CHAPTER ONE

GINEVRA

The longer you danced with the devil, the longer your stay in hell would be.

I had danced with the devil way too long for comfort and I’ve had to endure the hell that came with that dance.

Here’s the thing, in the mafia, only one thing was held at extreme value—the code of silence. Omertà.

You could be as ambitious as you wanted, you could do whatever it took to achieve great heights and none would blink an eye as long as the code of silence sworn to your famiglia stayed unbroken.

So, when I became a part of the Rodriguez famiglia, I made sure to become as greedy as I desired. I chased wealth, money, fame, power and I chased it with every drop of my blood, sweat and tears.

Great difficulties did I face but many times, I made sure to scale through those difficulties—I was always victorious.

And today, I had once again walked another milestone. Gained another victory.

La famiglia was headed by Dario Rodriguez, a man who held so much power, in politics, in the world of crime as well as in business—legal business.

He owned half the country.

From him, I learnt to be ambitious. To be greedy, to deal without mercy, to rid myself of any unneeded emotions, to disassociate myself from a word as useless as peace—to be a wicked entity.

I became like him. A difficult task but I excelled. I became so ambitious and greedy for power that when I sensed his need for a successor—someone to take his place following his retirement, I pined for his throne.

Disregarding the fact that the old man had three biological kids of his own, I pined for his throne as though my life depended on it.

Of course my life depended on the power that throne would provide me with. I needed that power.

As hotheaded as mio padre—Dario Rodriguez—was, he was a man with a great sense of reasoning. Always so put together, reasonable and didn’t act out on impulse no matter the situation. I mirrored him, became every thing he desired, possessed all the qualities he desperately needed to see in the person who’d succeed him.

So when it came down to making his pick, he overlooked his natural heir, his son—my brother Gustavo and named me the new head of the Rodriguez famiglia.

Ginevra Rodriguez had achieved the power she desired but it came with a price.

A price I paid, a price that left me battling both physical and emotional scars. A price that made me question if it was all worth it.

I lost and I lost over and over and over again because Dario Rodriguez was not a man who handed anything to anyone without taking from them.

And now, I was at the verge of losing again.

I was a fool to think that the throne was handed to me because my abilities were recognized, but that was not the case.

Dario was playing a game, a game of blood and bones, a game of war and I was his soldier on the frontline of that war.

I was a pawn in his game. Which was exactly why three days after I was sworn in as the head of La famiglia, a meeting with the head of the Sanchez famiglia was scheduled to hold in about a few minutes.

The meeting was barely a friendly one, it was one scheduled for a difficult decision to be made. One that was either going to be my doom or one that was going to make me the most famous woman that had ever headed the Mafia.

The quietness and calmness of my spacious office was disrupted when the door was thrown open, a man just around my age strutting in gloriously.

A better part of his face was shielded with a black mask made out of soft wool. It was a thing of discomfort, being in an enclosed space with a stranger whose face was almost completely covered—but as soon as his fiery aura engulfed me, I quickly forgot about his face.

His eyes were as blue as the ocean, the immaculate irises calling out to me like a siren and like a fool, I answered his call. I lost myself to the beauty of the glorious man standing on the other side of my table.

But there was a look in his eyes, a look that could almost be interpreted as distaste. Brows raised, eyes narrowed and by the movement around his chin, I could’ve sworn his jaw was ticking in irritation. He stared like a predator catching up on his prey.

As much as the man’s stare unnerved me, the act had prompted the appearance of a ghostly smile against my lips because deep down in my core, I knew it was him—the fire that would eventually burn me to ashes. I knew this man was going to be my doom and I was willing to embrace that doom with opened arms.

Silently, I raised a brow, indicating that his presence confused me seeing how he was a stranger who just barged into my space like he owned the place.

With an outstretched hand, his deep, rough voice reverberated. “I’m Ghost.”

I took his hand, shaking him professionally but startling at how small my hand was compared to his. “Ghost?” I repeated and he hummed a response.

“A messenger for the Sanchez’s.”

I immediately withdrew my hand from him with a snare. “My meeting was scheduled with the head of your famiglia.” Again, he hummed a response as he threw himself on the couch with a sigh.

What level of unprofessionalism was this? My brows raised as if to ask the question but my words suddenly couldn’t make it out.

He chuckled, the kind that sounded as though he was mocking my inability to exert authority on him. “Don Luigi is unable to make it to this meeting today, but as far as I’m here, do consider me the Don. The outcome of this meeting is after all dependent on the decision I make here today.”

I nodded in understanding.

There was a rumor that an agreement was made between the Sanchez’s and the Rodriguez’s, an agreement that any henchman belonging to either party who was unfortunate to be caught alive in any circumstance, be it war or breach of territory, was to be delivered alive to the famiglia he belonged to, and could only be punished by his own and that was why we sat there in that meeting.

