They Tricked Me into a Death Mission

My father was the Leiden family's top hitman. He answered to the Don. A month ago, he was assassinated in the South District. The only person who would have protected me was gone. I cried until I had no tears left and swore to avenge him. The four friends I'd grown up with were worried about me too. They took me out to a bar to cheer me up, and we played a round of truth or dare. Angie Salerno, the underboss's illegitimate daughter who'd just come back to the Leiden family, asked everyone a question. What did they most want to do right now? All four of them said they wanted to go to the South District and avenge my father. Michael Conti took out a brand-new application and slid it across to me. He looked serious. "We're not going to sit back and do nothing. We'll go together." The South District was chaotic and dangerous. But they made me feel I wasn't alone. Moved by their promise, I signed the application and delivered it myself to Evan, the head of the South District. Then, with everyone cheering us on, I agreed to be Michael's girlfriend after he told me how he felt. Later, I got word that my application had been approved, so I went to the bar to find them and make plans. But outside the half-open door of the private room, I overheard them talking. "Her application went through?" "It did. With the South District that dangerous, who'd go with her?" "Angie's brilliant. One game, and she got rid of our big problem for us." "Michael made the biggest sacrifice. He even had to pretend he had feelings for her to sweet-talk her." I pushed the door open. The four of them were toasting with Angie. Chapter 1 When they saw me, they all froze. Michael was the first to recover. "Well, since you heard, I won't lie to you. "Angie just got back. She doesn't have anyone she can trust. "She needs us more than you do." My heart twisted. I had to take a deep breath just to keep my face calm. Michael kept going. "You're the daughter of a top hitman. You'll do fine wherever you go." I cut him off. "Whose idea was this?" Angie's eyes darted around, and then she started to sob quietly. Rocco Bianchi immediately stepped in front of her. "We all came up with it together. Stop picking on Angie all the time." Suddenly, it all seemed absurd. I turned and stared at Michael. "Last night, when you said you had feelings for me, was that part of the plan too?" Michael avoided my eyes. "You've been clinging to me since we were kids. "If I told you I had feelings for you, you'd feel secure enough to plan our trip to the South District." He didn't look the least bit guilty, as if it were no bigger deal than eating or drinking. Angie shed a few tears, then suddenly pushed past Dom Rizzo toward the door. "It's all my fault. I'll go find my father right now. "I'll ask him to put in an application for me to go to the South District with Linda. You all stay." The four of them surrounded her almost at once. Vincent Mancuso shut the door. "You just got back. Where do you think you're going?" "But what about Linda?" Angie was crying so hard her shoulders shook. "The South District is chaotic and dangerous. Even her father didn't come back from there. She can't do it alone." Michael rushed to wipe away her tears. "Linda's an assassin. She'll be fine. "You're the one who's frail. Don't gamble with your life." I stood a few steps away, coldly watching them comfort her. I thought back to the day my father brought them home from the orphanage. We grew up together, and I'd thought of them as my closest family. We should have shared the same fury over my father's murder. But while I was grieving, they'd already chosen to betray me. They'd chosen to become Angie's people. Vincent pushed up his glasses, as calm as ever. "Linda, I know this wasn't the most honorable way to do it, but I hope you'll understand. "No one forced your father to bring us into the family, so no one should force us to avenge him either. "You go, we stay. "Everyone's happy." The anger I'd been holding back finally flared. I gave him a sharp smile. "So you'd rather go back to eating spoiled scraps at the orphanage than live with dignity in the family?" Rocco hated those humiliating years more than any of them. His face darkened at once. "Weren't you on the fence about going to the South District anyway? "You should thank us for helping you make up your mind." It was true that I'd hesitated. The Leiden family's South District bordered enemy territory. It was so chaotic that even the police didn't want to deal with it. My father had been assassinated there, and I dreamed of avenging him. The Don had even talked to me privately and asked if I'd be willing to go to the South District. But they'd always acted like they wanted to come with me. The only reason I hadn't made up my mind was that I worried about their safety. I'd even thought about letting go of my hatred. I could have stayed with them in the family's core territory. But now it seemed all my worries had been for nothing. I turned for the door before my tears could fall. Michael instinctively stepped in front of me. "Where are you going?" "Home." "What about us?" Chapter 2 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." Chapter 3 It was Vincent who said it. "Next week, Angie is making her official debut in the Leiden family. This pin will help her