Leon doesn't raise his voice.
He doesn't need to.
His silence is sharp enough to cut through bone.
I stand inside his private office—no windows, no distractions, just the hum of the air vents and the slow, deadly pace of his breathing. He closes the door behind him with that calm precision he uses right before he fires an executive.
And now he's looking at me as if I'm the one who has committed a corporate crime.
"Amelia."
Just my name.
Soft.
Low.
More dangerous than shouting.
My heart slams against my ribs.
I force myself to stand straighter. "You're angry."
"No." His voice is ice. "I'm furious."
I swallow hard.
Because I'd gone somewhere I wasn't supposed to—the Hale Group sub-level. The floor no employee enters without clearance. The floor his father locked down for years before his death.
And the floor that holds the secrets Leon never talks about.
He steps toward me. One step. Then another. His movements are quiet but predatory, like a big cat deciding whether I'm prey or a threat.
"What were you thinking?" he asks, his voice deceptively calm. "You walked into a restricted area. Alone."
"I wasn't alone—"
"Security is not company," he snaps. "You don't let anyone take you to a place they shouldn't."
"It was your security," I whisper.
"That's not the point."
He runs a hand through his hair—uncharacteristically disordered, like my disobedience rattled him on a deeper level.
"Amelia, there are things you don't understand about that floor."
"Then explain them."
"No." His jaw locks. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
"Because once you know, you can't un-know."
He's angry because I walked into danger.
He's angry because he cares.
He won't say it, but I feel it in every word.
I cross my arms. "I'm your wife—"
"By contract," he cuts in.
My chest twists. "Does that mean I'm only allowed to exist where you want me to?"
"No." He exhales roughly. "It means I need you alive."
My breath catches.
He said that like it's a confession he never intended to let slip.
"Leon," I whisper, "I wasn't trying to cause trouble."
"You could have been hurt."
"By what? It was just a locked door."
His eyes darken. "It isn't the door you should fear."
A chill slips down my spine.
Before I can speak, he steps closer and grips my chin—not harshly, but firmly, his touch burning through my skin.
"I need you to trust me," he murmurs. "When I say stay away from something… stay away."
"I—" My voice falters. "I just wanted to understand you."
That stops him.
His eyes soften—barely, but I see it.
"Nobody needs to understand me."
"I do."
Silence.
Tense.
Electric.
He lets go of my chin, but his hand lingers for one second too long.
"Why?" he asks quietly.
Because I'm starting to fall for you.
Because I see more in you than ice and power.
Because you protect me like it's instinct.
But saying any of that would ruin me.
"Because you married me," I whisper instead. "And I don't want to feel like a stranger in my own life."
His jaw clenches, but this time it's not anger.
It's something else.
Something terrible and beautiful.
"Amelia…" He steps back, dragging a hand down his face. "I don't know how to do this."
"Do what?"
"Be married."
That shouldn't sting.
It does anyway.
"You don't have to know," I say softly. "We can figure it out—"
"No." He cuts me off, voice tight. "This marriage was supposed to be simple. Clean. Controlled."
"You mean emotionless."
He flinches.
"It was supposed to protect you," he says. "Don't change anything."
"Then why are you acting like it did change something?"
His breath hitches—barely audible but unmistakable.
"Amelia…" His voice is a warning. To himself or to me, I don't know.
A knock on the door shatters the moment.
Leon stiffens instantly, the mask dropping back into place with deadly speed.
"Come in," he says, voice flat.
The door opens.
His cousin, Vincent Hale—the smirking, charming, infuriating foil to Leon's icy composure—steps inside.
Vincent's eyes flick to me immediately. Slow. Calculating. Like he's seeing far more than he should.
"Well, well," Vincent drawls. "Interrupting something?"
Leon shoots him a look cold enough to freeze lava. "Say what you need to say and leave."
Vincent grins. "Good to see the honeymoon phase is going strong."
I glare at him. "What do you want, Vincent?"
He holds up a file. "I came to inform the CEO that there's been movement."
Leon's posture changes. Slightly. Sharply.
"What kind of movement?" he asks.
Vincent tosses the folder onto Leon's desk. "Your father's accounts."
Leon's entire body goes still.
No breath. No blink.
"What about them?" he asks quietly.
"They've been accessed."
Leon's expression turns lethal.
"By who?"
Vincent's smile fades. "Who do you think?"
Silence.
Heavy. Deadly.
I look between them, dread crawling beneath my skin.
"What's going on?" I ask softly.
Neither of them answer.
Leon picks up the folder. Open it. Reads.
His face turns to stone.
Vincent crosses his arms. "She's back, Leon."
She.
My stomach drops.
Who is she?
Leon closes the folder with a snap.
"Get every division head in my boardroom in one hour."
Vincent nods and leaves—but not before flicking me a knowing look.
As soon as the door clicks shut, I turn to Leon.
"Who is she?" I ask.
He doesn't answer.
"Leon," I pressed. "Please."
He lifts his head slowly.
And for the first time since I've known him—
He looks afraid.
"Amelia," he says quietly. "If I tell you… everything changes."
"I'm already in this marriage. I already signed the contract. I already chose you."
"You didn't choose me." His voice is raw. "You chose survival."
"That doesn't mean I don't care."
He freezes.
Like those words hit him in a place he didn't know existed.
Finally, he steps closer, slower this time, as if approaching something fragile.
"You want to know who she is?"
"Yes."
"She's the person who taught me never to trust anyone."
My breath catches.
"She's the reason the Hale family almost collapsed."
He steps closer.
"She's the reason my father died."
I gasp softly.
"And she is," Leon says, voice like a blade wrapped in velvet, "my mother."
Silence hits like a physical blow.
Your mother?
The world tilts slightly.
"Leon…"
"She's dangerous, Amelia." His eyes burn into mine. "More dangerous than any board, any competitor, any ex you've had."
My blood chills.
"She accessed the accounts," he continues. "Which means she's watching. Which means she knows about the marriage."
I feel the room spin.
"Why now?" I whisper.
"Because she wants something." His voice darkens. "And she always takes what she wants."
I swallow. "Does she want… the company?"
"No." Leon shakes his head. "She wants control."
"Of what?"
He looks straight into my eyes.
"Of me."
My chest tightens with something fierce and protective.
"Then she's not getting it," I say before I can stop myself.
Something flickers in his gaze—something dangerously close to softness.
"You don't know what she's capable of."
"Then teach me."
"Amelia…" He steps closer, lowering his forehead to mine for one impossible, burning second. "I don't want her anywhere near you."
"She already is."
Leon's breath catches.
I realize what I've just done—invited myself into the heart of his biggest wound.
But instead of shutting down—
He touches my cheek.
A rare, fragile touch.
"Stay by my side," he whispers. "No matter what happens next."
My heart pounds. "I will."
Before anything else can happen, the intercom buzzes sharply.
"Mr. Hale," his secretary's voice crackles through, trembling. "There's a woman downstairs demanding to see you. She says her name is—"
A pause.
A breath.
Leon's entire body tenses.
"She says her name is Victoria Hale."
The world stops.
Leon goes white.
My pulse spikes.
"Who is she?" I whisper.
His voice is barely audible.
"My mother."