LOGINRENZO 135:My voice lowered slightly. “That influence that nearly put me in fucking jail.”Almost immediately, the memories I didn’t like thinking about began to crawl through my head.Yakov, the police, the prosecutors, the deals, dirty money… and men who smiled while planning to bury you like the Red Dragon. I didn't even think that my father had collected from them and made some kind of deal using me—his heir as collateral damage. That was why they came after me and everything I loved.Fuck Richard.“I worked for this,” I continued. “I bled for this.” My fingers clenched slightly on the fork. “I suffered for every single step.”Grace watched me carefully but didn’t interrupt.“And after all that… the heavens decide to bless me with an incurable sickness.” I laughed again, but the sound had no humor in it.“And guess what?”“What, Boss?” She asked softly.“The only person who can heal me…” I leaned forward slightly. “…is my fucking wife.”Grace blinked.“The same wife who put me in
RENZO 134:Over the years, Grace had aged a little more. The lines on her face had deepened, and her patience had grown shorter.“Grace?” She walked over quietly and placed her bag on the table. Slowly, she began removing its contents. Inside were carefully prepared food containers.Healthy ones.Her eyes then shifted toward the half-eaten burger in my hand again and she stared at it for three full seconds.Don't mind me… I was counting absentmindedly.When Grace was done staring, she calmly took the bag of fast food from the table and dropped it into the trash.What the… hell? Her movement had surprised me, yet I allowed her without resistance. Over the past two years, I had learned to be a little careful around Grace. She was one of the oldest connections I had to my past life anyway.She knew everything back then. Including feeding Zaria contraceptives to make her hormones refuse children.She knew I wasn't going to last since the pills Dr Syl made could only last for so long… and
RENZO 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 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







