THE LYING GAME

03

Obediently, I turned to see Lazarus and Vincenzo in a stare battle of some sort.

“You are getting too reckless. Your impatience can cost us everything that I have worked hard to build. My legacy!” Lazarus spat out.

Vincenzo shrugged and I knew he was winning. “While you had laid low here with your puppets, I have tasted how the Underboss tears down the rest of the gangs! Your legacy would be nothing but a shamble if you do not let me make a move now. You should have dealt with the Axtons when you had the chance to…”

“You have no evidence that this is the doing of an Axton.” Lazarus pointed out and Vincenzo handed a paper I didn't notice he had been holding to his father.

I wondered what was in the paper because Lazarus’s countenance changed and his eyes squinted. He slammed the paper into the table and looked at me.

“Do you still want that revenge, Jade?.” He suddenly asked and I froze.

Revenge?.

It was all I’ve ever wanted and yearned for seventeen years.

I wanted revenge each time I yearned for my mother’s warmth. I wanted it everytime I remembered my father’s dying state and last words to me. I wanted revenge every time I wondered if my brother was alive somewhere or long dead like my parents.

A sudden thought had me waver for a second as I looked up at Lazarus. His promise to get revenge for me was only valid if I had fully paid back my debt to him… which I had not done yet.

“I do… but I still have a long way to go,” I responded with an attempt to mask my disappointment.

Lazarus gave a scornful laugh as he reached for the paper on the table, he crumbled it in his palm and flung it away before tapping his cane impatiently on the floor.

“I’ll give you one last chance as I step down Jade. I want you on this mission with Vicenzo. He may be hot-headed but he is very capable. If you succeed in this, I will pardon your parent’s debts and let you go.”

Let me go?

My heart leaped and my brows crumpled as I stared at the old man.

“Would you really clear all of my debts?.” I asked with a tinge of disbelief. Lazarus Russo had never been a generous man. Would he really let me go?.

“I will have an agreement drafted up and sent to you tonight. I know that you have secretly taken fashion classes despite my instructions to focus on your training in the past.”

I swallowed as guilt flooded me.

Somedays, when I wasn't on some mission or wallowing in bitterness over the memories of my loss, I hoped for a day, a day after my revenge was over and I finally had a life of my own…

“When you have completed this task, you know where to find me.”

Lazarus gave Vicenzo one last meaningful glance and turned to leave. Just before he reached the door, he stopped.

“What is the punishment for failure, Jade?.”

“Death.” I forced the bitter words out.

“Try not to fail this time.”

I winced at the threat as Lazarus’s slightly bent back retreated from the room, leaving me all alone with Vincenzo.

Vincenzo observed me for a while, then he turned around to settle into his father’s large leather chair. The door opened and his aide returned with a file which he handed over to Vincenzo and retreated to a side.

“Are you familiar with the Axton name?.” Vincenzo suddenly asked and he lit up a cigarette.

“Axton?” I repeated. The name rang a bell but I couldn't recall where I had heard it from. Judging from the tone in which the father and son had mentioned them, I guess they must be some important people, which was strange because I knew almost everyone who had a speck of importance to themselves in the country.

“I’m afraid not,” I responded.

Vincenzo slidded the file on the desk in my direction and I moved closer to retrieve it. I was still wary of Vincenzo. He seemed reckless and I still despised his egocentric attitude, but when he wasn't busy being narcissistic, he seemed less intolerable.

He took a long drag from his cigarette and I opened up the file.

“They are a century-old Mafia family who have suddenly cut all connections with our part of the world and gone off the radar. Our sources inform me that they are somehow related to the underboss. I assume you’ve heard of him?.”

“I suppose so.” I responded with a frown. I have heard stories about The Underboss. He was a legend who was more of a Mafia Hunter so the gangs hated him for interfering with their business.

“Perfect. He has gotten his silly claws on our partners and he will destroy us soon if we don't clip him in the bud. Your mission is to infiltrate that home and get us a reliable telescope to fish him out.

My brows creased and my hold on the file tightened. “Finding the Underboss is an impossible task.” I argued. The underboss was hard to deal with because he attacked ruthlessly and covered his tracks perfectly. Even worse was the fact that he had no face or a name that could lead to him.

He could be anyone.

Vincenzo lifted his chin. “No free meal comes easy Jade. The Axton walls are ridiculously high, but a c***k came in last night. Get ready to make a move tomorrow.”

“What?!. That fast?. I need some time to prepare. I need to create a cover, make further research. You said it yourself, the Axtons have gone off the radar, I need to be prepared for any surprises…”

“You don't need a cover, Jade. You would be their new nanny.”

My head blanked and the file slipped off my hands, dropping to the floor with a loud bang.

“No way!.”