"So secretary, inform me you are just waiting for me to come." I asked, raising my brows while walking inside the 'red' floor's office, where Linda was standing by the door, and the man who dared to enter the DarkMoon empire was sitting rather calmly and composed, despite being handcuffed and tied by the legs.

The man was young and... Can I call a man beautiful? Because he was just so beautiful, high cheekbones, sharp jawline, and thick brows were just amazing, and Oh God! His dark grey eyes...His eyes were just like a cheery on a cake. His body structure was muscular but not too hulk-ish. By seeing him, I could say he was one to three inches shorter than me, and his face was not showing any emotions. How the fuck is he so composed? Like, how can someone be so calm in this situation?

"Yes." He said calmly. I was amused by his fearless behavior, but I kept my blank face and took a seat in front of him. He was civilized enough to bow his head a little as a method of showing his submission, and I noticed his black full-sleeved turtleneck was a bit torn from the sleeves.

"Why?" I questioned in a monotone, and he raised his cuffed hands in the air.

"Can you please un-cuff me first so that I can show you why I am here?" He asked in a professional tone and Linda glared at that man.

"And why would I do that?" I narrowed my eyes at him and he smiled. He fucking smiled!

"Miss, you have a little time to waste on arguing with me, and what I can even do with just my hands being uncuffed? My legs are still tied and I believe Madame knows much more martial arts than a nerd like me." He commented and I gave him a spectacle look.

What does this beautiful bastard even want?

"Mistress, I recommend you to let me deal with this man," Linda butted in and crossed her arms, walking closer to my seat.

"No, Linda," I said as I raised my index finger in the air, causing her to come to a halt.

"Okay, Mistress-" She muttered and looked down.

"Free his hands-" I commanded, and the man grinned.

"B-But-" Linda argued.

"No buts-" I commanded and Linda glared at the human in front of us while going through her pockets and then reluctantly uncuffed the man.

"Ahh-You should upgrade the quality of your handcuffs; they were itchy. " The man said smugly while rubbing his hands together. I just maintained my stony stare.

"Now show me what you wanted to-" I commanded, and he grinned while tucking the rim of his shirt into his hands and he started pulling it up-

"WHA-" Linda exclaimed, but I ignored her and let the man pull out his shirt.

There he was sitting topless in front of me, showing off his pale caramel skin, muscular abs, and chiseled V line, but what captured my attention was the mark on his chest.

A roaring lion with a crown and a rose was inked on his chest, glowing in the light of the room.

"Zodiacs-" Linda blurted, and the man smirked at her and looked at me.

"Beaufort Evans at your service, Miss Krystal Blake." He smiled, bowing his neck a little, showing a gentleman's move.

"So why are you here, Mr. Evans?" I asked, crossing my legs and leaning back in the chair.

"I am here just to take my leader." He said, still smiling.

"Bold of you to assume that you can take the leader with you." I laughed.

"Well... Well... I think I can and that's why I am here." He continued on.

"Oh, yeah... you surely can, being here tied and topless," I mocked, and he chuckled.

"That's where you got me wrong, my lady-"

"Oh, is that so?" I raised my brows, and he smirked.

"Miss... What is the soul of a mafia empire or any other business?" He asked and started to wear his shirt again.

"Power," I said, to which he laughed.

"Ha-Ha-No Miss- It's the money. Money is equal to power. Any empire is just worthless without money. " He replied, smiling innocently.

"Where are you getting at?" I furrowed my brows.

"Money... Money is such a beautiful yet dangerous thing, money can buy you everything single kind of pleasure, can fulfill every single desire and even give you happiness if earned by hard work and legal means..." He continued and I huffed.

"Isn't it weird to hear something like that from the mouth of a mafia member?" I scoffed, and he smirked.

"Krystal Blake, the founder, and CEO of The Darkmoon Private Limited, one of the youngest billionaires and the golden girl of the city... How quickly will the news of your true self spread? How would the world react if they found out about you being related... Ummm you living in drugs, and err... You know shaming my profession is kinda awkward for me too... So I will cut it short. How will the world react Victoria when your secret will be out?" He leaned forward in his seat and smiled.

