Chapter 684 I’m scared
Bella shook her head, her voice trembling. "I don’t know. Maybe someone put it there when I wasn’t looking. In class. In the hallway. I don’t—"
"Don’t worry," Leo said, his voice calm and steady. He reached out and pulled her gently against his chest, his arms wrapping around her. His chin rested on top of her head. "I’m not angry at you."
She relaxed slightly, her fingers clutching his shirt.
He suspected it was from the stalker.
"We should take precautions," he said, releasing her. He pulled out his phone and made a call.
Within an hour, his experts arrived. Bomb defusers. Forensic specialists. Security experts. Men who had spent their careers handling threats like this. They moved through the house with quiet efficiency, their faces serious, their movements precise.
They didn’t open the box in the house. Too risky. Instead, they took it to a remote, open area on the outskirts of the estate where Leo tested weapons and his team ran drills.
Bella stood beside Leo, watching from a safe distance. The wind tugged at her hair, and the evening sky was dark, but the area was well lit because of artificial lighting around them. She held Leo’s hand, her fingers cold despite his warmth.
The experts placed the gift box on a metal table. One of them put on protective gear. The others stepped back.
The box was opened remotely.
Nothing happened.
No explosion. No smoke. No poison.
One of the men approached the table, peered inside, then turned to Leo. "Sir, there’s nothing dangerous in here."
Leo nodded and gestured for them to open it fully.
The man removed the lid.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Inside the small gift box, nestled on a bed of black velvet, was a diamond. Not a small one. A big one. Flawless. Brilliant. It caught the fading light and scattered it into rainbows.
Leo’s jaw tightened. He stepped forward, picked up the diamond, and turned it over in his fingers.
"Sir," one of the men said, "we found a note. It was taped to the back of the wrapper."
Leo took it.
The paper was thick, cream colored, with elegant handwriting. He read the words slowly, his face hardening with each line.
’We only get one life, don’t we?
One chance. One breath. One moment after another.
And in that single life, everything we truly want, we should reach out and take it.
Not wait. Not hope. Not wonder what if.
Take it.
Because what’s the point of living if we’re too afraid to truly live?’
I was reading these words, and suddenly, I thought of you.
And I realized, I agree.
Whatever we want, we should take.
Don’t you think, my butterfly?
—S.P
Leo’s hand tightened around the paper. His knuckles went white.
Bella read the note over his shoulder, her breath catching.
Leo didn’t answer. He was staring at the initials at the bottom.
S.P.
He folded the note carefully and tucked it into his pocket.
"We’re increasing your security," he said, his voice cold. "No arguments."
Bella nodded, her throat tight.
Leo looked at the diamond still in his hand. Then he looked at the empty gift box. Then at the note in his pocket.
Someone was playing games, Leo thought coldly.
S.P.
Those two letters were enough. He pulled out his phone and called his assistant.
"Find everyone in our circles, business, social, anything, with the initials S.P. Anyone who might have a reason to get close to my wife."
"Yes, sir."
He hung up and led Bella back to the house.
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Inside the living room, the lights were warm, the fire crackling in the fireplace. But the warmth didn’t reach any of them.
Jay and Jace sat on the couch, the note spread out on the coffee table between them. Jay’s face was red, his jaw tight, his hands curled into fists. He had read the note three times, and each time his anger grew.
"Who the f*ck is S.P.?" Jay said, his voice loud and sharp. "How dare he play these sneaky games? How dare he target Bella?"
Jace sat beside him, quieter, his brow furrowed. He read the note again, his eyes moving slowly over the words. "It’s not just a gift," he said. "It’s a message. A challenge."
Jay slammed his hand on the table. "I don’t care what it is. I want to find him. I want to—"
"I’m scared."
Bella’s voice was soft, barely above a whisper. She was sitting in the armchair across from them, her knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. Her face was pale, her eyes wide.
The room went quiet.
Jay’s anger faded, replaced by concern. Jace set down the note. Leo, who had been standing by the window, turned to look at her.
Bella’s mind was racing, her thoughts dark and tangled. It was so creepy that someone had put a gift in her bag without her noticing. They had been close enough to touch her, to reach into her bag and she hadn’t felt anything. She hadn’t seen anything. The thought made her skin crawl.
And the way he wrote, the way he thought, it was clear he had taken a fancy to her. He wanted to take her from Leo.
But she wasn’t scared for herself.
She was scared for Leo.
What if she became his weakness? What if this person wasn’t really interested in her at all? What if he was playing a bigger game, using her to get to Leo, to destroy him, to make him vulnerable?
She had been thinking about this ever since they found the gift. Turning it over in her mind, trying to see the angles. There were two possibilities.
One—this person was obsessed with her. He wanted her for himself. He saw her as something to be taken, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen.
Two— he wanted to use her to hurt Leo. To get to him through her. To make her a weapon aimed at the man she loved.
Both possibilities terrified her. But the second one terrified her more.
"I’m scared for you," she whispered, her voice cracking. "What if I become your weakness? What if this person is playing a bigger game? What if he doesn’t really want me? What if he wants to use me to destroy you?"
Jay and Jace exchanged glances.