Hello everyone! I hope that 2019 is treating you better than in 2018!

Here is the first chapter of the New Year!

Enjoy!

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

"Bang." The sound of the gunshot echoed through the walls of the mansion.

Hunter looked with empty eyes at the body lying beneath his feet. He handed the gun to the guard standing beside him and accepted the wet cloth the man offered. He cleaned his already spotless hands, then wore his coat and left the room.

"What on earth Hunter? I gave you orders to keep him alive. He was our last captive." These were the first words Hunter heard upon entering his father's office.

"I see that news travel here faster than on the BBC," Hunter said sarcastically.

"It's not the time for your inexistent humour Hunter. Now answer my question, and I suggest you be serious." Damien ordered with a hard tone.

"I got the name of the person who ordered the attack on the Don's mansion."

"Then why did you kill the man? Maybe we would have got more information if he was alive."

"He said that Lucca Ignacio was responsible for the attack, but I know he was lying. It was his last resort to get out of the situation. He wanted to create conflicts between the two families, and that would be beneficial for the real culprit."

"And if he was truthful?" Damien asked his son. He was sure that the Ignacio family wasn't responsible, but he wanted to see how his son was analysing the information he got.

"If he was a man from the Ignacio family, he wouldn't have said a word. The bastards are loyal to the family, and they favour death rather than betrayal. Even if I don't like Lucca, I can't deny that the man believes in honour and would always protect his men no matter what. So if the men we captured were his, he would have done everything to get them back. The one we are dealing with now is a sordid leader, who doesn't care about anything, but himself."

Damien was impressed by Hunter's conclusion not that he was surprised since he knew very well that his son had a sharp mind and a meticulous observation.

"And who do you suggest was responsible for this?"

"I think who did this was sending a direct warning to us. He gave us the message that he can attack us in our home and got away with it. Also, he wanted us to make new enemies since he involved the Ignacio family with whom we have an unstable relationship. In my opinion, it's a new family trying to rise and prove itself. Or in another scenario, it's an old family which suffered on our hands and kept a low profile, but now decided to return and take her place on the top once again while taking its revenge."

"You mean an old enemy trying to surface again."

"Exactly," Hunter confirmed his father's words.

"We have a lot of enemies old and new. So it's hard to specify who the culprit was. But for now, I think that who did this isn't from the USA."

"What do you mean?" Hunter asked.

"When we captured the men, I noticed they have a slight accent they tried to hide." Damien clarified.

"Accent? I didn't notice any accents in their voice." Hunter furrowed his eyebrows in concentration trying to remember his conversation with the captives.

"Like I said it was barely visible, but it was there I am sure. I think it's Russian, even their traits suggest they are coming from the north side of the world."

"So from what I understand, you are saying that the attackers are from a foreign country. So that's mean you have enemies in Russia?"

"Not exactly, I would call it rivalry more than animosity. But who knows, the years passed and people change."

"But we don't have any evident clues, so we will just stay and wait for them to attack again," Hunter said frustrated with the fact that they arrived at a closed door.

"Of course not, I sent my investigators to Russia. They will collect information and come back. Only then we can decide our next course of action. You can't fight your enemy in the shadows, Hunter. You have to lull him to the sunlight so you can destroy him. And that's exactly what I tend to do."

"Okay, just keep me updated with the new changes. I need to leave." Hunter said and stood up from his seat.

"Where are you going?"

"Grandpa is holding a meeting at the mansion today, and he wants me to be there," Hunter answered his father.

"And may I ask what's the occasion of this meeting?" Damien asked nonchalantly.

"I don't know. But I will find out when I go." Hunter lied through his teeth to his father.

"Good luck then. But I find it unusual for the Don to hold two meetings at the same time." Damien said pointedly.

"Two meetings?"

"Yes, since he is holding one that morning with you guys, and he invited me and your uncles to another one that evening. Maybe he is intending to share the same information with both sides. Don't you think?" Damien spoke confidently as if he knew that his son was lying to him and hiding something.

