Chapter Five
1093 Words
“She’s gone?” Harlod screamed. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
The butler could barely stand the pressure of his master shouting at him. “She left a note in her bedroom. Said she wanted freedom…to live her life.”
“The f**k is that,” He screamed. “Zixler, send the patrol on a search. Make sure they don’t come back here empty handed.”
A young, towering man looking like a rock sculpture stepped forwards and bowed. “Sure thing, sir.” He strolled out.
“What the hell was she thinking?” It was Mrs. Olson now. “She was obviously panicking, her hand jittering like a leaf in the wind.”
“I don’t know what I deserve in getting that passionless, foolish daughter! Goddamnit!” Harlod was still yelling.
“Olson, you need to calm down.” Mrs. Olson approached her husband. “Surely, there must be a way to fix this mess.”
“The hell it is.” Harlod spun around to Lina, tucked away in a corner, fiddling with her phone like a dejected cat. “Lina, you’re replacing Zoey. The wedding must go on!”
“What?” Her head snapped like a pulled trigger. “What…what do you mean?”
“You got my message loud and clear.” Olson pressed. “There is no further explanation.”
“You don’t even know if I want this?” Lina stood up. “You don’t even care if I like him.”
“Lina dear,” it was Mrs Olson now. “You don’t need to like Alexander to be his spouse. This has to be done.”
“No, mum.” Lina rejected the offer sharply. “I will not be pushed about like some form of replacement.”
“Lina,” Harlod walked towards the standing, seething Lina now, struggling to control his rage. “You know how you’ve held the reins for this family until now. You have to help us achieve our biggest victory yet.”
Lina shook her head, adamant, tears trickling down her face, etched with a deadly scowl.
“We’re not saying you should get married to Alexander.” Her mother came in. “We are only saying you should play the substitute here. It’s all we could ever ask for, Lina.”
“So, you’re indirectly saying my role in this house is to serve as a replacement, while Zoey gets the choice to live her life the way she pleases, hmm?”
“You’ve helped this family before now, Lina.” Mrs. Olson pressed. “What’s the problem now?”
“I hate to be the one who's always used as a replacement.” She cried. “It hurts. With everything I do for this family, I am always sidelined.”
There was silence in the air that lingered rather too long. AFter a moment, Harlod walked away from the dining room to the lounge, while his wife approached Lina, wrapping her arms around her shoulder. “This is the last offer we are asking from you.” Mrs. Olson continued. “You know we value and cherish you in this family.”
Lina sniffed. “Why is it difficult for others to see?”
“Probably because they are foolish, or stupid.” Mrs. Olson continued. “But we know your value. We respect you and we know what you are capable of.”
“So, what happens to Zoey?” Lina asked.
Mrs. Olson turned to Harlod, who was seething on a sofa. “By the time I lay my hands on that b***h of a daughter, words haven’t been invented yet to describe the kind of torture she gets to experience from my hand.
“Oh, I see.” Lina scoffed. Silence lingered in the air for a moment before Lina broke it. “Fine. I’ll do it. But don’t you expect me to be grateful.”
Mrs. Olson squeezed her daughter’s hand. “This means so much, Lina dear. You’ve done so much for this family, and we value you as an asset.” Leaving her with a peck on the cheek, she joined her husband on the lounge.
“So, how do we go about the switch?” she asked her husband.
“The Conklins don’t have to know a thing, and no soul breathes anything to any outsider. I’ll speak to the men when I’m a bit calm.”
Mrs. Olson sat in the adjacent couch to Harlod, but Lina stood back at the dining area, seething, boiling. She didn’t become loyal to the family only to be treated like a puppet. She wanted her value in the cartel to be both in word and in deed.
Unable to stand there any longer, she strolled up to her room, thinking about the new task forced into her hand—a task she never asked for, yet it was forced into her hand.
She would freely secure heavy shipment for the cartel and shed as much blood as possible. Those missions make her feel alive, get her blood pumping. But this—this assignment made her feel like a puppet. She leaned back, falling into the bed on her back.
She had to figure out a way to make the plan work in her favour. Then he crossed her mind. This could be an opportunity for her. Should Alexander accept her, it makes her a hot shot in the Mafia world, and the Conklins would also be glad with what she was able to bring to the table.
She sat up in a jolt, then stood up and walked to the mirror, examining herself. She was beautiful—she was every woman’s dream, and every mafia Lord would kill to have her, considering how she has eighty percent the heart of a devil and twenty percent the heart of an angel.
She looked innocent, the perfect undercover, but words haven’t been invented to describe her fluency in martial arts, fighting, and handling weapons. She was the perfect dream. How could anybody possibly reject her?
She was a hotshot, and she was going to see this as an opportunity, not as a loss. She imagined what it would look like to call the shot as the second in command in the large family of the Conklins, and what it would look like for her to get in her element.
“This isn’t such a bad plan after all.” She chuckled to herself, feeling more ready than ever.
- Writer
