Chapter 103: My Husband Is a Clingy Little Shit

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[Lorenzo Castelli]

A new report lay open in front of Lorenzo, showing an unusual security access request that had been submitted a few days before the convoy attack.

It had been approved with legitimate credentials, but the authorization came from a department that had no real reason to access the convoy’s movements.

Lorenzo read the entry twice, then set it beside another report that detailed an intercepted message from an internal communications channel.

The message itself was rather ordinary and felt almost meaningless, but interestingly enough, its timing matched a brief change in the patrol schedule around the eastern perimeter of the estate.

Neither report proved anything on its own, but together, they raised questions that Lorenzo was determined not to ignore.

A soft knock sounded at the study door.

"Enter," he called out.

Timothy stepped inside, holding a thin folder.

"Don, the additional security logs have arrived."

Lorenzo gestured toward the desk.

"Put them there."

Timothy placed the folder down and stood there, looking slightly uneasy.

"There’s more. One of the servants from the west wing was seen talking to a guy from the external security team shortly before the latest access report came in. Neither of them has explained their conversation clearly."

Lorenzo maintained a neutral expression. "Names?"

"Both are included in the folder, Master."

"Have they been questioned?"

"Separately. Their stories match, but there are gaps in the timeline."

Lorenzo opened the folder and examined the details. He didn’t believe in coincidences, especially not when the safety of his household was on the line.

The attack had been carried out with enough precision to identify Alex’s vehicle and isolate it during the return of the convoy.

Whoever planned that attack had known exactly where Alex would be, how he would travel, and how to exploit the security measures in place.

That kind of information had to come from somewhere.

And Lorenzo now has complete confirmation that the source might be closer than he had first thought.

"Keep them under observation," he instructed. "Don’t confront them yet, and keep it under wraps that we’re monitoring their movements."

Timothy nodded. "Understood, Master."

Lorenzo turned his attention back to the files. There was another possibility nagging at him, one he hadn’t shared with Timothy or the others.

Dante’s recent activities in Italy seemed ordinary according to the records available within the family, but ordinary records weren’t always an accurate reflection of reality.

Lorenzo had already asked for a more in-depth review of the accounts and communications linked to his older brother’s business dealings.

He had no proof tying Dante to the attack, nor was he willing to jump to conclusions.

Yet, the circumstances surrounding the name Volpe left him unwilling to rule out any line of investigation.

He closed the folder, leaning back in his chair, his gaze drifting to the dark window.

For a fleeting moment, his thoughts wandered back to Alex. He recalled how Alex had fought in the hall, stubborn and reckless, refusing to surrender even when the difference in their strength had become painfully clear.

He thought about the way Alex looked at him after that, trying to mask his fear with a feeble sarcastic comment. And then there was the rare, spontaneous embrace that morning, which had caught Lorenzo so off guard that he almost forgot how to respond.

A smile crept onto his face before fading away.

Alex had no clue how much his refusal to conform to expectations shifted the atmosphere of the estate.

Lorenzo’s focus returned to the documents, and the smile vanished. If there was a traitor among the Castelli estate staff, they’d already come too close to Alex once.

He wouldn’t let that happen again.

"Timothy," he called out.

"Yes, Don?"

"I want a quiet review of everyone who has had access to the convoy’s movements, including senior staff and security team members. I need a complete record of their communications, financial activities, and whereabouts leading up to the attack."

Timothy’s demeanor turned serious.

"Do you think the information leaked from inside?"

"I think someone had enough knowledge to pull this off."

"And if there’s nothing?"

"Then we just keep digging."

Timothy nodded and left the study. Lorenzo stayed seated, his mind returning to the file that bore the name under investigation: VOLPE.

The identity behind it was still unclear, and the evidence was incomplete. Yet, the strange access requests, the unexplained conversations, and the irregularities in the security records began to form a pattern he could no longer ignore.

Someone had been watching the household, gathering information. And someone, potentially within the very walls of the Castelli estate, might have been helping them.

With a quiet motion, Lorenzo closed the file, his expression hardening as he considered the people who moved freely through his home, dined at his table, and stood guard outside Alex’s room.

[Alex]

Two weeks after my regrettable encounter with the consequences of losing a fight to my husband, I had established a routine that oddly resembled a new life.

These days, my mornings were mostly about waking up next to Lorenzo, trying to convince myself that getting out of bed was a reasonable thing to do, before heading downstairs for breakfast...trying to avoid Nikolai’s accusations of being late for training.

I still dreaded waking up early, still hated exercising, and still found it annoying that Nikolai viewed my discomfort as crucial for personal growth.

The major difference, though, was that I no longer woke up plotting which window I might escape through without severely injuring myself.

I wasn’t sure whether that was progress or a slight worrying sign of psychological adaptation, but I had decided not to dwell on it too much.

The mark on my neck was still visible, though it had begun to fade around the edges.

The tenderness mostly went away, but it still served as a noticeable reminder of the night that altered the dynamics between Lorenzo and me in ways I was still trying to figure out.

At first, I had tried hard to hide it under high collars and well-placed hair, mostly because the thought of everyone in the household knowing what went down in our bedroom made me uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, keeping that a secret in a house where the staff seemed to have an uncanny ability to notice everything became exhausting.

Eventually, I just gave up. It wasn’t like anyone had been particularly discreet about it in the first place.

The first few days had been especially amusing, with the staff suddenly taking a keen interest in my neck.

Some glanced at it and immediately looked away, while others flashed me such warm smiles that I started to suspect they were celebrating some sort of holiday.

A few of the older servants were less enthusiastic, and I caught one woman whispering to another about how I had yet to get a permanent mark.

Yeah...that may have been my fault actually. Sorry not sorry.

I thought about asking if they wanted to form a committee to discuss the state of my marriage, but Leon gently advised against that.

Apparently, telling an elderly housekeeper to mind her own fucking business was not proper behavior for the Don’s Omega...a seriously disappointing discovery.

Still, the household mostly adjusted to my new status without making too big of a deal about it.

The staff was respectful, the guards treated me with a bit more deference, and those who once viewed me as a nuisance began to accept seeing me roaming the halls without Lorenzo hovering around.

They were talks of me becoming a Donna actually, taking a stand at the actual dangerous, mafia business rather than just the Don’s omega due to how I prove I wasn’t as weak as Omegas were supposed to be.

So...progress, I guess?

Even the guards assigned to walk with me around the grounds had stopped looking so alarmed whenever I strayed away from the main building.

I suspected that was mostly due to Nikolai personally threatening to make their training sessions significantly worse if they kept trailing me like a bunch of nervous ducklings.

As for my husband, he had become even more unbearable.

Lorenzo had always been protective...and needy too, but the past couple of weeks brought on a new level of casual affection that I hadn’t quite prepared for.

He’d kiss my forehead whenever he passed by in the corridors, place a hand on my lower back during meals, and had taken to pulling a yelling me onto his lap whenever he felt I was sitting too far from him.

Yeesh, talk about a clingy, attention- seeking husband.