"I hope this plan doesn't fail," Fiona thought, tightening the tie that made her look entirely different.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror with her blazer that concealed her curves, thanking God in her mind that she didn't have much upfront. Her short bob wig on her head erased any trace of who she was underneath. To anyone else, she was a normal boy, but to her, the mirror reflection was strange.
Hearing a soft click against the tiles told her that her mom was about to enter the room, The cold and unyielding aura that swept through the whole room could only belong to one person–Arial,her mother.
The woman was a striking figure, a personification of the title she bore in the underworld. The Ice Queen. Her tailored suit hugged her form with precision, her platinum hair was packed into a bun, not a single strand out of place, highlighting her cheekbones and piercing, blue eyes. The kind of eyes that makes you unsure whether to bow or run.She was a cold beauty.
"If he finds out who you are," her voice sounded as cold as her personality, "He won't hesitate to get rid of you… neither would I."
A chill ran down her spine, but she kept her gaze fixed on the mirror, looking at her reflection. There was no room for hesitation or space for backing down. She was trained to clear those thoughts.
"Yes, mother" she replied, her voice steady, though it betrayed her inner turmoil.
Hearing her reply, her mother's heels clicked against the floor as she approached her. Her aura was heavy and suffocating.
Arial held her jaw, forcing Fiona to look at her and meet her cold gaze.
"You were trained for missions like this. I expect nothing more than perfection," she said, devoid of any emotion, just like her heart.
"You will befriend him, gain his trust and get close enough to obtain the Morreti family secret for me to use to my advantage. Do not fail me. Do you understand?"
She nodded. It sounded simple when her mother said it, but only she understood the danger. The fear of failure pressed like a stone on her.
She never expected to be involved with the type of mission that might endanger her life, even though she was used to her life being at risk.
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Fiona wouldn't call her life special. In fact, there wasn't much about it she could claim as her own. Every decision in her life was controlled by her mother since her mother was a woman of perfection.
She was on her usual morning run. Her feet moved with the flow of her heart, each step echoing the rhythm dictated by duty and not by desire. Running six to seven laps didn't matter anymore; she was used to it. The burn in her lungs was familiar, a constant reminder of the pressure to be perfect. There was no room for mistakes.
After finishing her morning run, Fiona headed straight home for a quick shower. The cold shower washed away all the sweat and fatigue. Done with the shower and dressing, she headed downstairs to the basement.
The air in the basement was cool with the smell of gunpowder and steel. Sighting her trainer, Fiona walked up to him and greeted knowing he was annoyed by her delay. They moved to the practice range without wasting time.
Holding the gun brought a familiar feeling to her which she was used to. It was one of the training she enjoyed the most. The feeling of adrenaline that pulsed through her body as she fired the shot was a rush unlike anything else. Seeing the shot hit the target filled her with pride.
Fiona felt her lips lifting up forming a small smile, one of satisfaction, but it instantly went down.
"What is there to feel proud of? Just that little shot and you are feeling proud?" Her mother's voice cut through the air, the shiver of Fiona's spine showed her emotion. "You disappoint me. How many times have I told you not to show your emotions for useless things?"
The words stung as they always did even though she was supposed to be used to it by now. Fiona had always known she couldn't meet her mom's expectations. To her, Fiona's very existence was a failure; not being born a boy, a disgrace to the family and the daughter of a rapist. In her eyes, Fiona had always been a thorn right from the moment she was born.
Arial turned sharply on her heels,
"Follow me to the office," she commanded without looking back, "I have something to discuss with you."
Fiona dropped the gun, her hands steady as her inside stirred. She followed after her mother, her footsteps quiet compared to the click noice of her mother's heels against the cold hard floor.
They walked in silence, The office was as imposing as the woman who owned it .
files and ledger neatly stacked up in the shelves behind her larger wooden table which only had a pen and files.
She gestured Fiona to sit but remained standing herself. She leaned against the edge of the desk, showing her imposing nature.
"I have a mission for you." She threw an image onto the desk. "You will dress as a guy and get close to him. Become his friend. Gather his father's secrets".
To those who weren't involved with the underworld he might look like an ordinary college student, but Fiona knew better. His name was Adrian Morreti.
Her mother might be the ice queen of the underworld, but Adrian's father was the true boss of the underground. The bosses and syndicate who commanded fear throughout the underworld trembled before him.
Fiona's heart raced but she kept her composure. She has no choice but to obey it.
Her mother however noticed the flicker of hesitation in her eye. A cold disgusted sneer crept through her lip.
"What's the matter, Fiona? A girl is a girl. You can never be a boy".
But she didn't argue back knowing it was of no use. She was dismissed within a flick of her mother's hand and as she stood up to leave, her eyes fell on the photograph once more.
Adrian Morreti's blue eyes stared back at her, his expression unreadable.
A week had passed since that day, Fiona sat at the back quietly in the backseat in thought. According to her mom, everything had to be perfect. For precaution, she was to live with her trusted underlings, who would pose as her parents.
Her entire identity had been rewritten. Fiona no longer existed, she was now Jack Griffo the son of Mr and Mrs Griffo–an ordinary boy from an ordinary family. He got a chance to study in the Philli Elite's School under the guise of merits.
Fiona stared out of the window, her eyes reflecting the passing scenery. She repeated the name silently to herself: Jack Griffo. It sounded foreign to her but she had to get used to it since he was her for the rest of the mission.
She had to become and live like him.