Chapter 5
The sudden, overwhelming display of force paralyzed the remaining guests in the atrium. The bright, luminous colors of the room felt surreal against the dark tactical gear of the enforcers standing amidst the shattered glass.
Leonidas remained perfectly still in his wheelchair, an impenetrable fortress of dark lounge clothing and terrifying authority. He didn't look at the armed men; his cold, observant eyes were locked entirely on his older cousin.
"Did you honestly believe, Domenic, that my people would simply stand by while you executed a pathetic coup while I slept?" Leonidas asked, his voice carrying flawlessly across the silent, terrified atrium.
Domenic stared at the tactical guards, his chest heaving as panic completely overrode his aristocratic facade. He looked back at Leonidas, the transfer folder trembling in his hands.
"This was a test, Leonidas!" Domenic stammered, his American accent cracking as he desperately attempted to pivot from usurper to concerned relative. "I needed to know if your security was tight enough to handle the coming war! You proved yourself. You are the rightful head!"
"A test?" Leonidas repeated, his eyebrows raising slightly in feigned surprise. "You switch my medical identification, attempt to have me locked in an asylum, and sign away my assets as a stress test?"
"Family is complicated, darling," Domenic whispered, taking a hesitant step backward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "We push each other. It's how we survive."
"If you take one more step toward the exit, I will have Marcus shoot you in both of your knees so you can understand exactly how complicated my survival has been," Leonidas promised, his voice dropping to a freezing, absolute zero.
Domenic froze, his expensive polished shoes glued to the marble floor.
"What are you going to do with me?" he asked, genuine terror finally breaking through his arrogant facade.
"I am going to do exactly what you intended for me," Leonidas said softly. He gestured slightly with two fingers toward Marcus. "Take him to the sub-basement holding cells at the estate. Put him in the dark. We will discuss the specific terms of his exile once I am discharged."
"No! Please! Not the basement!" Domenic shrieked as two of the tactical guards grabbed him by his expensive suit, hauling him roughly backward. "Leonidas! I'm your family! You can't do this!"
"Does a king need a court jester who steals his identity?" Leonidas asked, turning his head away completely.
Domenic's panicked screams echoed down the long hallway as he was dragged out of the atrium, the thick transfer folder tumbling from his grasp and scattering across the pristine floor.
Leonidas turned his attention back to the room. He looked at the forty guests and hospital staff who were staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.
"The reception is over," Leonidas announced quietly. "If any of you speak of what happened here tonight to the authorities, I will consider it an act of treason against this family. Get out of my sight."
The dismissal was met with a frantic, chaotic scramble. Donors, politicians, and relatives rushed toward the remaining exits, desperate to escape the wrath of the mafia boss. Within minutes, the vast, luxurious atrium was entirely empty of civilians, leaving only the armed guards, Nurse Evelise, Adelia, and Leonidas.
Leonidas let out a long, slow breath. The rigid tension in his broad shoulders relaxed by a fraction of an inch. He leaned his head back against the wheelchair, closing his eyes as a wave of intense physical exhaustion washed over him. The pain in his abdomen was a dull, throbbing ache, but the immediate threat was neutralized.
"Sir?" a soft, hesitant voice broke the silence.
May you like
Leonidas opened his eyes. Adelia was still crouched beside his wheelchair, her hands resting in her lap over her white apron. She looked incredibly small amidst the grand, chaotic aftermath of the room, her expressive eyes filled with residual worry.
"Are you harmed anywhere, Adelia?" Leonidas asked quietly, his perceptive eyes searching her delicately featured face.
