Mirabel Blanco I groaned loudly when my alarm went off again. Next time, I’m turning it off completely before I smash the thing. Blinking against the light pouring through my window, I sat up in bed. I waited for the usual morning chaos—the shouting and clatter of men stuffing their faces downstairs—but heard nothing. Strange. I grabbed my phone to check the time: 10:09 a.m. That’s odd. Never in all my years living here had a morning been so quiet. It wasn’t comforting—it was unsettling. Either there was a meeting I wasn’t told about, or everyone had mysteriously vanished. Curiosity got the better of me. After freshening up and dressing in tights, a plain shirt, and sneakers, I armed myself. I grabbed a gun from my hidden stash—my "Dream World," a closet full of weapons instead of jewels and clothes—and tucked a knife in my shoe. Training since the age of nine had made me trust my weapons more than any person. Moving silently, I stepped out of my room and locked the door with my personal code. The hallway was eerily empty, no movement, no sound. I checked the gaming room, peeking through the slightly open door, but it was empty. Each room I passed was the same: no people, no noise, not even a burp from the kitchen. The silence put me on high alert. With my gun in hand, I headed toward the opposite wing of the mansion—the offices and meeting room. The offices were as they always were: filled with files on drugs, safe houses, and targets. Nothing suspicious, except for one guy’s personal stash of... questionable items. Finally, I approached the meeting room. Muffled voices caught my attention. Pressing my ear to the door, I listened closely. “She’s becoming a threat, too strong. We have to get rid of her.” That voice sent a chill down my spine. They weren’t just talking about anyone. They were talking about me. “It’s not that easy, stupid boy!” my boss, Albertino Salvatore, snapped. His tone was sharp, dismissive, and certain. The men inside began voicing their agreement. "A woman commanding us? Impossible. We must eliminate her!” I clenched my fists, my mind racing. These men—my so-called allies—were plotting against me. They saw me as a threat, too smart, too strong. They planned to kill me during a dinner with the Italian Mafia, framing them for my death to avoid suspicion. I felt a mix of rage and betrayal. My instincts screamed at me to leave, but I stayed rooted to the spot, absorbing every word. The room emptied as the meeting ended, and I knew one thing for certain: I couldn’t trust anyone but myself. If they wanted a fight, I’d give them one. But this time, it would be on my terms. After hearing all this I ran as fast as I could to the opposite wing, towards my bedroom. You may think they would have heard me running but that's what they taught us in training, how to run without making a sound, how to shoot and never miss your target, how to fight, how to defend yourself, how to act, how to use knives, how to stay light-footed, how to kill. After 15 years of that training, I had become a professional at everything. I was fast, I was smart, I was strong, and my height being not very tall was more of an advantage since by that I could block more easily. I was better than anyone in the mansion, and that's when it hit me, who 'she' was. It was me. I was becoming a threat to them, they were afraid to cower behind me, they don't want to feel overpowered by someone without them trying to overpower you. Out of everyone in this house, everyone, I never expected Al(Albertino) my trainer, my father, the figure who I had known more than my father, the person who has raised me since I was 9, the same person who rescued me from the about to blow up car of my parents, the one who promised to take care of me ever since, the one who taught me everything in life. Never had I imagined that person to plan on killing me because I was better than him in something he taught me since my childhood. Not only him but my ex for whom I may still have feelings, I always knew he hated me because I didn't provide him with sex because I didn't give him my virginity, and because I made him wait 1 year for that. He cheated on me because of that, to fulfill his needs. A man who loves a woman would wait a lifetime for her to be ready to give away her virginity, suppressing his needs. But he didn't, he went along and had sex with 3 darn whores at the same fucking time! This was only a few months ago. His name was Sean fucking Martin. With all the other 11 men I had faith in, this was all gone! They were cowards! Pussies! Assholes! Dickheads! Cocksuckers! Motherfuckers! Douchebags! Right at the very fucking moment all I felt was agony and anger. All I could see was red. All I fucking wanted to do at the very fucking moment was to fucking kill somebody! To fucking strangle them! I felt like giving them the most painful death at the moment! And I know I won't regret it. I felt like breaking their fingers 6 different ways and sticking it right up where the sun doesn't shine, I felt like ripping out their intestines and strangling them with it, I felt like burning them alive, I felt like burying them alive! They were traitors! They had no respect for their family! They didn't care about them! They weren't family just a gang! I knew I couldn't confront them with this. I also knew that from today good men in this Mafia were going to die because of me! They wouldn't think