Chapter 17: The Beauty Falls in Love

In the medical room, only Leo and the newly awakened Mira remained.

Though Mira's body was still very weak, she slowly turned her head and gazed at Leo.

"Sir, you saved my life. I owe you big time. Tell me, what do you want? Money? Status?"

Leo didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out a manila envelope from inside his suit jacket and gently placed it beside Mira's bed.

"I need to show you something."

Leo opened the envelope and took out a thick DNA test report, along with several yellowed old photographs.

"What is this?" Mira looked at the documents with confusion.

"Your granddaughter who went missing twenty years ago—she's still alive."

Leo handed the DNA report to Mira. "Your daughter may have died back then, but her child was rescued and has been living in Chicago all these years."

Mira's trembling hands took the report. When she saw the name "Chloe Black" on it, she was completely shocked.

"This... this can't be... I've been searching for twenty years... I used the biggest private detective agencies in the country..."

"Because someone deliberately erased all the traces." Leo's eyes turned cold. "Your daughter's death wasn't some accidental car crash. It was a planned assassination."

"What?"

Mira sat up abruptly, and a flush of anger spread across her pale face. "Who? Who killed my daughter?"

Leo lit a cigar and took a deep drag. "The Drake family."

Hearing that name, Mira's pupils instantly contracted.

"The Drake family..." She repeated the name through gritted teeth. "I knew it! Twenty years ago, they wanted to swallow up our investment bank! But I never thought they'd dare to kill my daughter!"

"I'm going to have someone bring Chloe back right now! I'm going to announce to all of New York that the Rosenberg family's heir has returned!"

"Foolish." Leo cut her off without mercy.

Mira froze.

"You just recovered from a serious illness, and there are hidden currents within the family. That useless guy Simon just now, and those executives outside with their own agendas—do you think they'll just sit back and watch some parachuted-in heir take a piece of their pie?"

Leo sneered. "Announcing it now will only make Chloe a target, and might even make the Drake family move to eliminate her early. Do you want her to follow in her mother's footsteps?"

Mira broke out in a cold sweat and completely snapped back to reality.

"You're right... I was confused."

"Wait." Leo stood up and stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray. "Wait until you've fully recovered and completely regained control of the family. Until then, Chloe will stay somewhere absolutely safe. When the time is right, I'll have her enter New York high society in the most dazzling way possible."

"Alright! I'll listen to you!" Mira agreed without hesitation.

She pressed the internal intercom button at the head of her bed.

Outside the door.

Arthur, Simon, and the others were pacing back and forth anxiously.

Suddenly, the tightly closed door was pushed open, and Leo walked out expressionlessly.

"Mr. Ashford, my mother, she..." Arthur quickly approached.

Just then, Mira's voice came from the room—weak but full of authority—echoing clearly throughout the entire corridor.

"From today on, Mr. Ashford is the most honored guest of the Rosenberg family! His status is equal to mine!"

"All the family's intelligence networks and security forces—Mr. Ashford has the highest level of authority to deploy them! Seeing him is like seeing me! Anyone who dares disrespect him will be immediately expelled from the family!"

Arthur's eyes widened as he gasped.

Simon looked like he'd seen a ghost.

Facing everyone's shock, Leo didn't even lift an eyelid. With his hands in his pants pockets, he walked straight through the crowd and left the estate with long strides.

Manhattan, New York, in the presidential suite of a top luxury hotel.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city's brilliant neon lights sparkled.

Chloe wore a white silk robe, barefoot, pacing anxiously back and forth on the thick Persian carpet.

Since arriving in New York that afternoon, Leo had settled her here and gone alone to the Rosenberg Mansion.

That was one of New York's five great families!

One wrong move could mean total disaster—how could she not worry?

The suite's door lock clicked softly.

Chloe whipped her head around to see Leo pushing the door open.

"Leo!"

Chloe's anxious heart finally settled. Almost instinctively, she ran over and buried herself in Leo's arms.

Leo paused slightly.

The fragrance of her body wash, and her soft touch, instantly filled his chest.

If it were anyone else daring to get this close to Reaper, they'd already be a corpse.

But at this moment, a rare gentleness flashed through Leo's cold, sharp eyes.

He didn't push her away. Instead, he reached out his broad hand and gently patted her slender back.

"It's okay now." Leo's voice was low.

Chloe looked up, her eyes slightly red, beautiful eyes shimmering. "How did it go? Did they... did they believe you? Did they give you trouble?"

"With me there, who could give me trouble?"

Leo smiled faintly, walked to the bar, poured two glasses of red wine, and handed one to Chloe.

"Your grandmother is awake. She saw the report and the photos." Leo looked into her eyes and said seriously, "She's very happy. She's been waiting for you for twenty years."

Hearing this, Chloe's hand holding the wine glass trembled violently, and tears she could no longer control slid down her face.

"Then... when can I go see her?" Chloe's voice choked.

"Wait a few more days." Leo reached out, his fingertip gently wiping away the tears at the corner of her eye.

"The Rosenberg family isn't clean inside, and the Drake family's spies are definitely watching that place too."

"Your grandmother needs time to clean house, and I need time to set up a trap that will take down the Drake family in one fell swoop."

"So, I'm sorry, but you'll have to hide here for a few more days."

Leo gazed at the girl before her.

She was beautiful, breathtakingly so, but her eyes held a heartbreaking vulnerability.

"Leo..."

Chloe bit her red lip and looked up, her azure eyes staring at him without blinking. "For Luke, you'd risk your life. Now for me... you're going up against giants like the Drake family and the Rosenberg family. Are you really doing all this just because we're alumni?"

Their reunion in Chicago, the rescue at the restaurant, and now helping her find her identity.

This man was like a god descending from heaven, standing before her, shouldering all the storms for her.

Leo looked at her stunning face so close to his and was silent for a moment.

He picked up his wine glass and drained it in one gulp.

"Luke is my friend. His death must be avenged."

Leo turned to look at Manhattan Island outside the window, representing endless desire and sin, his voice low but carrying an undeniable dominance.

"And you... Chloe."

Leo turned back, his deep gaze locking onto her.

"You're someone I consider a friend. In this world, as long as I'm alive, no one can touch a hair on your head."

Hearing these words, Chloe's heart felt like it was set ablaze by a raging fire.

Looking at this domineering, god-like man before her, she could no longer contain her emotions. She stood on her tiptoes and suddenly kissed Leo's lips.