Lena tried to hurry to her parents but was held by a man; he grabbed her hair and pulled her closer to him.
“It’s Linda,” he blurted, and the man who stood by the side dressed in a gray suit approached them and took a proper look at Lena. “Why do you have my parents tied up?” Lena asked angrily when the man showed a coin to Lena. “The boss already spun the coin; I am sure you know what it means,” the man chuckled. He was the Italian Mafia’s spin man, Dante, and since the boss couldn't come all the way to America, he was placed in charge of finding Linda and wiping off her family. “What are you talking about?” Lena asked, What coin, and who was the boss? Dante crouched to Lena’s level and gripped her cheeks tightly. “We trusted you, but you chose to betray us?” he asked, and Lena shook her head in denial as tears rolled down her cheeks. “You must be mistaken; I am not Linda, and please don't hurt my parents,” she burst out in tears, and Dante chuckled. Of course he expected such a reply from her. Lena’s gaze moved to her parents, who were in tears but couldn't utter a word as there was a tissue in their mouth, preventing them from talking. “Go on” Dante nudged at one of the men who walked towards Lena’s dad, and her eyes widened in shock when the man pushed her dad off the balcony. Lena’s gaze was stuck on the empty space her dad was sitting in right now. She was in a trance and couldn't comprehend what was happening. Was she having a nightmare, or did this really happen? "Papa,” Lena muttered as countless tears found their way down her cheeks. She stood up and pushed Dante angrily. “What are you doing?” Lena burst out in tears, fell to the ground, and kept hitting it. Her dad was pushed off the balcony like it was normal; the building was about ten meters high, and there was no way he was going to survive. "Papa,” Lena clutched her chest tightly, not able to stop herself from crying. She stared at her mom, whose face was also wet from tears; the thought of her mom being pushed off the balcony made her shiver in fear. “Please, please… If Linda has done anything, then I promise to pay it back. Please…” Lena folded her hands in a plea, went on her knees, and pleaded Dante. But what she didn't know was the fact that Dante didn't have any say; their boss already asked him to spin the coin, which was used to determine if her parents would live or die, and it landed on die. “Where is the suitcase?” Dante asked Lena, who shook her head; she had no idea about the suitcase; why wouldn't they believe she wasn't Linda? “Believe me, I am not Linda. I have no idea about a suitcase.” Then she pointed at her mom, “You could ask her; I am not Linda.” She kept pleading, but this frustrated Dante; the fact that he knew she was lying made him so angry before he turned to one of the men. “Just do it,” Dante ordered, and the man used his leg to push Mrs. Morgan off the balcony. “No!!!” Lena screamed her lungs out as she watched her mom fall off the balcony. "Mommy,” she called out, but no reply came from her mom. Lena was pulled up by Dante, and he pushed her to one of the men. “She is coming to Italy with us; we will let the boss decide her fate,” Dante said before he turned to leave when Lena pushed his man away and hurried past him. “Go after her." Dante scolded as Lena kept running without looking back; she hurried to the entrance when she spotted some men. “God please…” Lena muttered before she hurried to the kitchen and closed the door as they kept hitting the door. “Enough games, Linda; I am sure you don’t want to make the boss angrier." Dante yelled from outside, and Lena pushed the chairs to block the door and she sat at the edge of the kitchen as her hands and lips kept shivering. “Mommy, papa” Lena was in tears before her phone rang; she quickly retracted it and noticed it was a call from her sister Linda. "Yes, Lena, I am on my way to the mansion, so don't blow my phone up,” Linda snorted. “Linda, some men... They are looking for you; they killed mommy.” Lena stuttered as she tried to explain the situation to Linda, who was fast to understand. "Lena, get out of there; run as fast as you can." Linda scolded over the phone, but Lena kept crying; she was surrounded by them, so how could she leave? “They think I am you; if you show up, then maybe they will leave,” Lena explained as Dante’s men kept trying to break the door. “They want a suitcase, Lena, and it was stolen from me; they won’t kill you if they think you are me,” Linda said before she tried to explain things in detail to Lena. “Don’t let them know you are not me; I promise to find the suitcase and come to you,” Linda explained while in tears, and Lena shook her head; she just wanted this to end. "Linda, please come; these men will harm me,” Lena pleaded. “If you tell them you are not me, then they will kill you; they can’t kill me because they need the suitcase, so let them believe you are me. I promise to save you, Lena; please stay alive.” Linda kept pleading when the door pushed open. Lena shot the phone below the table when those men rushed towards her and grabbed her. “You think you are smart?” Dante scolded before he took out a white tissue and pressed against her nose, and she lost consciousness. “Take her to the van; the boss will be so happy to see her." Dante ordered before Lena was moved to the van, which drove away from the Morgan’s home.It was drizzling outside, and Lena stood by the window, counting the seconds. It was already 5 p.m., and she was anxious—anxious for Nero’s return, and scared of what he might do about Linda.“Miss Lena,” Jules called, approaching her. “I… I’m sorry I couldn’t make breakfast this morning,” she added.“Where did you go?” Lena asked curiously. She hadn’t seen Jules since she woke up, and with her mind so clouded by Linda, she hadn’t bothered to check.“I was in the workers’ quarters,” Jules replied.“There’s a quarter for workers?” Lena asked, surprised, and Jules nodded.That’s where all the maids and guards meet to eat, chat, watch movies, and spend their nights.Jules had been too scared to come back to the main mansion—what if Linda hurt her?“Let me get this straight—there’s a section in this mansion that accommodates just workers?” Lena was still trying to process it, and Jules nodded again.“It’s like a hostel; we all meet there after work, and each bedroom is for two people,” sh
