Maxine Davenport was living a quiet life with her Irish grandmother in England, completing her degree in criminology when she was plunged into the darkness she was running away from.
Valentino DeLuca. A name no one is brave enough to say even in the...
"Let me recap a bit. You're saying that you're getting married, forcibly, I might add, to some wacko lunatic you've never met before ? Jesus! This is barbaric." Zhen, my best friend scoffed.
I slowly nodded as I plastered a syrupy smile when Jack the jackass glanced at our direction from where he stood.
"No offence but your father is in an urgent need for medical treatment. He has clearly lost his damn mind. This is the twenty-first century, not the stone age. He has no right to hawk you to some butcher like a piece of meat. Regardless of whatever shitty pact he had forged with the DeLuca weasels, I will not allow you to be treated like a scapegoat."
For the first time in two weeks, my lips broke into a genuine smile. Despite having the worst luck, I've been lucky enough to find a pure gem for a best friend. I met her during my second year of university. She had transferred from a Chinese university and since I was in the welcoming committee, I was assigned to give her a tour of the grounds. Since then we've basically been attached to the hip.
"I have full faith that you will protect my virtue, Zhen Li. You are my lady in shining heels. " I fluttered my eyes rapidly as Zhen caught hold of my hand and kissed it.
"Lady Zhen Li at your service, milady."
We both burst out laughing. Well, she was laughing and I was basically wheezing. Some people find it rude that I snort when I laugh, but politeness can go out of the window because I don't really care.
"But on a very serious note, what is our plan now? Any ideas?" Zhen straightened up as she brought the porcelain cup towards her lips.
"I have actually, "I smirked. "When are you going to Beijing?"
Zhen almost spat her tea. "Fairy Godmother! Are you serious?"
"Careful, now, Zee. I'll tell you everything in due course of time. We don't want to spill the tea just yet."I said coyly.
"You really are a conniving little manipulator, Maxy." She shook her head before wiping her mouth with a floral napkin.
I stared at her with a crooked smile, suddenly feeling a little too overwhelmed with the entire scenario. I might have managed to conceal my true feelings from Zhen, but in reality, my mind was anything but calm. Raw fear engulfed me as I recollected the contents I read about DeLuca on the Mafia Insider. The crimes he's committed and is capable of committing are enough to send even Adolf Hitler running across his concentration camps. Simply reading about him had made me want to hide in my closet for eternity. If my plan doesn't work out, only the Holy Spirit would be my savior because DeLuca surely doesn't have the word mercy in his vocabulary.
Now only silence lingered in the air. I slightly shivered in the catastrophic purple themed coffee shop, a small sigh escaped my mouth. Tersely, my eyes flickered to my assigned pet dog. Sure enough, he was dutifully standing rigid in the corner, glaring at every single person who entered the cafe, making them feel uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
"I'm going to Beijing next week. You should better start packing."Zhen said and brushed her ombre locks away from her face, eyes twinkling with mischief.
"Ay Ay captain."I saluted her and we stepped out of the cafe, hands intertwined with Jack trailing behind us.
"Instead of following Maxine like a shadow, don't you have a better job?" Zhen snapped at Jack, clearly annoyed. "From what I've heard, you Made Men have a lot of enemies. Don't you have to kill them or something? Or are you too much of a wuss to actually go out and fight?"
"My job at the moment is to protect Miss Davenport," Jack replied curtly.
"Protect Miss Davenport." Zhen mimicked in a fake deep grumble.
Rather than being offended, Jack chose to ignore Zhen and swiftly opened the Range Rover door for me.
I gave Zhen a quick hug before climbing into the car. Throughout the car ride, I sat contemplating all the possibilities and flaws in my scheme, analysing every move and action that I planned to execute in the coming days.
When we reached home, I scurried out of the car. As I made my way towards the front door, I felt an uneasiness in the pit of my stomach, perhaps it was the sight of three black SUVs parked outside my house that had put me on edge.
We seldom have visitors. My grandmother doesn't even try to hide her displeasure when Zhen comes over. My increased discomfort wasn't due to the unannounced visitors, but because the entire house was practically crawling with armed Sicilian soldiers.
I cautiously stepped into the quaint living room, fully alert. I spotted my petite grandmother talking in a hushed tone to a stranger whose back was turned in my direction. He seemed to be examining my portrait that hung on the wall.
Sensing my presence, my grandmother turned towards me and smiled broadly. "My lovely Maxine! You are just in time. This is Valentino DeLuca, your future husband."
My heart almost lurched out of my throat and I suddenly felt a little dizzy. Faint ringing erupted in my ears as DeLuca finally turned and seemed to stare straight at my soul.
