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38

"You and Mike are the only ones who do. She'll find out soon enough. As you know, it doesn't take time for things to get to her ear. She's an expert at extracting information after all."

"She will rip you apart, you know that right?" He scoffed and shook his head. He was right. Belle would have my head on the platter with a tomato stuffed in my mouth just like a pig considering her temper is just as bad as mine. Maybe even worse.

"I'll talk to her myself." I rested my head against the sofa and shut my eyes. Chatting with her regarding this would be a challenge that I was willing to take on. I'd just have to protect my goods and my head because her wrath is something that even Federigo feared, let alone me.

"You do realize that you've inherited an entire family of enemies, right?"

"A family that dreams of our power. They have nothing on us and they know it. Having me attacked was a foolish move for them."

The Aguillards are powerful but not as powerful as us. They have always dreamt of our power, something they can never have but we still forged an alliance and made them our allies that have now stabbed our backs which was a grave mistake on their part. Astor will pay for sure but everyone associated with him will suffer as well and I'll make sure of it.

"You wouldn't have even cared if it was just some random girl. Instead, you would have helped him cover it up." He said after a few minutes of haunting silence.

"Now that's where you're wrong." I hissed and opened my eyes to see him pouring himself some scotch from the bar situated on the other side of the room. "Astor may be a friend but I'd never help him cover up a disgusting thing such as rape. You know that I've never forced women but here you are assuming things as usual."

"That woman has clouded your vision and judgement, Leo." His brows furrowed as he slammed the glass on the counter to emphasize his point. "Can't you see that?"

"She hasn't clouded anything. She's just a friend that I promised to protect."

"She has gotten under your skin and has driven you to go against your own friend who you've known for years."

"It was my call, not hers. She didn't even know that me and Astor were mates." Arie's disheartened face clouds my mind again, making me clench my fists unconsciously. I was doing this for her and myself. She deserved justice for what happened to her.

Now I have to get rid of him more than ever considering the threat he is imposing on the people I love. My family would also be under his radar but if he even touches a hair on their head, I'd give him a punishment worse than death itself.

"You have feelings for her and it's dangerous in this business. You better drop her." He knits his brows further creating a unibrow as he maneuvered around the counter, staring at me.

"Stop!" I warned him, lifting myself off the couch.

"You know I'm right. You made the same mistake with Ver..."

"I said stop!" I growled at the man, glaring viciously into his soul. Instead of backing down, he strode towards me, inclining with my height and glaring right back.

"Or what?" He said through his gritted teeth. "You'll hit me? Huh? I'd like to see you try, boy." My heart gushed boiling blood through my veins, heating my body up immediately. Someone needs to hold me back before I knock this man's perfect teeth out and replace them with ugly dentures.

"Don't make me do something we both might regret." I inch closer to his face where I could feel the air escaping his flared nostrils.

Before Federigo could fire back at me, the huge doors flew open, interrupting our heated fight and making our eyes shoot up to the tall brunette woman standing in a pastel blue dress with an evident scowl plastered on her face. I'm glad she came at the right time or else this would have ended in a place where I couldn't look him or anyone else in the eye.

"What the hell is going on in here?" She yelled at us, forcing us to look at the marble floor guiltily. She walked in with her heels clicking with every step she took. Coming into the reach of my arms, she noticed the recent bandage covering my left bicep and furrowed her brows. "Oh my God!" She gasped. "What happened?"

"Nothing, mother." I go back to the sofa and slouch my tired body in it.

"It isn't nothing." She sat beside me and caressed my face slowly. "Tell me what hap..." She gets cut off by my ringing phone.

Pulling the vibrating thing out of my pocket, I speak into it. "I'm in my office, just come in there."

Strutting through the open doors, Vince came in with the usual smug smile planted on his rugged face. "Give them to me and stop grinning." He ate up his smile and handed me five phones.

"Whose are they?" Federigo asked as he walked closer to us.

"The men that attacked me" I retorted and turned my attention back to Vince. "Did any of them ring yet?"

"No," he replied, "but they should be ringing any moment now." With that, one of the phones began ringing in my lap, flashing "No Caller ID" on the screen. Astor has a surprise waiting for him on the other side of the phone.

Picking up the phone, I put it to my ear and waited for the person to say something. "Is it done?" A familiar voice said, dragging a dull knife through my heart. A surprise of a lifetime just blew up in my face, shaking my core. It can't be. This fucking traitor.

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