twice before pulling the fucking trigger. Still boiling with anger, I walked into the bathroom and stood in front of the sink and stared at myself gripping the counter hard, I was breathing hard and slightly loud. I had to figure out a way to get my revenge one by one on them slowly, making sure they had a painful death. The Italians. Nothing would piss them off more than knowing I had teamed up with their enemy, planning on ending their lives slowly and painfully. With a plan in my mind, I smirked in the mirror stripped off my clothes turned on the shower waited for it to get warm grabbed a towel from the rack in the bathroom, and put my hands under the water to check the temperature to feel it be warm and slowly stepped in and shampooed and conditioned my hair and washed my body with soap. After my shower I put on my clothes stepped out of my room and closed the door behind me, locking it. The noises were back so I guess the other men were back now. I could try to tell them about Al and his plan to kill me but they wouldn't believe me because they had too much faith in him and his professionals. I walked into the kitchen casually like nothing happened before and saw the men sitting around chatting, some on their phones, none looked up to see I had entered for which I was glad. I told the chef to make me breakfast and he nodded and I sat quietly observing my surroundings, the mansion was huge, Victorian style, gold color. As I was waiting for my breakfast since I was famished and my stomach was already making those weird sounds, Logan The major Perv came up to me with his perverted remarks. "Damn Baby! I bet you got some missiles under those clothes of yours. "He said, I just rolled my eyes and faced him. They don't call him 'The Perv' for no reason. "Actually I do! And if you don't walk away in 3 seconds I'll make sure those missiles break every bone in your body and rip it out." I shot back fake smiling and he scurried away in a second. Soon I was given my breakfast and I took it thanking the chefs, I may be an assassin but I did have good manners, and I do thank people who deserve it. For the first time, I didn't have anyone to talk to because I was busy with my own thoughts and because I wasn't the most open person in the world also because the people who I actually used to hang out with turned out to be God damn traitors. While I was eating I heard Albertino's voice call for me, as everybody quieted down. "Bella! Meet me in my office at 10." I heard him say and the next second he was gone. I let my curiosity get the best of me again since the first time it warned me about my life. Quickly finishing my breakfast I headed towards his office and went inside without knocking, he was used to this. "Ever heard of knocking?" He said and I smirked as I plopped down on the chair. "Nope, Never, It kind of sounds a little foreign to me," I said teasingly, but still cautious of his every move, I may have heard him to kill me the day after tomorrow but that didn't mean he wouldn't take the chance to kill me now. "Whatever." He said annoyed. "What's got your boxers in a bunch?" I asked acting normal. "Hangover." He replied plainly. Of what? Jealousy. No shit Sherlock. I nodded slowly, "So, you called for me." I reminded him and he nodded. "The day after tomorrow we are having dinner with the Italian Mafia, they are our enemies since our drug supplier left us for them. So to make a good impression, wear something nice, We will have fun!" Oh, you have no idea how much fun we will have. I nodded and with that, I walked out of his gigantic office and was smirking evilly from the inside all the way to my room. On my way back, one of the men came running through the front door, "Whoa, Whoa! Slow down dude what's wrong?" I asked stopping him. "One of our men was just killed."

Mirabel Blanco That was all I needed to hear before heading straight to Al’s office. He was serious about this whole "kill them" plan—I knew it. He had never joked in his life. Al was always straightforward, even with his closest people, including me. “Who got killed? Where and how?” I asked firmly, walking quickly toward what I now called the Devil’s Dungeon. “It was John. He was shot in the head three times near the pizza place close to the mansion.” John?!! He was one of my closest friends here. They killed him. No—he died because of me. It was my fault. Anger surged through me as I burst into the Devil’s Dungeon. “What is this? How dare you enter my office without permission! How dare you disres—” Al shouted, but I cut him off. “It’s John. He was shot three times near the pizza place. He’s dead!” I said, gripping the edge of his polished desk. “What?” he bellowed. If I hadn’t overheard the earlier conversation, I might have believed his shock was real. “Yes, and our most likely suspect is the Italian Mafia,” someone chimed in—his name escaped me. “Those bastards!” Al fumed, demanding to be taken to the body. We all rushed out, and I followed close behind. The Italian Mafia? No, it was Al and his men’s doing. What kind of Mafia King lies to his own family? He was a sick man who couldn’t be trusted. I had known people would die because of me, but I didn’t think it would happen this soon. On the way, I imagined killing Al myself—ripping out his heart, slicing his throat, giving him a slow, agonizing death. I wanted him to feel every ounce of pain he had caused. When we