SHADOWS AND SILK
815 Words
Chapter Five: Shadows and Silk
The marble floors of the Leonardo Group’s Headquarters glistened beneath Mariana’s red heels as she walked through the glass doors. Her clipboard was tucked tightly under her arm, but her heart was nowhere near business.
Not anymore.
The moment she stepped into the elevator, she tapped her phone to open her notes app — a growing list of questions she didn’t yet have the courage to voice aloud:
Why doesn’t he ever answer his phone on weekends?
Why did he lie about being married?
What if I’m not the only one?
She had rehearsed how she’d ask him.
“Leonardo, I need to know the truth.”
“Leonardo, who is she?”
“Leonardo, are you using me?”
But she always froze.
And he always distracted her. With roses. With words. With softness. With silk.
---
That morning, Leonardo had sent a message through his assistant, Ipswit, asking Mariana to attend an impromptu strategy meeting.
Mariana didn’t question it. She was too hungry for clarity. Any moment that brought her closer to his world — to real answers — she would take.
But as she entered the gold-toned executive conference room, the air shifted.
Because standing there, by the panoramic window in a flowing white gown, was a woman she had never met in person...
...but had seen in luxury magazines, gala articles, and boardroom features.
Isabela Leonardo.
The woman behind the name.
The real wife.
---
“Ah, Mariana Abagram,” Ipswit said with a warm yet cryptic smile. “Thank you for coming. Mrs. Leonardo has requested a personal introduction.”
Isabela turned slowly, every movement poised and precise. She was elegance embodied — ivory skin, slick dark hair, a subtle red lip. Not just beauty. Power.
“Ms. Abagram,” she said in a calm, melodic voice, extending her hand. “I've heard so much about you.”
Mariana took her hand, but her grip faltered.
“Thank you… I—I didn’t expect…” she started, unsure where this was going.
“You didn’t expect me,” Isabela finished for her, eyes steady. “But I always enjoy meeting women who... impress my husband.”
The silence struck Mariana like a whip.
She smiled faintly, hiding the tremor in her jaw. “I assume this is about the Bogotá expansion project?”
Isabela gave a soft, mirthless laugh. “Of course. But everything in life is about expansion, isn’t it? Sometimes business. Sometimes… relationships.”
---
The room suddenly felt smaller, the walls closing in.
Ipswit slid a portfolio across the table, as if unaware of the tension brewing beneath the surface. Mariana opened it, half-distracted.
Project documents. Building layouts. Budget projections.
But also… tucked beneath them… a printed photo.
Mariana’s breath caught.
It was her. And Leonardo. Together. From last week. At the rooftop bar.
She stared at it for a moment too long.
When she looked up, Isabela was already watching her.
“I believe in transparency,” Isabela said, walking slowly toward her. “In business. In marriage. In betrayal.”
Mariana’s lips parted, the color draining from her face.
“I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I swear, I didn’t know he was married.”
“Don’t worry,” Isabela replied, touching Mariana’s shoulder softly — with the gentleness of a woman who’s been trained never to show cracks. “You’re not the first.”
Then she leaned in.
“But you’ll be the last.”
---
After Isabela and Ipswit left the room, Mariana sat frozen.
That single meeting had told her more than all of Leonardo’s kisses combined.
The truth was no longer hiding in shadows. It was walking in heels. Wearing white. And staring her in the face.
She clenched her fists beneath the table.
He had lied to her.
But so had her silence. Her desire. Her willingness to believe beautiful lies dressed in business suits and rose-scented words.
---
That night, back in her hotel room, Mariana began her own investigation.
She poured herself a glass of red wine, opened her laptop, and began searching:
Leonardo Group scandals.
Isabela Leonardo political background.
Company marital status.
Divorce settlements in Colombia.
Valeria Leonardo.
That last name — Valeria.
The adopted daughter.
The one he never mentioned.
Every search revealed more cracks. Articles from years ago. Pictures of Leonardo and Isabela at charity events. Adoption records. Business links.
And for the first time since meeting him, Mariana began to see Leonardo clearly — not as the man who had swept her into romance, but as a man who had curated control.
---
In the shadows of her room, with the city below blinking like secrets in code, Mariana made a vow.
She would no longer wait to be told the truth.
She would find it.
Even if it meant burning the silk and stepping into the fire.
- Writer
