Chapter 8 The Reckoning

Alice clenched her fist tightly as she tried to think straight. She couldn’t possibly strip; she wasn't a man, and she was in a room full of them. Stripping would mean shedding her disguise along with her dignity, and 100 push-ups? Who was she kidding? Her bones would probably break before she reached 50. In summary, Enzo’s punishment was far worse than Zade’s. She had considered quitting and running as far away as possible from Alfonso or getting a new identity, but that idea collapsed when Enzo told her she couldn’t quit. She was now… a suspect.

There was only one thing she could do. Alice cleared her throat and turned to face Enzo.

"I choose to take Zade's offer instead," Alice said in her manly voice. She bowed deeply and quickly headed toward the exit. She opened the door and stifled a gasp when she saw Zade standing right in front of her. She bowed slightly and quickly ran out, reaching her office and shutting the door with a loud bang.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Alice ran her hands through her hair multiple times and fell into her chair. What was she going to do now?

Her phone began ringing. She checked the caller ID: it was Chiara. She swiped to answer, and Chiara's voice boomed from the speaker. Alice explained everything that had happened, and Chiara remained starstruck.

"Fuck! And you accepted the punishment? It's like walking directly to your grave!" Chiara said worriedly.

"I had no damn choice. It’s either this or I strip in front of those men, and you know what that means," Alice said, cursing her cruel fate.

Alice heard the door alarm and instantly ended the call with Chiara. She opened the door to find Enzo's secretary, Clara.

Alice had hoped Enzo and his devilish grandson would revoke their decision, but that hope vanished when she read the document Clara handed her. It detailed her suicide mission. What was worse was that she couldn’t reach Sergio for help. Damn!

Clara bowed slightly before leaving the room, but Alice barely noticed her; her mind was occupied with the trouble she was in. She texted Chiara to dig up dirt on Zade. He would surely pay for this if she made it out of the mission alive. Did he really think he was the only soulless person in existence? Alice scoffed; he hadn’t met Alice Francesco. Two could play this dirty game of chess.

Alice stormed out of her room and arrived at another training ground, different from the one Enzo usually frequented. The place was completely empty, and Alice was glad about it. She changed into a black baggy T-shirt and gray sweatpants.

She put on her gloves and stood in front of the punching bag. She punched relentlessly, each blow harder than the last. A few minutes later, she was covered in sweat, and her arms felt like jelly, but she didn’t stop. She continued punching, then swung her legs and gave it a hard kick, threatening to destroy the chain that held the bag.

Alice turned sharply when she heard someone clapping from behind her. It was a guy around her age, with dark brown hair and a cheerful grin. In the next second, a guy with full blonde hair walked in, wearing an aloof expression. Alice didn’t care about either of them.

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously when the cheerful guy approached and stood a few feet away. "Saint," he said, outstretching his hand with a broad smile.

Alice scoffed, ignoring him completely as she resumed her merciless punches on the bag.

"Pardon me, my question was quite foolish because everyone knows you're the boss’s bodyguard," Saint said, seemingly undeterred by Alice’s aloofness. The odd bodyguard actually fascinated him.

"Bet you ain't no saint," Alice scoffed, narrowing her eyes. She hated pests and annoying creatures hovering around her.

Saint laughed, the grin still intact, and Alice wished she could just slap it off. She tried her best to ignore him, but that was a terrible decision as Saint kept poking her for answers. His questions were unending despite her silence.

"So what's your body count?" Saint asked with that same annoying grin.

That seemed to be the last straw. Alice's hand shot up to his neck in a firm grip, almost strangling the life out of him.

Saint struggled to free himself from her iron grip, but who was he kidding? He had underestimated Enzo’s bodyguard and had foolishly stepped on the tiger's tail. Her chokehold became impossibly tighter, and Saint could literally feel his life slipping away.

Alice held him tighter, venting all her anger on him. To her, it felt like it was Zade she was strangling, and she would have killed him for real if someone hadn’t pushed her roughly, causing her to fall on her butt. It was the blonde guy, and Alice didn’t expect the hard punch he delivered, making her lip burst and blood seep out. She wanted to get up and attack him, but she stopped herself. If she fought him, she would definitely kill him, and Enzo wouldn’t be happy about that.

A satisfied smile crossed her lips when she saw Saint gasping for breath. The blonde boy helped him up while glaring at her. "Definitely killing you myself," he said spitefully. Alice clenched her fist as she watched them leave.

Definitely killing her, huh? Now she regretted not shredding him to pieces when she had the chance. Alice got up and drew her gun from its holster.

The door opened, and the thought of the idiot boy coming back to fulfill his threat irked her to no end. She swiftly turned around, gun aimed at her opponent, and pulled the trigger.

However, her eyes widened in shock as it wasn’t the blonde boy standing in front of her but Zade. Before she could process the situation, the bullet rammed into his chest.

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