Chapter 54: Chapter 54 Saving him
Isabella was just about to tap the final command on her tablet, when something unexpected happened.
One of the tattooed men’s phones began to ring.
Everyone turned to him.
The man frowned, clearly not expecting a call right now. His brows furrowed as he hesitated, but he finally picked it up.
"...Hola?" he muttered.
What he heard made his expression instantly change.
His eyes widened.
His grip on the phone trembled.
"Boss...? What?!" he whispered in panic, then turned to his companion, leaning in and whispering frantically in Spanish.
The second man’s face also twisted into fear.
They both looked at Leonardo but this time, not with arrogance... but pure horror.
Because the person on the other end of that call just screamed at them not to touch Leonardo.
The entire Pablo Mexican Mafia had just gotten news—their entire central system had collapsed.
Their encrypted files were wiped.
Their offshore accounts was drained.
Their core base server was Gone.
But before any of them could even speak or surrender—
Bang!
Leonardo fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Six bullets.
Six perfect headshots.
Each one collapsing before they could even move.
His aim was merciless, mechanical... almost inhuman.
The forest fell into eerie silence.
The only sound left was the soft breeze, and Isabella’s pounding heart.
She stood frozen, still hidden, her lips parted in disbelief as Leonardo slowly turned around, his gun still in hand, the moonlight catching the blood on his sleeve.
He didn’t know. He didn’t know she just saved him too.
She clutched her tablet tightly to her chest, chest heaving.
Leonardo was walking back now, his expression cold, his body stained with blood.
"Come out," his voice was cold... like frozen steel cutting through the silence.
Isabella blinked inside the car, confused for a second. Was he calling someone?
"I’m calling you, Isabella," he snapped, jaw tight, voice low but sharp like a blade.
She quickly stepped out, her hands trembling slightly. Her lip quivered as she looked at him, and she bit it hard to stay composed.
"I-I was worried—" she began softly, her voice shaking as she stepped forward.
"Shut up!" he growled, and she flinched.
"You’re making me more worried by being stupid! I told you to stay in the car, didn’t I?" His voice was sharp, slicing through her. "I don’t want burdens around me. If anything had happened to you, my mom would’ve been devastated."
Her heart stopped.
So... he only protected her because of Lina?
Not because he cared?
Her chest felt tight. Her eyes burned, and tears started to well up. She looked down, swallowing the pain, but it was too late—tears were already sliding down her cheeks.
He saw them.
"Don’t cry," he said bitterly, glaring at her. "I hate it when girls like you cry. It’s annoying. It gives me a damn headache."
Then he turned his back and started walking to the car like none of this mattered.
Like she didn’t matter.
Isabella stood frozen in place, her knees weak, her vision blurry.
"Wait..." she said, her voice so low, so broken it almost disappeared in the air.
He didn’t stop.
Her chest rose and fell fast, she had broken the rules, hacked into dangerous systems, risked everything. Became a ’bad girl’ just to protect him. And yet... he didn’t even look back. He didn’t even give her that ring.
A ring made by her father.
The only thing left that ever felt like love.
She hugged her tablet tightly against her chest and ran after him, her feet stumbling on the rough ground as she tried to keep up. Her eyes were filled with tears, her throat aching with unspoken words. But then something caught her eye.
Up on the slope, barely visible between the branches—
A red dot.
Her breath hitched. A sniper.
And the laser was on him.
Her mind blanked. Without thinking, without even a moment to shout, her tablet slipped from her hand and hit the ground with a soft crack.
She didn’t care.
She ran.
"Leonardo!!" she screamed as she lunged forward, trying to push him out of the way.
But she wasn’t fast enough.
The gun fired and the bullet pierced her shoulder with a brutal force.
"Ahhh!!" Isabella cried out, falling to the ground hard as pain exploded in her shoulder. Her hand clutched the wound, her dress already soaking in blood. It hurt...God, it hurt so much but she was used to pain. Her life had always been a mix of bruises, scars, loneliness.
She would rather die a thousand painful deaths than watch someone else bleed in front of her. That was just how Isabella was soft-hearted, even when the world wasn’t soft to her.
And now, she lay there, blood soaking through her dress, her shoulder hit because she couldn’t bear to watch him die.
Leonardo groaned as he hit the ground, the impact jarring but what shocked him more was her. The sight of her collapsing in front of him, her body trembling from the pain, blood pouring down her arm like a crimson river.
His heart stopped.
His pupils shrank as he saw her shaking, her eyelashes fluttering like weak wings. She was still awake, but barely.
"Isabella—Isabella!" he called out, crawling toward her.
"Wake up... wake up," he repeated, his voice low but panicked, patting her cheeks gently. His hands trembled slightly.
She blinked slowly, her lips trying to say something but no sound came.
He didn’t waste another second.
He picked her up in his arms–bridal style, her warm blood seeping onto his expensive jacket, but he didn’t care.
The moment he turned around, his backup team had finally arrived, but he ignored all of them. His focus was only on the small girl in his arms, whose weight felt far too light.
"Clear the path!" he ordered.
His men moved fast, seeing the fire in his eyes.
Within Thirty minutes, he had her home, straight into one of the guest rooms. He gently laid her down on the white bed, which started staining with her blood.
He didn’t let go of her hand even for a second.
"Call the private doctor to come here quickly. I want him here now," he ordered in a voice that shook the walls.
And as he sat beside her, brushing her hair from her face, his jaw clenched.
He never asked her to take the bullet.