BENEATH THE MASK

From the moment I was born, my life was a lie. They held me up under the sterile hospital lights, and in that instant, a mistake was made—a mistake that set my entire existence on a path I had no choice but to follow. They thought I was a boy. A son. The heir to the empire my father had built with blood and fear. But I wasn't. I wasn't the heir they expected. I was Ava, a girl trapped in the body of a son that my father, Don Ricardo, needed me to be. So I became Alex, the son my father believed he’d always had. Hormones, drugs, supplements—I took it all, without question, to keep the lie alive. And so, I played the part. I wore my hair short, my voice deep, my body strong. I learned how to shoot, how to fight, how to kill. I was taught that loyalty to the family came above all else, that weakness was unforgivable, and that trust was for fools. I buried any softness, any flicker of femininity deep inside me, in a place where no one could ever find it. I became cold, ruthless, and calculating, just as I was expected to be. For years, it worked. I became a prince in my father’s kingdom, feared and respected by all who crossed me. No one questioned who I was. No one doubted my loyalty to the family. But I never forgot. Every time I looked in the mirror, I saw the truth staring back at me, taunting me with the life I could never have. I was a prisoner in my own body, caged by a secret that could never come out. And yet, I couldn’t let go of the hope that one day, I might be free. Then he came into my life—Ethan. At first, he was just another recruit, another face in the sea of men who came through my father’s doors looking for power, money, and a place in the world. He was different, though. I felt it from the moment I saw him. There was something in his eyes, something that made me look twice. I should have stayed away. I should have kept him at a distance like I did everyone else. But there was something about Ethan that I couldn’t ignore. He was clever, too clever, and he asked too many questions. And I was drawn to him in ways I couldn’t explain—ways that were dangerous. Ways that would ruin everything. I didn’t know it then, but Ethan wasn’t who he said he was either. He had his own secrets, secrets that would eventually tear my world apart. But in the beginning, he was just the man who made me feel something for the first time in years—something real. And for that, I was willing to risk it all. ---