make a good impression." I frowned. "This is mine." "I'm just borrowing it. It's not like I won't give it back." He waved Angie over. She'd come to help sort his files. Angie came over, eyeing my pin with a pitiful look. "Linda, you know how hard things are for me..." "So you want to take my pin and wear it with them to the banquet. "To prove they're your people in the Leiden family." Her face went pale, and she looked helplessly at Vincent. Vincent gave me a disapproving look. "If the family accepts Angie, it's good for all of us. "Your father's dead. You need to be smart about this." I looked at him. "So I'm supposed to hand over everything I have so you can get ahead?" Vincent ran out of patience and just held out his hand. "Don't make such a big deal out of it. "I'm just borrowing your pin." The thought of the five of them showing up at the banquet wearing the pins I'd nearly died for made me sick. I backed away, but he pressed closer. "After the banquet, I'll have Michael give it back to you." I didn't want him to touch me. I was silent for two seconds before I answered, "I'll give it to him myself before the banquet." Only then did Vincent let it go. He returned to his seat and showed Angie how to read the files. After I left, I ran into Dom in the hallway. "I was looking for you." He shoved two sets of transfer papers into my arms. "Your father's villa and his share of the bar's profits. Sign them over to Angie. "You're leaving anyway. It's not like you'll miss it." I thought I'd heard wrong and stared at him in disbelief. But Dom didn't seem the least bit ashamed. "In exchange, Angie will get her father to give us more chances to show what we can do in the family. "Your father's gone. We have to think about the future." I looked down at the two documents. That villa was where we'd all grown up together. It was also property my father had risked his life to earn. And now they wanted to please their new master. They were even willing to grab what belonged to the man who'd saved them. I shook with rage and wanted nothing more than to go home. "Fine." With a cold laugh, I took the papers. Dom was the one who froze. "That easy?" "You're right. I have to think about the future." He let out a breath. "Good. I'm glad you came around." From start to finish, not one of them asked when I was going to the South District. That evening, Michael showed up for a date. He took me to our favorite bar, but he spent the whole time looking down and answering messages. Angie said she didn't know the etiquette for the banquet. So he patiently explained it to her, message by message. Then Angie said she didn't get along with her sister. So he called her right away to comfort her. The ice in his glass had melted, and he hadn't even noticed. "Michael." "Hm?" "The villa..." Chapter 4 I wanted to tell him I'd already asked the family to take back the villa, and that he needed to return the spare key. He cut me off by sending Angie a string of voice messages. Only then did he look up. "You signing it over to Angie really helps us out. "She promised she'd get the underboss to see us at the banquet." With that, he pushed his drink over to me without thinking. Then he looked down and went back to answering Angie. "Don't look so gloomy. "When you get back from the South District, we'll do this properly." I stared at him. "You seem awfully sure I'll come back." He just smiled without even looking up. "You've only done a few small jobs for the family. "A place like that, where you have to fight to stay alive? Without us there, you won't last a week before you come crying back." Now I understood their real plan. They didn't want me to stay in the South District forever. They were waiting for me to break under the brutal conditions there and back out of the deal myself. That way, the Don would never give me an important job again. He'd make me pay for it. By then, I'd have no choice but to hand over the inheritance and connections my father left me and beg them for help. And they wouldn't think twice about handing everything I had to Angie. I'd never imagined Michael would one day scheme against me. Not when we'd grown up together. Not when I'd loved him for more than 20 years. Yet instead of falling apart, I felt only disgust, and it left me perfectly calm. When we said goodbye, Michael tried to kiss my cheek. I silently turned away from the kiss I'd once dreamed of. Michael looked a little surprised, his mouth half open as if he wanted to say something to break the awkwardness. In the end, all he said was, "I'll wait for you to come back." I didn't bother calling him out. When I got home, I tore both sets of transfer papers to shreds. Then I threw them in a box along with all the things I hadn't managed to give back. What my father left me wasn't theirs to give away to impress their new master. I dropped the box off at the post office. They looked down on the life my father had given them. Then I would take all of it back. Early the next morning, I went to the black market to buy the supplies an assassin needs. As soon as I entered the alley, I heard someone laughing behind me. "Well, if it isn't the Leiden family's princess. "Where are your knights? Don't tell me they ditched you to go fawn over someone else." "Princess? She threw herself at him and got dumped, and now she's being shipped off to the