Chapter 2. A Threat

Aria Anastasia

“Aria,” Zaiden called my name, while I was still shocked at the scene happening in front of my eyes. He closed his eyes and opened them after sighing. He told the two men, “Handle the body. Leave the rest to me.”

Zaiden walked toward me and grabbed me by my arm. His green eyes met my blue ones as he said to me, “Come with me.” He pulled me with him and I just abided by him.

I couldn’t believe that I was working under a murderer for these two years. Indeed, working here was my dream job, but that didn’t mean it was my dream to work under a gangster. Was he in the mafia? Did Kael know about it? Or was Kael Storm the boss of the underworld and Zaiden was handling his father’s business?

Plenty of questions were roaming in my mind. I wasn’t sure what to do or how to react anymore. This was the biggest shock I ever got in my life.

Once we were in my cabin, Zaiden locked it from inside. The gun was still in his hand. “Aria-”

“Please don’t shoot me,” I mumbled, covering my face with my shivering hands. “I swear, I-I... I am sorry, Zai- boss. I am really sorry.” I could feel tears threatening to fall from my eyes.

Why did I see it? What Zaiden did, apart from the official work, was none of my business. I was supposed to stay professional. Then how could I interrupt his personal life?

I could feel two cold hands over mine, pulling my hands away from my face. “Aria, I am not shooting you,” Zaiden said calmly and kept the gun on my desk.

If he was really in the mafia, he definitely had a knife too. “Will you stab me then?” I was about to cover my face again, but he held my hand tightly, giving me a stern look.

“I won’t stab you either,” he assured me, which I highly doubted.

“I want to unsee everything and forget it all. Do you know anyone who can do that?” I breathed out, still the scenario playing in my head. I saw the dead body of a person who was shot in the chest.

I took a seat on my chair and poured myself a glass of water, drinking it all in one go.

“Look, Aria,” Zaiden started speaking, keeping his hands in his pocket, “All I can say is, whatever you see you cannot tell it to anyone. Not even your family or friends. You have to keep your mouth shut.”

“But I cannot lie properly, and I never hide anything from my mom and my best friend, Freja,” I pointed out, gulping hard at the blank expression on Zaiden’s face. Even though he would always have this expression, now I found it scary cause I couldn’t figure out whether he would kill me or not.

Zaiden pulled my chair closer to him and caged me in between his arms. He looked at me as his eyes darkened. “Aria Anastasia, I didn’t want to do it in this way but now, I have to.” He took out a pocket knife, making me gulp in terror.

There was it. I knew he was going to kill me. He would stab me to death, wouldn’t he? I never pictured dying like this.

“Zaid-” I was interrupted when I felt a cold metal over my lips. He had placed the small knife on my lips.

“Just hear each and every word I say,” he said in a deep tone, which made a shiver run down through my spine. “What you saw, shall be kept a secret. Not a single soul shall learn about it and if by mistake, you have a slip of tongue, consider yourself dead. I will make you dig your grave and bury you alive under gunpoint.”

Tears sprinkled out of my eyes, hearing his threat. It was such a cruel death – to dig my grave and then get buried alive. I never expected Zaiden to be this cruel, nor did I expect him to be a murderer. But why was he sparing me after what I saw?

As if he could read my thoughts, he said, “I am sparing you alive because my father adores you a lot. He will be hurt if he learns that you know the truth now and I have decided to kill you. So all I am telling you is to keep it a secret if you want to see another day in this world.”

I nodded my head slowly, unable to speak due to the small knife over my mouth. If I move harshly, I might end up getting injured.

“My eyes will be on you, Aria,” Zaiden mumbled, removing a few strands of my hair behind my ear. “I don’t care whether you cannot hide anything from your mother or friend, all I care about is you lying about what you saw today and not revealing that I shot someone. I believe you will follow what I said.”

When Zaiden’s eyes locked with mine, he removed the knife, noticing how petrified I was.

“Get ready. My driver will drop you home. You can complete the other work tomorrow.” He added, “I think you will stay quiet, Aria.” He stood away from me now and mumbled, “I don’t want to kill you.” With that, he stormed out of my cabin, closing the door with a huge bang that made me flinch.

After he went away, I pulled my knees up to my chest level, curling myself into a ball. I was trembling in fear, more tears falling from my eyes. When I licked my lips, I could get an alkaline taste. I placed my thumb over my lips, only to see some blood on my finger.

The knife had cut my lip slightly, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain I would go through from now on. I would stay in fear all the time, wondering whether I had a slip of tongue and exposed his identity to someone or not.

I should talk less with people, which would lessen my chance of not keeping the secret of my boss.

If Zaiden was in the mafia, it meant Kael knew about it because he mentioned that he didn’t kill me because of his father. So was Kael also covering his identity? Was all his fatherly-affection a facade?

I wiped my tears and took my things before getting out of my cabin. I made my way to the parking lot, with the keys of my car in my hand. Without waiting for a second, I got into my car and started driving.

I was living under delusion for the past two years. I thought Zaiden was a great businessman despite having some flaws, and I admired his dedication to work. I even treated him as a friend, which he never did with me. He told me to stay professional when I tried to be friends with him and since then; I was maintaining everything professionally. But now I knew something from his private life, which I wished I never knew. At least, I would see him as a regular rude and cold boss of mine, instead of a murderer who shot someone directly in the chest.

I still couldn’t believe Zaiden was a murderer. Everyone in the office was scared of him ever since he joined, but I was the only one who would face him with confidence because if he was angry, the most he could do was scold me. But now, if he got angry at me, he might just end up killing me just like he killed that young man who was almost of our age.

How would I work properly now that I know my boss was a murderer who was covering his true identity under a facade? How would I keep the secret of my boss?