The Mafia Lord's Daughter

CHAPTER 3

They were quiet in the car as they drove to the Hugo mansion using Grace's directions. He stopped when they were a few blocks away from the house.

The day was still young, and the sky a dark shade of blue, so it would be easy to sneak back into the compound. She got out of the car and waved at Xavier, hoping never to see him again as she ran towards the lowered fence she had escaped the night before.

Having escaped the first phase of her challenge, which was jumping the fence with no one noticing, Grace made quiet strides toward her room. Luckily, the lights were off, even the one to her father's study. The tree facing her room stood there, waiting for her to use it as leverage to get into her room without anyone knowing. She lifted the window with her two hands as carefully as possible as the fragrance from her room hit her nose. She fell on her back onto her soft carpet and exhaled. Home sweet home.

If anyone had told Grace Hugo that she would be successful at beating her father, Festus Hugo, at his games, she would have laughed at the person to their face. But having crossed the hardest part of escaping the night and sneaking back in before the sky was bright, Grace was excited to have done this like a pro. She thought she could be a vigilante and swiftly fight crimes in the middle of the night.

Immediately, her back hit her soft carpet, and she inhaled the familiar smell of her room; Grace concluded this was a mission accomplished for her and would be added to her diary. Maybe after she died, and it fell into the right hands, people would celebrate her for being that child who escaped her father's strong security. Or so she had thought. She rolled up on her back only to meet her successful failure.

She heard a voice, and she froze to a spot.

"You finally came back home." Festus' voice resonated in the almost empty room.

She tightened her fist and gritted her teeth. Followed by a click from her bulb switch, which revealed a seated Festus Hugo and another person she believed to be a guard. He was sweating all over with a black eye. Grace felt sorry immediately for the boy. He must have been in charge of ensuring security last night, but under his watch, his precious little daughter, Grace, went off to a party, got intimate with a total stranger, and was coming back early in the morning.

Grace had to admit Festus was a scary man who no one messed with. But he was a loving and overprotective father to Grace. The boy was shivering in fear, staring back at Grace while she gave him an apologetic smile before facing her father.

"Dad, please let him go."

"Grace Anne Hugo Jr., You should know that for every action comes consequences." He tilted his head towards the man. "This man here has a family to look after, and he needs the money from this job, but because of your carelessness, he's going to lose it all."

"Please, sir. I'll be more careful next time." He cried. Grace could tell he depended on the salary this job gave him, and it was all her fault the man was losing his means of livelihood.

"Dad, I promise I won't sneak out anymore."

"That's too late, mi hija; this one has to go."

Festus wasn't someone you called outright cruel. He was someone who didn't tolerate betrayal or laxity, not from his family or his workers. He wanted things to be done exactly how he planned them; while some saw it as controlling, Festus was a man of his word, and he was meticulous. He always had a pipe stuck to his mouth and an expensive suit on his shoulder, and while at home, he was both a boss and a father.

Being in a successful crime company for over two decades has accumulated enough enemies for him. Any slight carelessness could lead to losing everything he has worked for, especially his family. Grace was his jewel, and he must protect her at all costs, even if she didn't realize it now.

Festus' hair was always gelled backward with side parting; even now, it was still that way. He had bluish-green eyes which were weak with age, and beneath the black dye he frequented, he had sprouts of white hair. He wasn't one to show weakness or tolerate it, and old age was just as much weakness as a lousy child. This was why Grace cried to save Fernando, the bodyguard who was supposed to keep watch over her. He ignored her.

"I think this is the end of your time at the Hugo mansion. You should be lucky you still have your life." He declared. "And you." He turned to Grace, "Where are you coming from, in that dress that barely covers your body?"

Grace didn't say a word. She sat, curled up next to her bed. It was either she thought he was asking a question that didn't deserve a reply or the response to that question was glaring enough, seeing how she was dressed. Saying it would make little difference.

"You are a disappointment, mi hija. I thought you were smart enough, but you want me to keep you under strict surveillance, and that, you're getting. You are grounded. You cannot leave your room under any circumstances. Stay here, reflect on your life, and see if your stupid actions would make your grandmother proud."

His anger reverberated through his body, covered in woolen sweatshirts. He had cotton pants on and flip-flops. He was dressed properly for the weather, unlike Grace, who was underdressed. She must not have felt it last night because the alcohol in her system didn't let her feel anything other than pleasure.

After her father left, she slumped on her bed. All the emotions flooded her at once. The guilt for making a man lose his job. She could imagine him going home and announcing it to his wife and the disappointment on their faces because their money supply had just been cut short.

Being the daughter of a Mafia Lord like her Father has made her social life choked up and has cost her something important to her.