Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Imposter
He realized he had forgotten to bring clothes inside.
With a sigh, he threw the towel over his shoulder and walked out of the bathroom. The light in the bedroom was dim, warm against the darkness outside. His bare feet made soft sounds on the cold floor.
The muscles of his back moved with each step–strong, carved like a sculpture under the soft light. His hair was still damp, messy from the shower. He looked like a fallen god walking through shadows, but his face wasn’t calm, it was clouded. That quiet storm still hadn’t passed.
He reached for his clothes at the edge of the bed.
He pulled on a dark shirt, buttoning it without looking, his mind clearly elsewhere. The fabric clung to his still-damp skin, and the black color made his features look even colder. He slipped into his pants, grabbed his phone from the table, and walked out of the bedroom, his steps firm, focused.
The hallway light was dim, but his eyes were sharp.
He pushed open the door to his private office, just beside his bedroom. The walls were lined with shelves of files, monitors glowing softly on the desk, and a secure line always ready.
He pressed speed dial and brought the phone to his ear.
"I need the whole information," he said in a sharp, quiet voice. "Now.".
He sat in his chair, back straight, one hand tapping the desk slowly, the other gripping the phone tighter with each second.
"Everything about the Pablo group. Who leaked our route. Who planned the hit. I want names. I want locations. And I want it before midnight."
There was silence on the other end, then a flurry of quick replies.
But Leonardo’s face remained cold. His jaw tightened.
No one touched what was his and walked away alive.
***
Within half an hour, the door of Leonardo’s office creaked open. A tall man with a broad chest, tanned skin, and tattoos covering both arms stepped in. His boots made a faint thud against the dark wooden floor. His hair was slicked back, and his sharp eyes scanned the room before settling on Leonardo.
"Sir," he said in a gravelly voice, "there’s been some new information about what happened."
At first, Leonardo didn’t look up—he was staring intently at something on his computer.
But with a slight lift of his hand, he gestured for Roman to speak.
Roman stood straight. "Sir, I think someone close... someone from this mansion... may be an imposter. A leak."
Leonardo finally looked up, his dark eyes sharp.
Roman continued, "The way they planned the ambush, the details they had... it’s not possible unless someone inside is feeding them. Has anyone new entered this place recently? Any new guard? Maid? Worker?"
Leonardo’s jaw clenched. His temple pulsed as his mind ran through every face.
"There’s no one new," he said stiffly. "Just Theo... and a few of the usual maids."
Roman raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing. Leonardo noticed that, but he didn’t speak about Theo. Not yet.
He shifted in his chair, voice lowering. "And what about Pablo? What happened after the ambush failed?"
Roman moved closer, standing in front of the desk now. "Pablo tried to establish a foothold here. He wanted to show dominance. He paid off some smaller gangs to work with him. But... something strange happened."
Leonardo tilted his head. "Strange?"
"Yes, sir. Their base—completely crashed. Database wiped. Security system fried. Every plan, file, contact was gone." Roman’s voice lowered like he was sharing a secret. "It’s like someone got in and pulled the plug on their entire network."
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
Roman went on, "Now Pablo’s in hiding. He hired a hacker to restore his systems, but that also got leaked. His hideout’s been compromised. He’s running from both his enemies and his own men."
Leonardo leaned back in his chair, thoughtful.
Roman added carefully, "Sir, it looked... like some pro-level hacker hit them. But we don’t know who."
Leonardo’s fingers drummed on the armrest.
Roman glanced at him, waiting. "Orders, sir?"
Leonardo didn’t answer for a moment. Then he finally said in a low voice, "Find out who hit Pablo’s network. Quietly. Don’t alert anyone. And bring me the list of everyone who’s entered this house in the past month. Even guests."
Roman gave a sharp nod. "Yes, sir."
As he turned to leave, Leonardo’s voice stopped him again.
"Roman."
"Yes?"
"If there’s a traitor in this house..."
Leonardo’s eyes darkened.
"Make sure they never speak again."
Roman didn’t flinch. "Understood." And with that, he disappeared into the shadows of the hallway, leaving Leonardo alone with his thoughts... and a silent suspicion growing in his mind.
Just as Roman’s footsteps faded down the corridor, another phone rang sharply on Leonardo’s desk, a private line only his most trusted inner circle had access to.
He picked it up instantly.
"Speak," Leonardo said, his tone clipped.
"Sir," the voice on the other end belonged to one of his Left-hand men, Reed—an expert in surveillance and extraction. "We caught someone."
Leonardo’s eyes narrowed. "From the attack?"
"Yes. One of the men who escaped the initial ambush. He was hiding near the southern trail. We found blood, he was wounded. It took a while to track him down, but we’ve got him. Alive."
Leonardo stood from his chair slowly, his expression unreadable as he walked to the wide glass window of his office and looked out over the misty backyard.
"Bring him in," he ordered. "Don’t take him to the station. Basement."
Reed paused for a second. "...Understood. We’ll be there in ten."
Leonardo hung up the call, his eyes cold and calculating. His mind replayed every moment, Isabella’s injury, the timing of the ambush, the sniper. Someone was feeding Pablo’s people information. And this man...this surviving rat might just be the missing link.
He walked over to the bookshelf and pressed a small button hidden inside the wood. A faint click echoed, and a secret door at the corner of the room creaked open, revealing a staircase leading down.
The basement wasn’t an ordinary storage room. It was a secure, soundproofed interrogation chamber—designed not only to extract answers but to make sure no one heard the screams.
Leonardo didn’t blink as he stared down into the darkness.