BACK IN THE SMALL BUILDING*

“Usman!”

“Micah!”

“Usman!”

“Micah!”

The other newbies chanted relentlessly as Tessa and the guy rolled on the ground, taking turns to land blows on each other.

Turns out his name is Usman, and he had lots of fans in the new gang. He was having the upper hand, and his punches were heavier, but Tessa was not one to give up. She kept up the fight, her face already bloody, until the two girls from earlier showed up.

The twin warriors.

“The last to get up gets punished,” one said as they entered the circle.

Tessa quickly sprang up, and Usman stood last, both breathing raggedly and bleeding.

“Impressive… I love tough mobsters,” the second girl smiled, taking a good look at the two of them as the rest stepped back.

“I’m Bullet,” the first one said.

“And I’m Blaze,” the second one said, both looking blunt.

“You’re Micah Alvarez,” Bullet said, facing Tessa.

“Yes,” Tessa replied, and Bullet smiled shortly, taking another look at her before joining Blaze.

“The trial is tomorrow morning. The clan will decide the ones who’ll be staying among y’all after taking the physical tests. Till tomorrow, you’ll be given rooms to stay,” Blaze said.

Ten minutes later, they were already being shuffled into different rooms around the residential wings.

Tessa got a big room down the third wing, and immediately she dropped her duffel bag on the bed, she saw two other beds.

Meaning she had roommates??

She momentarily froze. Her roommates would be guys… how was she gonna continue keeping her real gender from them? She hadn’t thought about this.

But then… they’d only become her real roommates if she passed the physical trials tomorrow, right?

One thing was for sure—she had to pass. She needed to join this clan. She needed to train and get stronger. She needed to.

She gathered a thick hoodie from her duffel, plus black jeans, then entered the clean bathroom. She made sure to lock the door before undressing.

She took off her shirt and jeans, pulled down her male boxers, then unwrapped the bandage on her chest, freeing her boóbs. Her boóbs weren’t big—she had the smallest size, so that was a bonus.

She turned on the warm button in the shower before getting under it, letting the warm water wash away her cold. At the same time, her mind went to how she got here.

FLASHBACK TO TWO DAYS AGO, LONDON, UK — BELMARSH PRISON*

Only the sound of Tessa’s harsh breaths could be heard in the small solitary cell as she did press-ups, counting and sweating like a pig. Her limbs were already shaking, but she didn’t give up or hesitate as she did another one.

“Sixty-two!” she grunted, saliva falling from her weak mouth.

Her gorgeous golden hair was all tangled, but she managed to pull it into a low messy ponytail, and lots of strands stuck to her nape. Her sweat dripped below her face, forming a puddle as she tried to do another press.

“Sixty-thr…”

She couldn’t finish when a cop showed up at the door.

“Inmate number 30?” he said, his eyes devoid.

Tessa fell on her face before rising to her feet, breathing hard.

Ten minutes later, she had already changed from the inmate uniform back into the clothes she had worn when she was arrested five years ago.

That’s right—she had spent five years here for a crime she didn’t commit. She was 20 when she got jailed, and now she was 25.

She was wondering what was going on as she walked beside the cop till they got to the main office.

“What’s going on?” she questioned.

“Your release has been ordered by the federal,” the cop told her, and she frowned, looking more confused.

“Why?”

“Evidence showed that you’re not the murderer of your parents. Tessa Moretti, you’re free to go,” the detective told her, and tears fell from her red eyes.

Hot, piping ones.

She had nothing to say. What would she even say?

Five years ago, when she was arrested, all evidence pointed at her, and there was no escape. But now, after spending five years in here, they suddenly found out she was innocent?

As she walked out of the prison building, she was crying, and as expected, no one was waiting to receive her. She wiped her tears, and thanks to the money her senior sister had been sending her monthly while she was in jail, she was able to ride a taxi home.

The house had changed a lot, and time had taken its toll on the walls. Her once happy home.

The paint was faded and scratched. Even the roof was rusty, and the doors. It was like a ghost house.

As she pushed the door open, she let out her tears again, because the inside was a greater mess. The roof was leaking already. Rain had washed away the flooring and a lot of the furniture.

She immediately had a vivid remembrance of that fateful day when her parents died in cold blood, and she could see their helpless corpses lying on the ground after they vomited their intestines.

She covered her mouth to muffle her loud cries. She had to run out of the house so she wouldn’t break down, and she was panting tearfully as she rested her palms on her knees.

“Yo! Isn’t it the bîtch who killed her parents for money?” a guy passing by mocked, and she stood straight, balling her palms.

“Hey, cool down! Don’t murder me too! By the way, you killed that outfit!” he laughed in pure mockery, going out of sight.

Tessa was about to rush down the dilapidated stairs when she saw a letter hanging by a crack on the wall.

She took it and opened it with shaky fingers. It was from Racheal, her big sis.

I’ve been in Russia for three years now, at the brutal Ivanov clan, to get stronger. If you see this when you get out, then you might wanna come join me. We have to punish the bastard who framed you for our parents’ murder. The clan stopped taking females though, so you’ll have to live as a boy if you’re coming. I bought you a new identity as Micah Alvarez, get the details from the cyber man on Third Street. He’ll get you the invite and the QR code too. See you soon, Tessa

A sad smile painted Tessa’s lips, but at least… there was hope.

Everyone saw her as a murderer here, even after she had been found innocent, but she’d start all over as a man in Russia, and she’d get stronger.

She’d reunite with her sister, too.

“I’ll go. I’ll go,” she muttered.

PRESENT TIME*★

Tessa opened her eyes under the shower, cutting off the flashback and rubbing her face, but she cringed in pain from the bruises caused by Usman’s punches.

“That bastard,” she muttered.

But then, it wasn’t only him. She also had a cut on her cheek caused by the second bastard who had thrown a blade at her. She didn’t give a fûck who he was—she was winding him back the next time they met.

A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped. Her roommates?

She cleared her throat before speaking in her fake male voice.

“Who’s… there?”

“It’s Racheal,” a low voice replied, and her eyes widened.

She quickly wrapped a towel around her body and went to open the door.

Racheal’s green eyes came into view, and she quickly came in, locking the door before hugging Tessa so tight, stroking her trimmed hair.

“Tessa,” Racheal sobbed emotionally.

“Racheal,” Tessa sobbed too, hugging her back.

They didn’t break the hug for more than three minutes, and when they did, they smiled. Their smiles radiated from their matching blue eyes.

“Do I look like a boy enough?” Tessa asked.

“Trust me, you do. You’re a pretty boy,” Racheal smiled, palming her face.

“Now that you’re here, you must pass the physical trials tomorrow,” she said.

“I will. But what happens to those who won’t pass it?” Tessa asked.

“Their memories of what they saw in this clan will be wiped, and they’d be thrown out. So you have to pass,” Racheal replied, and Tessa nodded.

“We have to behave like strangers publicly, right?”

“Yeah. No one must find out we’re siblings. Everyone here knows my only sibling is still in jail and she’s a girl. They must not find out it’s you, and no one must find out you’re a female. They’re madly suspicious and watchful here,” Racheal said sternly, her eyes turning frigid.

“What happens if they find out I’m a female? If they find out we deceived them and I’m your sister?” Tessa asked in a low voice.

Racheal’s lips pressed before she spoke up.

“You’ll be killed. By me. I’ll be ordered to kill you.”

Tessa went cold, choking on her saliva.