When Alessandro entered the duplex's backyard, he saw most of his men working out in the large gym in the backyard.The stench of their sweating bodies reached his nose, and he wiped his nose with his handkerchief; his lips curled to a small smile. The clanging of the metal weight lifts was music to his ears.Just maybe he still stood a chance against the bloody axe mafia. His eyes scanned the backyard. It's been a while since he came here. The last time he was there, he was preparing for a war with the now impoverished Leones. He had utterly pulverised them. He had sent them to the slums. He planned to do the same to these people, but they were not the same. The Donatellos have external help: ninjas. They were undefeated like he was. He didn't know exactly what to expect.He had made sure to eliminate moles that could give away his next move to his dangerous opponents.That's why the backyard was built in such a way that those in the main mansion couldn't see what was going on ther
The gentle rustling of leaves and the soft whisper of wind through the trees filled the tingled night air. A quiet contrast to the impending storm."I'll be coming with you guys," Salvatore said, securing the grey blazers around his powerful back and matching to Alessandro, who stood just in front of one of the SUVs clad in his bulletproof blazer. He cast a long, dark shadow under the moonlight.His convoy was as long as a mamba, its colour, the dark shade of night. With poison-filled fangs and a hissing tongue, they were ready to bite.“Gather everyone here now," Alessandro ordered Jax, who was leaning on the hood of the S U V in front of Alessandro."Roger that," Jax said, and he went to every car in the convoy, calling everyone to get together. Soon they all surrounded him."Here is how we are going to move," Alessandro said. "We are going to move in three groups, so the long convoy doesn't attract too much attention—so as not to alert them." He pointed to his uncle. "My uncle her
CHAPTER 1 “You know we shouldn't be here.” Camilla spoke as she scanned the party scene from the loft.The party lights pulsing, the music thundering through the speakers, had everybody dancing and grinding against each other. Each face clad with a mask, the waiters were not an exception as they weaved through the tight crowd, trays held high.“Party pooper,” Ruby snorted, swirling the contents of her glass. “Don't act as though you work harder than everyone here. Not as though you have somewhere important to go to tomorrow.” She took a sip, then added with a hint of venom, “Just that miserable bakery of yours that has never made us a dime since we started it.”“I'm not a party pooper.” Camilla shot back, bristling from the jab. Some things are just more important than others.”“You are a killjoy.” Rub retorted, looking away from Camilla, her eyes scanning the crowd, “Not to think that we might meet a rich guy that could change our lives forever, and we wouldn't have to work aimlessl
“The Donatello's must be the ones behind my attack. I rejected their deal, and now they want me dead.” Alessandro mused, taking a sip of his steaming black coffee.While Salvatore, his uncle, took another calming puff of his Cuban cigar.“You just took over the family, Sandro. You need a show of strength.” Alessandro laid his steaming coffee on the side table and reached for the inner pocket of his blazer. “Yeah, that, but I need to handle something first.” He pulled out the student ID card from his pocket, motioning it to his bodyguard, “Track this lady down.” He ordered, and burly Jax nodded, taking the card from him.“Okay, boss,” he responded and walked out of the room.***At the other end of the city was Camilla, standing behind the counter with Ruby sitting idly on the chair in the bakery.“I can't believe you lost my college ID,” Ruby whined, and for the first time all morning, she looked away from her phone. “Why are you so careless?”“Careless?” Camilla scoffed while pressin
To hell with Camilla and her shitty desserts! I'm rich! Ruby screamed in her head, not wanting to draw attention to herself.Who is this guy to just sign away a hundred thousand dollars for appreciation? She fumbled with his business card and typed his name on the search engine, “Whoa, that was Alessandro Morano?" She palmed her mouth. “The head of the Morano mafia family? Shit! He's got serious money. Sounds like my perfect man.“Shopping time!” She squealed and took an exotic ride to a designer shop.When she got there, she didn't waste any time, and she called Alessandro, and after four rings, he picked up the phone.“It is Ruby, the lady from earlier today.”“Oh, Ruby,” he replied, “by the way, that cupcake of yours is amazing," he complimented, and Jax, who was still by his side munching on the cupcake, agreed with a thumbs up.“I'm glad you like it,” she said, sipping on the wine she was served. “I just wanted to tell you that I didn't save you that night because of money. I sav
“Don Morano,” Jax called, entering the bakery. Alessandro instantly felt hot. He saw Camilla raise a suspicious eyebrow. “Wasn’t he calling you?” Camilla asked warily.“Me? Hell no!” Alessandro exclaimed, with wide eyes. “My name is Alessandro Cookies,” he laughed awkwardly, hoping not to blow his cover. “Hey, did you call me?” he asked Jax with narrowed eyes.Jax, sharp witted, caught the cue, “Oh, I’m sorry about that, sir,” Jax corrected himself,“I just spoke to my old friend, Morano, and it slipped out of my mouth.”Alessandro shrugged, “See? I knew it was a tongue slip.” He lied and Camilla nodded slowly and turned to her phone. Alessandro excused himself and walked to Jax with Camilla eyeing them cautiously.“It is very important. Our men were..." Jax started, but Alessandro cut him off.“We will deal with this later. Just act normal for now and talk about the dinner reservation I have with Ruby,” Alessandro replied quickly. Jax nodded, and he went back to Camilla.“I had him
