Exposed to the CEO Behind the Mafia Mask

Veronica’s POV

God, what a nightmare this backwater hellhole turned out to be. The underground salon I visited today was decent enough, but these people are complete amateurs compared to the high-end establishments in the Thorne family territory. I needed to escape this pathetic safe house as soon as possible.

"Monica, shut that screaming brat up. His wailing is echoing through the entire warehouse," I snapped while stepping into this decrepit hideout my father had somehow managed to secure for us in the neutral zone. "So, what’s the verdict?" I struck a pose to show off my fresh transformation.

"Perfect, it’s identical to Ivy’s style," Monica nodded approvingly while checking the security monitors. "But that salon trip was reckless. The Thorne syndicate has eyes everywhere."

"Exactly the reaction I was hoping for. When my gorgeous Don discovers that witch betrayed him, he’ll lose his mind seeing me like this." My pulse quickened thinking about running into Caleb. "Plus, I’m a complete stranger in this territory."

"This child never stops his tantrum. He was so much calmer when we first snatched him from that daycare," Monica complained while pacing near the reinforced windows.

"Just slip him something from my stash. I’ve got enough sedatives right here in my bag, interested?" I suggested casually while checking my reflection in the cracked mirror.

"Have you lost your mind? We can’t eliminate the kid before Caleb fulfills our demands. Let him exhaust himself with all that screaming."

"Honestly Monica, maternal instincts clearly aren’t your forte." I burst into laughter watching her revolted expression toward the child. "You should have seen yourself when you grabbed him from the playground."

"He simply can’t stand looking at you," Monica shot back venomously while adjusting her shoulder holster. "Your father should have secured better accommodations. This place is absolutely revolting."

"My thoughts exactly, but he insisted we needed to blend into the shadows here. Still, I’m going out of my mind with boredom."

A sharp rap at the reinforced door interrupted us. That useful idiot Brodie had arrived with supplies. Monica rushed to let him through the multiple security locks, and he immediately pulled her against him. At least he brought provisions and ammunition. She dragged him toward the back room, and I knew precisely what that desperate woman was planning. Within minutes, her shameless moaning filled the air like some animal in heat.

After a while, Brodie departed through the emergency exit, leaving Monica hiding in the bedroom like a coward. I demanded she handle the screaming child, but she told me to manage it myself. The audacity nearly made me strike her across the face with my concealed knife.

I tossed a package of crackers at the little monster, and he hurled every single one back at my face with surprising accuracy. My rage was boiling over like molten steel. Fine, I would secure this obnoxious kid to the support beam and abandon him there while I slept. His problems weren’t mine to solve.

I retreated to my makeshift room, plugged in my headphones to block his endless crying, and pulled my silk sleep mask over my eyes. Tomorrow I needed to look absolutely stunning for my reunion with my darling Don.

"Stop violently shaking me, you beast!" I shrieked in absolute terror.

A massive hand tore the mask from my face. My room was filled with enormous intimidating men in tactical gear, their assault rifles trained on me.

"Someone help me! Monica, they’re going to execute me, help!" I screamed in absolute terror, convinced my life was ending in this godforsaken warehouse.

"Silence, you worthless piece of trash!" one of them roared through his tactical mask. "Federal task force, you criminal scum! On your feet, you’re coming to headquarters. Child abduction of a mafia heir, really? Maximum security prison is calling your name!"

Suddenly a massive German Shepherd was snarling directly above me, its fangs gleaming in the harsh spotlight. I went completely rigid with fear. Federal agents? What were they accusing me of? I spotted Monica in the doorway with her arms restrained behind her back in professional zip ties, and tears started streaming down my cheeks. "Monica, please tell me this is some twisted nightmare."

"You think this is entertainment, you complete fool? We’re caught, you absolute moron! Your salon adventure did this, I specifically warned you against going into Thorne territory, you thoughtless idiot!"

"Don’t you dare speak to me that way, Monica! What is this freezing thing?" I felt something metallic clicking around my wrists with mechanical precision.

"Jewelry fit for federal custody!" One of the agents laughed mockingly while tightening the restraints.

"I don’t understand," I whispered in confusion as the reality crashed over me.

"Federal handcuffs, you brain-dead fool. We’re under arrest for kidnapping the heir to the most powerful syndicate on the East Coast, you circus act!" Monica screamed furiously while struggling against her bonds.

"Time for your luxury transportation to federal holding," another agent announced while shoving me forward roughly toward the exit.

They forced us from the warehouse and stuffed us into an actual armored transport vehicle with reinforced cage compartments. Before being crammed into that claustrophobic federal prison on wheels, I glimpsed the screaming child now peacefully nestled in the arms of an incredibly dangerous-looking man with ice-blue eyes and facial scars. Miraculously, the kid had finally stopped his endless crying the moment he saw his rescuer.

The reality crashed over me like ice water from the Hudson River. My carefully constructed plan had crumbled completely against federal surveillance. Caleb would never see my perfect transformation now. Instead of winning back the most feared Don on the Eastern seaboard, I was heading to a maximum security federal facility. The neutral territory I had dismissed as insignificant had somehow been under federal surveillance despite our precautions and my father’s connections.

As the armored transport pulled away from our compromised hideout, I pressed my face against the cold reinforced bars of our mobile federal prison. Everything I had worked toward was dissolving before my eyes like smoke. My father’s elaborate kidnapping scheme had failed spectacularly against federal task force operations, and now we would face the consequences of our desperate gamble against the Thorne syndicate.

The child I had treated as merely an inconvenient bargaining chip was safe now, rescued from our incompetent custody by what appeared to be his actual father. Meanwhile, Monica and I were trapped like animals in federal custody, heading toward an uncertain fate in maximum security that would likely separate me from Caleb forever.