Chapter 1

Cara

Ever since my cousin gave up the mafia and chose to live peacefully with his new family, I made sure no one dared to harm them. Sol was the face of our mafia although ironically, he was careful not to let anyone be familiar with his face. He was a prudent man. As much as he could, he wanted to avoid war or anything that would bring harm to the family. He was more like my padre who chose peace and order rather than conflict among mafias. 

However, that wasn’t enough to avoid greed and envy from others. In the end, he still managed to attract enemies. Our name and reputation was no different than royalty in our world. Just an utter of our name, people no doubt will know. 

When he stepped down, I had to do things differently- aside from the fact that I do handle things differently. In order to divert his enemies, I had to show my face and claim his name. I have enjoyed eliminating them one by one, especially those who do not appreciate my friendly offer. Things have been quiet after that. I don’t know if I should be happy knowing I am bored out of my mind. It was too quiet for my liking.

Sol would definitely prefer it this way. That’s why my babbo wanted him to lead the family. Babbo was named the Mafia King. Sol took over when he died and now… there’s me. A woman who is leading one of the world’s biggest mafia. After making people know that the king was actually a queen, I thought for sure someone would dare come after me. Perhaps I have instilled fear too much after wiping out those scums.

“What’s with that sigh, Cara?”

I watched Vassily take a seat right across from me. There was a flicker of amusement in his eyes and a quirk of his lips as he looked at me. His men joined my men behind guarding us quietly. “About damn time, Ivanov.”

I had been waiting for him on the patio at the back of my manor. The weather was lovely and I figured I would wait for him here considering he always takes his time. It’s not Vassily Ivanov if he’s not going to be late.

The Ivanov family was our number one partner. My father and Vassily’s father, Viktor, were the closest. The two shared the same ideals when it comes to the family. The three of us practically grew up together- Sol, Vassily and me.

“What exactly do you need from me? You know Moscow is not a walking distance from here.” He joked, brushing his bright blonde hair as the wind messed up his once well kept hair. 

“Oh, please.” I snort. “I wouldn’t have called you if I knew you’re still in Russia. You’re only here anyway to play so why not make the most out of it?”

Vassily dramatically rolled his eyes. “Alright, you got me. And before that, I originally came here to ask for a favor. But that had been resolved the moment I landed.”

One of the maids then came to serve him coffee and left right after asking us if we needed anything in which we denied. He immediately drank the coffee as if he needed it for the day. A second later, he spurted out the dark liquid.

“Ivanov, you are such a disgusting man.” I watched him in mirth. 

“What the fuck! This is disgusting! You know I don’t like black coffee. What the fuck, Cara!” His face wrinkled unhappily.

I chuckled. “You need to watch your sweet intake, amico mio.”

He rolled his eyes. “Just get on with it. If you’re just going to play pranks then I’m off.”

“Oh, don’t be childish.” I stared at him for a while as he wiped the splattered coffee in his tatted arms with a napkin. “Have you thought about marriage, Vassily?”

He returns his attention to me. He stares with an unreadable expression before answering. “I did.” He fixes himself on his seat. “You know it’s not the same as before, Cara. With our parents being dead, Angelo with his new family…” He trails in thought.

Majority among our circle call Sol, Angelo. It was his nickname. It was our padre and I that only called him Sol, despite his long ass name. I knew it was Sol that irked him about the idea of having a family. It was that or the idea of loving someone. Ever since his visit to New York, it caused a rift between them. Eventually, he understood Sol, that my cousin brother only wanted to be happy together with the woman he loves. 

“Perhaps you would like my proposal then.”

His attention perked. He raised a brow questioningly. 

“I’m going to offer you a marriage proposal, Vassily Ivanov.” His eyes widened in surprise. “A marriage that will both benefit our families and one that would surely make our parents happy.”

His lips quirk a little. “I have always wanted to have a fierce wife.” 

We both grinned in agreement.

We were both in our late twenties and in our line of work, we do not trust easily with other people especially when they’re going to be our husband or wife. We learned that the hard way when Sol, who was once a womanizer, brought a woman who almost killed him if I wasn’t able to step in and blow her brains out. 

The memory brought shivers down my spine at the image of my naked cousin and the woman who was on top of him naked as the day she was born. She had the knife on her back ready to lodge it on his throat. I was never the one to trust easily even back when I was just a thirteen year old girl. I knew that woman was up to no good when I smelled fish in the air.

I figured it’s high time for me to get married and have an heir for the family. Truthfully, being the only Di Angelo left in here added a vital part to the pressure. Vassily Ivanov had the same circumstance as mine and with our families being close, it was only logical that we fitted each other for marriage. And when I bear a child, I would be confident to leave the mafia to him temporarily. Not only that, it will also bring happiness to both of our families.

“Boss.” Franco, my right hand, came to my side and pulled us out of our discussion. 

Ever since Leo followed Sol, Franco easily replaced him as the second in command. He was, after all, very skillful and our best tracker.

I turned to him, catching Piero walking away who had just seemed to deliver the news to Franco.

“What is it?”

“I don’t think you would like this news.” My eyes narrowed at the thought. “Our shipment last night disappeared.”

“Where is Alvaro?” I asked, unable to give him the chance to speak for further details. 

“He’s not here. His wife had just given birth so he asked for a leave. He’ll probably be off for a month or more.”

“Cazzo. Of all the fucking times, Alvaro had to be on his leave. Did you manage to retrieve the location of the shipment?”

“No.” My face darkened. “But we managed to find the name of the person who hacked into the system. He goes by the name of Link.”

“Location?”

“New York.”

I smirked in excitement. And to think I just happened to complain about the silence fetching nothing but boredom to me. 

“Never liked that smirk on your face.” Vassily remarked.

“Someone who dared to hack into our computer, hijacking our shipment worth almost a billion dollars, making it disappear from our own radar. My, my~ whatever shall we do?” 

The ship contains countless firearms of all sorts hence the cost. The vessel was supposed to be headed in North America. Alvaro was in charge of tracing all the shipments. He was the best tracker online. Unfortunately, he’s not here.

Just the thought of torturing or killing this daredevil excites me. He will entertain my growing boredom. 

“Need some help, my future wife?” Vassily asked in amusement. I could see the glint in his eyes that he understood what was reeling in my mind. He knew his help wasn’t needed anyway. 

“Oh, no, my future husband. This one is all mine. There’s nothing more exciting than playing a dangerous game.”

He chuckled. “Of course, as expected of you.”

“Apologies, Vassily, I’m afraid we’ll have to postpone discussing our marriage.” I said as I rose to my feet. “You’re free to stay here in the estate. You know your way here anyways and of course your room. I’m sure the people here offer better services than the hotels here.”

He nodded. “Be safe.” 

I then leave a kiss on his cheek before leaving. I have a flight to catch. 

Destination: New York.