As they left in August's car, May finally told what had happened. Her voice started out sharp, then leveled out as she told it all—the club, the needle, the heat that followed, and the stranger who had stepped in when things started to blur.
Just as May was in the middle of her explanation, she pulled out her cell phone and texted her chauffeur to bring her car back to the mansion. May put her phone away, as if it was the next thing on her to-do list.
August didn't seem to be surprised. Not even slightly.
"Well," she said calmly, her hand lying on the steering wheel, "there are a lot of people in the empire who would like to see you fail. That's certainly no surprise to you."
She glanced at May, her lips curled slightly.
"We should probably blame godfather for making you the new leader."
The car rolled through the gates of the mansion shortly afterward. The guards stiffened and bowed their heads as May and August exited the car and walked by them without pausing.
In the living room, April was already present, standing in front of several screens. Code was rapidly scrolling down as she frowned on her laptop.
"I installed a new firewall," April muttered, her fingers moving rapidly across the screen. "Bait—to locate where the murderer was. But the, whoever it was, they hacked in. Quick."
May touched her shoulder lightly. "Better luck next time."
April turned around, surprised, as May spoke coolly,
"We'll find him—or them. Everyone who was involved in godfather's death will pay. But first, I need you to find the bitch who injected me with aphrodisiac." April tensed up.
"I don't have a name," May added, "but she's an assassin. I can give you a description. I could hunt her myself, but I'm not in the right state of mind for that. Not unless I take these birth control pills and know I won't be anybody's baby mama anytime soon."
August cut in, one brow raised.
"Shouldn't you also find the mystery guy? Just in case things go south and the pills don't work."
May gave her a look. "What do you mean, go south? The guy was just a one-night stand. Nothing more."
April's eyes went wide.
"My baby sister had a one-night stand?
She leaned in, quite intrigued. "Was he hot? Cute? Sexy? Tell me." May sighed. "It's nothing to worry about. It just happened—by accident. That's all. It's not like I'll ever see him again. That would be… so awkward." April grinned. "It might not be a big deal now, but wait till June finds out. Her so-called baby sister losing her virginity to a mysterious stranger? That's epic.
August smirked. "As for June, whatever happened to her, anyway?"
"She's still filming her movie," April responded. "Rome, I believe," she added.
May let out a sigh and rubbed her temple, already regretting the fact that she'd told them anything at all.
***
Meanwhile, back in his hotel room, Zander lay on his bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he replayed his meeting with Holly in his mind. The voice. The touch. The look she had given him before she had turned and walked away as if it never meant anything to her.
"Fuck," he muttered, running his hand through his hair. "Why did I let her go?"
He turned onto his side, pressing his face into the pillow, his nostrils drinking in the faint trace of her scent like a man obsessed. And it wasnothing short of ridiculous, let alone obsessive.
A loud knock on the door broke him out of his reverie.
"Don Zander," a voice came from the other side. "Your wife is there."
Zander's jaw clenched
"You can leave," Zander stated curtly. His annoyance seeped into his voice.
This silence only made him even more agitated.
"If I hadn't agreed to marry that woman for my sister's sake, he sneered."
He breathed slowly, pushing himself off the bedside. "I need to end this," he said aloud, to himself.
Seizing his robe, he pulled it over his shoulders and made his way to the reception. His mind was already divided—apart to fulfill his obligation, yet lingering in his memory was that of a woman he was completely obsessed with.
Zander headed down to reception with an irritated expression—to be expected, when Lucinda appeared, voice raised, garnering interested stares from both hotel personnel and guests.
"Lucinda," Zander said coolly as he walked towards her, "must you always make a scene? And what are you doing here?"
She spun towards him, her eyes flashing.
"Why am I here?" she scoffed. "I received information that you brought your mistress last night. Is this true?"
The fact that Zander was silent added to her anger.
"I know you've had other mistresses before," Lucinda continued, her voice trembling with rage. "You know what? I chose to ignore it. I figured at least you had the decency to keep them out of sight. But bringing her back to your hotel, of all things?" Lucinda's laughter was bitter and cold. "You're married, for your information. We have a child together. What do you mean by treating me this way?"
Zander's expression did not soften. If anything, it hardened.
"We both know this marriage is no more than a compromise between our two gangs," he said matter-of-fact. "There's no love here. No feelings. On either side."
He took a step closer to her, his voice lower and menace creeping in.
"So, stop embarrassing yourself and go back home. I've had enough of your ranting for one day." Lucinda looked at him, hurt and enraged, and the space between them swelled with all the things that had never been between husband and wife.
Lucinda's fists tightened at her side as she turned to leave the room. She turned at the doorway to speak back to the assembly from over her shoulder.
"I'll find that bitch," she said. "And I'll end her."
She stormed out of the room, the high heels pounding the marble floor like gunfire.
Zander hasn't moved. He only watched as she left, his face inscrutable—until the doors closed behind her.
Then he sighed softly, not from fear, but from compassion.
"If only she knew who she was messing with," he thought.
Because whoever that woman was, whoever May truly was, Lucinda had just declared war on someone much more dangerous than herself.
***
Zander turned his attention from the doors and smoothed his robe, his face resuming its mask of calm indifference.
He would sit back and watch.
Watch how Lucinda overreached. Watch how she tried to push the boundaries of things she didn't understand. And when she finally had her sights set on May, Zander knew exactly how things would go.
Humiliation comes first. Then comes the
Because if Lucinda believed she had only to play games with May and then walk away unscathed, she was soon to reap the consequences of that reckoning