Chapter 2 - “This Store Is Mine Now”
Leo knew Mia was lying.
He had watched her shoulders tighten when the pain struck. He had noticed the way she kept one hand pressed against her abdomen, as though she could protect her baby simply by holding herself together.
He lowered his voice.
“Paulie, call Dr. Miller. Tell him we’re bringing her in.”
Mia shook her head. “No. Please, Leo. I can’t afford another hospital bill.”
For the first time that evening, Leo’s expression softened completely.
“You don’t have to worry about the bill.”
“But I can’t—”
“You can argue with me when you’re not in pain.”
He turned toward Greg.
The manager had recovered enough to straighten his tie, although the color had drained from his face.
“Mr. Castiglione,” Greg began, forcing a laugh, “I apologize for the misunderstanding. This employee has been a problem for weeks. I’m handling an internal staffing matter.”
Leo finally looked at him.
“Is that what you call humiliating a pregnant woman in front of a hundred people?”
“She's an employee. She has responsibilities.”
“And you have a mouth. Apparently, neither of you has learned how to use what you were given.”
A nervous murmur moved through the customers.
Greg glanced toward the security cameras. “Sir, I don’t know what you think you saw, but this is a private business.”
Leo reached into his jacket and removed his phone.
“Declan.”
“Yes, boss?”
“Call Vincent. Ask him how much of Barton’s Premium Grocery remains under the ownership of the Henderson family.”
Greg’s face changed.
It was subtle, but Mia saw it. A twitch near his left eye. A quick swallow. The sudden disappearance of his practiced indignation.
“Why would you need to do that?” Greg asked.
Leo ignored him.
Within minutes, Vincent Moretti, Leo’s attorney, answered the call. Leo listened for several seconds before holding the phone away from his ear.
“Put him on speaker.”
A calm, professional voice filled the checkout area.
“Mr. Castiglione, the acquisition documents were finalized yesterday. Barton’s West Side location is now held by Castiglione Urban Holdings. The transfer includes the building, inventory, operating contracts, and management agreements.”
Leo looked directly at Greg.
“Thank you, Vincent.”
He ended the call.
Then he stepped closer to the manager.
“You were saying something about this being your store?”
Greg opened his mouth but produced no words.
Leo’s expression remained cold.
“This store is mine now.”
Silence swept through the checkout lanes.
Somebody near the bakery whispered, “Oh, my God.”
Mia stared at Leo, struggling to understand what she had just heard.
“You bought the store?” she whispered.
“I bought the building and the business.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Why?”
Leo looked at her for a long moment.
“Because I was tired of watching you be treated like you didn’t matter.”
The words struck harder than she expected.
Mia had spent months being overlooked, dismissed, and blamed for circumstances she could barely control. She had learned not to expect kindness because kindness always seemed to arrive with conditions attached.
Leo offered no explanation beyond that sentence.
And somehow, it frightened her more than his anger did.
Greg found his voice again.
“You cannot fire me without cause. I have a contract. I’ve worked here for eleven years!”
“Excellent,” Leo replied. “Then you’ve had eleven years to learn how to treat people.”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“No. The mistake was allowing you to believe that being a manager made you a king.”
Leo turned to Paulie.
“Get the medical team here. Then escort Mr. Henderson to the office. He will not speak to another employee until Vincent reviews his conduct.”
Greg’s face reddened.
“You can’t do this!”
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“Would you prefer that I explain it more slowly?”
Greg fell silent.
Mia suddenly felt the floor tilt beneath her.
The pain in her abdomen sharpened, and her knees buckled.
Leo caught her before she hit the ground.
“Mia!”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered automatically.
His jaw tightened.
“Stop apologizing.”
He lifted her carefully into his arms while Paulie cleared a path through the crowd.
For one brief moment, Mia rested her head against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong beneath his shirt.
“Leo,” she murmured, “please don’t hurt anyone because of me.”
He looked down at her.
“That depends on whether anyone gives me a reason.”
“That isn’t funny.”
“I wasn’t joking.”
She should have been terrified. Instead, she found herself gripping his lapel as another wave of pain passed through her.
Leo held her more securely.
“Look at me, Mia.”
She raised her eyes.
“You and that baby are getting medical attention. Everything else can wait.”
Outside, the wind had become brutal. Declan opened the rear door of a black SUV, and Leo settled Mia across the back seat with the care of a man handling something irreplaceable.
As the vehicle pulled away, Mia looked through the window at Barton’s glowing sign.
She had lost her job less than ten minutes earlier.
Now its owner was sitting beside her, holding her hand.
“Why do you care so much?” she asked.
Leo stared ahead.
For several seconds, he did not answer.
Then his phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen, and every trace of warmth vanished from his face.
The message contained a photograph of Mia entering her apartment building two nights earlier.
Beneath it were seven words.
SHE IS NOT THE WOMAN YOU THINK.
Leo locked the phone before Mia could see it.
May you like
But someone had been watching her.
And whoever it was knew exactly how to reach him.
