3

Ace De Santis

I woke up to the sound of my alarm, groaning as I glanced at the clock. It was 9:00 AM. I had almost forgotten about my visit to the Hales. I got ready within thirty minutes and put on my watch before heading outside to meet Jeremy and Ian by my car. They were not just my friends; they also worked for me and had pledged their loyalty to me and my family.

As for the Hales, I had no problem with them. However, I couldn't stand their daughter, Alexia. Still, if working with her meant discovering who had evidence against us, I could put aside my hatred temporarily. At least until we found that asshole.

"Morning, Ace." Jeremy nodded as a sign of greeting. One which I returned. "Morning."

"Let's go then." Ian grinned, excitement taking over. I supposed he was excited to meet the Hales for some odd reasons.

"I'll drive," I stated as I got into the driver's seat, and they both hopped into the car.

We reached the Hales' house within thirty minutes. Their house was huge, but not as large as mine. Once the guard outside saw me, he opened the gate.

We rang their doorbell, and within a few seconds, a woman who looked to be around forty greeted us.

"Who are you?" she asked, staring at us.

"Hello," I greeted. "Hope I'm not disturbed. I'm Ace, Ace De Santis," I pointed to the men behind me, "and they are Ian and Jeremy."

"Let them in," a male voice inside said as the woman stepped aside and welcomed us inside.

"Ace," he smiled at me. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Chris," I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Take a seat," he pointed to the couch as he made himself comfortable, and I followed suit.

"I would answer the question if you didn't already know the answer," I replied in a serious tone.

"Did you find out who betrayed you?" Chris asked while sipping his tea.

"Yeah," I started, "some asshole named William. My guys are on it. They're after him."

"In my case, it was someone named Peter," he said. "When I find him, he's going to wish he was never born."

"Who do you think is behind all this?" I pondered aloud, considering all the people who might seek revenge.

My thoughts were interrupted when my eyes fell on the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, standing on the stairs.

She stood there in a shirt and a pair of shorts, her long, messy hair indicating she had just woken up. I let my eyes roam shamelessly over her body before returning to her face. She wasn't wearing any makeup, not that she needed it.

"Dad," she spoke, "what kind of sick person comes to someone's house at 10:00 am in the morning?" She continued, "Whoever that person is, I hope they know they disturbed my sleep." She ended, descending the stairs.

"Morning, sweetheart," Chris greeted her with a smile, then turned back to me. "Meet Ace. Ace, meet my daughter, Alexia."

"Morning, Dad," she returned the smile, but it disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on me. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"We have work to discuss," Chris replied.

"Okay," she shrugged and walked to the kitchen.

"Where were we?" Chris resumed our conversation.

"It's probably the Jones family. They always wanted to be superior to me. Superior to you," I pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a good point," Chris replied thoughtfully.

"Boss, we found this piece of paper on the car," Ian said as he handed me a folded piece of paper.

I opened it, and once I read it, to say I was angry would be an understatement.

I'm coming for you two, Ace and Alexia. All of you. You'll watch as your loved ones suffer. You'll hear their cries and see them suffering. Mark my words, I'll take your loved ones away from you. Both of your families will rot. Ace De Santis and Alexia Skylar Hale shall suffer.

~Your worst nightmare.

"Chris, you've got to see this," I said as I rushed back inside with the paper in my hand. I gave it to him, and he started reading it along with Alexia.

"Check the CCTV. Whoever wrote that will be found," Chris ordered a man who was standing in front of the door. The man quickly rushed upstairs.

"What kind of sick asshole has the guts to threaten my family?" Alexia hissed, holding a mug of tea in her hands.

I'd be lying if I said she wasn't attractive.

"Daddy!" a screeching voice boomed from upstairs. I looked to see who it belonged to and was met with a girl wearing nothing but lingerie.

"Who the fuck is that?" I murmured under my breath.

"Meet my other daughter, Daniella," Chris gestured to her.

To be honest, Daniella and Alexia did not look alike at all. They were so different from each other.

"Oh my god!" she screamed, stopping in the middle of the stairs and started breathing heavily. "Ace!" she yelled again and made her way towards me as I took a step back.

"Daniella," her father's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Not now. We are talking about business."

"Why would someone be after the two of you?" he questioned, giving me and Alexia his attention.

"Well," Alexia started, "I can think of many reasons why someone or some people would be after us."

After thinking for a while, Chris said, "I think you two," he pointed to me and Alexia, "should work together and sort this out."

"Wait, what?" Alexia and I said simultaneously.

"I said—" he repeated himself, but Alexia cut him off by saying, "We heard what you said."

Hell no. When I said we could work together, I meant me and Chris. Not me and Alexia. This was not happening, not again.

"I think it's a good idea," a familiar voice said from behind us.