South District." A few women from the family blocked my way. The one in front was Angie's friend. She looked me up and down and grabbed the pin on my chest. "I heard Angie asked to borrow this and you just wouldn't give it to her. "Time for an orphan like you to learn what happens when you cross the underboss's daughter." With that, she raised her hand to hit me. I dodged and wrenched her wrist instead. "What do you think you're doing? My father is a capo in the Leiden family!" Her voice went shrill. "Angie was right. You only dare to be this rude because you've got four men protecting you!" Someone beside me took the chance to shove me hard into the wall. My forehead split open on impact, and I had to let go. "Too bad. The people your father worked so hard to leave you all chose Angie. "I heard you were still clinging to him, and he dumped you after just one day." They crowded around me, chattering. I looked up, past them. Michael and the others were standing not far away. Rocco was carrying Angie's bag, Vincent was checking her shopping list for her, and Dom had her coat in his arms. Michael saw me too. But he only frowned and didn't come over. In the past, no one in the family would have dared call me the Leiden family's party girl to my face. If anyone had, Michael would have dragged them out the back door of the bar, beaten them, and made them apologize to me. Now my forehead was split open and bleeding. He pretended not to see. It was Angie who trotted over. "Stop it, all of you. Linda didn't mean it. "She's just spoiled." Her friend put on a look of pity. "Angie, you're too kind. "This is the mafia. You should make her see what happens when she turns down the underboss's daughter." Angie seemed terrified. She looked helplessly at Michael, her eyes already welling up. He finally came over, but only to shield Angie behind him. "Linda, can you stop playing the victim? "She grew up in the countryside. She's a lot sweeter and more innocent than a woman like you with blood on her hands. "Using tricks like this to ruin her reputation only makes you look more vicious." I hadn't realized how tightly I'd clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white. Before I could speak, someone suddenly ripped the pin off my chest. The ringleader hurled it to the ground. Chapter 5 "If you won't lend it, then no one gets to wear it." My first instinct was to fight back, but someone poured a cup of iced coffee over my head. I shivered as laughter rose all around me. Michael followed my gaze to the broken pin on the ground. Anger flashed across his face. But one of them was a capo's daughter. In the end, he only turned to me impatiently. "Stop embarrassing yourself. Go home and change." If my father had still been around, I would never have let it go. My father had been the Don's personal hitman, and that counted for more than rank. If I'd taken it to the Commission, I knew I would have won. But my father was gone. And the four apprentices he'd been proudest of had already betrayed me. I was about to leave for the South District. I couldn't afford any trouble now. Without looking at any of them again, I took the supplies I'd bought and walked away. When I got home, I went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. Only then, with the water running to drown out the sound, did I let myself cry. Not for those four ingrates. I cried because I'd finally seen just how weak I was. I couldn't protect myself, let alone everything my father had given me. Half an hour later, I finally pulled myself together. I'd just changed my clothes when someone started pounding on the front door. I recognized Rocco's urgent voice at once. They'd moved out after they turned 20. They used to come over all the time, and I'd told them to just use the spare key. We'd always be family, after all. Now I switched on the pinhole camera in the house, started recording on my phone, and put it in my pocket. Then I unlocked the door. The four of them barged straight in with Angie. "Where's the cross?" Rocco held out his hand, glaring at me accusingly. "Angie was wearing it a minute ago. Then she ran into you, and now it's gone." I leaned against the door. "So?" Dom gave me a cold look. "At the black market, you're the only one who touched her. "Who else would have taken it?" With that, he walked straight into my bedroom and pulled open the drawers. The others started going through the wardrobe and desk too. We'd all grown up together in this villa. I'd thought of them as family. I'd let them come and go from my room freely, as a sign of how close we were. Now I watched the four of them do as they pleased without a second thought. That was when I understood what they really believed. With my father gone, they thought everything I owned was theirs for the taking. Rocco opened the wardrobe and saw only a few clothes left inside. "Why are you packing?" My chest tightened a little. Vincent glanced at the suitcase and answered for me with a sneer, "Trying to scare us again like you did in high school?" Dom snickered. "Linda, you're 25. And you're still pulling the runaway act?" They laughed it off. Not one of them realized I was really leaving. Michael frowned at me. "Everyone going to the South District leaves together next month. "Don't you think this little show of yours is ridiculous?" A few days ago, I