Third Person’s POV
NATHALIA was busy contemplating her thoughts on how she would be able to escape the room she was in when suddenly the door in front of her opened.
She raised her gaze, and anger immediately surged in her heart as Cole appeared before her.
“You traitor! How dare you!”
She clenched her fist before quickly getting off the bed and lunging at him. She didn’t mind the pain in her body. She unleashed a series of slaps on his face, devoid of any hint of emotion.
Until he swiftly caught both her hands and forcefully pushed her, causing her to lie down on the bed. He gave her a menacing glare.
“How could you do this to us? Especially to Stephen? You grew up staying beside him all the time! You’ve been with them for how many years already. They’re your friends, and no matter how much—”
“Your husband killed my father, and because of your parents, my mother has been killed in a mission as well,” he interrupted, cutting off whatever she was about to say.
Cole walked slowly towards a chair on the side, picked it up, and sat facing Nathalia.
“Besides, I never treated them as my friends. All those years that I have been with them are just an act and part of the plan,” he said lifelessly.
Anger was the only feeling Nathalia felt towards Cole at this moment. But even so, she couldn’t help but convince herself that he still cared for Stephen and others to some extent.
However, she was jolted out of her thoughts when she suddenly remembered something. There was something in Cole’s words that caught her attention.
“What do you mean that your mother was killed because of a mission that my parents gave to her?” she asked, confused.
How did her parents get involved in his anger?
At that moment, Cole chuckled and shook his head.
“I forgot that you have fucking amnesia.” He shrugged. “Anyway, even if you don’t have one, you still don’t have any idea about it. So, there’s no point for me to explain it further to you.”
Nathalia furrowed her brow. For reasons she couldn’t quite grasp, she suddenly felt a sense of unease.
“What do you mean?” she inquired.
Cole stared at her with a blank expression, his jaw clenching.
“My mother is a mafia reaper. What do you think it means?” he said.
Nathalia’s mouth fell open in shock, and Cole sighed before he stood up and wearily returned the chair to its previous position.
“You know what? There’s no point in knowing and remembering what happened in the past. After all, you’ll leave this country with my brother. Whatever you do, that’s the reality from which you cannot escape anymore. Just focus on the present and accept your fate,” he said.
He turned away and walked off.
Cole had left a while ago, but Nathalia remained lost in thought. She seemed unable to grasp and accept the conclusion that had been drawn from that conversation.
If Cole’s mother is a mafia reaper and her parents are the ones who gave her a mission, then it means...
“Truth be told, we should be the ones to respect you. Always remember that. You’re our future queen.”
“You’re our queen.”
Nathalia covered her mouth and slowly shook her head.
Her parents were part of the organization. She came from a mafia family as well.
But what she didn’t understand until now is: how did she become their future queen?
That’s why, ever since she was a child, she had often been trained by her parents in combat. There were also times when it was Stephen himself who trained her. Aries, too, sometimes trained alongside her.
But their only explanation to her was that she could eventually protect herself against their competitors in the business who aimed to bring them down. The reason she had bodyguards was because of them.
It turns out that they actually trained her to become the next one who will lead their family someday, since she’s the only child. That her so-called bodyguards were actually their mafia guards and reapers.
She gasped as she realized that her upbringing was within a family of mafia reapers.
She clutched her head as a sudden pang shot through her. She felt like her mind couldn’t handle the sudden flood of memories from the past along with the new information she had just learned.
Aside from the training she went through, she also remembered that before Stephen’s sudden disappearance, Shantel had taught her how to use a gun.
She didn’t find it weird back then. She thought everything was normal because she often watched her friends’ training as well.
Now, she deeply realizes that being skilled in combat comes naturally to her. That’s why when she was taught by Mads again, it seemed like she already knew what to do. Her body moves on its own accord, too.
Even when they went to Shantel’s shooting range, she felt like she was already familiar with handling a gun, even though she was nervous.
With all that in mind, Nathalia is more than determined to escape the hell she’s been in. The only problem is that she has no idea where Aries has taken her.
She scanned the entire room with her eyes. It had no windows or even a small opening for her to glimpse outside.
She bit her lower lip and slowly approached the door. She attempted to open it, but it was locked from the outside.
“Don’t even try to escape anymore. Because by tomorrow morning, you and our boss will be leaving!” Almost maliciously, she heard the demonic laughter from the guards outside.
She forcefully pounded on the door before weakly sitting down on the bed. She needed to find a way to escape. She couldn’t be taken to another country by Aries.
She fervently prayed that her husband would find her. Even though it seemed impossible, she believed that Stephen would locate her.