“You noticed I changed my perfume,” Ruby said warily, not sure where the conversation was going. It's been a long while since she changed her perfume."Of course, I did,” Alessandro replied with a confident smile. “This is not the scent you wore on the night we first met, and I must say, I loved that scent. You smelt like heaven.”It dawned on Ruby that he was talking about Camilla, and in as much as she wanted to frown, her face revealed a toothy grin. “Thank you so much for the compliment. Maybe I should wear it more often.”“Yeah. You should wear that every day. Not that the one you are wearing is bad, but that one is better.” He explained, “The lady at the bakery seems to be wearing the same scent that you wore that night.”“Yeah, I recommended the perfume to her. Just like you, she likes the perfume and asked me about it.”“What’s the perfume's name, and who made it?”Ruby swallowed. This was going to be much harder than she thought.“Uh, Magic…” she drawled. She wore a blank face,
Camilla waited in her pastry shop. Two customers had dropped by, and she had attended to them. She had already hired workers online, and they would arrive very soon.The new delivery guys were the first to arrive. They were two of them, hired to take the pastries to customers who wanted them delivered. It was a great upgrade to the business. The setting up of the shop had been done online, and she was expecting a great turnout today.Since it was all agreed upon, the delivery guys took their position, and when they were needed, Camilla called on them. Sales were good as expected, and both delivery guys drove out a long distance for delivery. It was during this period that the last hired worker arrived. Camilla had interviewed him online, and she would be meeting Allen for the first time.According to his bio, which Camilla read, Allen dropped out of college due to an inability to pay his school fees. He was two years older than her. His parents died in a ghastly accident in his second
The gentle rustling of leaves and the soft whisper of wind through the trees filled the tingled night air. A quiet contrast to the impending storm."I'll be coming with you guys," Salvatore said, securing the grey blazers around his powerful back and matching to Alessandro, who stood just in front of one of the SUVs clad in his bulletproof blazer. He cast a long, dark shadow under the moonlight.His convoy was as long as a mamba, its colour, the dark shade of night. With poison-filled fangs and a hissing tongue, they were ready to bite.“Gather everyone here now," Alessandro ordered Jax, who was leaning on the hood of the S U V in front of Alessandro."Roger that," Jax said, and he went to every car in the convoy, calling everyone to get together. Soon they all surrounded him."Here is how we are going to move," Alessandro said. "We are going to move in three groups, so the long convoy doesn't attract too much attention—so as not to alert them." He pointed to his uncle. "My uncle her
When Alessandro entered the duplex's backyard, he saw most of his men working out in the large gym in the backyard.The stench of their sweating bodies reached his nose, and he wiped his nose with his handkerchief; his lips curled to a small smile. The clanging of the metal weight lifts was music to his ears.Just maybe he still stood a chance against the bloody axe mafia. His eyes scanned the backyard. It's been a while since he came here. The last time he was there, he was preparing for a war with the now impoverished Leones. He had utterly pulverised them. He had sent them to the slums. He planned to do the same to these people, but they were not the same. The Donatellos have external help: ninjas. They were undefeated like he was. He didn't know exactly what to expect.He had made sure to eliminate moles that could give away his next move to his dangerous opponents.That's why the backyard was built in such a way that those in the main mansion couldn't see what was going on ther
EARLIER THE SAME EVENING Allen leaned back on the reclining bench, his legs crossed, an elbow on the armrest, and the other hand scratching his stubble as he waited for Barbara to appear. He was swamped. In prickling thought. He replayed the conversation he had with Camilla earlier over and over again. Each replay another tonne of weight tied to his ankle, which sank him deeper into the sea of depression. Was he not good enough?The woman he loved was starting to fall in love with another man. He couldn't let that happen. He had to divert her attention from Alessandro to himself. He needed to do that fast. What could he possibly do? Was the question that vibrated in his mind?He was clueless as to what to do at the moment, but he knew he was sure to figure something out. Barbara pushed through the door with the doctor behind her.“Allen,” Barbara called him, and he raised his gaze to her. “I'm ready; let's go,” she said, and Allen glanced at the doctor, who nodded at him."Yes, she
