HOW TO TRAP A MAFIA BOSS

HOPE'S POVI didn't know when I became nocturnal but I could swear by anything that I was seeing through the night clearly. Maybe it was the adrenaline rush that was giving me supervision as I ran through the forest. Tud! tud! tud!... I kept hearing the sound of my bare feet as they jammed on the ground heavily and the scrunching sounds of dry leaves as I dashed in between trees in search of an exit.I couldn't remember the direction of the gate but I couldn't care less about that. I managed to sneak out of the huge room I was locked in and that was all that mattered. Direction wasn’t much of a concern to me as long as I didn’t run back in circles to my starting point. I pray he doesn't find me, I whispered to myself without slowing my speed. This was my third attempt to escape and I was hoping to be successful. I never asked for any of these. Things I never wished for threatened to steal my breath and suffocate me while all the stuff I wished for eluded me.What do you normally

ACEI was pissed off.I gave Bob one task, bring the girl back to the mansion before dawn. I didn’t care how he did it. I didn’t need the details. I just needed it done right. But he failed.One of his guys gave her a concussion. The unlucky bastard who stood before me was paying the price.I don’t just let anyone into the family. And I had never crossed paths with the one standing in front of me. That meant only one thing—Bob brought him in. Brought someone who couldn’t follow orders. Who didn’t know the first thing about obeying the boss.She deserved better. He deserved a bullet.The secrets of my family stay in the family. And he wasn’t going to be part of it much longer.“Do you know what happens to people who don’t follow orders?” I asked.He fidgeted, eyes darting, lips trembling. No answer.“You’re doing it again,” I said, stepping behind him. “I ask a question, you answer. I don’t repeat myself.”“Wh-what’s the question, boss?”I stepped around and met his eyes. “The question

HOPE I was wandering around the top floor, which once belonged solely to Ace before I became a co-owner, without a care in the world—confident I wouldn’t get caught. One of the kind maids had told me earlier that I was free to explore the place.As I poked my head into a series of empty rooms filled with nothing but dust, I suddenly stopped in front of the door to Ace’s room.Standing there, it hit me: after our encounter in his room the other week, seeing him again had become like trying to win the lottery. My heart sank as I realized it had been weeks since I last saw him.It wasn’t that I missed him. Not at all.It was that my stay in the mansion was dragging on, and I was starting to warm up to the place.No, you’re not, I scolded myself.I saw him that night. It had been a few weeks, but the image of the blood; barely visible between the collar of his shirt was still fresh in my memory. It hadn’t been much, but I could swear it wasn’t animal blood.The more time I spent in the ma

ACEThere was absolutely nothing wrong with her going to the garden. It was just that I couldn’t have anyone tainting the memories of my mother. That garden was the only piece of her we could still see, touch, and feel.I stared at my office door, waiting for the person who had knocked to come in.It was Clara—my assistant at the Mason Enterprise. So far, she’d lasted longer than the others I had already fired.“Sir,” she greeted, walking straight to my desk. "I found it," she said, her voice smooth and sultry. "The shortlist of companies responsible for stirring up those protesters. I’m ninety percent sure it’s Cranes Electronics. They’ve got motive, access, and just the right amount of subtlety to pull it off without leaving too many breadcrumbs."I flipped through the documents, skimming the summary she’d neatly highlighted.“You’ve done well,” I said.“Of course I have,” she replied with a smile that was more suggestive than professional. “You bring out the best in me, Ace.”Her

HOPE Assistant? I blinked a few times, unsure if I had misheard him. My heart thudded as if it wanted to burst out and scream: You’re not a maid anymore! But I didn’t let it show. I nodded, calmly, carefully, like someone used to getting promotions in mafia mansions. “Understood.” Truth was, I didn’t understand anything. Not why he trusted me, not why I felt seen in that moment, and definitely not why a small part of me felt… proud. Ace slid the file toward me with a lazy flick of his fingers. “Talk to Clara. She’ll walk you through the remaining details.” Of course. Clara. The name alone gave me a mini tension headache. I'd heard about her from the kitchen staff—how close she used to be to Ace, how she knew every part of the business, how she always wore stilettos like she was stomping on someone’s ego. She was now the HR manager, but before that, s