The Next MorningLena slowly opened her eyes, her head pounding as she grabbed it tightly. She saw Nero standing by the door, staring at her.He was dressed casually in a black shirt and jeans. "Good morning," he said, his voice calm.Lena avoided his gaze, suddenly finding herself unable to look him in the eyes."I prepared a warm bath for you," he added, and she let out a soft chuckle."I had no idea that was something a mafia boss does," she muttered under her breath, but Nero heard her perfectly well."Well… do I deserve a reward for being so thoughtful?" he asked, a smirk forming on his lips."You’re on your way out, aren’t you? Please, just leave," she said, gathering her courage and finally meeting his gaze.Nero pulled out his phone and made a quick call. "Get the car ready," he said before hanging up. He walked toward Lena, leaning in as if to kiss her, but she dodged him."Hmm… I deserve it," he said confidently, brushing his fingers against her cheek. His gaze lingered on t
Lena couldn’t get Linda’s words out of her mind. Was Linda trying to convince herself, or Lena?She pushed open the bedroom door and found Nero standing by the window. He had watched as they discussed, and now Linda just stood there alone.“Nero,” she called, walking over to him. He assumed Linda must have convinced her to hate him and probably reprimanded her for wanting a man like him.He could only sigh.“I have work to do,” he said, turning to leave, but she blocked his path and suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck.He stood there in disbelief as she tiptoed and kissed him, her tongue searching for his, and he couldn’t hold back—he didn’t even try. He lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist, deepening the kiss.Nero’s hands moved along her thighs before he paused to look at her. “Is this the end of our deal?” he asked. There were still a few days left for her to decide whether to stay with him or leave.Lena thought for a moment. Her life had no real direction
Lena crouched besides the bed and blinked back her tears; she had no idea why she was crying, but it hurt.“So stupid,” she cursed herself and cleaned her tears, but they kept rolling down her cheeks. “You are crazy, Lena,” she thought angrily. How could she be crying because he was at the club with some sluts?The door pushed open, and Nero stood there, his brows furrowed when he noticed her crying. She stood up and sniffed back her tears before turning to walk past him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.“Why were you at the bar?” Nero questioned, and Lena rolled her eyes.“Did I ruin your fun?” She snorted and pulled her hand away from him, about to leave, but he closed the door and turned to her.“You don’t walk out on me.” He had a threatening gaze, one that would have worked on the old Lena, but now she knew he would never hurt her, so she had no fear of him.“I am sorry, Pope,” she had a mocking tone, and Nero couldn’t understand why she was angry and giving him an a
Linda had walked around the building with a curious look, she found the guards surrounding one of the buildings at the far end and her curiousity grew.So she approached the building and was approached by a guard “Do you need something?” he asked and Linda shook her head.“The pope said I could tour around the place if I want, so I just wanted to check this building out as well” she explained and the guard chuckled before he took out his gun and pointed at her.“He also told us not to hesitate to kill you if you ever approach this building” he threatened and Linda stared at him in disbelief, did Nero really give such orders?“Calm down…i am leaving” she turned on her heels and walked back to the mansion and sighed heavily before her gaze moved to Lena who sat on the couch.“Why are you just sitting here all pretty? Is your life so perfect?” Linda scolded and Lena stared at her confused, what did she mean?“Nero killed our parents, and he has you entrapped in this mansion; shouldn’t we
Nero pulled the chair and sat down before he filled a glass with wine and had a sip. Then he realised a lot of gazes were on him, he sighed, “Why the tension? Just eat.”They all nodded and started eating just because they were asked to eat and not because they had an appetite. Lena kept exchanging gazes with Linda, who urged her to talk to Nero.“So…uhm, are you heading out today?” Lena asked, trying to break the silence, and Nero leant back in his seat.“Hmmm, do you wish to come along?” He asked, and she shook her head in denial. The last time she went out with him, she almost lost her life.“Is it okay if I go out with Linda?” Lena questioned, and his gaze shifted to Linda, and he pointed at Otto.“Hmm, he will be your driver.”“Me?” Otto questioned in disbelief; he was an officer and had a job and also crimes to solve; he didn’t take orders from Nero.“Do you have a problem with that?” Nero asked, and Otto clenched his fist before he stared at Lena.“We…we won’t need a car,” Lena