Chapter 7: Punishment

Chapter 7: Under the Mafia's Veil

Alice's heart drummed loudly in her ears as she helplessly stared at Collin Marcello—the same man who was after her life and whom she was madly in love with.

For a fleeting second, she wanted to run away, as she had always done whenever she saw him. He was the red light in her missions, and she had only encountered him when trying to make her escape. This was the first time she stood in front of him, not as a criminal but as a normal person.

He cleared his throat, and she immediately snapped out of her trance. His brown locks were neatly pushed back, but two stubborn strands hovered over his face. Collin was handsome; it was a miracle she was able to tear her eyes away from him.

"Collin Marcello," he said in a friendly tone, extending his hand. Alice looked down at his outstretched hand, not noticing when he stepped closer to her.

Alice composed herself, not wanting to architect her own doom. "Simone Leonardo," she said in her pretend male voice.

"I know you're Boss Enzo's bodyguard, although you're quite... different for a bodyguard," Collin said, choosing his words carefully, not wanting to sound rude.

Alice's cheeks turned a bit pink. He was taller and bigger than her. Whatever she wanted to say next hung in her throat as her eyes landed on Zade.

Collin followed her line of sight, and the friendly look he had while talking to Alice immediately disappeared, replaced by a grim expression.

"I see you're here and not playing catch the mouse today," Zade said, a smirk quickly finding its way to his lips.

Alice gulped nervously; she wasn’t naive enough to not know who the mouse was in this situation.

"I had an important meeting with your grandfather. Turns out I’ll be frequenting here often," Collin said, unable to hide his distaste for Zade.

Alice quickly sensed the air becoming stiff between them. They obviously weren’t fond of each other, and both were almost the same height, with Zade being two inches taller.

"I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other soon," Collin said to Alice. She quickly nodded and stepped out of the elevator. The doors closed, leaving her alone with Zade.

Alice gulped as she felt his scrutinizing gaze on her. "About yesterday..." she began, but Zade interrupted her.

"Follow me," he said, his face remaining stoic and expressionless.

Although she wasn't, she would be a terrible liar if she said she wasn’t nervous. Alice watched him turn his broad back to her and begin walking away, each step seeming calculated.

She had seen the way some girls shamelessly ogled him because of his handsomeness, but Alice couldn’t care less—her heart was completely occupied by someone else. She tried to shake thoughts of Collin from her mind and followed Zade.

Zade led her to his office, and Alice gasped at the amazing interior. His office was oddly bigger than his grandfather Enzo's. The black and gray theme seemed to showcase his inner self. Alice knew Zade was more than he let on, and if she got out of this situation alive, she would surely find out more about him. She had to know his secrets; if hers were exposed, having leverage could keep him silent.

Alice returned her gaze to find him staring at her with an unfathomable expression. Zade walked over to his desk, picked up a document, and handed it to her.

"What's this?" Alice asked apprehensively.

"I'm sure your eyes aren't for decoration; read it," Zade said coldly, picking up a stick of weed and placing it between his pale lips.

Alice pressed her lips into a thin line. The document stated she had to recover a package for Enzo at the borders of Albania. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She had heard about that place. It was a death trap, protected by another strong mafia group. If she went alone, she would be killed instantly—it was literally a suicide mission.

"I can’t; I’ve heard about that place. It's a death trap," Alice said, and for a fleeting second, she glanced at his exposed chest. He had undone the first two buttons, revealing his taut torso.

"Did you think we would let you go unpunished after the stunt you pulled yesterday?" he asked, blowing smoke from his nose and mouth, looking every bit the devil Alice knew him to be.

"Something urgent came up, and I didn’t know how to tell the boss about it. That’s why I left unnoticed," Alice explained. She couldn’t embark on a death mission; she couldn’t risk her life—not now.

Zade rose from the table and walked toward her, his larger figure towering over her completely.

"Did you really think you escaped from the mansion unnoticed? If that’s what you’re thinking, erase it completely," he said. Alice parted her lips to speak, but no words came out.

"If my punishment doesn’t sit well with you, then you can quit," he added. Alice clenched her fists; she couldn’t quit because Alfonso would kill her, and besides, she was no quitter.

"I can’t do that either," Alice said.

"Pathetic," Zade scoffed. "Enzo wants you at the training ground in one minute. A second later, and you’ll surely regret coming to work here." He waved his hand in dismissal.

Alice's mind was a mess as she ran out of his office. She had thought it would take a month before things started going downhill, but it was barely three weeks, and everything was already a huge mess.

She arrived at the training ground exactly one minute later. As expected, Enzo was seated and stared at her with a grim and disapproving look. He wasn’t alone; Alice estimated there were about thirty men in the room, all larger than her.

Enzo stood up from his chair and walked toward her. "I expected more from you, Simone, and I was more than disappointed by what you did. I could have easily pegged you as a thief or a spy—not to mention how you disabled my CCTV cameras and knew the path to the backdoor. If you hadn’t shown up at work today, I could have had you killed," he said grimly.

"Boss..." Alice began, but he raised his hand, signaling that her words were unnecessary.

"I’m sure Zade must have given you your punishment, but I’m adding a second option." Enzo paused. "Strip naked and do 100 push-ups right now, or you can accept Zade’s offer and cancel the thought of quitting from your mind. Because the moment you quit, I’ll kill you myself." He walked back to his chair afterward.

Alice stood rooted to the spot, too stunned to blink. Her eyes roamed around the hefty men in the room, her vision turning completely red as she was on the verge of breaking down. What could she do?