CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27 I WOULD’VE MARRIED HIM THAT SAME DAY

She sat cross-legged on the bed with her laptop in front of her, screen lighting up her innocent face. Her soft features were calm but her brown eyes now glinted with quiet focus.

Alexa DeLuna, she typed into her search bar.

Dozens of results appeared instantly photos, news articles, tabloids, social media, filmographies. Isabella scrolled quickly, fingers flying on the keyboard. With every link she opened, her expression shifted from confused... to surprised... to faintly annoyed.

"Oh... she really was everywhere," she muttered. "Drama shows, magazine covers, scandals... and all the time saying she was dating Leonardo?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"I don’t see a single picture of them together where he’s even smiling..."

She paused. Then typed into her private database, connecting to back-end entertainment files and investor listings.

And then she saw it.

Alexa DeLuna was involved with Leonardo’s aunt’s media company. Contracts. Promotions. Rumors planted to protect brand value. Even staged paparazzi photos.

Isabella leaned back, folding her arms across her chest.

***

"I don’t like her," Alexa huffed as she crossed her long legs, sipping her wine dramatically, sitting in the private VIP lounge filled with expensive furniture and low golden lights. "She’s rude. Multiplying like a virus with that innocent face of hers..."

Sitting beside her on a deep leather couch was Alan Brown, dressed like a runway model in dark tailored slacks, a crisp black shirt, and a silver chain peeking from under his collar. His dark hair was slicked back, and his expression lazy, sharp, and always unreadable...only tightened slightly as he took a slow sip of his whisky.

"Unknown woman," he said, swirling the glass in his hand. "She doesn’t deserve to be by Leo’s side."

He leaned back, resting one ankle over the other. "Leo’s not the type to bring home a clueless women unless he has a reason. Which makes this all the more... suspicious."

On the other side of the room, lounging on a curved chair, was Zion Wu, their calm, observant friend who wore glasses only when he read but had razor-sharp eyes. He ran a hand through his soft ash-blond hair and tapped his tablet thoughtfully.

"I checked. No official background. No major family ties. She’s young, quiet... almost too quiet." He paused. "But there’s something odd in her records."

"What kind of odd?" Alan asked, raising a brow.

"Too clean," Zion said with a slight smile. "No social media, no digital footprints... either she’s a ghost, or someone very good at hiding."

The third man, Casper Raye, who was dressed casually with messy hair and a grin that fooled most people, leaned forward with interest. "You’re saying she might be playing all of us?"

"She might be," Zion answered. "Or she might be just what she looks like... an simple little wife."

Alexa scoffed. "Please. That girl? She clutched a stuffed rabbit like it was a Gucci handbag. She looked at me like I was a bakery receipt."

Alan raised an eyebrow. "And yet, Leo married her."

"She’s temporary," Alexa snapped, swirling her glass. "Once Stella comes back, I’m sure that little charity case will be kicked out."

Zion leaned back with a thoughtful hum. "Be careful, Alexa. Leo doesn’t make emotional decisions. If he chose to marry her—even for a deal..he’s already three steps ahead."

Alexa’s red lips curled into a smirk.

"Then I’ll just have to be five steps ahead."

Alexa leaned in closer to Alan, her voice lowering just enough to sound intimate, yet filled with bitterness.

"If Leonardo really wanted to marry someone... he didn’t need to pick that girl," she said, flipping her dark hair with a sharp flick of her fingers. "He knows I’ve always been ready."

Alan raised an eyebrow, watching her over the rim of his glass. "You mean you would’ve married him?"

"Of course I would’ve," Alexa said with a cold laugh. "I’ve known him for years. I’ve stood beside him in front of everyone. Our status matches, even our bloodlines make sense. And yet he chooses some...unknown women who probably doesn’t even know how to hold a wine glass properly."

Casper, lounging nearby, glanced up with amusement. "Maybe that’s the charm. Maybe she looks like she wouldn’t bite."

"She wouldn’t bite," Alexa said through clenched teeth, "but she’s clinging. Pretending to be innocent, but it’s a game. I see it. She’s trying to trap him."

Zion glanced up from his tablet. "You sound jealous."

"I’m not jealous," Alexa snapped. "I’m offended."

Then, smiling sweetly like poison in a rose, she added, "If Leo had just said the word... I would’ve married him that same day. In red or white, church or courthouse. But he didn’t."

