Matteo, Leonardo, and Alessandro, the powerful owners of De Angeli Enterprises, are in their early thirties and have built a fearsome reputation worldwide. Known for their ruthlessness and ambition, these men have amassed wealth and influence by tak...
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Leonardo watched the scene unfold, his lips twitching with the faintest hint of a smile, though the tension beneath it never truly faded. Matteo, as always, was being loud, his cockiness dialed up to an almost comical degree as he played yet another round of Uno against Alessandro.
"I won—Ow!" Matteo yelped, his bravado cut short as Alessandro pinched his thigh with precise, almost surgical annoyance. Matteo glared at him, rubbing the spot dramatically. "That was uncalled for."
Alessandro arched an eyebrow, unbothered. "So is gloating. You deserve worse."
Leonardo let out a soft chuckle, the sound barely breaking through the quiet hum of the hospital room. This had become their routine in the last month—quiet moments filled with games, banter, and distractions as they waited. Waited for her.
It had been a month since Matteo had brought Yulia here, since the day he'd shown up with her battered, fragile body and an explanation that had shaken Leonardo to his core. She had flatlined. She had been put into a coma to save what was left of her strength. They had come so close to losing her that Leonardo still felt the phantom weight of that fear in his chest.
Now, Yulia lay in the bed beside them, no longer tethered to the machines that had once kept her alive. The tubes were gone, her body no longer trapped by the sterile clutches of wires and drips. Her breathing was steady, her face peaceful, but she hadn't woken up.
Not yet.
The anticipation was like a coiled spring, keeping them all on edge. Every sound, every slight movement she made, sent their hearts racing, hoping this might be the moment her eyes finally opened.
No one outside their circle, other than Montanna, knew she had been found. Not Aline, not Alice, not Xander or Eline. It wasn't time yet. The world outside this room could wait. For now, Yulia belonged only to them—to Alessandro, Matteo, and Leonardo—and they were determined to protect her, to keep this fragile hope contained until they were ready to share it.
Leonardo had taken it upon himself to keep them busy during the endless hours at her bedside. Today, it was Uno—a simple enough distraction, but it served its purpose. They couldn't afford to spiral into the darker places their thoughts inevitably led.
Matteo slammed a card onto the table, grinning like he'd just won a war. "Uno again! Admit it, you guys can't handle my brilliance."
Alessandro sighed, his expression one of long-suffering patience. "It's not brilliance. It's luck. And your shuffling is suspiciously terrible."
Leonardo let them bicker, his gaze drifting back to Yulia. She looked so small in the hospital bed, her frame still too thin from the years of starvation and abuse she had endured. But her color had returned, the bruises fading, her skin no longer ashen. She looked alive.
It was a sight he clung to, even as the memories of Matteo telling him he found her buried alive clawed at the edges of his mind. He could imagine the way Matteo had dug her out, his hands raw, the sound of his frantic voice as he begged her to stay alive when she flatlined— he wasn't here, but the image haunted him still. They had come so close to losing her. Too close.