Wait.. all he can show the world was my mansion, right? And it's not odd to have a mansion for a founder of a multinational company... There is no evidence that he can show anyone against me. All the documents regarding the 'deals' are burned or shredded afterward, all the digital transactions and the income are secured with the firewalls constructed by the best coders in the country and are upgraded every few years, and the weapons... well, we can get rid of them.

"So how are you going to provide evidence to anyone?" I asked calmly while uncrossing my legs. And he seemed to be amused by my indifferent reaction.

"Oh, I know what my lady is thinking about... but don't forget every mystery has a solution, every compound has its molecular formula, every person has its dark side... and-" He smirked evilly and continued.

"Every single code has a decoder."

Oh, shit-shit shit! How the fuck I-

"Miss, let me tell you a little secret about the Zodiac Empire." He gestured me to come closer, and I gave an icy stare at him.

"Oh-come on, come na- "He huffed and, reluctantly, I leaned forward.

"We Zodiacs are known for our knowledge, our science, and technology. Every single person working under the Zodiac has to have a master's degree in any field in which they want to apply. From money from the underworld, our former leader established many schools and colleges which are ranked number one in the country. "He continued and, unable to say anything, I just kept listening in a blank expression.

"And yeah, after doing a background search, I found that one of our prodigies, our student, the third most brilliant computer engineer, and coder, has built some security walls for the Darkmoon Empire." He chuckled, and yeah, I was a little worried now.

"Behind every successful coder, there is an even more successful de-coder to understand that code. So... I may or may not have broken your security system and copied the information. " He said this with an evil yet innocent look on his face.

"What do you want?" I questioned him and he stopped smiling.

"I was not taking in any other language, Miss Blake. I just want our leader back." He replied seriously, and I was confused.

"You literally have enough material to blackmail us to do anything, but why are you settling things this easily?" I questioned, straightening my back, and he gave me an amused smile.

"It's for your own advantage, my lady."

"But this is making me question the authenticity of the evidence you are claiming to have against us," I commented and looked around the room to find Linda awkwardly standing there, not knowing what to do.

"Linda, go get me and Mr. Evans some water," I ordered her to leave the room.

"Your secretary is quite hot." The man commented.

"Indeed, she is-" I agreed.

"Miss, to your previous question, not everyone in this world wants power. Some want to be happy, some want to be free... If we just put a little more effort in, we will be on top of the ladder in no time, but the position brings threats, the position brings a burden, and I think I don't have to explain the consequences of being on top to you." He said it in a serious tone, and I nodded.

"We are happy with our current position and don't want to do anything with the Darkmoon, but there is just one thing... we love our leader. If anything happens to her, we will not remain quiet... We don't want to be a mafia or a drug dealer, but it provides some security. Even if we quit the mafia, we would still be criminals as we have the hunger, the hunger to decode everything. That's why our leader just randomly breaks the walls when she gets bored. It's actually a smarter crime, because imagine if you robbed a bank or you're dealing drugs as we do. If you get caught, you're going to spend a lot of time in custody. But with hacking, it's much easier to commit the crime and the risk of punishment is slim to none. So why not both, right? " He chuckled, but there was so much venom in his voice that I was genuinely surprised by the bond between him and the kitten.

"Miss. Blake, you only have Ummm... wait, what's the time now?" He questioned me, and I rolled my eyes at his immaturity.

"6:23 pm", I replied while looking at the time on my phone, and he smiled.

"You only have three hours and Ummm..yes..yes.. thirty-seven minutes."

"For what?" I questioned, and the evil smirk returned to his face.

"Free Adriana or at exactly 10:00 pm, the headlines will start running on each and every news channel."

Irritated, I stood up from my chair and, at the same time, Linda returned with two glasses of water.

I made my way towards the exit and turned around.

"Linda, free this man and bring him to the other wing's drawing-room," I ordered and Linda was surprised but nodded and the man chuckled.

With this, I exited the room.

Just when everything was going according to the plan-ugh!

*****************************************************************************

~Love- K.D