She swirled her wine, her gaze darkening.

"He picked her. And I don’t know why... but I’ll find out."

Casper, who had been quiet until now, suddenly pulled out his phone and hit Leonardo’s number with a sigh. "Alright, let’s get this over with. I want to know when we get to meet her."

He waited.

No answer.

He pressed call again.

This time, after two rings, Leonardo picked up. "What is it?"

Casper grinned. "Finally. So... when are you planning to introduce us to your lovely wife?"

There was silence on the other end.

Then Leonardo’s voice came through, low and uninterested. "Later."

Casper leaned back. "Come on, we’re your best friends. What’s with the secrecy?"

"She’s not ready for you idiots yet."

That made Alan laugh in the background.

Casper smirked. "Fair enough. Just don’t expect us to wait forever."

Leonardo’s voice dropped colder. "Don’t expect anything."

Click.

The call ended.

Casper lowered the phone and looked at the others. "He said later."

Alan chuckled. "Classic Leo."

Alexa said nothing, her jaw tight as she stared at her untouched glass of wine.

***

Leonardo didn’t have time to think about Isabella.

At that moment, he stood inside a private control room in one of his hidden ports near the southern coast, surrounded by screens, encrypted maps, and trusted men in black.

His grey eyes were locked on a digital map showing a slowly moving dot...his shipment floating steadily across international waters toward a private island he controlled off the radar.

"Status?" he asked, voice low, sharp, and steady.

"We’re entering the restricted zone," one of his men said, tapping keys. "Military patrols are two knots to the west. If we follow the plan, we’ll stay invisible."

Leonardo gave a short nod. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t doubt.

This wasn’t just another shipment—it was worth millions, and more importantly, it contained weapons and prototypes that weren’t supposed to exist. The kind of things governments whispered about but never publicly acknowledged.

Getting caught meant war.

But Leonardo Moretti didn’t lose.

"Activate blind signal. Turn off satellite sync for the next seven minutes," he ordered. "And if even one patrol boat turns, sink the shipment before they get near. We can’t let this fall into anyone’s hands."

"Yes, sir."

He crossed his arms and continued watching the dot move silently across blue waters, tension high in the air. His posture was calm, but every person in the room knew...one mistake, and heads would roll.

The room fell into a heavier silence when one of the monitors flashed red.

"Sir," a voice called urgently. "We have a problem. Patrol drone detected—one of the government’s surveillance units is flying closer than expected. It’s not on our predicted route."

Leonardo’s jaw tightened slightly, but his expression remained composed. "How far?"

"Five kilometers and closing in."

"Shut down all non-essential transmissions. If it picks up the signal, we’ll be exposed."

"Yes, sir."

His second-in-command, Marco, leaned in. "Should we redirect the vessel?"

Leonardo’s eyes narrowed on the map. "No. Redirection will delay us, and delay means risk. We don’t move. Let them come."

Marco hesitated. "And if they see us?"

Leonardo turned his head slowly, the room freezing under the weight of his gaze.

"They won’t."

He walked over to the console, entering a code that opened a hidden interface—one only he and a few trusted men had access to. With a few swift commands, he initiated a cloaking sequence built into the shipment’s cargo vessel—technology developed under the table, invisible to conventional radar.

The screen flickered. The glowing dot representing his ship vanished.

"Now we wait," he said calmly.

Minutes crawled.

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the drone’s path, watching as it came closer... closer... and then—

The drone passed over the ocean without stopping.

A collective breath was held until the surveillance feed confirmed the drone had moved on.

Leonardo didn’t blink.

"Re-engage signal in exactly ninety seconds. Make it look like a fishing boat."

"Understood."

He turned away from the monitors and began reviewing the final delivery point details on his tablet, speaking without looking up.

"Notify the island team. Unload within ten minutes of arrival. Keep radio silence until everything’s locked in place. If anything happens—burn everything."

He paused, then added coldly, "We don’t leave trails."

"Yes, boss."

As his team moved quickly to carry out his orders, Leonardo walked over to a private glass shelf in the corner, poured himself a glass of bourbon, and took a single sip.

Crisis averted.

Money protected.

Reputation intact.

Still, in the back of his mind, he knew this shipment was just one of many battles. Bigger ones were coming. Rivals were watching. The underworld was shifting again.

But Leonardo Moretti was already ten steps ahead and he played to win. Always.