The Princess and the Patch

Hopes POV: "Babe, it's okay. She's giving us exposure to everyone she works with. This next contract in Argentina is impressive. It'll bring the business close to a million dollars a month." Jaxxon McCoy, my fiancé, glanced over the emails we'd been sent just hours before leaving our last stop in Brazil. We sat together on a leather sofa aboard the private jet, my legs tucked beneath me while he leaned forward, the top buttons of his shirt undone as he reviewed file after file. The steady hum of the engines filled the cabin as we cruised thirty thousand feet above the world, bound for the next destination on our itinerary. I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder. "I know," I said quietly. "But I'd love it if we could actually have a vacation during our vacation. I love my mother, and I know she's doing this to help both of us gain exposure. I just wish she'd let me be more than an extension of her sometimes." Jaxx leaned back and slipped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer until I was nestled against his side. Tilting my head up, I found his gaze already on me. His eyes were the color of a deep ocean, bright and impossibly blue. I brushed a lock of golden-brown hair from his forehead before leaning up to kiss him. His lips were soft and warm, matching the comfort of his embrace. "We have time, you know," he murmured against my lips. "We're not expected to land for another couple of hours." His hand rose to cup my cheek, gently drawing me into another lingering kiss. A laugh escaped me. Standing, I took his hand and pulled him to his feet. As we crossed the cabin, I offered a small nod to one of the bodyguards seated on the opposite side. Then, without another word, I led Jaxxon toward the bedroom at the rear of the jet. We landed a couple of hours later, Jaxx and I emerging from the bedroom barely thirty minutes before touchdown. I forced a smile onto my lips as we stepped off the plane, my fingers threaded through his. Argentina. Another stop assigned to us by my mother on what felt like a never-ending tour of the Family's interests around the world. Warm air rolled across the tarmac as we descended the stairs. Waiting below wasn't a welcoming committee. It was an audience. Men in tailored suits stood beside luxury cars, their expressions carefully neutral. Some were legitimate businessmen. Some weren't. Most were somewhere in between. A few I recognized from family dinners. Others I knew only from whispered conversations behind closed doors and names attached to numbers on reports I wasn't supposed to see until I was older. Now I was older. Now those reports landed on my desk. "Smile," Jaxx murmured beside me. "I am smiling." "Babe, you look like you're heading to your own execution." I shot him a look. His grin widened. "See? That's better." I fought the urge to laugh. The truth was, I wasn't nervous about Argentina. I was tired. Every city was another lesson. Every meeting was another test. Every introduction came with an unspoken reminder that one day these people would answer to me. Not my mother. Me. The thought settled heavily in my stomach. At the front of the group stood Alejandro Ruiz, one of the Family's South American lieutenants. His dark suit was immaculate despite the heat, and the silver-haired man carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who had survived decades in our world. "Miss Fairbanks." His smile was respectful. "Mr. McCoy." Jaxx shook his hand first before I stepped forward. "Alejandro," I greeted. "Your mother sends her regards." Of course she did. My smile tightened. "I'm sure she does." His eyes flickered with amusement, as if he understood exactly what I meant. "She also asked me to ensure you attend tonight's dinner." There it was. The catch. There was always a catch. I glanced toward Jaxx. He sighed dramatically. "We've been here thirty seconds." "Twenty-eight," I corrected. "Twenty-eight seconds and your mother has already ruined our evening." That earned a chuckle from Alejandro. "I assure you, Mr. McCoy, this dinner is important." "That's what everyone says before something becomes my problem." I bit back a smile as we started toward the waiting vehicles. The convoy was already running. Engines idled. Bodyguards stood watch. Everything moved with the quiet efficiency that came from money, power, and the understanding that neither needed to announce themselves. As I slid into the back seat beside Jaxx, my phone buzzed. One message. Mother: Behave. Listen. Learn. No greeting. No signature. Just instructions. I stared at the screen for a long moment before locking it. Jaxx glanced over. "Bad?" "When has a text from my mother ever started with good?" His hand found mine. I squeezed it back. Outside the window, Buenos Aires