Claimed By The Mafia Don (Ariella and Asher) novel Chapter 453

ARIELLA

My mother caught my gaze sweeping across the room.

"I wasn't expecting company," she said a little too quickly. "I was just... cleaning."

I nodded, pretending to believe her.

"Of course."

Thankfully, Leon noticed absolutely none of it.

"Grandma!" he shouted, already running toward the living room. "Look! I brought your flowers."

My mother's entire expression softened.

"Oh, sweetheart..."

She accepted the flowers as though they were the most precious gift she had ever received.

"They're beautiful."

"I picked them myself."

"I can tell." She kissed the top of his head before disappearing into the kitchen to find a vase.

I stood alone for a moment, watching the hallway she'd disappeared down. Something felt... Off. Not dangerous. Just... different. Maybe I was imagining things.

Maybe I was simply carrying all the anger and hurt from my fight with Asher into this house.

"Ariella?"

I looked up and noticed my mother had returned with the flowers arranged carefully in a glass vase.

"They're perfect."

Leon puffed out his little chest proudly.

"I told Mommy you'd like them."

"I love them." She looked between the two of us before her eyes settled on the suitcases.

"So..." she asked gently. "How long is this sleepover supposed to be?"

I forced a smile.

"I don't know."

She frowned.

"You don't know?"

"I just... needed to get away for a little while."

Her expression changed instantly. She looked past me toward the window where two of Asher's soldiers stood outside, keeping watch over the property.

Then she looked back at me.

"Is there a problem between you two? Did you have a fight?"

It wasn't a question.

I sighed.

"We'll talk about it later," I responded, looking at Leon.

"Is it serious?" She asked, almost like she already understood.

Whether he was safe, whether he was coming home. Now... My anger finally allowed my body to do what it had been begging me to do.... Sleep.

...

When I woke up, the room was completely dark. For a second, I didn't know where I was. Then everything came rushing back.

I reached for my phone and realised it was the middle of the night. The house was unusually quiet. Too quiet. I opened the bedroom door. Nothing. No voices, no television, no laughter from Leon and no sounds from the kitchen. Just silence.

A strange uneasiness settled in my stomach, but I ignored it and walked downstairs.

"Mom?"

No answer.

"Leon?"

Still nothing.

I frowned and walked toward the front window. That's when my heart skipped. The guards.... They were gone.

Just hours earlier, there had been nearly ten of them. Some in front of the house, some behind it and some constantly patrolling. Now... Nothing.

One of the security vehicles was still parked outside, but I couldn't see anyone around it. Maybe they were inside the car, or maybe they'd changed shifts. Trying not to panic, I headed back upstairs, thinking maybe my mother was putting Leon to bed.

I'd actually never been upstairs before. Whenever we visited, we'd always stayed downstairs together. There were only three bedrooms upstairs, and the last one was obviously my mother's.

I pushed the door open and confirmed it was her room. But she wasn't there. The bed hadn't been slept in, and the lights were off. Empty.

I closed the door and walked toward the next bedroom.

"Leon?"

Nothing. The room was empty too, like no one had been inside. I checked the third bedroom, but it was also empty. Now my heartbeat was beginning to race.