Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 19 Blacklisted
By the next afternoon, my heartbeat had finally returned to normal.
Laziel Monroe hadn’t called. The driver hadn’t returned. The street outside our building was completely empty.
"See?" I told Giulia as I slid my printed CV into a neat folder. "He was bluffing. He’s a billionaire, not the king of Italy. He doesn’t have time to micro-manage my life."
I felt a massive wave of relief. My plan was simple: get a new secretary job at a different firm, save up for a few months, buy two plane tickets, and leave Italy forever. Helix couldn’t find me if I was across the ocean, and Laziel would eventually find a new assistant to terrorize.
I started with the logistics firm on the other side of the district. It was a good company, mid-sized, and my qualifications were more than enough.
The hiring manager, a middle-aged woman with glasses, smiled as I sat down across from her desk. "Miss Brenner, correct? Let me see your files."
"Yes. Mireya Elaine Brenner," I said, handing over the folder.
She opened it, skimming through my education and my previous employment history. She was nodding, looking impressed. But the moment her eyes hit the section listing my most recent contract with Monroe Holdings, her smile completely vanished.
She froze.
Slowly, she closed the folder and slid it back across the desk toward me.
"I’m sorry, Miss Brenner," she said, her voice suddenly dropping all its warmth. "We cannot employ you."
I blinked, caught entirely off guard. "I’m sorry? Is there an issue with my references? Everything in my CV is complete and correct."
"Your qualifications are excellent," the woman stated flatly, refusing to look me in the eye. "But our company has no positions available for you. Please leave."
Anger flared in my chest. "You literally called me in because you had three open vacancies—"
"I asked you to leave, Miss Brenner."
I snatched my folder off her desk, my jaw clenched tightly as I walked out. Fine. To hell with them. It was just one company. Milan was massive. There were hundreds of offices.
Two hours later, I was standing in the lobby of a major marketing firm.
The recruitment officer took my CV, his eyes scanning down the page. The second he saw the name Mireya Elaine Brenner and the Monroe Holdings stamp, his face went completely pale. He looked up at me as if I were holding a bomb.
"We cannot employ you," he said immediately. "Please leave the premises."
"Are you serious right now?" I stepped closer to his desk, my voice rising. "You haven’t even interviewed me! What the hell is going on?"
"Security!" the man called out. "Remove her from the building immediately!"
Before I could even shout back, two large guards grabbed my arms and forcefully escorted me out the glass doors, tossing my folder onto the pavement.
My hands shook as I picked up my papers from the dirt.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly, horribly wrong.
Desperation kicking in, I didn’t even wait for appointments. I walked straight into a third organization—a small financial firm that didn’t even compete with the Monroes. I handed my CV to the receptionist.
She typed my name into her computer. A second later, a red alert notification flashed across her screen.
The girl looked up at me, her eyes wide with fear. "I’m sorry... we can’t help you."
I stood frozen in the middle of the lobby, reality finally crashing down on me.
Laziel hadn’t been bluffing. He had completely blacklisted my name from every database in the city before I even woke up.
My phone vibrated.
I swiped the screen open without looking. "Giulia, you won’t believe what this psycho did—"
A choked sob cut me off.
"Mireya," Giulia cried, "Mireya, you need to come home right now. Oh my god, I don’t know what to do."
"Giulia? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I got fired," she gasped, suffocating on her own tears. "They didn’t even let me clear my desk. They just told me my contract was terminated immediately. And Mireya... I’m at the apartment right now. There are men here. They’re throwing our things out!"
I froze in the middle of the sidewalk. The world seemed to tilt. "What? What do you mean they’re throwing our things away? That’s against the law! They can’t just evict us without notice!"
"They bought the building!"
"How is that possible? I’m on my way!"
....
By the time I reached our street...I stopped dead.
Suitcases.
Boxes.
Clothes.
Furniture.
Everything we owned had been piled onto the sidewalk.
Not just ours.
Several tenants stood outside crying while movers carried furniture from apartment after apartment.
Children clung to their parents.
An elderly woman argued with security.
No one was listening.
Giulia saw me and burst into tears.
"What are we going to do?"
I didn’t have an answer.
"Mireya," Giulia whispered. "Do you think... do you think this is his doing? Is this Mr. Monroe?"
Before I could answer, my phone rang again.
I looked down at the screen. It was Anastelle’s school.
"Good afternoon." The woman on the other end sounded anxious. "Is this Miss Mireya Brenner?"
"Yes."
"I’m sorry to ask this..." the woman continued, her voice hesitating. "...but isn’t your daughter with you?"
"W..what?"
"Our attendance records show Anastelle never made it to class this morning."
I let out a laugh. A tiny, nervous laugh. "That’s impossible. I dropped her off myself. I watched her walk through the front gates."
There was a long, terrible silence on the line.
Then...
"Miss Brenner... we can’t find your daughter."
Author’s Note 🖤
Well...
I don’t even know where to begin after that ending.
Poor Mireya can’t seem to catch a break. Just when she thought she could quietly rebuild her life, everything started falling apart one piece at a time.
First her career.
Then Giulia’s.
Then their home.
And now...
Anastelle.
I know this Chapter was frustrating to read, and some of you are probably screaming at your screens right now. 😭 Believe me, I was screaming while writing it too.
But remember one thing about powerful men...
Some don’t raise their voices.
They don’t chase.
They don’t argue.
They simply make one phone call...and the entire world moves.
Laziel warned Mireya.
She thought it was an empty threat.
Now she’s learning exactly what happens when a billionaire who owns companies, buildings, connections, and influence decides someone belongs to him.
The scariest part?
He’s only just getting started.
Now I have a question for everyone...
Do you think Laziel actually kidnapped Anastelle?
Or is someone else making their move while Mireya is distracted?
Remember...not every enemy announces themselves.
Also...
Can we please appreciate Giulia for a second? 😭 She’s been the definition of a ride-or-die best friend through everything. She didn’t run when things got difficult, and that’s rare.
If you were Mireya...
Would you finally surrender and accept Laziel’s offer?
Or would you keep running, even after losing everything?
I genuinely want to know what you would do.
As always, thank you so much for reading this story. Every vote, every comment, every theory, every prediction, and every emotional breakdown in the comments honestly means more than you know. Watching all of you react to these twists is one of my favorite parts of writing.
Don’t disappear without letting me know what you think!
❤️ Vote if this Chapter had your heart racing.
💬 Tell me your theories about Anastelle’s disappearance.
📚 Add this story to your library so you never miss an update.
And one last thing...
The next Chapter changes everything.
See you there. 🖤
