The atmosphere in the Moretti mansion had changed. It was no longer just a cold fortress; it felt like a bomb waiting to go explode. As Leo walked down the hallway, he noticed the guards didn't just stand at attention—they actually stepped back to give him space. They didn't look him in the eye. They looked at the floor, as if looking at Leo was a crime.
Leo found Etienne in the dining hall, overseeing the staff as they set out a breakfast that looked like it was for a king, not a prisoner.
"Etienne," Leo said, his voice sounding loud in the quiet room.
Etienne jumped. He actually flinched. The man who was usually so calm and cool turned around quickly, his face pale. "Good morning, Leo. Is... is everything okay? Is the room too cold? Do you dislike the food?"
Leo frowned, confused by the panic in the older man's voice. "The room is fine. I just wanted to ask if Dante was back from the meeting."
Etienne stepped forward, but stayed a respectful distance away. "The Boss is still with the Council. It is... a very difficult meeting. But he gave strict orders." Etienne swallowed hard, his eyes darting to the other servants. "He said that if you so much as frown today, it is my head on the line. Literally."
Leo felt a chill go down his spine. "That's ridiculous. I'm not going to get you killed because I'm in a bad mood."
"You don't understand, Leo," Etienne whispered, stepping closer but keeping his hands behind his back. "Yesterday, when he saw you smiling at me in the garden... the look in his eyes wasn't just jealousy. It was a warning. He has made it clear: you are the most precious thing in this house. If you are unhappy, we all pay the price."
A maid accidentally dropped a silver spoon onto the marble floor. The clack sounded like a gunshot. She turned white and began to tremble, looking at Leo with pure terror, waiting to see if he would get angry.
Leo felt a strange, heavy power settling over his shoulders. He wasn't just a doctor anymore. He was a weapon. If he complained about the food, the chef might disappear. If he complained about the service, Etienne might be punished. Dante had turned Leo's comfort into a threat for everyone else.
"Tell her it's okay," Leo said to Etienne, pointing at the shaking maid.
"It's okay," Etienne repeated to the girl, but he kept his eyes on Leo. "See? He is not angry. Go, get another spoon. Quickly!"
The girl ran off like her life had been saved. Leo sat down at the table, but he didn't feel like eating. He felt like he was sitting on a throne he never asked for.
"He is doing this on purpose," Leo muttered. "He wants me to feel like I'm part of this... this madness."
"He wants you to see that you have power here," Etienne corrected softly. "He wants you to realize that his world revolves around you now. For a man like Dante Moretti, that is the only way he knows how to show love. He makes the world bow to you."
Leo looked at the expensive breakfast and the silent, terrified staff. He realized that the "Gilded Paradise" was getting smaller. Dante wasn't just locking doors anymore; he was making it so that Leo was the only person in the house who could breathe freely.
Just then, the front doors of the mansion swung open. The air in the room turned freezing. Dante walked in, his shirt stained with a drop of blood on the collar, his eyes looking like a storm. He didn't look at his soldiers. He didn't look at Etienne.
His eyes went straight to Leo, searching his face for any sign of sadness or pain.
"Did anyone bother you while I was gone?" Dante asked, his voice a low, dangerous growl.
The entire room went silent. Every servant held their breath, waiting for Leo's answer. Their lives were hanging on a single word from the doctor.
Leo looked at Etienne's pale face, then back to Dante. He realized he held the lives of everyone in the room in his hands.
"No," Leo said, his voice steady. "Everyone has been... very careful, Dante."
Dante nodded, the tension in his shoulders relaxing just a little. "Good. Because if you're not happy, nobody in this house stays happy.