Page 50 of Masked Mafia's Runaway Bride

“Had a family emergency. Yes, I heard.” He leaned back in his chair, exhaling a plume of smoke. “Do you think I give any fuck about your assistant’s personal problems?”

I clenched my jaw, keeping my voice calm. “It wasn’t my intention to cause any issues—”

“Save it,” he interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. “I don’t expect much from you, Mirella. You’re a woman, after all. This,” he gestured around the room, “isn’t your world. It never will be.”

The dismissal stung, but I didn’t let it touch my face. He leaned back, eyeing me like a predator watching prey.

“Our engagement is coming up this weekend,” he said, his tone shifting to something mockingly sweet. “You won’t pull any stunts like last time, will you?”

I forced a smile. “Of course not.”

“You better not,” he warned, his voice dropping to a growl. “Or I’ll make sure you regret it.”

The weight of his words hung in the air, but I didn’t respond. Anything I said would only fuel his fire.

He studied me for a moment longer before leaning forward, his fingers steepled. “There’s something else.”

I froze. Was this it? Had he figured me out?

“Your father,” he said, watching me closely. “Did he ever mention a safe?”

I frowned, feigning confusion. “A safe?”

“Yes, a safe.” His tone was sharp and clipped. “It’s not just any safe, Mirella. It holds things—important things. Did he ever speak to you about it?”

I shook my head, my expression carefully neutral. “No. He never mentioned anything like that.”

Don Carlos leaned back, his gaze narrowing as if he could see right through me. “If you’re lying to me, Mirella...”

“I’m not,” I said quickly, my voice steady. “I wouldn’t lie to you.”

For a moment, the room was silent, the tension thick enough to cut. Then he waved a dismissive hand.

“Get out,” he snarled at me. “I’ve wasted enough time on you.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I turned and walked out, keeping my head high even as my heart raced.

Once I was safely out of his office, my mind began to race. A safe. Of course. It all made sense now.

I pieced it together as I made my way back to my house, each detail clicking into place like pieces of a puzzle. My father had always been meticulous and careful. He’d kept records—names, assets, deals. I’d overheard him talk about it once, back when I was a teenager.

He’d called it insurance.

And now I knew why Don Carlos was keeping him alive. The safe wasn’t just a collection of secrets—it was power. It held everything. Names of top criminals, assets worth more than I could imagine, and records of every shady deal Don Carlos had ever been a part of. And if that weren’t enough, it apparently held keys and access codes to things far more dangerous: nuclear weapons, bombs, AI systems.

If Don Carlos got his hands on that safe, he wouldn’t just be powerful. He’d be unstoppable.

My father had always been one step ahead, always thinking of the bigger picture. But now, that bigger picture was a target on his back.

“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath.

This was why Don Carlos was so fixated on keeping me close. It was why he hadn’t killed my father yet. It was why he was so obsessed with tying me to him through this engagement. He thought I knew something and thought I could lead him to the safe.

I didn’t know where it was. But now I had to find out—not for Don Carlos—but for my father and for everyone else who could be destroyed if that safe fell into the wrong hands.

The lies, the danger, the impossible tightrope I was walking. But one thing was clear—I couldn’t let Don Carlos win.

Somewhere out there, my father was alive, being kept prisoner because of what he knew and what he’d created.

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