Black Opal’s Three Tests of True Love Chapter 08

They searched for me for an entire year.

The Morettis and the Vosses unleashed every asset they owned, yet my trail remained cold in the meantime, rival syndicates began chipping away at their New York operations, and their vital

shipping routes were systematically hijacked.

A European syndicate, the Bellandi Group, rose to power in the chaos.

Legitimately, they ran shipping, finance and security operations, while quietly swallowing

underground networks, threatening the foundations of both the Moretti and Voss families.

A summit was called. Word reached New York that the Bellandi Group’s most elusive senior

negotiator, a figure known only as Black Opal, was touching down in Mexico City to broker a

massive terminal corridor deal with local cartels.

Black Opal never showed their face, operating entirely behind a sleek obsidian mask. No one even

knew if they were dealing with a man or a woman.

Both syndicates mobilized their elite units to Mexico City, stationing spotters across private terminals, luxury hotels, and private docks, desperate to intercept Black Opal.

And that was where our paths crossed again.

Dressed in a sharp black pant suit and carrying an executive binder, I stepped out behind an operative wearing the black mask, blending in as a nondescript personal assistant.

Alaric recognized me immediately.

“Odessa!”

Bodyguards stepped forward to intercept him, but I raised a subtle hand, signaling them to stand

down.

“Long time no see, Alaric.”

His eyes went crimson in an instant. Leandro stood right behind him, looking hollowed out,

carrying the weight of the past twelve months on his face.

“Odessa, please… come home with us.”

I laughed softly.

“Come home to the family that treated me like a laboratory subject? Or go back to the man who made my devotion a bet with his peers?”

Alaric scrambled forward, desperation leaking into his voice. “We were wrong! We just needed to

know you were truly loyal to the family!”

You let me believe Dad was dead. You let me believe Mom was dying. You watched me drop out and work myself to the bone for a broke family that never existed. You even stood by while I miscarried

because of the shock of Dad’s death.”

My eyes shifted toward Leandro.

“And you knew the whole time.”

His face drained of blood, unable to utter a single word of defense.

“You never saw me as a human being. You only wanted to see how much blood you could squeeze

out of me.”

Alaric’s voice broke. “We just wanted you to be one of us!”

“Well, now you have your answer.‘

I turned on my heel to leave. Leandro lunged forward, but the private security team shoved him

back.

“Odessa! We can make it right! Money, shares, estates, any rank in the syndicate you want–just

come back!”

“I don’t want your charity.”

Alaric frantically scanned my face. “Are you in trouble? If it’s money, we can settle it right now!”

I lowered my eyes, putting on a faint trace of vulnerability.

“I owe Black Opal a massive debt. I’m bound by contract as a personal assistant until it’s cleared. I

can’t leave.”

Alaric seized the opening like a lifeline.

“How much? Name the figure, we’ll clear it!”

“That’s not your call to make.”

Alaric wheeled around to Leandro.

“We talk to Black Opal directly.”

I offered no resistance, escorting them up to the penthouse conference suite.

Security stayed outside; phones, watches, and wiretaps were confiscated at the door. The masked

figure sat at the head of the boardroom table.

Black Opal.

Alaric stepped up, maintaining a respectful demeanor laced with the ruthless edge of a seasoned

mob boss.

“Mr. Opal, we’re here to negotiate Odessa’s release.”

A deep, synthesized voice drifted from behind the obsidian mask.

“She is my personal aide and the person I trust most. What makes you think she’s for sale?”

“Name her debt. We’ll wire the full balance immediately.”

A low chuckle slipped past the mask.

“Mr. Moretti, do I look like a man who hurts for cash?”

“What do you want, then?”

Black Opal slid an executive dossier across the mahogany table.

“Thirty percent of Moretti Holdings‘ voting equity.”

Alaric recoiled, his expression darkening.

“Do you have any idea what you’re demanding?”

“Perfectly. Sign the irrevocable transfer, and guarantee you will never interfere with Odessa’s freedom again. Otherwise, she stays under my thumb.”

Leandro stepped up, his voice dangerously low. “You’re using her as leverage against us?”

Black Opal offered no reply, tapping two fingers against the table. Armed guards stepped forward instantly, their hands resting on tactical holsters.

This wasn’t New York. They held zero authority here.

Unable to make the call alone, Alaric put the room on speaker with his parents in Long Island.

The moment she heard the terms, my mother broke down.

“If it brings Odessa home, sign it! We can earn back the money, but we only have one daughter! We

already lost her once–we can’t lose her again!”

My father went quiet for a long moment before grunting a single word: “Sign.”

Alaric pictured me five years ago, sobbing as I wrapped my arms around them, remembering how delicately I placed my meager tip money into Mom’s hands.

They had held a daughter who would have burned the world down for them, and they had thrown

her away for a test.

Without another word, Alaric signed the covenants, followed by remote digital authorizations from

Long Island.

Black Opal gathered the executed documents.

“The deal is sealed. She’s yours to take.”

Leandro turned to me, his eyes blazing with desperate hope.

“Odessa, let’s go home.”