So guys I have something to tell you all.
*Drum roll please* đĽ
So you will be getting a sequel.
I will post a few chapters in this book to give it a justified ending and after that I will write a sequel.
So please continue to support me and my work.â¤ď¸
*******
Ariana's POV:
Today my friends and I were going to the university to register for classes. I got ready early in the morning and went to Noah's house. They insisted on coming to pick me up from the Romano mansion but I wanted to see where they lived, so I decided to go there myself.
Ever since I told them about Valente, both of them had been endlessly teasing me. Jessy especially looked like she had discovered some shocking secret of the century.
I still remembered her expression when I told her that Valente and I were dating.
"You? In love?" she had asked dramatically.
"Yes, me, in love," I had replied while glaring at her.
Noah had looked equally stunned but unlike Jessy, he had only smiled slightly and told me that he was happy for me.
And honestly... I was happy too.
For the first time in a very long while, I felt peaceful.
The date with Valente that day had changed something inside me after telling him everything. I felt lighter around him. Safer. I could be myself without constantly thinking about dangers, enemies or responsibilities.
I reached Noah's house and rang the bell. He opened it almost immediately.
"You're fast," he commented.
"And you're slow. Let's go."
"Don't you want to come inside first?"
"We're already getting late. I'll visit another day."
He nodded and got into the car beside me. We then drove to Jessy's house where she was already waiting outside while holding an iced coffee.
"Finally," she sighed dramatically. "I thought you both forgot about me."
"We considered it," Noah replied calmly.
Jessy glared at him while I laughed and started driving toward the university.
As we reached the campus, all three of us became quiet for a moment.
The university was huge and breathtakingly beautiful. The old architecture gave it a historical charm while the atmosphere felt lively and exciting.
Students were walking everywhere while carrying files and chatting excitedly.
"This is really happening," Jessy whispered.
"Yup," I smiled softly.
"We're entering university together," Noah muttered while looking around thoughtfully.
"Honestly, I never expected this."
"Same," I admitted.
Life really was unpredictable.
If someone had told me a year ago that I would discover my real family, become part of their mafia world, survive attacks and then enter university while dating one of the most powerful mafia bosses in New York, I would have laughed in their face.
Yet here I was.
****
We walked toward the registration hall together.
I had chosen Computer Science while Noah picked Business Management and Jessy chose Psychology.
"You really picked the hardest major possible," Jessy complained while looking at me.
"I like it."
"You enjoy suffering," Noah commented.
I rolled my eyes. They don't know about my hacking skills yet. They just know that I have some computer skills and I was good at it but they didn't know about my code name and real identity..
The registration process took a long time but thankfully Tony fratello had already arranged everything for us, so we didn't face any complications.
Once we finished all the paperwork, Jessy stretched tiredly.
"I'm starving. Let's go eat."
We all agreed immediately and went to a nearby restaurant for lunch.
We had barely started eating when my phone suddenly rang.
I glanced at the screen. Tony fratello. I immediately answered.
"Princess."
"Hey Tony fratello. We finished registration already. Thank you for arranging everything."
"That's good." His voice sounded serious.
"Princess, I need your help with something important. Can you come to the headquarters immediately?"
My smile disappeared.
"Is everything alright?"
There was a brief silence.
"I'll explain when you get here."
I immediately became alert.
"Okay. We're coming."
After hanging up, Noah and Jessy looked at me seriously.
"What happened?" Noah asked.
"I don't know yet."
"But it sounds serious," Jessy muttered.
I nodded slowly.
Tony fratello rarely sounded tense. If he was asking for my help directly, then the situation was definitely bad.
We immediately left the restaurant and drove toward the Romano headquarters.
The moment we entered the premises, I noticed the atmosphere.
Something was wrong.
The guards looked tense. The workers were quieter than usual and everyone seemed cautious.
Noah also noticed it.
"The atmosphere is heavy," he muttered.
We quickly went upstairs toward Tony fratello's office.
As soon as I entered, I saw Tony fratello, Leo fratello and papa inside. Their expressions were grim.
The moment Tony fratello saw me, his tense expression softened slightly.
"Princess."
"What happened?" I asked immediately.
Leo fratello crossed his arms tightly.
"There's a mole inside the mafia."
I nodded.
"Yes, Tony fratello told us that. Is it getting serious?"
"Yes. Our information has been leaking repeatedly," Tony fratello said coldly.
"Shipments. Deals. Routes. Someone has been feeding information to the enemy."
Papa sighed heavily.
"And because of that we've suffered major losses."
I frowned deeply.
"How long has this been happening?"
"For months," Tony fratello answered quietly.
I was stunned.
"For months?"
He nodded.
"At first we thought it was coincidence or bad luck. But then the attacks became too precise."
Leo fratello slammed a file onto the desk.
"Someone is betraying us from the inside."
I sat down quietly while processing everything.
A mole inside the Romano mafia...
And judging from their expressions, they probably suspected that the mole was someone close to them.
"Do you suspect anyone?" I asked carefully.
The room became silent.
Then papa spoke.
"That's the problem."
"The information that leaked was highly confidential," Leo fratello added coldly. "Only trusted people had access to it."
I immediately understood.
This wasn't a low-level betrayal.
The mole was someone important.
Tony fratello sighed tiredly and rubbed his forehead.
"Princess, I didn't want to involve you again after everything that happened recently..."
