and dipping it into blue paint. "Please."
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As their eyes met over the child's drawing, an unmistakable spark flared between them—a dangerous, electric pull built on mutual respect, deep protection, and an undeniable attraction that neither of them could ignore.
However, in Rico Moretti's world, happiness was a target.