stepped outside the mansion, the beauty of the place meant nothing as my eyes fell on John’s lifeless body. I forced my face to stay emotionless, locking all my feelings inside. I would unleash them later when I delivered the most painful deaths imaginable to these men. Al stared at John’s body, his face devoid of guilt or sadness. “Sad. Get rid of it—I don’t want blood stains on my property.” His guards nodded, showing respect he didn’t deserve, as he turned to leave. “What are you going to do now?” I asked, tearing my eyes away from John’s body to meet Al’s gaze. I masked my swirling emotions, showing only the cold assassin he had trained me to be for 15 years. “Nothing. We wait until the dinner. Speaking of that, meet me in my office in 15 minutes. Not a second later.” He disappeared without another word. I cracked my knuckles and went to my room, sitting on my bed, gripping the sheets as if they could stop me from storming into his office and killing him right then and there. I needed to know what was going on before the dinner in Italy. Fortunately, I had a way to listen to his plans when I wasn’t around. Standing up, I went to my “Dream World,” opened a drawer, and pulled out a box containing a small microphone. All I had to do was plant it somewhere he wouldn’t notice and use the listening device in my ear. This should be easy. Still feeling broken inside, I smirked as I left my room, the hearing device in my back pocket and the tiny microphone hidden between my fingers. I reached the Devil’s Dungeon and knocked. “Come in,” Al barked. I walked in and stopped a foot away from his desk. “What about the dinner?” I asked, keeping my voice serious. “I have a task for you,” he said. “What is it?” “Donovan Dante Lorenzo will be there when we get to the dinner. I want you to get his attention. Seduce him, but subtly—make him think it’s natural. Find out everything you can about his business, his relationships, his people, and what he cares about. But only that night—we won’t meet him again. “He’s strong, stronger than me, I’ll admit. But I want him weak. I want his empire to crumble from within. I want to destroy him. Donovan Dante Lorenzo may be on top now, but not for long. The French Mafia King is going to bury him beneath his gravestone,” Al said, an evil glint in his eyes. I saw my chance and walked toward him, smirking with the tiny microphone hidden in my fingers. He didn’t notice as I moved behind him. For a second, he tensed, but then he quickly relaxed—so fast that it was almost imperceptible. I placed my hands on his shoulders and began massaging them. As I moved toward his neck, I slipped the microphone under his collar without him noticing. Then, leaning in close, I whispered in his ear: “He’ll never see daylight again.” With that, I pulled back and walked toward the door. “How old is he, anyway?” I asked, turning back to meet his gaze head-on. “He’s 26. A playboy. He’s got the looks, and most women call him the sexiest Greek god alive. Don’t fall for him—do you understand?” Al said, giving me a sharp look. “I don’t have time for that nonsense,” I replied before leaving the dungeon. Five minutes later, I was in my room. I put on the hearing device and focused on the conversation between Al and two twin assassins, Gerald and Maltz—just like me, except not as skilled. “I’m so sick of this! Let’s just kill her in her sleep,” Maltz growled. Rude much? “No. We need her for now,” Al replied. “She’s going to get information from Dante at the dinner, and after that, we’ll kill her. She won’t be needed anymore.” “Why are you so obsessed with bringing down Dante’s empire?” Gerald asked. “Because I want to be the king of all Mafia Kings,” Al said with a sinister edge. “I want the power he has. When his empire crumbles, I’ll take it all—money, mansions in every city, and the reputation as the most feared man in history.” “Honestly, I hate how Bella overpowers us. She’s a woman, and women should stay beneath us men,” Maltz sneered, and Gerald, along with Al, agreed. “She’s better than us at everything—killing, strategy, even games. But what I hate most is her audacity to tell me how to run my business! Who does she think she is? A whore, that’s what!” Al spat. A whore? Really? How am I a whore when I’ve never even been with a man? All because he sends me to seduce his enemies? Unbelievable. No wonder his empire is falling apart. His empire was collapsing, and he didn’t even realize it. If I hadn’t guided him with my advice, he would’ve lost everything in two days. Instead of thanking me for saving his empire, he was planning to kill me. I shook my head and listened again as Sean Martin, my ex, joined the conversation. “I never liked her, but damn, she’s got a killer body. She’s the No. 1 female assassin, so she must be wild in bed. But the bitch didn’t give it up. I waited a whole year, and nothing!” Sean ranted. Excuse me? It was ironic—they trained me to be this way, yet now they resented it. Hypocrisy at its finest. Yes, I was a virgin. Despite my line of work, I believed in the value of waiting, though I didn’t fully understand why. Sean had been the one I thought I might trust with it, but deep down, I had always doubted him. His words stung. It was clear now—he only wanted me for sex and would’ve left afterward. I had been right to hold back. Snapping out of my thoughts, I focused on their conversation again. “The dinner is in