would have explained nicely that I wasn't making a scene. But now I just calmly looked away. That wasn't the reaction Michael had expected from me. A flash of unease went through him, and he grabbed my wrist without thinking. "What we're doing..." He wanted to say that ever since my father died, they'd been looking for a way to get a foothold in the Leiden family. They weren't out to get me. They just needed Angie to get them in good with the underboss. Once they had that, he'd make it up to me. But he never got the words out. Angie picked up a cross pendant from a corner of the entryway. She covered her mouth, her voice thick with tears. "Linda, you really did steal it. "I get that you're upset. "But how could you steal from me?" Chapter 6 I hadn't seen that cross since I threw it to Angie at the bar. But it didn't matter anymore. I gave her a cold, mocking look. "So you've already decided it's yours?" Angie faltered for a second, and the four of them immediately stepped in front of her to shield her. "You gave it to Angie, so of course it's hers." "Linda, apologize to Angie." Angie's gaze slid past me and swept over every corner of the villa. I'd decorated every room here myself. The living room especially was filled with photos from more than 20 years of our life together. Every birthday, we'd taken a family picture with my father, and each one had been carefully framed and set front and center. Her eyes lit up, and she pulled down a frame at random. "So this is what home feels like?" My heart clenched. "Put that down!" Angie turned around. All her usual timidity was gone. Her smile was sweet and spiteful. "At home, my older brother and sister always freeze me out." She placed the cross in my palm. "I can forgive you for stealing. "It would be nice if you'd lend me the villa for a while after you leave." I didn't even think. "No way." Dom was the first to react. "Didn't I already tell you to sign the transfer papers?" "I changed my mind." The light in Angie's eyes went out. "Then I'll have no choice but to go by the book and report your theft to the family." Michael's face darkened, and he immediately opened his laptop and printed out a fresh set of transfer papers. "Linda, sign them." He held out the document and a pen to me. "Face it. You're not your father's pampered little princess anymore. "Don't cost us our chance to get a foothold in the Leiden family." The last of my affection for them vanished in that moment. I shook my head and backed away warily. But the other three blocked me. Dom gripped my shoulder, and Rocco shoved the pen into my hand. I fought them, saying no over and over. But they just laughed it off. I broke free, and with the self-defense moves my father had taught me, I twisted Vincent's arm and pinned him to the floor. That wiped the smiles off the other three's faces, and they stopped holding back. I couldn't fight off all three. They overpowered me and forced me down, and my hand got cut in the struggle. The pain wasn't enough to make me cry. But this was naked betrayal, humiliation at the hands of the people I'd once called family. My face burned as they pressed it against the cold floor. The feel of it made me sick, and I couldn't stop shaking. Rage churned in my chest. It blurred my vision and left my eyes burning. They exchanged uneasy glances and loosened their grip. "It's just a villa. We'll get you something better later. "Okay?" Michael stroked my hair tenderly. But he still pressed my bloody finger onto the document. Then I could only watch as Angie ignored my screams. She tore every photo of my father and me off the living room walls. She tossed them onto my bed like trash. "Linda, take these with you. "I don't need these." Then she looked at Michael. "I'd like to have a housewarming party here tomorrow. Okay?" Michael was clearly taken aback. He glanced at me without thinking. Maybe he was hoping I'd beg him. All I had to do was cry, apologize, and admit I'd taken the cross. Then he'd be willing to speak up for me. But this time, the moment our eyes met, I was the one who looked away first. Michael's expression hardened too. "Of course you can. This villa belongs to you now." He only wanted to make me angry. It was just like every fight we'd had as kids. He'd always wait for me to cry and give in. But this time, I wouldn't. My mother died when I was little, and my father doted on me all the more. Because his work was dangerous, he hoped that if anything happened to him, others would love me in his place. But it turned out the four people he'd poured his heart into raising had never been our family. They were traitors through and through. The four of them left with Angie. Two hours later, the Don's people sent me a message. "The car has arrived." I got up and bandaged my wound. Then I copied the pinhole camera footage onto my own hard drive and destroyed the original. I threw away the cross and got into the car with only the photos of my father and me. The agent waiting for me handed me a document. "Pass the special training and carry out the assassination. "Then the Don will keep his promise and hand over your father's men and the assets he's recovered." My throat was raw. "All right." I signed the agreement and made myself a promise. One day I'd come back here. And I'd settle the score with everyone who had betrayed my father and me.