The hospital was no longer a place of healing. It was a place of war. The air was thick with the smell of smoke and the sound of glass breaking.
Rival families had sent their most violent men to finish off Dante's injured soldiers. They thought they were being clever. They knew Dante was miles away at the docks, fighting to find the traitor who delayed his shipment.
They thought the city was empty. They thought there was no one left to protect the heart of the Morito empire.
But then, the grand front doors of the hospital were thrown open with a loud bang.
Leo walked inside. He was not the soft, quiet boy the nurses remembered from his own recovery. He was dressed in a sharp, dark suit that looked like a shadow. His eyes were cold, and his face was a mask of hard stone.
Behind him stood ten of Dante's elite guards, all of them armed and ready. But they were not the ones leading. Leo was the one in front. He walked with a heavy, dangerous power that made the floor tiles seem to shake.
Leo stopped in the middle of the main lobby. He looked at the chaos around him. He saw attackers trying to break down the doors to the private wings. He saw nurses crying behind the desks.
"Stop," Leo said. His voice was not loud, but it had a weight to it that made the entire room go silent.
The attackers turned around. There were at least twenty of them. They saw Leo standing there, looking like a young king. They looked at his face and started to laugh. They did not know the danger they were in.
"Look at this pretty little thing," one of the leaders of the attackers said. He was a large man with a scar on his face and a knife in his hand. "Did Dante send his toy to talk to grown men? Does he think a boy can stop us?"
Leo did not get angry. He did not yell. He simply walked toward the large man. The guards behind Leo reached for their guns, but Leo raised his hand to stop them. He wanted to do this himself.
Leo reached out and grabbed the man's wrist before the man could even move his knife. With one fast, brutal twist, Leo snapped the bone. The sound of the break echoed through the silent lobby.
The man screamed in agony and fell to his knees. Leo did not let go. He kicked the man in the chest, pinning him to the floor, and looked down at him with eyes that had no mercy.
"I am the master of this house today," Leo announced to everyone in the room. His voice was clear and terrifying.
"Dante is handling the traitors at the docks, but I rule this city. This hospital belongs to the Morito family. If you do not leave this building in the next ten seconds, you will never leave it at all."
The other attackers looked at Leo. They were shaking now. They could feel the raw Mafia power coming off him. It was just as heavy and dark as Dante's power. They realized that the "pretty boy" was a myth. This was a Mafia fiancé who was ready to become a husband.
"Clear the hallways!" Leo commanded. "If any person sets foot in this building without my permission, they are dead. I don't care who sent you. I rule here because my fiancé rules this country. This is my house, and you are trespassing."
The attackers did not wait for another word. They scrambled for the exits, tripping over their own feet to get away from Leo. They were terrified because they saw that Leo was even less patient than Dante.
Leo turned to the hospital staff who were hiding. "Go back to your stations," he said. His voice was still hard. "The hospital is secure. My men will stand at every door and every elevator. If anyone tries to enter, they will answer to me personally."
Leo then walked toward the private wing. He needed to find the new doctor—a young man who was still learning. This was the doctor Leo had been teaching and guiding. He found the young man in a small supply room, trying to keep his hands steady.
Leo walked up to him. He didn't just save him; he took charge. He looked at the young doctor's hands.
"Control your breathing," Leo said. His voice was firm. "You are a doctor under the Morito name. If you shake, your patients will shake. I am teaching you to be strong because this is my hospital now."
The young doctor looked at Leo in total shock. "Leo... I am trying. But the noise... the guns..."
"The noise is gone," Leo replied. "I have cleared the building. Now, stand up. You have men to treat. You need to know how to work under pressure if you want to stay in this wing."
The doctor nodded, feeling Leo's strength. "I understand, Master Leo. I will do my best."
"Good," Leo said. "Stay focused. My men will stand at your door. Nobody touches you or the patients while I am here. You are under my protection as long as you follow my lead."
Leo walked back to the main hallway. He stood by the large window and looked out at the city. He could see the smoke rising from the harbor where Dante was fighting.
He was the master of the hospital. He was the one protecting the throne while his husband-to-be was at war. And he was going to make sure that by the time Dante returned, the hospital was silent and the enemies were gone.
The night was long, but Leo stood tall. He was ready for the next move. He knew he was no longer just a protected man. He was the one who decided who lived and who died.