Italy, so pack up. We’re leaving early tomorrow morning and staying at the safe house for three days,” Al instructed. “How many of us are going?” Gerald asked. “Just Bella and the 13 of us. We can’t afford any disturbances,” Al said, probably smirking—I could imagine his face, and it made me want to punch him. “Of course. I’ll let the house’s bitch know she should start packing,” Sean sneered, laughing bitterly. I clenched my fists, gripping the sheets to keep my anger in check. Taking deep breaths, I managed to calm down—barely. I removed the hearing device and placed it in the drawer. Just then, the wind picked up, slamming my windows open and closed as thunder roared outside. I rushed to shut the window before the rain could soak the room. A knock sounded at the door, but before I could answer, it flew open. Sean stepped inside, leaning against the wall as the rain poured harder and harder. "Oh look even the world has started crying because of your existence." I shot at him, giving him my coldest glare ever. "Haha very funny! Start packing, we are leaving for Italy tomorrow early in the morning." He said plainly with no emotion showing and left my room for which I was glad. I closed the door and this time I remembered to lock it before doing my business, I knew that maybe today was the last day I might have in this mansion. Sighing, I decided to blast up some music in the speakers in my room. Hey? At a time like this, I would rather listen to some music. I wasn't packing much. Only the necessities like toiletries, a few clothes, and a shit load of guns. By the time I was finished, I was totally famished and it was 9:00 pm and dinner would be served any minute so I put the suitcases aside and went downstairs to eat dinner with all the others. On my way and during dinner I couldn't help but think about what Dante looked like. Sexiest Greek God, what a tacky title. It made me wonder who came up with that. "Bella" "Bella" "Bella!" "Mirabel Blanco!" My full name being yelled out shook me out of my thoughts as I looked at the source of the voice calling my name and saw Starr looking at me weirdly. Starr was the second in command of the Mafia Family or you can say the person with the second highest rank in the family. "What?" I asked looking at everyone in the room who was staring at me. "I have been calling you for the past 5 minutes but you weren't listening, what were you thinking about?" I hadn't realized that so I had to think of a lie quickly. "How I was going to seduce the King of all Mafia Kings." This sounds exceptional. He nodded and I quickly finished my dinner. I retired to my room without bothering to say goodnight like I used to. It was 10:15, which sounded like the time to sleep to me. I set my alarm for 6:00 am on my phone and made sure I had locked my room door before stripping into my night dress and dozing off to sleep, but one thought stayed on my mind, 'I wasn't going to die.'

Mirabel Blanco "Shoot him" My 12-year-old self was ordered. "Why? What did he do?" I asked breathing hard. I was told to shoot someone. Kill someone. I had never killed a person in my entire life. "When you order something, you do so. Understood?" My trainer Albertino said to me. "But what's so wrong with knowing the reason for killing someone before killing them?" I asked my curiosity taking over me again. "You're a curious girl, Bella." He said walking around me in a circular manner. I felt proud of that, it felt like a compliment. "Being curious is good, but not for an assassin sweetheart. Assassins are supposed to kill no matter what the reason, they don't need to know the reason, all they have to do is kill." I was told "What if I'm not meant to be an assassin?" I asked cautiously. Albertino stood closely behind me leaned his head near my ear and spoke. "Shoot. Him." I didn't think twice before I pulled the trigger and watched the blood come out of the lifeless body of the unknown person in front of me. "Do you regret it?" I was asked and I shook my head. "No." I didn't regret killing that person, I felt nothing, but I didn't feel numb either, I knew I killed a person for a reason, even if the reason was not very acceptable to everyone, even if it was just for fun, it was a reason and I didn't regret a single bit of it. "Congratulations, you just passed the first step of being an assassin." "There's more?" I questioned my trainer. "When you're an assassin, you never stop learning, you keep finding out more ways to perfection, but you will never reach it, perfection." "Why is being curious bad for an assassin?" "An assassin is supposed to kill, torture as told no matter what the reason, they master in killing, they don't turn away from the sight of blood," Albertino spoke walking around the cell that we were in, where the now dead man was kept. "When an assassin starts to interrogate, they get killed. Why? Because they just can't they get in the wrong business, they start doing things that are out of their league, things that aren't part of their jobs, and that is not acceptable." "That is why we have spies," I said. "Yes. That is correct, a spy can act, stay undercover, stay low-key, and take out information from people who we want to. They just simply spy." "What if I want to be an assassin and a spy? Both at the same time?" I asked my boss. "My dear Bella, you're an assassin and you should know being an assassin that 'Curiosity kills the cat' and for people like you it would be painful." The last parts were tauntingly whispered in my ear. 