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Chapter 18
Nikolai
“Who is he?” I asked Ivan the next day, he would have done an extensive background investigation on him by now.
“His name is Xavier Lee. Chinese by nationality, but born and raised in Los Angeles. Right now, he’s studying in New York and is in a vacation with his parents here in Miami.”Los Angeles. Where Hope used to live.
“They went to the same school since they were five, up until they graduated high school. It’s safe to say that they were friends. They would often meet up when Xavier comes back to Los Angeles. There were reports of Hope visiting his house.”
That caught my attention.
“There was no romantic relationship between them.” Ivan continued, as if reading my mind. “In fact, Xavier Lee doesn’t seem to have had any relationships up until now.”
“Any relationships?” I asked.
“No sir, not even one night stands or any of that sort.” Ivan was trying so hard to keep his voice monotonous for the sake
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The Mafia Princess Chapter 19
Xavier“Mom, is it possible that two people looks exactly alike?” I asked my Mom, who’s an obstetrician-gynecologist. Although the topic is most likely covered by genetics, she’s still more knowledgeable in general since she’s been a doctor for decades while I’m still taking up my pre med.“Well, any two people taken at random are going to share about 99.5 percent of their gene sequence,” she says. “Of that remaining half a percent, there are 16 million base pairs of DNA, which is where you get an enormous amount of individual variation”“So the whole we all have seven people who look just like us theory isn’t true?” I asked.“It’s quite possible and quite likely” She tells me. “What’s more, that number may be even higher for people who originate from a particularly high-population region.”“Like China?”
The Mafia Princess Chapter 20
Nikolai“Hey, Nikolai!” Hope says cheerfully.“Uhm, hi. Good morning.” I said, surprised by her sudden cheerfulness.“Why do you looked so shocked?”She says, laughing.“You seem so energetic” I tell her. It kinda sounds wrong to say I’m surprised she’s happy. Like she’s not supposed to be happy. When that is all I wanted her to be.“Well, I guess the beach gave me enough vitamin sea.”I raised an eyebrow at her. “Ha ha very funny.”“Come on, humor me for a bit. I’m never good at making jokes.”“More like you never did.” I corrected her. I’ve never heard a joke from her and now she comes up with a lame one.“That’s why I’m trying.” She said, giving me the puppy dog eyes.“Well, you should put in more effort on the delivery.”I tell
The Mafia Princess Chapter 21
Xavier“Hey, what’s up?” Jasmine says as she catches up to me as I was walking out of campus heading for home. We were in our senior year and things weren’t going too well with my parents. My grades were dropping and I was losing all motivation. Not that I had one to begin with. If there’s one thing they’ve been giving me, that was pressure.“Hi.” I tell her dully. Jasmine was way smaller than me but her presence is big. She’s smart, everyone knows that. But still, it seemed like she doesn’t want to draw attention to herself. She would have been famous in school but she prefers to keep a small group of friends. In the high school world where everyone likes to brag about almost everything and anything, she doesn’t talk much about herself either. She’s a mystery to many and even I am surprised how not a lot of people can approach her but once you do, it’s so easy to talk to
The Mafia Princess Chapter 22
Nikolai“What are we doing back in Clyde?” Hope asked as the familiar scenery unfolded before us.“You said you wanted to learn how to shoot.” I tell her.“Really?” She says, her eyes were practically gleaming.“For a girl who cried because I was hunting, you’re too excited.” I say, flicking her forehead. She’s just too cute sometimes.“Well, I’m not hunting animals, I’m just shooting.” She says, rubbing her forehead. “Oh, and I don’t want to shoot trees either.”I laughed. She’s too harmless. She won’t hurt animals and plants. But then again she was able to kill that guy using her own hands. Ivan has purposely left out teaching her knife skills so far and she hasn’t mentioned it. I don’t think she’s eager to relive those memories yet.“No, we won’t be shooting trees. I&rsq
The Mafia Princess Chapter 23
Nikolai“Is Hope not ready yet?” I asked Ivan as I put on my suit and tie. Like with any other clothing in the world, this designer suit is crafted from the most expensive materials. Created by Stuart Hughes in collaboration with Richard Jewels, the suit took more than 800 hours to design. What makes the design more interesting is the price of the suit which starts from US$ 778,290. Made from Cashmere wool, silk, and 480.5-carat diamonds the fabric of the clothing is smooth to touch and has a perfect finish. Also, to top it all there are only three pieces of this suit in the world which makes it pricey.“Not yet, sir. Natasha is attending to her.” Ivan tells me. Natasha hired professional makeup and hairstylists to dress up Hope and there’s no way she’s leaving them with her. She’s like a mother duck who needs to keep Hope under her wing at all times. She didn’t talk to me for a week after Hope was kidnapped
The Mafia Princess Chapter 24
XavierIt’s been a while since I’ve been to Los Angeles. NYC is exactly how you imagine it. LA is not. NYC is a better experience to visit. It opens itself up quickly. LA requires you to earn it. It reveals itself only if you are curious and if you make the effort.How long has that been? It was Christmas before freshman year that I last saw Jasmine. It has been two years since then. I went home last year too, but I didn’t see her. She never contacted me either. I checked my messages but they were still left unread. Did she went on a social media hibernation? But still she never forgets to reach out to me once in a while. I scrolled through our message history and true enough, the last messages were sent two years ago. I don’t know how I didn’t manage to notice that too much time have passed since I last saw or talked to her. I’ve been too busy, was all that I could say, but that was no excuse either. If only Hope didn&rs
The Mafia Princess Chapter 25
Xavier“Xavier, you have to come home. Now.” John, my younger brother, says as I was driving towards our house. I was still in Los Angeles and I was planning to stay here for a couple of days. And now here he goes telling me to come back to New York when I haven’t had any time to rest for the day.“What do you mean I have to come home?” I asked him. I’m still having this terrible headache from trying to figure out what the hell happened to Jasmine and my whole body is sore from driving and walking around.“I think Mom and Dad messed up for real this time.” He says, he sounded really worried, which was weird because Johnny was nothing but the epitome of fun, while I’m stuck carrying all the responsibilities as the first son.“Okay, tell me exactly what happened.” I tell him. If he’s just over reacting I might as well take a much deserved vacation home alone and teach him
The Mafia Princess Chapter 26
XavierHow did my life turn out to be like this? I thought as I stared at the ceiling of our luxurious suite.This swanky hotel is tucked in One57, one of the city's tallest and most talked about residences. Stellar service, pin-drop quiet rooms, a sumptuous spa and modern but feel-good interior spaces fashion this Hyatt flagship as one of New York's pacesetters among true luxury.I can’t believe how my family acts as if we’re on a vacation. As if sealing a deal magically solves all of our problems. It feels like we’re selling our soul to a demon to live a good life only to be eaten out in the end.Brad Powell offered partnership to my family but we refused it. And yet we reached out to Nikolai Alexeev, who was just the same as him. No wonder he’s pissed enough to drive us into a corner. Now, we’re left with no choice but to ally between one of those two.Either way, we’ll be seen as one or the othe
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