stretched toward the horizon. Beautiful. Dangerous. And judging by the look Alejandro had given me when he mentioned tonight's dinner, whatever waited for us there was far more important than another lesson in the Family business. The restaurant had been closed to the public for the evening. Not rented. Closed. Every table was occupied by people connected to the Family in one way or another. Politicians. Business owners. Smugglers. Men and women whose names rarely appeared in newspapers but whose influence reached across continents. And at the center of it all sat my mother. Destiny Fairbanks. Head of the Family. She looked stunning as always. Black dress. Diamond earrings. Perfect posture. The kind of presence that commanded a room without ever raising her voice. Everyone stood when she entered. Everyone except me. I was already seated. Watching. Waiting. Jaxx sat beside me, his hand resting lightly against my knee beneath the table. The gesture was hidden. Comforting. Dangerous. My mother noticed everything. Destiny's eyes landed on me first. Then Jaxx. Then our joined hands beneath the table. The smallest flicker crossed her expression before disappearing completely. "Hope." "Mother." She leaned down and kissed my cheek. To anyone watching, it looked affectionate. To me, it felt like an inspection. "You look tired." "We just flew in from Brazil." "And yet Mr. McCoy appears perfectly refreshed." Jaxx nearly choked on his drink. I bit back a smile. "Good evening to you too." The corner of her mouth twitched. That was the closest thing to humor most people ever saw from Destiny Fairbanks. Dinner began shortly afterward. The first hour passed in a blur of conversation and expensive food. People talked. Deals were discussed. Numbers were exchanged. Promises were made. I listened. Learned. Played my role. Then my mother set down her wine glass. The entire table went silent. That alone was enough to make my stomach tighten. Destiny glanced toward one of the men seated near the end of the table. Eduardo Moreno. One of our largest distributors in South America. And one of our biggest problems. "The shipment in Córdoba," she said. His expression stiffened. "What about it?" "You lost nearly eight million dollars." The room became very still. "It was an unfortunate setback." "That's one way to describe it." Nobody touched their food. Nobody spoke. Eduardo shifted uncomfortably. "It won't happen again." My mother's eyes moved to me. Not him. Me. "Hope." My pulse quickened. "Yes?" "What would you do?" The question landed like a gunshot. Every face at the table turned toward me. I understood immediately. This wasn't a conversation. It was a test. Eduardo understood it too. The color drained from his face. My mother folded her hands. Patient. Calm. Waiting. "What would I do about what?" I asked. "The loss." I knew better than to answer immediately. Destiny hated rushed decisions. I considered the facts. Eight million dollars. Negligence. Weak leadership. Public embarrassment. The Family didn't survive by forgiving every mistake. But there was a difference between weakness and waste. Finally I looked at Eduardo. Then back to my mother. "I'd find out whether he was incompetent or disloyal." One of the older captains nodded slightly. Destiny remained expressionless. "Continue." "If he's incompetent, replace the people responsible and tighten oversight." Eduardo visibly relaxed. Then I continued. "If he's disloyal, make an example of him." The relief vanished instantly. Silence followed. My mother watched me carefully. "What if you can't determine which one it is?" There it was. The trap. No good answer existed. Too soft and I'd look weak. Too harsh and I'd look reckless. I felt Jaxx's hand tighten against my knee. Not warning me. Supporting me. Trusting me. I met my mother's gaze. "Then I'd remove him anyway." A few eyebrows rose around the table. "Why?" Destiny asked. "Because uncertainty is expensive." The room remained silent. I continued. "If I can't trust him and I can't prove I should trust him, then he's already become a liability." For several long seconds nobody spoke. Then Destiny leaned back in her chair. A faint smile touched her lips. The same smile she wore whenever someone made a move she approved of. "Good." The single word sent a chill through me. Not because she approved. Because I realized she had never been asking about Eduardo. Slowly, my eyes shifted around the room. The captains. The lieutenants. The business partners. The people who would one day answer to me. The people deciding whether I was worthy of inheriting everything she'd built. This wasn't a lesson. It was an audition. And for the first time all evening, I understood why she'd insisted I come to Argentina. She wasn't showing me the Family. She was showing the Family me.