'Curiosity kills the cat' and for people like me, it would be painful. * I woke to the sound of my alarm blaring through the speaker as I peeled one eye open threw my right arm out of the cozy sheets and reached out for my phone to stop the alarm. Slowly peeling both of my eyes open I sat upright on my bed and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand while thinking about my dream more like a memory of when I killed for the first time, the same day that I taught that 'curiosity kills the cat and for people like me it would be painful'. It was one of those things that I was reminded of before my every task, warning me that if I tried anything or tried to dig deep, I would soon meet my maker. At first, it used to scare the hell out of me. Now it doesn't. No one knew that I did dig deep into things that I was interested in. Staying low-key, acting, and as well being undercover always came naturally to me, I had a good poker face from which no one could see my emotions, or notice anything odd. I removed the warm sheets off me stepped out of my bed walked over to my bathroom and took a towel out of the towel rack and used the toilet before stepping into the warm shower. A warm shower has always relaxed me. I let the warm water drop over me as I closed my eyes and thought about the first thing I was taught 'Curiosity kills the cat'. If this cat hadn't let her curiosity get the best of her, she would be dead in a few days, so technically speaking 'Curiosity saved the cat'. The warm water soothed my tensed muscles and I sighed in relaxation before shampooing my hair and washing my body. After showering I stepped out and wrapped the towel around me walked over to the sink and brushed my teeth, I don't like brushing my teeth in the shower, it feels weird. Feeling refreshed I walked over to my closet which now was almost empty, it angered me knowing in a few hours I would never be seeing this place again because I was betrayed. Doing light makeup, I wore my wristwatch and placed a gun between the back and waistband of my jeans. Checking the time I saw it was 7:15. Time to leave. I took my purse, my two trolley suitcases, and of course, my iPhone with its charger and ear plugs and stuffed it in my purse then with one last look I left my room and left the mansion to see a limo waiting for me with a guard and a driver standing outside waiting for me. Walking over to them with my suitcases I handed it to them and asked, "Where are Albertino and the others?" "Behind you darling." I turned around to see all of the Devils walking out. "You know considering that I'm a woman, aren't you guys supposed to be ready before me?" "Every man has their own needs," Starr said, Yeah and that's masturbation. "Seriously, you're taking that much with you?" Cooper said amused, he was the third in command, underboss in other words. I fake scoffed which didn't seem fake to them. "Are you kidding me? I'm going to treat these 3 days like a vacation." I said acting frustrated. "Okay, okay. Don't get your panties In a twist. Vacation like you did all the shit in this house." He said laughing while getting in the limo and I raised my eyebrows at him while others laughed at his joke. I rolled my eyes and fake smiled and got in the limo then sat in front of him, "I didn't realize fucking bitches as a sport was known as working." "Chienne" (Bitch) he muttered under his breath. Knowing he was annoyed now I relaxed into my seat and looked around to see that in this limo it was only Al, Starr, Cooper, and I while the rest were in the other limo. Well, at least I won't get to be in the same limo as Sean Fucking Martin. As I waited for the limo to reach the airport I stayed alert on any movement in the limo without being noticed. "Bella, how are you going to seduce Dante?" My corrupt boss questioned me. "The same way I have done all my life but with him more cautious I bet he is dangerous," I answered looking at him dead in the eye. "Good. Don't get killed." The last sentence had my ears perk up but I didn't let them notice, obviously. "And what makes you think that I am going to get killed?" I challenged, now everyone in the car was listening attentively to our conversation. "The fact that Dante is the strongest man alive in the Mafia business, maybe the most intelligent, for now." He replied challenging me back. I just smirked, "Trust me, I'm not dying tomorrow or the day after that or anytime soon." I waited for his reply but he just did a 'hmm'. Even though they think highly of me in my abilities they still underestimate me, I am capable of many things, things that I don't even know of yet. Soon the limo stopped and I grabbed my purse before jumping out of the limo and walking over to my suitcase which had my clothes in it and opened it taking out my dress that I had decided to hang in the Jets closet. I walked inside the jet and sighed and then walked over to the closet, opened it, and hung my dress. I walked over to my favorite seat in the limo and fell into it while others entered the limo. "No one. I repeat no one will dare to ruin my dress that's in the closet!" I warned them because I liked the dress, it was elegant yet sexy. "Fine, not like we want to, wouldn't want to get my balls chopped off," Gerald said and I fake smiled towards him and closed my eyes.