"Maybe yes and maybe no, who knows? My Grandpa is a very mysterious man." Hunter answered evasively trying to avoid his father's scrutinizing gaze.

Damien tried so hard to hide the smile trying to make its way on his face. With a nod, he dismissed his son and focused on the files in front of him. His son wasn't a kid anymore, he is growing day after day, and he would be lying if he said he wasn't proud of the way his son turned out. Hunter was the spitting image of him both physically and mentally. So it was easy for him to tell when his son is hiding something, even if Hunter was a good emotion masker.

Damien wasn't the type of father who would interfere in his sons' businesses. As long as they were safe, he would be okay with anything they do. He decided to let it go for now and deal with things when the right time comes.

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

It had been five days since the day Anna's world crumbled and fall. Five days in which Anna tried to collect her heart's pieces and glue them together, but whenever she thought the job was done, she would find missing pieces. She searched and searched for them, but every time she would turn empty-handed. It took her some time to realise these pieces were taken by Hunter, and their places would remain empty forever.

Three days after the break-up with Hunter, Anna decided to stop wallowing in self-pity and started focusing on her mission. Unfortunately, she realised her mistakes the hard way. She was brought here for a reason, and for a moment, she sidestepped her purpose, and now she was paying the price.

Anna tried to convince herself that everything will return on track. From now on, she will only focus on her work. She would forget about relationships and needless headaches. She was never a social person and she won't start being one. All her life she was alone apart from her two best friends who were with her all the way.

The meeting with the Don will be held today at the mansion. Anna wasn't nervous at all. In reality, she didn't even care about what the results would be.

"Good morning, dear." Karen greeted her with a gentle smile gracing her features.

Anna couldn't bring herself to remain neutral and gave Karen a small smile of her own.

"Morning Karen."

"How are you feeling dear? Are you okay?" Karen asked with concern.

Every day Karen would ask Anna the same question, and Anna was getting frustrated. She knew the woman meant well with her concern, and Anna appreciated it so much. But it was hard for her to continue lying to Karen's face. She can't tell her the truth, so lying was the only option.

"Yes, I am fine Karen," Anna answered with monotony.

Karen sighed visibly not satisfied with the answer, but nonetheless smiled and started eating her breakfast. Anna didn't have much appetite, but for the Black family's sake grabbed her fork and nibbled on her pancakes. She didn't want to worry them anymore as they were very concerned about her well-being in the last days. Her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes gave them the impression she was sick.

Also, Anna learned a new trait about her brothers, they were very protective. They didn't leave her side and made sure to cheer her up even though they don't even know what was upsetting her. So pretending she was okay was the only solution to make them lay off on her a little.

"It is time we leave. The meeting is at eleven sharp." Aiden said as he kissed his mother's cheek and stood up from his seat on the table.

Anna arched an eyebrow in question.

"Were you too invited to the meeting?" Anna asked with her heart beating loudly in her heart. If Aiden was invited to join the meeting, it means he knew from the beginning about the mission and her identity. So he was a part of Lillian and Hunter's pretending. The mere thought of these two hurt Anna more than anything else.

"Yes, the Don called yesterday and invited me, even though I don't know the reason behind this meeting," Aiden said.

"Okay, let's go." Anna smiled in relief and followed him.

With mutual silence, they left the room and climbed the waiting Bentley. The car ride was a silent affair as neither of them said a word. Twenty minutes later, Anna found herself in front of the familiar mansion. She wasn't prepared for the swirl of emotions hitting her. She had to take deep breaths to ease the pain in the pit of her stomach. She needed to get a hold on her nerves, so she can pass this dreadful day.

Like usual, Henry was the one to greet them on the door. He led them to a large meeting room. To Anna's luck, she was greeted by a smiling Lillian who immediately engulfed her in a bear hug. Anna didn't make a move and kept her arms rigidly by her side. Lillian sensed her friend's discomfort and pulled away.

