Anderson leaned back slightly, his fingers tapping idly against the armrest. His gaze never left mine, as if he was weighing how much to tell me—how much I could handle. Then, with an eerie sort of calm, he spoke.
"You've heard of Nexus, haven't you?" His voice was smooth, but there was something dangerous beneath it, something that made my stomach twist.
My breath caught in my throat. Nexus. Of course, I had heard of it. The name wasn't spoken often, but when it was, it was always in hushed tones—stories of an untouchable syndicate, a shadowy empire that operated beyond the law. Deals were made, lives were taken, and power shifted at their will. No one knew who sat at the top, only that they were unstoppable.
Anderson watched me carefully, the faintest smirk playing at the corner of his lips. "Ah," he murmured, "so you do know." He leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping lower. "We don't just work for Nexus, Mia. We are Nexus."
The words sent ice through my veins.
Anderson's eyes darkened, his voice smooth but laced with quiet menace. "Nexus isn't just an organization. It's an empire. A force that operates in the shadows, controlling things in ways you can't even begin to imagine." He tilted his head slightly, as if studying my reaction. "We don't answer to anyone. We make the rules. We decide what happens... and to whom."
My heart pounded. A mafia empire. Ruthless. Powerful. The realization hit like a punch to the gut.
Aaron smirked, amusement flickering in his gaze as he watched the horror settle on my face. "You've heard the stories," he mused, voice almost taunting. "Now, you're living one."
I had. Whispers. Rumors. Stories that never had a name attached but carried a sense of dread nonetheless. Deals that vanished without a trace. People who disappeared overnight. Unseen hands pulling the strings of things no one dared to question.
And now, I was trapped in the middle of it.
A cold dread settled in my chest as their words sank in. Nexus.
The stories. The warnings. The whispered rumors that had always felt like ghost stories meant to scare people into silence. It was all real. And I was sitting in a private jet with the very people who ruled it.
I felt my breath quicken, my pulse hammering against my ribs. My fingers dug into the blanket, my mind screaming at me to move, to do something.
With a sudden surge of adrenaline, I shoved the blanket off and stood up, my legs unsteady for only a brief second before the lingering effects of the drug fully wore off. My body tensed, every instinct on high alert.
"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath, my voice sharp with disbelief.
I barely even realized I had said it out loud. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as my thoughts raced, trying to process the impossible situation I had just woken up to.
But there was no way out.
I was in their world now.
I took a shaky breath and forced my eyes to meet Anderson's. Panic churned inside me, but I refused to let them see it—refused to let them win so easily.
"Mr. Anderson, what exactly do you want from me?" I demanded, throwing my hands up. "I mean, seriously—me? I'm just a vet! I take care of animals! I patch up dogs and rescue stray cats—I don't exactly scream 'mafia material!'"
I let out a dry, almost hysterical laugh, shaking my head. "So, unless one of you has a secret pet tiger that needs medical attention, I have no idea why I'm here!"
The words just kept coming, tumbling out as my anxiety surged. "I mean, come on! There's gotta be some kind of mix-up, right? Like, maybe you kidnapped the wrong person? Maybe there's another Mia out there who's actually some kind of secret agent or—I don't know—a crime boss' daughter or something!"
I took a breath, my chest rising and falling quickly, my heart still racing. "Because I can promise you—whatever you think I can do, I can't."
Thought I know whatever I said is bullshit and they already showed me proof that I am their blood.
I can't help but feel frustrated.
I stared at them, waiting, hoping...praying... for some kind of explanation that would make even a fraction of this make sense