05

Chapter 5.

Petra POV

The Mafia Don's mansion was a sight to behold. He had chosen this particular location to build himself an empire because it was situated on the outskirts of the city. Immediately I stepped out of the car, I came face to face with several of his men, who were completely armed. The Mafia don was a man who was security conscious, and that's what makes him so powerful.

They allowed me into the huge mansion, with one of the men ushering me into the living room. The interior design was as magnificent as the exterior design. He made sure most of the walls were plastered with gold.

"Petra!" The manner in which my name rolls off his tongue always gives me goosebumps. I watched as he walked down from the stairs, still covered in his night robes, with a glass of wine in his right hand and his usual routine of citrate in his left hand.

"Good to see you, my darling." He said he was making his way to the couch after I lowered my head as a sign of respect.

"What was so desperate that you needed to see me?" He asked, blowing the smoke off his cigarette into the air.

"It's about my contract." I said, playing with the ring on my pinky finger. "I noticed some, uh, sort of mistakes in the clause of the contract." His aura was intimidating, despite being casually relaxed, and it messed with my speech.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, dropping his glass cup on the table and paying full attention to me.

"You told me about having to terminate my contract after five years. However, when I took a closer look at the contract, it actually had me bound to you and the Mafia service forever." It was particularly odd seeing the Mafia don look genuinely shocked. It almost looked as though he was never aware of it.

"I am guessing the mistakes are from my lawyers." He said, blowing yet again another smoke off his cigarette.

"So you would have them correct it, wouldn't you?" I asked, with a slight glimpse of hope.

"My darling Petra, you should be aware of the fact that a deal is a deal. I cannot correct it. You have assented to it, and that's final." I stood there completely bewildered. I couldn't be bound to the Mafia forever; I couldn't see myself as a slave to the Mafia business.

"Quench my curiosity. How did you get to know about this clause after such a long time? I mean, you would have informed me about it prior and not now." I was well aware that this was a basic trap that he wanted to use, and I wasn't going to fall for it. Irene may have been overbearing, but that still didn't give me the right to rattle her.

"I was casually going through the contract last night while looking for a bracelet." I mentally smacked myself for coming up with such lame lies.

"Well, I don't think anything can be done about it." Anyway, I hope Irene is doing her job very well. I shook my head.

"Umm, I think I will be on my way now. Some of the workers may be faltering in their work; I need to be there to supervise them." I didn't look any further at his face as I made my way out of the mansion.

*

Don Carlos' POV

It has been barely weeks since I have been to the lab. Thus, the moment I stepped out of the car, several of the men dashed over to pay their respect. I was only here for one reason—to find out the truth.

Ever since Petra asked the question about her contract, I knew someone had rattled my secret to her and she had been trying to conceal the identity. My first guess was Irene, as she was her personal guard. I was ready to eliminate her if I figured she was the one.

Once I stepped into the hallway, I watched as several workers engaged in several jobs. I was glad that Petra was handling her task as supervisor perfectly. The moment Petra laid eyes on me, she looked troubled but quickly concealed it as she made her way over.

"I never thought you would come to the lab so unexpectedly." She revealed this while lowering her head in courtesy.

"I came to see how the lab was fairing." Irene also made her way over and acknowledged my presence as well.

"You can go back to your work now, Petra; I want to have a simple chat here with Irene." I noticed a little bit of discomfort in her body language as she stared down at Irene before leaving the scene.

"How is she doing?" I asked, referring to Petra as she moved away.

"She has a fair share of trouble, but she is doing perfectly okay." I smiled, grabbing a lighter off my pocket, and lighting up my cigarette.

"Are you aware Pete came to my crib yesterday?" Irene looked genuinely confused and shook her head to say no.

"Well, she came over to question the clause in her contract." According to her, she figured out that she was bound to me forever. While I spoke, I made sure to observe every little thing about Irene, who was still stoic.

"We both know that Petra is unaware of this clause. Which makes me believe someone has revealed my little secret to her." Irene couldn't match my eye stare, despite being bold. She lowered her head and looked up once more.

"While I understand that your first suspicion would be me, I want to assure you that I remain loyal to you. I would never rattle you out to her." Irene was genuine in her statement, and it irked me knowing that her body language was genuine as well.

"Of course, I would suspect you. Considering you have cleared your name, I need you to find out who revealed this secret to her and kill them." She shook her head and turned around, ready to leave, but I held her back.

If, however, I find out you are lying to me, I will feed your body to my pit bulls." I finished her off and let go of her.