"Are you okay, Anna?" Lillian asked with genuine concern.

Anna was sick from hearing that question. Everyone was looking at her strangely and with pity in their eyes. But Lillian's question was the cherry on the top. How can she act like that? How can she fake concern like that? was the mission that important?

"How do I look like to you?" Anna snapped.

"what's up, Anna?"

Lillian put her hand on her friend's shoulder in a comforting gesture, only for Anna to slap her hand away. Lillian took two steps away from her in shock.

"I am fine Lillian, and that's it."

Anna said scornfully and marched to her seat. She took the one at the far end of the huge table that was dominating most of the room's space.

As usual, the Don was exactly on time as he made his appearance at 11:00 sharp. All the attendants stood up in respect and waited until the man took his seat at the head of the table to sit back.

Anna surveyed her surroundings and wasn't shocked when she saw Ethan sitting there. He gave her a friendly smile, which she chose to ignore.

Next to him sat Eric then Nicholas who was sitting in anticipation, which gave her the impression that they weren't informed about the mission exactly like Aiden who sat beside her. Hunter who made it just by few minutes to spare was sitting on the Don's left side. The look on his face was one of determination that Anna never saw before on his face. His jaw was set in a hard line while his eyes lost their baby blue colour and become a darker blue shade. They were almost scary to look at.

Anna shook her head and willed herself to stop thinking about Hunter. Instead, she turned her full attention to the Don who started speaking.

"Today, I decided to hold that meeting for a purpose. I invited you specifically because I trust that you can the job I will be assigning you, perfectly. So without delay, let's start talking business. We have our suspects that one of the Mafia families in Russia is targeting us. More specifically the Alyandi family. After the attack last time, to keep things from escalating, I contacted their boss and in a friendly gesture, we decided to make a student exchange between our schools."

"So you are telling me we will sit and act nicely with them as if nothing happened," Hunter said in annoyance.

"You are always the impatient one, my boy."

"It's not impatience, sir. I have a lot of unfinished business, and I don't wish to be delayed."

Anna expected the Don to reprimand his grandson, but the man merely smiled and spoke.

"As I said before, we made a scholarship deal between the families, and I made sure that they will send their best students, and I will return the favour and send our best. And when I said our best, I mean you who are gathered here today. Now, when you go there the real mission will start. I am one hundred percent sure they are hiding important information in the school's principal computer. I am sure that the information is beyond a simple attack on us. It's something bigger. So basically your mission is to enter there and bring the needed data."

"Excuse me sir, but to do that we need all of us in the same place?" Aiden asked in confusion as he found the mission pretty easy and didn't need all these preparations.

"I know the mission seems so easy, but in reality, it can turn out very dangerous. It all depends on the gravity of the information you will find. They are suspecting something and will put their guards up. So be careful. Now I will give you the plan you need to follow, Hunter, Lillian, Aiden, Eric, and Nicholas you will act as our student exchange. You will be ordinary last year students."

Icy blue eyes traveled Anna's way and looked at her seriously.

"The success of this mission depends on you, Miss Sanders. You won't act as an exchange student like the others. You will go there as a new student who was sent by her rich parents to the school. You need to visit the principal's office on daily basics so you need to act like a troublemaker, who bullies others and get in trouble, or as a nerd who gets bullied and visit the office for comfort and justice." The Don said bluntly.

Anna looked at him and contemplated her options. The man was giving her a chance, and she would take it. If she chose to be a nerd who let others throw her around, she would be acting weak once again, and she was tired of all that. If she chose to act like a bitch, then she would be a badass who can get her way without a care. So with a voice full of resolve, she spoke.

"I will be the bitch who bullies others and gets in trouble every day."

The Don nodded and was about to continue speaking when Hunter voiced his protests.

"I don't think that would be safe for her. She will be the center of attention and that in itself screams trouble. We can't afford unneeded messes." Hunter reasoned.

