Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 398

ARIELLA

I could feel it in the tension of his body, in the way his eyes kept shifting toward the exits, the entrances, every moving piece in the room. Always alert. Always calculating. Always ready..... Making sure no one tried anything.

Still… I found myself listening to the speeches, to the cause behind all of this. And I liked it.... A lot more than I thought I would.

They were raising funds for building a private health centre...free. Accessible. Something meant for people who couldn’t afford the kind of care that was usually reserved for those with money and connections.

And I knew. I just knew the famiglia had a hand in this. I could feel it in the way things were being said, in the weight behind the promises.

And honestly? I thought it was a brilliant move. A win-win. No more slipping money under the table just to get basic treatment. No more quiet deals just to survive. This was Something real. Something that could actually help people.

"This is the famiglia's work, right?" I whispered

"I have plans of my own for the famiglia, ideas that had been sitting in the back of my mind for a long time." He responded, watching over everything.

"It's a great move. This is good. Really good."

“I know,” he answered quietly when someone passed by, eyes lingering a little too long on us. I leaned closer to Asher, lowering my voice. “We’ll talk about it later.”

Then, after a moment, I asked, “Where is Luca? Isn’t he supposed to be here?”

“He was,” Asher said. "He loves these kinds of things."

“He likes this kind of thing?” I asked, raising a brow, not really believing it.

“You’d be surprised.”

I gave him a look, unconvinced. That earned me what looked like the hint of a smile.

“You know how Luca is,” he added. “He likes the attention. Likes people trying to impress him. He’d make them uncomfortable… bring them down a notch. He enjoys it, if he were here he would be getting a kick out of everyone trying to kiss his ass.”

I nodded slowly. Yeah, that sounded like Luca.

“So where is he then?” I asked.

“I’m here,” he said. "Where do you think he would be right now?"

It took me a second. Then it clicked.

“Oh.”

Leon. Of course.

“He stayed behind to take care of Leon,” I responded.

Asher nodded. “This is a big night. I needed someone I could trust with our son.”

There was something in his tone when he said it. Something deeper.

“He’s the best man I have,” he added quietly. “The one I trust more than anyone.” And then, “And I wouldn’t leave the other piece of our family with just anyone.”

That did something to me. It hit straight through.

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