AVALINE

Freya.

She’s my cousin from my mom’s side. Unlike us, their family does not belong to the mob life. They’re ordinary civilians. No one in the mob knows about them. And that’s for the best. For their safety. Dad allowed me to contact her every month so that, in a way, I could still feel my mom through the people related to her.

I dialed her number.

On the second ring, she picked up.

“Hello? Who is this?” she tried to sound formal, but I could see beneath that. It’s not her style. She’s quirky with everyone.

“Drop it, Frey. This is Ava,” I laughed.

“Phew! I thought it was that guy from the corner again,” she said. “Anyway, another new number? I have so many Avas saved here!”

“Delete them all. Another number will call you next month because we’re throwing away the SIM after this call.” I leaned back against my pillows.

We use burner phones every month to avoid tracing Freya's family.

“Are you busy?”

“Not really,” she said. “I don’t have work. Just rewatching Divergent. Four, my baby!”

I raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were one of those who liked that vampire thing. Who was that again? Cullen or something?”

“Twilight?” Her voice went high-pitched and then she snorted. “Vampires are overrated. The only thing that makes them strong is their power. What if they don’t have that, right? Get a man who can fight without powers.”

For someone who loves fiction, that was too realistic.

“Uh… what do girls talk about over there? Boys?” she asked hesitantly. “In that case, do you have boy problems these days? I don’t know if I can give you advice because my fictional boyfriends are too perfect; I have no experience with trouble.”

Then she rambled again about her fictional men. I’m not complaining, though. It’s nice to isolate myself from my world for a while and have normal girly conversations with someone.

We spent an hour talking. After that, I handed it over to my personal bodyguard so they could dispose of the phone.

CZAR

I knocked on the door of the hotel room. This bellboy costume is a nuisance. I never play pretend. I would barge into someone’s room immediately; that's my style.

But the story needs to be credible. There has to be a reason for me to knock so they’ll open the door for me.

When the door opened, I immediately pushed her hard onto the floor; she hit near the TV rack. She tried to fight back, but I forcefully slammed her onto the coffee table. The cups toppled over and spilled onto the rugs. Her earpiece broke due to the impact of her fall.

Mission complete.

I stepped on her earpiece to make sure it wouldn’t survive.

“Damn it, Czar!” she massaged her head and the back of her neck. “Make my hospital room nice, okay? I want it luxurious.”

“I pay you generously, Devika. That’s enough consolation,” I said.

“That’s cold!” She elbowed the coffee table and groaned while trying to stand up on her own. “Aren’t you going to help me?!”

I shook my head and just waited for her to get up. “You made me wear this ridiculous bellboy uniform. You deserve that.”

I took this off. Now I’m just in my black shirt and pants. I just laid the uniform on my clothes.

“At De Greco, we always have to be suspicious. They might say, there’s a peephole in the door. If I see that you’re not staff of the hotel, I won’t open the door for you. At least I can say I thought you were a bellboy.”

She’s my double agent. I saw her on the streets a year ago being violent with other beggars. So I gave her a job to use her violence elsewhere. She’s not known as a member of De Greco, so no one will suspect her.

“Was my acting okay?” She gave me a thumbs up and waited for me to nod. She’ll get none from me.

“You’re at work. Don’t be casual,” I scolded.

“Sir, yes, sir!” She quickly hardened her voice.

“Updates,” I demanded. “What does Monteval want from the De Grecos?”

“Nothing big. Pretty simple…” she sat on the bed and squatted. “…He wants the De Greco princess. Avaline isn’t just a replacement. She’s really who Monteval wants.”

“If Magnus didn’t want to give her before, why give her now?” I asked.

“Despite tight security, the Montevals still somehow manage to invade De Greco territory. It’s hard to plan when he’s after Monteval every day. Magnus De Greco is also getting weaker because he has no child to succeed him. He can’t declare war because he doesn’t want to risk his child’s safety, knowing he’s already weak. So he’ll just give Monteval what he wants in exchange for peace.”

Monteval is obsessed with the poet, huh. It seems like I know how to pull this one’s strings. He’d go out of his mind with my plan.

I nodded.

“I’m leaving. Go call De Greco and tell them that I broke your earpiece when I slammed you on the table.”

Then I left.

“Kidnap, Czar?” Eiran said while watching me slice a man’s finger like I’m just cutting my steak. “You refused the alliance because you didn’t want extra responsibility, but you’re ready for war that comes with even more responsibility? You know there will be war if you steal the De Greco princess. The alliance was a better choice, Czar. We would have more power against the Montevals, but you don’t want that. But fighting against two groups is fine with you?”

My brows furrowed. “Why? Do you think we can’t handle it? I’m still capo if you forget. I won’t make decisions if we can’t handle it. We’re not sacrificing anyone just to get what we want.”

His expression darkened, and my hand gripped the knife tighter. “You better not. You’re a different capo, Czar. You’re not our father.”

Along with his anger was my more brutal cutting of the man’s fingers. The man screamed as he watched his fingers separate from his hand one by one.

“He’s not our father, Eiran…”

“I’ll pay! Please stop!” The man was hoarse from shouting in desperation for some time now. But everyone we drag into this basement knows that their pleas are futile. The Levesque have no mercy.

Deep colors of red splashed on my face. Eiran smirked when he saw my expression. I must look like I want to stick out my tongue and lick it—that's exactly how I feel.

“Hands that borrow but do not return don’t get to stay intact,” I muttered to the man as if soothing him to sleep.

The man’s body tensed.

“If you won’t pay then don’t even try to borrow money from us,” were my last words before I killed him.

I called for someone to clean up after my work.

When they came in, I stood up and wiped the blood off my jeans.

“Take photos. Show the entire city what happens when they don’t pay on time,” I commanded firmly before exiting.

I took this off. Now I’m just in my black shirt and pants. I just laid the uniform on my clothes.

“At De Greco, we always have to be suspicious. They might say, there’s a peephole in the door. If I see that you’re not staff of the hotel, I won’t open the door for you. At least I can say I thought you were a bellboy.”

She’s my double agent. I saw her on the streets a year ago being violent with other beggars. So I gave her a job to use her violence elsewhere. She’s not known as a member of De Greco, so no one will suspect her.

“Was my acting okay?” She gave me a thumbs up and waited for me to nod. She’ll get none from me.

“You’re at work. Don’t be casual,” I scolded.

“Sir, yes, sir!” She quickly hardened her voice.

“Updates,” I demanded. “What does Monteval want from the De Grecos?”

“Nothing big. Pretty simple…” she sat on the bed and squatted. “…He wants the De Greco princess. Avaline isn’t just a replacement. She’s really who Monteval wants.”

“If Magnus didn’t want to give her before, why give her now?” I asked.

“Despite tight security, the Montevals still somehow manage to invade De Greco territory. It’s hard to plan when he’s after Monteval every day. Magnus De Greco is also getting weaker because he has no child to succeed him. He can’t declare war because he doesn’t want to risk his child’s safety, knowing he’s already weak. So he’ll just give Monteval what he wants in exchange for peace.”

Monteval is obsessed with the poet, huh. It seems like I know how to pull this one’s strings. He’d go out of his mind with my plan.

I nodded.

“I’m leaving. Go call De Greco and tell them that I broke your earpiece when I slammed you on the table.”

Then I left.