Chapter Five
1257 Words
Mila Ortega
No. My father wasn’t trusting in me. He was burning in hell. I prayed that his two-faced heart was burning in the core of hell.
As I stepped out of the room, my mind was still filled with the shock and sorrow of the discovery I had just made.
Nikolai Moreira wasn’t guilty.
He was wrongly accused of treason, murder and fraud.
He spent ten years in prison, and now he is out for his revenge.
As I made my way towards the main building of his house. I felt my confidence and my defiance falter.
I had prided myself in the fact that my father could do no wrong. I had wrongly assumed that he was a murderer who deserved the judgement he got.
What was waiting for me in this marriage with Nikolai Moreira was quite obvious— He would imprison me for my father’s sins.
“This way,” the guard's voice snapped out my thoughts, holding a door open.
When I appeared before Nikolai Moreira, I was a new person— humbled and ashamed of the family I had come from.
“Sit down,” he ordered, and I obeyed.
I kept my head down, carefully avoiding his gaze.
The room hummed with tension.
Nikolai sat studying me for what seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke.
"What’s your name?" he asked.
“Mila…” my voice cracked, but I cleared it quickly and continued. “Camila Ortega.”
“Age?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Boyfriend?”
I held my breath, suddenly remembering that I had a three-month-old relationship with Cortez Alvaro. But was it worth mentioning?
Nikolai leaned back in his chair, a faint smirk playing in his lips. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Before I could respond, the door burst open and a man in his thirties walked in, tall and impeccably dressed.
His hair was styled to the front, covering most of his forehead. His eyes remained on me as if he was trying to uncover my identity.
Nikolai rose to his feet, his face broadened by a smile as he extended a hand to the visitor.
“Brother!” The visitor cried, sniffing Nikolai like he had been lost.
“Luca Alejandro!” Nikolai laughed heartily, and for the first time. I saw the happy side of him. His eyes sparkled, his hardened face loosened.
One hearty laughter had made him age backward and now staring back at me were two pairs of sparkling gray eyes, studying me with undiluted curiosity and contempt.
“The only Ortega left?”
Nikolai sat back down on his chair, and poured whiskey into two glasses.
“None for me,” Luca interjected, his tone taking a different turn. “I’m here for business.”
Nikolai paused, looking at his friend with a raised eyebrow. “Is all well?”
“We need an infiltrator.”
Nikolai’s smile faded, replaced by the cold composure I had come to recognize as his natural state. He leaned forward, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the desk. “An infiltrator?”
Luca nodded, his expression grim. “There’s a party tonight— one of Alejandro Cardenas’ gatherings. The first one in three years. We need someone new, someone different to slip in and slip out with some information.”
Luca’s eyes darted briefly towards me before returning to Nikolai. “Is it okay to discuss business with her here?”
Nikolai spared me a glance before returning to Luca. “Why not send our usual men? They’re trained for this.”
Luca shook his head. “The Cardenas know our men. He’s thorough; no one in our network will make it past his checkpoint. We need someone who isn’t connected to us…”
“Someone he would never suspect…” Nikolai completed his words, his gaze shifting to me and the intensity of it made my skin prickle.
I stiffened in my chair. My heart thudding uncontrollably.
“The Cardenas would never believe we have an Ortega by our side.”
I swallowed hard, my hands clutching the edge of my seat. “You… you want me to spy on another mafia boss? I don’t belong to this world… I don’t…”
“You’re my wife now,” Nik interjected, his voice low, yet cold and unforgiving. “You will do as I say without arguments.”
I swallowed hard, nodding in response.
“Also, you do belong to this world. You’re an Ortega, get rid of the righteous princess mentality!”
“But what if something goes wrong,” Luca chimed in, his face growing with concern.
“If something goes wrong, she’s expendable…she wouldn’t be the first Ortega who betrayed another family and got killed.” Nikolai said with an air of contempt that had my stomach twisting in its place.
“I can’t do this…”
“You’re not in a position to refuse,” he cut in, his voice sharp and cold.
I wanted to scream at him, to tell him that I deserved a life of my own. But could I really have a life of my own? I was trapped in Nikolai’s world now, and there was no escaping.
“It’s a simple task,” Luca explained, “You’ll go pretty, walk around in your tiny heeled shoes and just wait for Alejandro Cardenas to show himself.”
I bit my lip, torn between fury and fear. I had no choice. This was going to be my life from now on.
Nikolai’s little errand girl.
“We don’t have all night, wife!” He bellowed, “Go get ready!”
I pushed back my chair and made my way out of the room.
My knees trembling with every step I took. Nikolai’s words replayed in my mind.
“Expendable.”
“Just another Ortega who got killed from betraying the clan…”
My throat went dry. My face pale from just thinking about what would happen to me if I was caught.
Every moment bringing me closer to the time of party blurred by like a high speed chase.
My panic deepened.
I took one glance at myself in the mirror and not even the designers red dress could brighten my mood.
The dress hugged my figure like a second skin, making a statement of its own as I walked out.
My heel pumps clinked against the marble as I made my way into Nikolai’s living room where he was waiting with Luca and his men.
As soon as I appeared, the house held its breath.
Nikolai looked up and his cold gaze instantly softened. But as quickly as it came, he called it back up.
“Ahhh! This feels good,” Luca chimed, “The Cardenas won’t know what hit them.”
Nikolai followed behind, slowly, deliberately, his eyes boring holes into my back as I approached the waiting car.
As soon as I stepped in, and was about to haul the door close.
“Wait!” He commanded, and my hands froze on the door.
Nikolai made his way towards me, and wrapped his hand around my neck. I hadn’t realized what he was doing until I looked down and found a sparkling diamond necklace on my neck.
“Don’t screw this up, Ortega.” He said calmly. “I’ll kill you myself.”
I wasn’t planning to screw it up. I was going to survive it, no matter what.
After all, I was Mila Ortega. The princess of the Ortega family.
- Writer
