Anna's POV.
“Anna, father was murdered…” My breath hitched and my heart felt like lead. I couldn't explain the throbbing pain that took hold of my heart, even though I hadn't seen that man or heard from him in 5 years; it still hurt—inexplicably. But with all the blood he had spilled and the toes he had stepped on, maybe he had it coming. I was hurt, but surprised? I wasn't. I watched Liam's face fall. I had only just realized how terrible he looked. He had bags underneath his eyes and had even grown leaner than I remembered. I knew father's death was taking a toll on him, even though he tried to hide it. He had to look strong, and emotionless like father always taught us, or perhaps I was just seeing what he wanted me to see. Father had also taught us: when we're up against a weaker enemy or an enemy just as powerful as we were, we needed to act strong; but if it was a stronger enemy, we needed to act weak, so we could strike when they least expect. “It was bound to happen, sooner or later. He had it coming,” I whispered, unsure of what emotions to show or hide. Liam scoffed. “You don't understand, he wasn't supposed to die—not now.” “What happened?” I said rubbing my wrist, as another man untied the rope. Liam eyed me wondering if it was a good idea to let me loose. “You don't think I'd attempt to beat all your men and escape do you? I couldn't if I wanted to. I'm not even that skilled.” “Of course,” he said, nodding, as if my words held more meaning than they actually did. “So, tell me. How did father die?” “Marcus—he betrayed us.” “That's a surprise,” I said sarcastically, rubbing my wrist. I still felt the pain. “There was an ambush at the mansion. No one saw it coming. Not me, not Father.” I leaned back in my chair. “And you? How did you escape?” A smirk formed on Liam's lips. “Still as paranoid as ever.” I cocked a brow. “What? You think I killed him?” “Don't blame me, you've always wanted his post and the power that came with it.” He shook his head bitterly and stood from his chair, wagging a finger at me. “Not like this, Anna, not like this.” “So indulge me, how did he die?” “There was a turf war a couple of months back. The Russians kept trading on our turf. We had to act—it cost us a lot of good men.” He paced the small room then stopped. “Father was weak, vulnerable. That must have been when that son of a bitch started conniving.” I paid attention to his words, searching for a part that suggested that he was lying. Such was our family, trust wasn't exactly a thing, but manipulation was. “You still haven't told me how you escaped.” He let out an audible breath. “I was out of town, closing a deal with the Martinez's Widow. I left the mansion with some of the men, before I got back…” his words trailed off as his lips trembled slightly. An act, or genuine pain? I wondered. “What business do we have with the Martinez's? We've always been at war, why would we suddenly be having business with them?” I eyed him suspiciously, waiting for a slip up—a sign, anything to tell me he was lying or hiding something. I looked at his fingers, they were perfectly calm. The Liam I knew had a tell, and it was his fingers—he always drummed them against his thighs when he lied. But that was five years ago, he might have gotten rid of it. “Um…” He started drumming his fingers against his thighs. That was it—his tell. He hadn't changed after all. He was clearly about to tell a lie. “Business. It was strictly business.” His voice tensed up a little and I smiled. There we have it, our first lie. “So, you ran…” I said. It was best to make him think I believed him, and it worked, his hands stopped tapping. “Yes. What other choice did I have? Fight Marcus with a couple of men? He'd be happy if I tried. You know the way it is, Anna: no offspring is left alive.” Our gazes collided, we both knew what it meant: if there was a new boss in town then we had to die. “That old geezer was supposed to be unkillable, Anna. We do the killing—we do the hunting, it's not the other way around.” He was right. My father was the Don of one of the most ruthless Mafias in Chicago. He was ruthless and borderline insane. His paranoia had saved him from death on multiple occasions and what usually followed was a cleansing—more like a massacre to kill off anyone he suspected of being a traitor. Think of it as pruning plants. He was fond of killing the traitors and their entire family to avoid future cases of revenge or an uprising; now, he was dead and we were left with targets on our backs. I sighed and leaned back in my chair. No matter what, always appear in control. Control is first perceived from our body language, then heard in our voice, afterwards felt from our actions; my father's words. “You still haven't explained why you kidnapped me and brought me back to here in the middle of a war,” I said calmly. “If I could find you, it's only a matter of time before Marcus did.” “I can handle myself.” “With a thread?” My gaze flicked to his. “Yes, that was me and I didn't go through all this stress just to ensure that you're fine. No, there's a reason you're here.” “No kidding,” I said without enthusiasm. Liam licked his patched lips and signaled to one of his men, who stretched a tablet towards me. On the screen, there was a picture of a man with black hair and piercing blue eyes. He was clad in a well-fitted gray suit that seemed to pronounce the word ‘great physique' to the last syllable. I forced my eyes off the screen and looked at my brother. “And what am I supposed to do with this?” “That's Gabriel Martinez, your fiance.”Anna's POV“That's Gabriel Martinez, your fiance.”I burst out laughing uncontrollably, my shoulders vibrating violently. Liam however kept a straight face. My laugh was snuffed out like a candle on a windy night.