LOGINRENZO 133:I signaled for Nichole to continue listening.“So who are you exactly?” Zaria asked suddenly.Nichole looked helplessly at me.“And why didn’t you want me to tour the hospital?” she continued. “Or go back to my apartment? And why do you always speak like you know everything about me?”The questions kept coming.One after another.By now, several of my men were struggling to keep straight faces as they watched their terrifying boss secretly whispering answers into someone else’s phone.Finally, one of her questions irritated me.Before Nichole could repeat it, I leaned closer to the phone and spoke for myself.“Why do you always wear a face mask whenever you appear online?”Nichole slowly turned to stare at me.On the other side of the line, Zaria suddenly went quiet.Then she laughed lightly.“Oh… that?”Her voice sounded casual. Thankfully she didn't notice the change in voice.“I just love my privacy.”My eyes narrowed slightly. “I see.”“And besides,” she continued teasi
RENZO 132:I could tell they were trying their hardest to hold back their laughter.Hawk was damned straight and we knew it.I turned to the second man. “Asher.”He immediately started biting his lower lip, a poor habit he only fell into whenever he was nervous. “How is your girlfriend doing these days?”His head snapped up.I smiled slightly. “Still complaining about your absence and job?”He gulped hard.“She already hates the fact that you work for someone like me.”Leaning a little closer, I lowered my voice. “Imagine how she would react if I decided to send her a full report of every little gang activity you have participated in.”Asher closed his eyes and muttered under his breath, “Jesus…”Then I turned to the last man. “Luis.”He looked like he was about to cry. “Yes, boss?”“You love your computers.”His head nodded rapidly. “Yes.”“Your systems.”Another nod.“Your precious technology lab.” I leaned back slightly before adding in a calm tone, “Imagine if someone accidentally
RENZO 131:A slow smile formed on my face. “Still fiery,”But then.I frowned slightly.“Pause.”Delt froze the screen immediately and the camera zoomed slightly. Anne was opening the car door and then something unexpected happened.A small boy climbed into the passenger seat beside her.I stared at the screen.The boy looked about five or six years old. Dark hair. Bright eyes. Laughing as Anne said something to him.“That car,” Delt nodded. “It belongs to Miss Zaria.”I wasn’t surprised Zaria had a car upon landing in New York after a while. Living in New York for years would make that necessary.But the boy…I stepped closer to the screen.“Zoom in.”The boy’s face filled the display. I studied it carefully. “Who is he?”Delt didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward Nichole, still sitting at the table. “Did you see the child earlier?”Nichole shook his head slowly. “No.”Delt tapped his earpiece. “Luis?”A few seconds passed. Delt frowned. “There’s no record of the boy, sir.”My ey
ZARIA 130:For years I had stayed away from this city.For years I had built a life far from him.And now… he was playing games again. I glared at the reflection with all the anger I could muster. The name tore out of my throat before I could stop it. “You fucking animal!”________________________I moved silently across the room, my fingers tracing along the edges of tables, the backs of cabinets, even the corners of the walls for cameras, microphones, and hidden trackers.I had to assume everything had one purpose: to watch me. My eyes scanned the ceiling tiles, the corners of the floorboards, even the vents.I took a deep breath. There was nothing for now.I held my phone back to my ear.“Mama Li,” I said warmly. “It’s safe now. I’m fine now. Really. Nothing is going to make me go back into my shell as I did eight years ago. Nothing, I promise.”There was a pause on the other end before her voice bubbled up, full of relief. “Oh my dear, I’ve missed you. I really have. And Rai…” s
RENZO 129:The gates opened automatically the moment my car approached, and the guards nodded respectfully as I drove through. Most people thought Nicholesion was the center of my operations.They were wrong.The real nerve center was my warehouse—underground.I stepped out of the car and walked inside without saying a word to the staff waiting in the foyer. Delt aka Daniel Wu, appeared beside me almost immediately, like he always did when I returned late.“Everything is ready downstairs, sir.”Of course it was. I eyed him up and down. He was really looking put together. I shook my head. Ah, the things we do for love. We moved through the house in silence until we reached the hallway that led to the private elevator. I pressed my thumb to the scanner and the doors slid open with a quiet mechanical hum.The descent took only a few seconds.When the doors opened again, it was another corridor. The basement corridor stretched ahead under dim yellow lights. Concrete walls, security door
ZARIA 128:Wang stretched his arms. “This puts me to shame, Zaria…”I laughed softly. “What do you mean?”“You needed to see the apartment I picked for you. It's nowhere near this.”“Well,” I shrugged, giving him a pointed look. “You know I wouldn't mind. Hell, I stayed in Mama Li's house, worked at Uncle Thomas's house… the noise, the heat, the energy. I'd be fine.”Wang grimaced. “But yes I still had your reservations. Your room was still your room and I swear it was the most extravagant in that village. Uncle Thomas had Big Chen drive you around in his old truck while the rest of us trekked like it was our fucking hobby…”Anne snorted. “Glad I wasn't around back then.” Wang and I exchanged coded looks. Then we burst into laughter. Anne was damned lucky, if I must say so. If only she had come during our apprenticeship. She would have gone through the same struggle.“Your hospital still has that same extravagant look, Zaria. It begs the question: would you ever become one of us? Cou
RENZO His jaw dropped. “What the—”I laughed, even as the nurse—Sabrina plunged a needle into my arm. The medicine burned, but my smile didn’t fade.“Do it,” I said softly.Asher didn’t argue again, not after the look I gave him. He stepped away from the bed while Sabrina finished taping the IV li
ZARIA I will never forget Rosita Dominico.Even if I lived a hundred lifetimes, even if I scrubbed Renzo’s name out of my mouth and memory until it tasted like nothing, Rosita would remain. She had a way of existing in the background that made her more oppressive than any presence. Rosita wasn't
RENZO My fist connected again.The man didn’t even try to block it this time. Blood sprayed sideways, dark and wet, hitting the concrete floor and the lower leg of a crate stacked with rifles.The sound echoed through the warehouse—meat on bone…“You failed your fucking job!” I roared.The man cri
RENZO A week changed everything.And it was not because time healed or any of that bullshit, but because my body finally stopped lagging behind my head. On the second day of my recovery, the shaking eased and the weakness stopped embarrassing me. I could walk without the crutches by the fifth day