A Sanchez henchman was caught distributing their product—at a cheaper rate—in the east of our territory.

That was one crime that couldn’t ever be forgiven in the world of crime, hence, my father’s refusal to release him to his people. A refusal that had stirred up a misunderstanding between both families.

With a clear of my throat, I began. “About the man, after going through a series of meetings with the people at the top, a decision was reached.”

Ghost had leaned forward by the time I finished speaking, his brows raised impatiently as he tapped his fingers away on his thigh. “And?”

“We have a few conditions,” my voice wavered. “A condition that might not sit well with you.”

Impatience danced in his eyes more vigorously this time as though he sensed where my rambling was headed.

I gulped down the lump forming in my throat and continued speaking. “You give up the products he was caught with, including all the money he made; and we want to get 20% of your sales profit from the west of your territory for a month.”

There it was, the darkness I had sensed around the man surfacing. Laughter rippled out of him at my request. Throat bobbing, hands balled into tight fists and the underside of his shoes tapping against the floor.

Minutes after minutes, seconds after seconds and all Ghost did was laugh. In mockery, in rage, in fascination, loathe perhaps. But all he did was laugh stupidly at my idiocy and I sat through the torture of the disturbing frequency eliciting his throat.

“Greedy ass bitch.” He finally recollected himself and cursed, causing my eyes to widen.

“Don’t be mouthy, Ghost.” I gritted through clenched teeth. “A person of your status has no business sitting in a meeting with me and definitely has no business cursing at me.”

Again, laughter bubbled out of him. This time his hate towards me too glaring not to be noticed. His laughter died down and something immediately shifted in the room, causing the temperature in the office to drop.

His voice hoarse when he asked. “My status? What do you know of my status?”

“You’re just a messenger.”

He hummed in agreement. “Yes, I am.”

“And I am the head of my family.”

“Yes, you are.” He agreed. “And yet, you have no power. To all of those greedy men, you’re just a pretty face occupying a vacant seat and that is all you’ll ever be to the people in this so called family of yours.” He rasped, rising to his feet.

My blood boiled with venomous rage because in the back of my head, I knew his words were not far from the truth.

I was nothing but a pretty face and a sound mind. A strategic and business oriented persona, that was all I was.

The man continued speaking. “In case no one had informed you, in the mafia, all a woman could ever be offered is a seat at the table and from where I stand, without power, that seat is just as useless as a mad man roaming the streets. A smart woman would make a move to chase power instead of a seat at the table but you wouldn’t know, you’re not so smart after all.”

“Ghost!” I screamed, enraged.

“What?!” He retorted. “You must be a really delusional bitch to think I’d give up even a dime for a mere servant that could easily be replaced. He’s better off in your custody, but I warn you, if you don’t make a deal and I walk out that door all hell will break lose on you. I’ll make sure you lose approximately everything you demanded from me here today, I’ll tear you apart until you’re crawling on your knees and begging me to stop.” He growled and I firmly held unto the hem of my coat in fear.

“It’s not your decision to make.” I breathed, hoping to change the direction in which this meeting was headed.

He chuckled. “When I was sent here as a representative, I was handed the power to do as I pleased, so news flash, it is my decision to make and I’m seconds away from making that decision.”

My eyes relaxed on his, a ghostly smile playing at my lips as I spoke in a monotone. “Go ahead and tear me down, I’d love to see you try.”

“I wish I could say that it was nice meeting you miss. Rodriguez.”

Those were his last words before he stormed out of my office.

Those were his last words that left me on the edge of insanity for hours after he had walked out my door.

His name was embedded in my head. His eyes taunted me as I waited for the war I had signed off on. His voice of mockery was all that rang in my head for hours.

And it only took hours before he began to keep all the promises he had made earlier. He threw me the first punch—a heavy punch that almost knocked me flat out.

How could Ghost, a man who had introduced himself as a mere messenger sent to stand as a representative for the head of Sanchez famiglia hold so much power that it only took a few hours before he had different enterprises of mine set ablaze?

Who was he?

What value was he to the Sanchez’s that he had the authority to make such decisions that ended in war?

I was at a crossroads. Just three days into becoming the boss and I’d almost lost my life one too many times. This was what Dario wanted. He threw me into the lion’s den and left me for the ruin.

A war that I least expected but was now fighting, a war I was inexperienced in but my opponent happened to be a master of and I was just left to survive through it all.

All alone.

And there we had it, a war between the two biggest names in the Italian underworld. A war the whole underworld longed to watch and now, there had the pleasure of watching us tear each other apart. They all watched us in amusement whilst waiting to declare a victor.

The founders of these names never had it as brutal as this but there we were, the young bloods, hungry for blood and willing to do anything to get it, going at each other’s throat for the kill.

Worst thing for me, I had never taken a life before and I planned not to until I was ready to wipe Dario and his entire family out from the face of this earth.