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Chapter 2

Penulis: duran1995
I didn't even look back. The question didn't mean anything anymore.

His face stiffened.

"Linda, don't sulk.

"Once you've gone to the South District and had a taste of how hard it is, you'll understand us.

"And I'll stay with you until you leave. It's not like I'm treating you badly."

I'd liked Michael since we were kids. It was no secret to anyone in the family.

"When you come back, maybe I'll think about giving us a chance."

He said it so condescendingly, as if he were doing me some enormous favor.

Angie chimed in softly, trying to talk me around.

"Linda, Michael really does care about you.

"When you cried yourself to sleep at your father's funeral, he was the one who covered you with a blanket."

So they really believed my father's years of raising them and all my devotion to Michael were worth exactly this.

One blanket at a funeral.

My heart sank. A cold ache spread through me.

Angie went on. "No one's ever treated me like that. On the farm..."

I gave her a cold smile. "Then you'd better stay together forever."

With that, I took a cross pendant out of my bag and tossed it on the table.

All four of them were clearly stunned.

My father had given each of us one on my tenth birthday.

Everyone knew it was my most treasured possession.

I looked at Angie and said flatly, "You were jealous, weren't you?

"It's yours."

Angie's eyes lit up for a second, but she shrank back.

Michael's frown deepened.

"Stop this.

"Your father said we'd each have one and never be apart."

"My father's dead. You can forget what he said."

I turned and left.

The phone in my pocket buzzed.

It was a message from the family.

"The car to pick you up will arrive in 48 hours."

"When the job is done, the Don will not forget his promise to you."

The family had already tracked down my father's assassin on the edge of the South District.

He had a file that was vital to the entire Leiden family.

But he was extremely cautious. His home was in a lawless area that was hard to reach, and security was tight.

The only way in was a passage so narrow that only someone my size could get through.

I muted the four people I'd known for 25 years.

I wiped my eyes.

Now I knew what I had to do.

Meanwhile, they were still at the bar, reassuring each other that I'd be just like before.

I'd cry, I'd make a fuss, and once I calmed down, I'd come back like a good girl.

But this time, I really didn't want them anymore.

Before I left, I was going to give back everything that belonged to them.

When Rocco was 18, he recovered a large debt for the family.

He was rewarded with an antique gold coin. He always said he was afraid of losing it and insisted I keep it for him.

When I went to find him, he was on Gold Street shopping for clothes with Angie.

Behind them trailed a string of salespeople, their arms piled with dresses and handbags.

"From now on, whenever you shop on this street, just mention my name and it's all free."

Angie smiled sweetly. "I just got back to the family. I have to borrow gowns from my sister for every banquet.

"You're so generous. I'm so touched."

Rocco immediately picked out a white silk gown for her.

When he saw me, he asked offhandedly, "What are you doing here?"

I held out the gold coin. "Giving this back."

Rocco paused. "Can't you just keep it? Why are you suddenly giving it back?"

"In case I don't get another chance."

He didn't understand what I meant and casually tossed the coin back to me.

"Never mind that.

"Perfect timing. Angie can't bend over easily in that dress. Help her put her shoes on."

I glanced at the shoes Angie had left in the fitting room and didn't move.

Angie said, "No need. Linda must be in a hurry to get home and pack."

But she didn't bother hiding the smugness in her eyes.

Rocco glanced at me too.

"She hardly has any stuff. What's there to be busy with?"

Before, his words would have hurt. I would have explained myself and insisted he keep the coin.

This time, I didn't even feel a pang.

I calmly turned and left.

And he didn't come after me to ask when I was leaving.

The next day, Vincent was working in the study.

I brought back the books he'd left with me.

He didn't take them. Instead, his eyes landed on the pin on my chest.

A top-quality pigeon-blood ruby set in sterling silver, engraved with "Never Apart."

After becoming an assassin, I'd saved for two years to have them made for all five of us.

Back then, I'd wanted them ready in time for Christmas.

So I'd taken a job that nearly killed me and come back with two broken ribs.

