*The Valentinos Clan*
(Hallway)
The heels of Athena's boots clicked rapidly against the marble floor of the Valentino estate, a sharp, frantic rhythm that mirrored her heartbeat. Ahead of her, River moved with a predatory grace, his broad shoulders tense, ignoring her as if she were nothing more than a ghost in the hallway.
"River, River, wait up! Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't know you don't like him," Athena yelled, her voice echoing off the high ceilings. She was breathless, her lungs burning, but River didn't even break his stride. He was a wall of ice, impenetrable and freezing.
"Agh!" Athena screamed as her foot caught on the edge of a decorative rug. She stumbled, her palms slapping against the cold floor.
Immediately, the silence was broken by the sudden halt of his footsteps. River stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't turn around immediately, but the aura of the hallway shifted, growing heavy with his unspoken irritation.
Athena scrambled to her feet, brushing off her clothes, her face flushed with a mix of embarrassment and desperation. She walked up to him, stopping just inches from his back. "I'm sorry, River. I promise not to talk to him again. I didn't realize it would get under your skin like this."
River finally turned. His eyes were like chips of obsidian-dark, polished, and devoid of warmth. He looked down at her, his expression one of pure, calculated indifference.
"I don't care if you talk to anyone or not, don't try to act like I care," River muttered, his voice a low, cold rasp. He didn't wait for a response. He simply stepped around her and continued down the hall, leaving a trail of frost in his wake.
Athena stood frozen, her hand half-reached out toward him. She let out a long, shaky sigh. "I feel so stupid," she whispered to the empty air.
As she turned to walk away in the opposite direction, a shadow detached itself from behind a structural pillar. Bethany stepped out, her lips curled into a sneer as she watched Athena's retreating back. She smoothed her designer dress, her eyes gleaming with malice.
"Who does she think she is?" Bethany hissed to herself, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Thinking she can thaw a glacier like River." She turned and sashayed away, her mind already spinning with ways to use Athena's weakness to her advantage.
*Deadly Devils Clan*
In the heart of the Deadly Devils' fortress, the air was thick with the scent of the usual, expensive tobacco and the metallic tang of old secrets. Damon walked down the mahogany-lined corridor toward his father's study. He paused at the door, straightened his suit jacket, and knocked.
"Enter," a gravelly voice commanded.
Damon stepped inside. The room was dimly lit, the only significant light coming from a green shaded desk lamp. Dominic sat on a plush leather sofa, his face completely obscured by a wide-sheet newspaper titled The Underworld Hub. A delicate porcelain cup of black tea sat on the table before him, steam rising in a thin, ghostly line.
"Father, you sent for me?" Damon bowed respectfully before taking the seat opposite his father.
Dominic didn't lower the paper. He didn't even glance at his son. "What were you saying the other time?"
Damon cleared his throat, leaning forward slightly. "The Valentinos' shipments are arriving at the port in exactly one week. It's a massive haul-weapons, tech, and enough currency to fund their operations for a year. If they get those crates into their warehouses, their influence in the city will be untouchable. What's the plan?"
"We are disrupting," Dominic replied simply, the paper crinkling as he turned a page.Damon nodded,made to stand but then hesitated
"Father, what about the girl?" Damon asked, his voice steady but careful. He knew his father's policy on loose ends.
"Eliminate her," Dominic said finally. He dropped the newspaper onto the table, revealing eyes that had seen too much death to care about one more girl. "She's a variable we don't need."
Damon didn't flinch, but his mind raced. "But dad, how about we initiate her? She seems useful. My sources say she's a world-class hacker. We are in need of digital talents as that's one of the areas where the Valentino's supersedes us. She's one of it's kind a talThe kind of talent that doesn't just fall into our laps. We could use her to bleed the Valentinos dry from the inside."
Dominic stared at his son for a long, uncomfortable minute. His gaze was creepy, a silent interrogation that seemed to peel back Damon's skin. Finally, he flicked his hand dismissively, as if swatting away a fly.
"Suit yourself," the Patriarch muttered, picking up his tea. "But if she turns on us, it's your head on the block, not hers."
Damon bowed deeply, his expression unreadable. "Understood." He exited the room, feeling his father's gaze burning into his back until the heavy doors clicked shut.
*The Valentinos*
The dining hall of the Valentino Clan was a cavernous space filled with the sounds of a family built on blood and loyalty. Mobsters in tactical gear and silk shirts sat side-by-side, the clanging of silver cutleries against china creating a domestic backdrop to their violent lives.
But at the central table, the atmosphere was different. It was a vacuum of sound.
Athena sat picking at her risotto, her fork moving the grains around in circles. Beside her, River sat like a statue, eating with mechanical precision, his eyes fixed on some distant point on the wall.
"Okay, I've had enough of this," Claire snapped, dropping her fork with a loud clink. She looked between the two of them, her eyebrows raised in exasperation. "What's with you and River? The silence is suffocating. You guys are giving me the creeping vibes. I can literally feel my skin crawling."
"What do you mean? There's nothing going on," Athena replied lowly, her voice barely a whisper. She didn't look up from her plate.
"What do you mean 'nothing'?" Claire countered, her voice rising. "You guys haven't exchanged a single word since the morning briefing. The aura at this table is -0.001! It's like sitting next to a black hole."