"If I stay under the radar, then I won't be able to do my job correctly. How do you suggest I visit the principal's office? I don't want to be a victim. This time I will act as I want, and I will be the one making rules, not the other way." Anna said strongly.

Hunter scoffed at her words but remained silent even if the scowl on his face suggested that he was burning with rage on the inside. Meanwhile, the Don smiled in admiration with Anna's show of bravery. He was seeing the results of his well-cooked plans, especially the separating decision. He was certain that his grandson won't be able to influence the girl's mind, and she would be one hundred percent into the plan.

"Now that we decided the roles of each one of you, here how our plan will work. Hunter and the others will act with their real identities. While for Anna, you will go by the name Helena Ivanov. You will be the daughter of a rich family from Ukraine, who her parents got fed up with her failure in school and bad behavior, so they decided to send her to a Russian boarding school. You need to make a few friendships so you won't draw any suspicions. Also, you will keep contact with Hunter and the others to a minimum. One of the technical crew will provide all of you with tiny earpieces that you will wear all day and even at night, so you can stay in contact with each other at all times. You won't find any language problems since the official language in the school is English. Any questions?"

"Wait, don't you think there is a big hole in that plan? How about Tatiana? She knows Anna, and last I knew she is a student in there." Ethan said.

"I thought about it and don't worry the problem is solved. Tatiana was sent to her Uncle's in France and won't be back before the next summer, so we are safe." The Don answered his grandson.

"What about Ethan? What will be his role? I don't think it will suit a man like him to be a student again." Lillian asked teasingly.

"You are right cousin, I won't be a student again, because right now you are looking at your mathematics teacher for next year," Ethan said smugly.

"How come he can be a teacher and I can't even if I am nearly the same age as him." Lillian protested.

"As you said before, it would be against man logic to make Ethan a high school student, but you, my dear can pass as one easily. Besides, I need someone with logic to be with the boys. I don't want any rashness or stupid moves."

"So you falsified my age, didn't you, uncle?" Lillian said with a smile.

"You know me very well dear because from now on, you are seventeen years old instead of nineteen."

Lillian just smiled and shook her head.

"One last thing and we will wrap this meeting. We will discuss your residence arrangements. Ethan and the others, you will stay in our villa there. It is a short distance from the school, so transportation won't be hard for you. As for you Anna, you will stay at the dormitory." The Don continued explaining the plan.

Hunter wasn't very thrilled with his Grandpa words, but he knew very well that the man won't change his mind, so he kept his silence for now.

"Two weeks from now, you will fly to Russia. Anna will fly separately from the others on one of our private planes. Any questions?" The Don asked giving them the opportunity to voice their opinions.

When no one said a word, the Don rose from his chair and said his farewells. Next, Lillian followed him saying something about seeing Gabriella, and Anna was grateful the girl didn't try to talk to her again. Anna was admiring a huge painting in the office waiting for Aiden to finish his conversation with Ethan.

Hunter watched her as she looked intently at the picture in front of her as if she has the ability to decipher the secrets behind it. He took purposeful steps towards her. It was high time they discussed unsolved things.

"Can we talk alone for a little bit?" Hunter asked politely giving her the chance to accept or deny his request.

"Yes, of course," Anna said too nonchalantly for Hunter's liking, but he nodded anyway and led the way to the mansion's garden. He didn't expect her to say yes and was prepared to force her to speak with him. But now that she didn't resist, he was ready to take his chance.

Ten minutes later, they were standing side by side and looking at the beautiful scenery. Technically, Anna was the one fascinated with the view while Hunter just stood there hands in pockets and admiring her curious blue eyes.

"How have you been these past days?" Hunter decided to start the conversation as it seemed that Anna would never initiate any talk.

"Does it matter?" Anna spoke in a bored tone, never taking her eyes from the blue sky.

"Of course it matters, Anna. You know I like to see you always well and happy." Hunter answered genuinely.