"What! No way!” she gasped, despite the butterflies that fluttered in her belly. “Why would you go that far? I thought we were just business colleagues. Why do you want to kiss me?” Camilla asked, staring into his eyes for clues.“Yeah, we are partners, but is it wrong to just want to kiss a business partner?” Alessandro asked, looking back at her with an unreadable face.“Yes, it is wrong for business partners to kiss,” Camilla stated. Contradicting what the small voice in her head was whispering. The small voice that won't mind their lips getting again and again.“What is wrong?”“I don't mix business with pleasure,” Camilla said, yanking the bridle that restricted her lips from curling into a smile, and Alessandro smirked at her.“Well, this is not business, and neither are we in a business setting. Remember, you promised to do it. I didn't force you to promise.”“You didn't force me to promise, but I didn't know you would go this far," she explained.“Doesn't matter. A promise i
She took her bath and came out of the shower bare and dripping water. Alessandro had not yet brought the clothes. She limped to the door and opened it slightly. Alessandro, the cloth,” she called and poked out her dripping hand, and soon after she heard the sound of incoming footsteps and then felt clothes stuffed in her hand.She retracted her hand from the door and looked at her hand and saw a fresh white towel, a checked white and black boxer, and a big, sky-blue shirt. They smell new, and from the looks of it, they have never been used or worn before.She locked the door, dried her body, and put on the clothes. The shirt was enormous. It almost touched her knees, so she folded the sleeves to her elbows.She unlocked the door, wondering what she looked like in Alessandro's clothes. She stepped out of the bathroom, fiddling her hands in front of the shirt, and saw Alessandro cleaning the floor, which now sparkled. Alessandro raised his gaze to her and burst into laughter, and Ca
Camilla's face flushed in embarrassment when she noticed her clothes soaked in her urine. Desperately, she prayed for the floor to open and swallow her whole. She wished for a rewind, but unfortunately for her, this was reality, and there was no do-over.Alessandro groped on his cabinet for the remote. When he felt it. He clutched it and put the light on. He gasped when he saw Camilla on the floor amidst glinting shards of glass. He threw off the duvet and scampered out of bed, barefoot.Camilla raised her hands at him, palm out. “Please, don't come any closer; you will hurt yourself,” she warned, but Alessandro turned a deaf ear to her. He tiptoed to her as the sharp, acrid tang stung his nostrils, a stark contrast to the sweet floral scent of his air freshener. The stench seemed to grow stronger as he approached her.“Please don't come any closer,” she all but begged, and Alessandro stopped in his tracks and watched as she attempted to stand on her feet.She tried to stand on
"Never mind. Just know that I'm not sharing a bed with you.” Camilla stated, folding her arms across her chest in defiance, and Alessandro inhaled deeply and slowly breathed out in surrender.“Whatever you say, signorina,” he offered, plopping himself on the soft bed with a sigh of relief. Camilla watched him as he shrouded himself underneath his duvet with a smile on his face. She watched as he stretched himself on the bed while Camilla tapped her feet against the marble floor in impatience, her hands still folded across her chest.After a few minutes seeing that Alessandro was not going to make any move, she spoke, “Are you just going to lie down and watch me stand here all night long?”“What do you want me to do?” He shrugged, throwing aside the duvet. “I offered that you sleep right next to me, but you refused.”“Of course I'll refuse.” She widened her eyes at him. “How can a young lady sleep on the same bed with a man who is not her father, boyfriend, husband, or even brother?” S
Judging from the resolve in her narrowed eyes, he figured that going round in circles wouldn't help him get away, so he confessed, "I inherited a lot of businesses. I own casinos, hotels, real estate, and various other businesses,” he folded his hands across his chest.“Yet you don't seem to attend to any of them these days.” Camilla reasoned, and Alessandro swallowed hard; his facial expression slipped, and his smile upturned before he reined himself in, throwing on an indifferent facade.“I'm healing from a gunshot, remember?” Alessandro raised his left brow in question. “And by the way, I have competent managers that manage my businesses and report directly to me. I usually have lunch with them every week for updates on the business's progress, but since the attack, I have to stay indoors.” Alessandro explained.“Is that so?” Camilla asked in a contemplative tone, “Why do you have so many bodyguards following you around everywhere you go?”Alessandro shrugged, “To protect me from t
“What news?” Salvatore asked with eyebrows raised in curiosity.“Jax found out that Antonio had a hand in the shooting that happened a few days ago.” Alessandro sank into the plush seat.“I thought as much,” Salvatore smirked.Ruby perked up her ears when she heard “Antonio.” Could this be the remaining piece of her plan?“Antonio is back in town, and he is not alone. He hired assassins. He hired the Chinese bloody axe." He informed Salvatore, and horror poured on Salvatore; his eyes went wide and his jaw looseneded.“What!” Salvatore exclaimed. The Chinese Bloody Axe was the most prominent mafia in Asia and one of the biggest in the world. They were popularly known for their Ninja Assassins. They had never lost a battle instory.“Damn!” Alessandro cursed, brushing his hand over his face in frustration.Camilla and Ruby were thrown into confusion, as they didn't even know what the Chinese bloody axe meant or was.“Antonio is no child. He is sleek and sly as a serpent. That boy has bee