Mafia Lord's Mute Sweetheart

Chapter 63: Chapter 63 Scheming father and daughter

Daisy lay back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes traced the small crack in the plaster, the faint water stain in the corner, the tiny imperfections she had memorized over countless sleepless nights. She blinked slowly, her eyes dry and tired, her body heavy with exhaustion.

She started counting the cracks.

One. Two. Three.

Her phone buzzed. She ignored it.

Four. Five. Six.

It buzzed again. She still ignored it.

Seven. Eight. Nine.

She reached for her phone, her fingers moving slowly, reluctantly. She unlocked the screen and saw the email icon. Another rejection. She could feel it before she even opened it.

She tapped it anyway.

Dear Daisy Winter,

Thank you for your interest in Joshua Labs. We have reviewed your application and—

She closed the email.

She didn’t need to read the rest. She already knew what it said. The same words she had read a dozen times before. The same polite dismissal. The same careful wording that meant no without actually saying it.

Daisy set her phone down and closed her eyes.

She wouldn’t check anymore. She couldn’t take another rejection. Each one felt like a small cut, and she was bleeding out slowly, drop by drop.

She turned on her side, pulled her knees to her chest, and stared at the wall. The tears came silently, soaking into her pillow, hot and quiet.

❀┈┈┈┈❀

Jessica sat in her father’s lavish study, her legs crossed, her red hair falling over her shoulders like a curtain of fire. The room was dark, paneled in rich mahogany, filled with expensive furniture and old books that no one ever read. The shelves were lined with leather-bound volumes that had never been opened, their spines pristine, their pages untouched.

Her father, Roman Jonas, sat across from her in a high-backed leather chair. He was a tall man, broad-shouldered, with graying hair and cold blue eyes that seemed to see through everything. His face was weathered, lined with years of hard dealings and sharper negotiations.

He had built his fortune through real estate and questionable business deals, always looking for the next opportunity, the next advantage, the next person he could use.

His daughter was his greatest asset. And he intended to use her well.

"He still will not divorce her," Roman said, his voice flat and irritated. He set down his coffee cup with a soft clink and looked at his daughter with barely concealed frustration. "After all this time. After all the effort you have put in. He still refuses to leave that mute girl."

Jessica’s jaw tightened, her nails digging into the armrest of her chair, leaving small crescent marks in the leather.

"God," she said, her voice sharp and bitter. "What can I do? I also want to become his wife. I have wanted it for years. I have waited for years. But he will not divorce her because of his grandfather. His grandfather controls the company shares. If Cedric divorces Daisy, the old man will cut him off. He will lose everything."

Roman sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples, his fingers pressing into his skin as if trying to soothe a headache.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I know. I have looked into it. James Evermont holds the majority of the shares. If Cedric divorces his wife, the shares go to charity. Or to the wife. Or to someone else. Either way, Cedric gets nothing."

Jessica’s voice was bitter. "Nothing."

"Nothing," Roman confirmed. "And Cedric is not the type of man to walk away from nothing. He wants the money, the power, the status. And he cannot have any of it without that marriage."

Jessica stood up and walked to the window. The city sprawled below her, a sea of lights twinkling in the distance, each one representing a life she wanted to conquer. Her reflection stared back at her from the glass, beautiful and angry, her red hair like a flame against the darkness.

"If I marry him without the shares, it will be useless," she said quietly. "He will have no money. No power. No status. He will be just another man, and I will be just another wife."

Roman nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on his daughter’s back. "Exactly. You are not meant to be just another wife, Jessica. You are meant to be the wife of a powerful man. The wife of an Evermont. The wife of someone who can open doors and make things happen."

Jessica turned to face him. Her green eyes were sharp, calculating, just like his. "So what should we do?"

Roman picked up his coffee cup again, staring into the dark liquid, swirling it gently. His eyes were distant, planning, scheming.

"We need to find a way to make the divorce happen without Cedric losing the shares," he said. "We need to make it look like it is Daisy’s fault. Like she is the one who wants to leave."

Jessica’s eyes widened, a flicker of excitement passing through them. "But she does not want to leave. She is pathetic. She follows him around like a lost puppy. She loves him. It is disgusting."

Roman smiled. It was a cold smile, the kind that never reached his eyes, the kind that had made men tremble across negotiation tables.

"Then we will make her want to leave," he said. "We will make her life so unbearable that she has no choice. We will break her until she begs to be free."

Jessica stared at her father, her mind racing. Her lips slowly curved into a smile, matching his. "How?"

Roman set down his cup. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his eyes sharp and calculating. He began speaking in a low voice, his words measured and precise. He told her his plans, his schemes, his vision for how they would break Daisy Winter.

Jessica listened. She nodded. She smiled.

Then her phone rang at that same moment.

She glanced at the screen, and her smile softened. It was Cedric. She raised the phone to her ear, her voice sweet and warm, nothing like the cold scheming that had filled the room moments before.

"Hello," she said.

Cedric’s voice came through the speaker, warm and eager. "Jesse. I was thinking about you. I want to see you tonight. I’ve arranged something special. Just the two of us."

Jessica’s smile deepened, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "Really?" she said, her voice soft and pleased. "That sounds wonderful."

"I’ll pick you up in an hour," Cedric said. "Wear something beautiful."

"Always," she replied.

They exchanged a few more words, soft and intimate, before the call ended. Jessica lowered the phone and turned to her father, her smile wide and triumphant.

"Well, I am leaving, Dad," she said, her voice light and cheerful. "Cedric has arranged a date for me. A special one. Just the two of us."

She walked toward the door, her heels clicking against the floor, her red hair swaying behind her like a banner of victory.

Roman watched her go, his cold blue eyes fixed on his daughter’s back. He leaned back in his chair and picked up his coffee cup again.

Cedric was already inside her bottle. She had him wrapped around her finger, completely under her spell. He would do anything for her, give her anything, promise her anything. The only problem was his grandfather and Daisy.

Roman took a slow sip of his coffee, his mind already working on the next step. The old man was dying, but not fast enough. And Daisy was still standing in the way.

He would deal with them. Both of them. One way or another.