Lahat ng Kabanata ng He Said I Failed His Test: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 8

For five years, I'd taken bullets and blades for Mike, walked through hell and back for him. Just yesterday, we were still planning our future now that the debt was almost cleared. Today, I was told I'd failed the test and it was over.I couldn't seem to register a single word Linda said. She must have seen the disbelief on my face, because something like guilt flickered in her eyes. She pushed her phone toward me. On the screen, Mike looked radiant, more alive than I'd ever seen him."I, Mike, heir to the Cassa family, hereby formally conclude my five-year trial.""I have successfully consolidated the underground forces of New York and proven my capability to the family."The room erupted in applause. Beside him stood an old man, clapping him on the shoulder with undisguised admiration. The Godfather of the Cassa family, a figure who existed only in rumors.Mike smiled at the camera, utterly composed. "This trial tested more than ruthlessness. It was a stress test of human nature unde

"So now you understand. These five years weren't a marriage, they were an evaluation. What you thought was shared hardship was all just a test in Mike's eyes. And now the test is over. Your score: unsatisfactory."Leo held out the pen again, signaling me to continue."Why isn't Mike here to say it himself?"Leo glanced at me, as if weighing whether to tell me. "Mike is hosting a makeup wedding banquet for Linda."When I still didn't sign, Leo pressed on. "Emma, stop fooling yourself that someone will come help you. You know how Mike operates. When he cuts someone off, he cuts clean. Every connection you had in New York, he spent two months severing them one by one.""Two months ago, when you helped him take the old district, he was already dismantling your network."Two months ago I was still negotiating for Mike, securing the last piece of territory in the old district for him. That night, he'd held me, a rare thing, and said, "Thanks for your hard work." So that embrace had been Mike

Hearing my father's voice filled me with relief. He was awake. Now my back was even more solid and reliable.I shut off the phone and tucked it back into its hiding place.Tomorrow, Mike would still think he was coming to say a final goodbye. He had no idea that the real goodbye of this whole game had never been his to decide."Emma, you've lost weight."That was the first thing Mike said, standing in the doorway.He wore a black turtleneck, no suit jacket. It reminded me of the first time I'd seen him five years ago, just as dark, just as lean, the kind of sight that made your heart ache before you could stop it."Come in." I stayed seated on the bed.The room was so small that Mike barely stepped beside the table before he filled half the space. His gaze swept over the iron bars on the window, and his brow furrowed. "The conditions are a little rough.""Your arrangement. If you think it's rough, change it."He didn't take the bait. After a moment of silence, he pulled a pack of cigar

"All targets locked. Eleven Cassa-owned businesses in New York, financial channels severed, accounts frozen.""Jasper is safe. In transit now.""Chip data decrypted. All communications between Mike and Cassa headquarters intercepted, including every order exchanged over the past two months."And then the one that made me smile: "Internal Cassa communications show the family has classified Mike as an expendable asset. Once the Victor transaction is complete, Mike will be marginalized. Projected removal from the core tier within six months."Mike thought he was Cassa's golden boy, that pushing me out, handing me over, would buy him a ticket back into the family. What he didn't know was that on Cassa's board, he'd been a piece to be discarded all along.The only difference was: I knew. He didn't.At two in the morning, footsteps sounded in the hotel corridor. Someone swiped a key card and opened the door. Mike."Emma, what the hell are you playing at?"I looked up at him. "Mike, do you kn