His innocent wife is a dangerous hacker.-Chapter 504 Rika

Bella followed him out, her steps light but her chest tight with emotion. Once they were in the corridor, she finally spoke, her voice small.

"You didn’t have to say all that."

Leonardo looked at her, his expression firm but gentle. "Yes, I did."

She hesitated. "I thought... maybe they were right."

His brows drew together instantly. "Never think that," he said, stopping in front of her. "You don’t take more. You give more. You just don’t make noise about it."

Bella’s throat tightened. She nodded slowly.

Leonardo placed a hand on her shoulder. "And next time, if something like this happens, come to me. Don’t carry it alone."

She looked up at him, eyes soft. "Okay."

He nodded once, then guided her forward again.

"Bel... oh, Isaac!" Jason’s voice boomed across the floor as he strode over with Dominique in tow, his usual dramatic flair dialed up to eleven.

Bella turned, a tired but genuine smile forming. "Hi."

Dominique’s sharp eyes scanned her face, his expression tightening. "We heard what went down. You alright?" he asked, his voice uncharacteristically low and serious.

Before Bella could answer, Leo stepped smoothly into the space beside her, his presence a silent, immovable wall. He gave a single, definitive nod. "She’s fine."

Jason’s mouth was already opening for another quip when frantic footsteps echoed from the corridor.

"Sir! Sir!" Assistant Four skidded to a halt before them, breathless and pale.

Leo’s demeanor shifted in an instant, all casualness gone. "Report."

"Sir... it’s Miss Hazel’s assistant. She’s here," the assistant blurted out, voice trembling.

Leo went completely still.

"Her?" he said, the single word laced with cold disbelief before his face smoothed into an unreadable mask.

Bella felt the shift in the air like a temperature drop. Her fingers curled instinctively. Hazel. Who was she? A colleague? A friend from his past? Someone important enough to fracture his composure?

She bit her lip, hard.

Without a word of explanation, Leo’s hand found hers, his grip firm and certain. He turned sharply, leading her toward the private elevator. "With me."

Jason blinked, staring after them. "Uh... what just happened?"

Dominique watched their retreating backs, his gaze thoughtful and wary, but he made no move to follow.

Upstairs, the atmosphere was different. Colder. Heavier.

The moment Bella stepped into the executive office, she understood why.

The woman waiting was striking. In her late twenties, tall with a dancer’s posture, she stood with a stillness that felt more like a coiled spring than calm. Her short, dark hair was sharp and precise, framing a face of severe angles and cool intelligence. Her eyes, the color of a winter forest, swept over them, missing nothing. A sleek, expensive-looking black bag hung from her hand like a weapon.

She turned as they entered.

Her gaze went to Leo first, a flicker of recognition and something else, something taut, then it slid to the person beside him.

Bella felt the assessment like a physical touch. The pause. The slight, imperceptible frown. And in that moment, Bella felt more exposed than she had downstairs under Kottie’s glare.

The woman’s eyes lingered, openly evaluating, calculating. Bella was being weighed and measured by a standard she didn’t understand.

Yet even through the discomfort, Bella couldn’t deny it. The woman was breathtaking. Not in a soft, gentle way. In a way that was all sharp edges and lethal grace. Controlled. Untouchable.

"I need to speak with you," the woman said, her voice crisp and devoid of warmth.

Leo gave a single nod. "Proceed."

As Bella moved to take a seat, the one Leo subtly guided her toward, the woman’s frown deepened, a clear disapproval of her presence. But she remained silent.

Bella sat, her heart hammering against her ribs. Questions screamed in her mind.

Who is she?

Why does she look at Leo like that?

And who is Hazel?

Leo settled into his chair behind the massive desk, the picture of calm authority, though his eyes were watchful. "What is it, Rika?"

Rika, the assistant, straightened, her jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. "I’m here on behalf of Miss Hazel." She reached into her bag and produced a single, shimmering ivory card, placing it on the desk between them with deliberate care. "She insisted I deliver this personally."

Leo’s gaze dropped to the card.

"Her wedding is in fifteen days," Rika continued, her tone professionally neutral but strained at the edges. "She expects you, your wife, and your immediate family to arrive ten days prior to the ceremony. For preparations."

"Her wedding?" Leo repeated, the words slow and measured.

His brow furrowed as he picked up the heavy cardstock.

Bella’s eyes followed, landing on the elegant, embossed script.

Nicolas and Hazel

The name landed like a physical blow. Leo’s calm facade fractured for a heartbeat, a flash of something cold and furious tightening the skin around his eyes before he locked it down. The shift was so subtle, so violent, it stole the air from Bella’s lungs.

"Nicolas?" he whispered, his tone dark and cold.

"Yes," Rika confirmed, her own displeasure leaking through her rigid composure. "That is the groom."

The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.

Bella’s eyes darted from the damning card to Leo’s stone-carved profile, trying to decipher the silent storm raging behind his eyes.

Rika took a precise step backward. "My task is complete." She inclined her head a fraction. "I’ll take my leave."

Leo acknowledged her with a slight nod, his attention already consumed by the card in his hand.

The door clicked shut, sealing them in a new, heavier quiet.

Bella finally found her voice, soft and hesitant. "Leo... who is Hazel?"

He released a slow, controlled breath. "My cousin."

Bella’s eyes widened. "You never mentioned a cousin."

"She prefers solitude," he said, his tone clipped. "And distance."

Bella nodded, the unease in her chest coiling tighter.

Then her gaze caught on it.

"Her bag," she said, standing abruptly. "She left it." Bella scooped up the sleek black bag from where it had been set aside. "I’ll catch her."

Leo turned. "Bella, wait. I can send someone."

But she was already moving, the bag in her hands as she slipped out the door.

Leo watched her go, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He looked down at the wedding invitation again, his expression darkening into something grim.

Meanwhile, Bella hurried down the hall, her fingers tight around the forgotten bag.