“That wasn't a joke?” I asked.Liam tucked his hand into his pocket and brought out my engagement ring—Aiden. What did they do to him?“No, sister. I wasn't joking.” Liam lifted up the ring and pinned his gaze on it. “Pretty ring. But what were you thinking, sister? That you'd get away from all this? You can't run from the McClain name.”“That name is a curse.”Liam scoffed, threw the ring in the air and caught it, tucking it back in his pocket. I eyed his every movement. He leaned back in his chair. That was his subtle way of threatening me—of telling Aiden isn't safe if I refuse his proposal. “Hate it if you must, but that's our father's legacy and you will respect it,” he said firmly with every trace of warmth seeping out of his eyes.“I want no part of a legacy born fro
Anna's POV.A couple of days passed, and we moved into another safe house. We couldn't stay in any place for too long; and we needed a proper place to prepare to meet the Martinez's. We were meeting today and I needed to score a good impression. I picked the necklace Liam got me and wore it. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. I looked different, dresser in an exquisite black gown, a perfect contrast to my usual manly dressing. But who could blame me? My father raised me to be a man.I heard a quick knock on the door and Liam walked in. He was clad in a suit and looked just as tense as I did, yet he flashed a smile as he walked towards me.“Ready to go?” he asked, placing his hands on my shoulder. I cringed under his touch, shrugged his hands off and stood up.“Yes.”We exited the mansion and embarked on a long drive to the Martinez's.“Are you tense?”I turned to look at Liam. “No. I should be the one worried about you. You can't seem to tell a lie without your hand
Anna's POV“Aiden, what the fuck are you doing here!?”The words rang in my mind, but never left my lips. Control, I told myself, Control. He froze in his steps as he laid eyes on me, but resumed his pace almost immediately—so fast you wouldn't notice the pause. Everything about him was different, his hair was different; not the tousled hair I was used to. The look in his eyes, his aura—every damn thing was totally unrecognizable. Could it be a Doppler? A Doppler wouldn’t freeze because of my presence. He knew me and I thought I knew him.My heart raced, thumping blood through my body with anger. Anger from the betrayal, from the lies. Was his name even Aiden? Or was everything a lie? Liam seemed to catch on, he had seen Aiden once. He immediately tensed up, with an expression that was pleading to me to remain calm. Calm was the last thing I felt. I wanted rage, to scream and burn this whole mansion down with my fury. But was it worth it? Maybe Liam was right—family was all I had.L
Anna's POV.Wake up stupid, Wake up stupid!I groaned, raising a heavy hand, as I searched blindly for my phone. My eyes were still tightly shut, as my hands rummaged through the confines of my bedside table. Finally, my fingertips felt cold metal and grabbed it. I held the phone in front of my face, and finally opened my eyes. 6am.I groaned again, slamming my head into the pillow. I could have sworn that I had slept only thirty minutes earlier. There was no greater evidence of the love-hate relationship between Sunday nights and Monday mornings. I turned off the annoying alarm, and swung my legs off the bed. I released a deep breath and summoned enough energy to get off the bed. I looked at the sticky note on my wall and read it out loud: You have to keep working hard until you marry a billionaire.My phone chimed, and I was reminded that I was never going to marry a billionaire, but I didn't care. I picked up the phone and read the text from Aiden Smith, my boyfriend.Wakey, wakey,
Anna's POV.“Yes!”That was the last word I said, before my door came crashing down. Three masked men burst into my house. They all held guns—glock 17 to be precise; light, too light it almost felt like you were holding air. Polymer frame, but the barrel and slide? Pure steel. Fifteen rounds of 9mm in the magazine—standard, reliable, efficient and favored by most gang members. Father made sure I recognized every gun from such a young age.I sprung to my feet clenching my fist. Who the hell were these dudes? I just had that door fixed a few days earlier. I parted my lips to speak but quickly shut it when I heard Aiden.“Pl—ease, take whatever you want. J—just don't hurt us. You can have my watch, and my ring—it costs a fortune.”No, not the diamond ring. Not the damn ring.“You're not giving petty thieves my engagement ring,” I gritted out.“It’s okay, honey. We'll get another one,” Aiden said, as he pulled my arm, trying to get me into a less opposing posture.“You're broke, you'll ne