“She is a deadly storm”

Chapter Thirty one

Ahmet sat in the meeting, his eyes cold as the weather could ever be. He hated everyone's gut. Who the hell came up with the idea of all Mafia leaders meeting?

His expression was one of indifference. But beneath the surface, a spark of eagerness ignited. Unlike the other meetings he'd endured, today's gathering was one he'd been looking forward to. He'd even threatened Asli to attend, and he knew she wouldn't miss it.

As he scanned the room, his gaze fell on the unoccupied chair across from him, and a rush of exhilaration coursed through his veins. He resisted the impulse to smile, pushing his lips into a thin line to preserve his stern demeanor.

His eyes instinctively darted to the door, but there was no sign of her. A flicker of unease danced in his chest, and he checked his watch for what felt like the hundredth time. The minutes were ticking by, and still, she was nowhere to be found.

A memory long buried began to resurface, and his mind whispered a nagging doubt: what if she didn't show up? What if she was trying to tell him he couldn't boss her around? Usually, he found that cute but not when his bet was on her coming. Was she trying to prove something just like that other time? He pushed the thought aside, his jaw clenched. No, she would come, he told himself. She had to.

"I can see you are checking your time," One Mafia drew the others' attention and he glared back at him.

"Markus didn't show up today. Usually, it is either you join him or you don't attend at all. I am shocked this time around you came without him. Hope the jokester isn't playing somewhere while you overworked yourself," another mentioned.

A muscle twitched in his jaw as he listened to the careless remark. His eyes narrowed, and his gaze turned glacial. "Markus's whereabouts are none of your concern," he said with a voice low and even, but laced with a subtle venom.

"You all listen. He promised to have Asli showing up today. That should be our focus…" another Mafia jubilated and he glared sharply at him.

"Oh you didn't think I'd keep it a secret, would you? Some of us come late but have you seen any latecomers today? Everyone was here before the meeting began. All you need is the land by the river on the Westland. I don't need it though but promising to have Asli show up… man that was sick!" Maxwell continued.

"Maxwell, how old are you?" Ahmet asked, trying to be himself as if he couldn't care less about her when he was actually burning inside. How dare they mention Asli's name?

"But seriously how did she come up in the negotiation? We know Maxwell has a thing for her, but Ahmet? We all haven't even set eyes on her before aside from our fathers. So how did you and Ahmet…" everyone was interested.

"Well, you all know he and I aren't close buddies but he visited my office telling me he wanted the land I purchased at the Westland. I didn't want to give it to him though I didn't need it. So I told him I would only give it to him if… you know he makes the impossible possible. I told him to get me Asli. He nodded and left." Maxwell narrated how it happened to them.

"You didn't buy that land. You stole it!" Ahmet yelled.

"Yeah, and tell me which land you haven't stolen or ceased?" The man shot back.

"Well, it looks like she isn't coming." One man pointed out disappointedly.

"Yeah. As if she'll ever be close to any of us." Another chipped in.

"Right, how would you get her to come? She is a deadly storm and kills like a loose chain." Maxwell swore and Ahmet shot him a deadly look. Both of them stared into each other's eyes and Ahmet was looking for ways more than one to cut hay tongue off his.

Then, just as it seemed like the tension couldn't build any further, the door burst open with a loud crash.

Every head in the room swiveled towards the entrance, and a collective gasp echoed through the space. Asli's face appeared in the doorway, her eyes flashing with a fierce inner light. The air seemed to pulse with energy as she stood there, commanding attention.

The only sound was the heavy breathing of the people around the table as silence. Maxwell's face went pale, his eyes wide with surprise. The others looked like they'd been punched in the gut, their faces frozen in shock. Ahmet couldn't tell if their reaction was because she came or because they called her a loose chain.

He wasn't sure if she heard them call her that because her face was always like this, well, not until when he got closer to her and saw she could show different expressions.

He examined her face intently. 'Will she sit calmly or start a fight? Did she hear them call her a loose chain, or not? Oh, they are about to find out.' He thought.