"Leave your pin here too."
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  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 15

    The four of them went pale at once.They'd never dreamed they'd been fooled even back then.They forgot all about the video still playing.Michael rushed at Angie and grabbed her by the collar."We did everything we could to give you what you wanted."Why would you do this to Linda?!"You made us do that to her..."He wanted to say that Angie had made them turn on me.Now that she'd been exposed, a mad glint flashed in Angie's eyes."I never told you to go after her!"You did all of it yourselves!"The video was still playing.It was true that Angie had never once ordered them to force me to put my fingerprint on that paper.They'd chosen to hurt me on their own, in their hurry to win points with their new master.Michael watched himself in the video, his face twisted as he forced me down.He couldn't say another word in his own defense.The underboss was the quickest to react. He stormed over to Angie.He slapped his own daughter hard across the face."You stupid country girl, you've

  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 14

    That was when they noticed Angie, bound hand and foot on the floor.As soon as she saw the four of them, Angie burst into tears."Michael, help me!"It was Linda who stole my things back then. She was afraid the family would punish her."She let me use the villa so I wouldn't report her."You were all there. That's how it happened, isn't it?"Everyone was staring at the four of them.Whatever they said next would go on record as testimony and sway the Don's ruling.The underboss said nothing.But a capo close to him tapped the table."Tell us the truth about what happened that day."The four of them weren't fools.Michael knew perfectly well they were being forced to pick a side.Choose me, the rising star, or do the underboss a big favor.One answer would decide everything.Their eyes darted back and forth between Angie and me.For a moment, Michael decided to tell the truth.He'd already failed my father, the man who'd trained him, and betrayed me when I'd trusted them.He didn't wan

  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 13

    It was precisely because I'd been truly betrayed that I trusted the people I'd chosen for myself.No one knew what Andre and Joanne discussed with the Don in the meeting room that day.But a month later, word got around.The whole Leiden family knew the Don had kept his promise.He gave me back my father's connections and assets.He also rewarded us for handing over the files on the other families.He handed the three of us all of Gold Street and every business around it.From then on, we weren't anyone's weapons anymore.The three of us came back to the family's core territory as senior members.Of course, Michael and the others heard about it too.They found out where I lived and sent me a flood of apology letters and gifts.Andre and Joanne would sometimes see them kneeling outside my door.They had their men rough up the four of them and run them off.No one asked me what to do about those four.But I knew very well that I still had a score to settle with them.Michael and the othe

  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 12

    The assassination was set for Thanksgiving.The man who'd killed my father was holed up in the lawless zone, and he was throwing a party.It was our only chance to get deep into his hideout.We used fake identities the family had prepared to get into his villa.But things went wrong from the start.Andre was nearly exposed at the very first security check.Luckily, I pretended to be drunk, leaned against him, and swapped his pass for mine.That was how he got through the second check.And Joanne, who was in charge of hacking the system, miscalculated the timing.It was Andre who kept everyone in the banquet hall distracted.That bought Joanne more time.She hacked the lock on the door leading to the floor where the target's bedroom was.We got around layer after layer of security.In the end, I squeezed into the narrow passage only someone my size could fit through.Just as I was opening the door for them, the target came out of the shower early and caught me.He'd been a hitman too. I

  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 11

    I hadn't seen him in a year, and he'd gotten much thinner.The eyes I remembered as warm and expressive were now sunken.Dark circles shadowed them. He clearly hadn't slept properly in a long time."Linda? Linda, is that you?"He lunged like a madman, trying to grab Evan's phone."Are you okay in the South District?"You..."Things had changed. Now, hearing his voice again only annoyed me.I asked Evan to end the call.Michael begged, "Please don't go. It's all our fault. Please, please don't hang up..."There was a time I could never bring myself to make him apologize.If they were having a hard time, it hurt me too.When they'd offered to come with me to the South District, I'd even considered giving up my revenge because I feared for their safety.Now I felt nothing. His voice was just noise.I hung up myself.Only then did Evan tell me that Michael and the others had struggled over the past year.Six months ago, they'd cut ties with Angie completely.Angie, the girl who'd only ever

  • They Tricked Me into a Death Mission   Chapter 10

    The South District really was as dangerous as Michael had said.There were none of the comforts of the family's core territory.Here, there was no guarantee you'd even stay alive.I witnessed horrors my father had always shielded me from.Every night, the windows had to be sealed with sheet metal.Once the police left, gunfights could break out on the streets at any moment.On my first night, the gunfire outside kept me up until dawn.When I met our instructor, Carver, he looked at everyone who'd come for training and said coldly, "Once you're in the South District, you're all weapons."Either you die, or you survive, finish the mission, and walk away with money and glory."It was hell on earth. A voice inside begged me to run.But I kept seeing the four of them forcing me to put my fingerprint on that paper.My hands shook with fear when I thought about what lay ahead.But I was even more afraid of going back to that weak version of myself.I worked harder than anyone.In the first mo

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