Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“You wanna go and choose your room upstairs, buddy?” Luca asked Leon.

Leon’s eyes went wide. “I can choose my own room?”

Luca smirked. “Yes. You can even choose your wing. Do you want the west wing or the right wing?”

Leon gasped, spinning toward the grand staircase. “I’m going to see all of the rooms!” He bolted up the stairs, his laughter echoing through the house.

“Leon, wait! Be careful!” I called after him. My heart clenched at the thought of him running through an unfamiliar place. What if there were stairs he could trip on? Something he could knock over?

“Relax,” Luca said, waving me off before calling out, “Maria!”

A young woman appeared from the hallway, moving swiftly toward us. She was petite, dressed in a neat uniform, her dark hair pulled into a tight bun.

“Mr. Morelli. Madam,” she greeted formally.

Luca turned to me. “Ariella, this is Maria. She’s your maid-slash-nanny.”

I blinked. “My what?”

Maria gave a small bow. “Hello, Madam Ariella.”

I forced a polite nod. “Hello, Maria.”

Luca continued as if he hadn’t heard me. “Ariella is with her son. He just went upstairs. Do you mind checking on him? Make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble?”

Maria nodded immediately. “Of course, Mr. Morelli.” She bowed her head again before hurrying up the stairs after Leon.

I exhaled sharply. He wanted Leon out of the way for whatever was to come next.

I turned to him. “What is it?”

“First things first,” he said, hands in his pockets, strolling through the living room. “This is your new house. Maria is here to help you with everything-cleaning, cooking, looking after Leon. Whatever you need.”

I swallowed hard, but he kept going.

“The house has two wings. Leon will be sleeping in the right wing. You will be using the left.”

I frowned. “What? No. I can’t be away from my son. He has to sleep next door to me. In fact, he used to sleep in my room.”

Luca raised a brow. “I don’t care what you used to do. These are the new rules of your new life. He sleeps in the right wing. Maria will be staying there too, so he won’t be alone.”

“He doesn’t want you to mention him. He doesn’t want to hear about him. He doesn’t want to see him. When you are with Asher, your son does not exist in his world.”

I swallowed hard, my nails digging into my palms.

“You’ll be provided with tutors for Leon. They’ll homeschool him here. He’ll be taken care of-he’ll grow strong, he’ll be healthy. Asher will even set up a small trust fund for him.”

I let out a shaky breath. “But-”

“But,” Luca cut me off, “he never wants to lay eyes on your son. So make sure that every day, by seven, Leon is out of sight. If Asher texts you and says he’s coming home, you get rid of him.”

I stared at Luca, searching for any sign of hesitation. And there it was-the slight twitch in his eye, the small tell that even he thought this was too much.

I opened my mouth to argue, but his sharp look silenced me.

“No backtalk, no arguments. Just listen to the rules and stick to them.”

I clenched my jaw, my throat burning. I wanted to scream.

“Another thing,” Luca went on, completely unaffected by my reaction. “You’ll have a bodyguard. He’ll go with you anywhere outside this building. He’s not here right now, but I’ll introduce him tomorrow.”