"But we have no other choice," papa finished quietly.
I looked at them seriously.
"Tell me everything."
For the next hour they explained every incident carefully.
Failed business deals. Destroyed shipments. Leaked routes. Ambushes. Missing money. Every detail painted a clearer picture. And the more I listened, the more serious I became.
"This isn't random," I muttered.
Tony fratello looked at me immediately.
"What do you mean?"
"The leaks are too accurate. Whoever the mole is... they understand the Romano system very well."
I walked toward the large screen inside the office.
"Do you have all the transaction records and internal logs?"
Tony fratello nodded immediately and handed me access. I sat down and started working.
The room became silent except for the sound of my keyboard.
I accessed their systems one by one. Financial records. Communication logs. Security access. Internal transfers. Every few minutes I frowned deeper.
Someone had erased their traces carefully. Very carefully. But not perfectly.
I narrowed my eyes. Interesting.
"They know cybersecurity," I muttered.
Leo fratello moved closer.
"You found something?"
"Not yet. But whoever this is, they're smart."
I continued typing rapidly.
Hours passed.
Jessy eventually brought coffee for everyone while the others remained tense.
No one interrupted me.
Then finally...
I froze.
"There's a pattern."
Everyone looked at me instantly.
"What pattern?" Tony fratello asked.
"The information leaks always happen after financial authorization approvals."
Tony fratello frowned.
"That's normal."
"Yes but look carefully." I pointed at the screen.
"Every leak occurs within fifteen minutes after these specific approvals."
Leo fratello leaned closer.
"So someone from finance?"
I shook my head slowly.
"No. Someone with higher access."
I opened another hidden file.
"This person used encrypted rerouting to hide the communication logs."
Papa frowned.
"Can you trace it?"
A small smile appeared on my lips.
"They underestimated me."
I started tracing the hidden routes carefully.
The deeper I went, the more hidden files appeared. Deleted records. Burner accounts. Encrypted messages.
Whoever this person was, they had been preparing this for a long time.
Suddenly the system blocked my access.
I smirked.
"Oh, now you're trying to stop me?"
"What happened?" Leo fratello asked.
"They placed countermeasures."
"Can you bypass them?"
I cracked my fingers slightly.
"Obviously."
Tony fratello chuckled quietly for the first time since I arrived.
I quickly bypassed the firewall and finally gained access to the deleted communication logs. Then I stopped moving completely.
My expression slowly froze.
No...
"That's impossible," Papa muttered beside me.
Everyone stared at the screen.
A single name appeared repeatedly.
Asher Reid.
The room fell silent.
I slowly turned toward my brothers.
Their expressions were terrifying.
"No," papa said immediately. "There must be a mistake."
I also wanted to believe that.
Asher had practically grown up with them.
He was trusted. Respected. Family.
I remembered him too. He had always been kind to me and treated me gently after I returned to the Romano family. He joked with my brothers, ate with us and protected the mafia loyally for years.
No one would have imagined that he could betray us.
I continued checking carefully. Maybe someone framed him. I just couldn't believe it.
But the more evidence I uncovered... The worse it became.
Encrypted transactions connected directly to him. Secret accounts. Hidden messages. Deleted communications with enemy groups.
Every trail led back to Asher.
Leo fratello suddenly punched the wall violently.
"That bastard!"
But Tony fratello...
He remained silent. And somehow his silence was far more terrifying.
"When did this start?" he finally asked quietly.
I checked the dates carefully.
"...About six months ago."
Tony fratello closed his eyes briefly.
"Asher..." papa muttered painfully.
I could see genuine hurt in their expressions.
Betrayal from enemies was expected in the mafia world.
But betrayal from someone you trusted?
That was different. That hurt deeper.
Tony fratello finally opened his eyes again.
They were ice cold now.
"What do we do?"
I thought carefully for a moment.
Then an idea formed in my mind.
"We trap him."
Leo fratello frowned.
"How?"
"We feed him fake information."
Everyone immediately understood.
"A false shipment route," Noah said.
I nodded.
"We create a fake operation and only allow Asher access to it. If the information leaks again, we'll have undeniable proof."
Tony fratello stared at me for a few seconds.
Then he nodded slowly.
"Do it."
The next few hours were spent preparing the trap.
Fake routes. Fake schedules. Fake transactions. Everything was made to look completely real.
Only Asher received access. Then we waited.
The atmosphere inside the office became unbearably tense. Hours passed slowly.
No one relaxed.
Papa stood near the window silently while Leo fratello paced around impatiently. I even felt nervous.
A part of me still hoped that Asher would prove us wrong. Maybe there was another explanation.
But deep inside... I already knew the truth.
Finally... An alert suddenly appeared on my screen.
I immediately straightened.
"He took the bait."
Everyone rushed toward me.
I traced the outgoing communication instantly. The fake information had already been transmitted outside the system.
And this time... I caught everything.
Every route. Every transfer. Every communication. The sender was Asher. There was no denying it anymore.
Leo fratello cursed violently. Papa looked deeply disappointed. But Tony fratello remained terrifyingly calm.
Too calm.
"What now?" Leo fratello asked quietly.
Tony fratello slowly stood up. His cold gaze landed on the screen.
"Now," he said calmly, "we deal with the traitor."
A chill ran down my spine. Because I knew exactly what that tone meant.
Asher's fate was sealed.
****
Hello dear readers.
Happy reading.
Love, Stella.