"Not like we talked much before," River muttered indifferently. He didn't look at Claire, and he certainly didn't look at Athena.
Athena spared him a fleeting, pained glance before looking away quickly, her heart sinking further into her chest.
"Yeah, we all know you are ice cold, River," Claire said, gesturing with a piece of bread. "But still, everyone in the clan knows Athena is damn close to you. This? This is weird. Even for you."
"Stop trying to make it a big deal," River said. He elegantly dabbed his lips with a linen napkin, stood up, and tucked his hands into his pockets. He walked away with the effortless stride of a runway model, leaving the table even colder than before.
Athena gulped, her throat tight. She couldn't swallow another bite.
*Deadly Devils*
Ixora stepped out of the en-suite bathroom in the guest quarters of the Deadly Devils' compound. The steam followed her out, clinging to the air. She was wrapped in nothing but a fluffy white towel, her hair damp. She paused, her heart leaping into her throat, and let out a sharp scream.
Damon was sitting on the edge of her bed, casually dangling a pair of her lace panties from his index finger.
"Nice size," Damon said, his voice dripping with a dark, playful arrogance. He dropped the garment onto the bed and licked the back of his hand, watching her reaction with predatory amusement.
"Eww, are you a pervert now, demon guy?" Ixora asked, her face scrunched with genuine disgust. She clutched the towel tighter against her chest. "Get out! Have you never heard of knocking?"
"Anyways," Damon said, ignoring her protest as he stood up. "I managed to convince my dad. You're not getting a bullet to the brain. Instead, you're getting initiated. Welcome to the Devils."
Ixora blinked, her bravado faltering for a second. "Wait, so I'm not dying?"
"You heard right. I told him you were too talented to waste. Don't make me a liar," Damon said, moving toward the door. "Dress up and meet me outside in five minutes. We have work to do."
"Dress up? I don't even have any other clothes to wear," she mumbled as he slammed the door behind him. She walked over to the closet and pulled it open, expecting it to be empty. Instead, it was packed with a curated collection of high-end streetwear and tactical gear-all in her exact size.
She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding. After a moment of hesitation, she reached for a pair of black cropped joggers and a compression top.
*The Valentino's Clan*
(Sinn's Condo)
In the left wing of the Valentino estate-colloquially known as "Sinn's Condo"-the air hummed with the sound of cooling fans and high-end servers.
"I must confess, this girl is really good at hacking," Stacy said, leaning back in a swivel chair. She took a long swig from a bottle of a bright blue cocktail, her eyes never leaving the cascade of code on her monitors.
"Why aren't you helping them with the tracking? I mean, it's something I know you can do in your sleep," Slyvester said. He was leaning against a server rack, his eyes glued to his phone screen, his thumb scrolling incessantly.
"Yeah ,aren't doing shit until I get ordes from my boss," Stacy replied, winking at Sinn, who was sitting at the master console.
Sinn didn't look back; he simply rolled his eyes, his fingers flying across his keyboard with surgical precision.
"W your 'cup of shit'?" Slyvester said, finally pocketing his phone and looking at Stacy. "The girl is hot, though."
"What are you up to, Luci?" Stacy asked Sinn.
Sinn glared at the mention of the nickname before standing up. He adjusted his glasses, his expression one of clinical boredom. "Get the monsters ready. We are moving with the convoy to get our shipments at the port. My gut says the Devils are going to try something. I want everyone ready for a scene."
He started toward the stairs, but paused at the landing. "And you both? Make sure to use the door after cleaning up that shitty mess you made with that drink. This isn't a frat house."
"Yeah, yeah, clean freak!" Sylvester yelled after him, grinning. "Love you too, babe!" Stacy blew air kisses.
Sinn didn't look back; he just raised his hand and gave them the middle finger as he disappeared into the upper level.
*Deadly Devils*
"Who's she?" Light asked, her voice laced with venom. She stood in the hallway with Natalie, both of them staring at Ixora as she walked by.
"Heard she was mistaken for someone else and will be initiated after the mission next week," Natalie said, clicking her tongue. She eyed Ixora's joggers with disdain. "But she's being awfully clingy to Underboss Damon. It's pathetic, really."
Light rolled her eyes, but before she could add another insult, Ixora stopped and turned toward them.
"Sorry girls, I can't find my way to the tech hub. Could you assist me?" Ixora asked, flashing a bright, dangerously sweet smile.
"First question: what's a bitch like you doing in the tech hub?" Light retorted, crossing her arms.
"Yeah, I'm going to answer your question. Save the 'bitch' title for the person who raised you your mom, probably," Ixora said, her mischievous smile widening as Light's face turned red. "Damon told me to meet him there. Something about me being more useful than a couple of hallway decorations."
"Hmm, it's Underboss Damon to you..." Natalie started to bark, but she went silent instantly as Damon rounded the corner.
"Let's go," Damon said, not even acknowledging the other two women. He reached out, grabbing Ixora's arm firmly but not roughly, and pulled her .
Light hissed under
her breath, watching them go. "She's going to regret that," she muttered, before stalking away with Natalie trailing behind like a shadow.