It was an early flight as Amy attended meetings with her clients. The people who were once accusing and questioning her character became her partners and supporters again. Life was tough and unforgiving to her. She wasn't spared at any cost, so she had to be ruthless, an evil who always poked in the people's eyes. She looked into her reflection in the mirror, the restroom was empty and silence lingered in the air. Analyzing her all-black outfit like every day she went to attend her next meeting.
She had finally revived the deal with the partners and was getting opportunities from bigger companies as well. This character assassination was a sheer benefit to her and she knew it would pay her back though it was risky. The ones who were being a bitch in her eyes were now begging at her feet to apologize cause she didn't spare any of them and didn't stop until the few companies went bankrupt and later bought by her. She threw them out of the competition.
She was satisfied enough to rule her ways for now. But she wanted more. More Power, Authority, Dominance, and Wealth. All her life she only knew that the world never spared a weakling, she needed power and this craving for power became an obsession. She wanted to mark her territory in the heads of the masses. And she had already taken a step forward toward her goal.
She completed her meetings in 5 days and returned to her home country. She got a phone call as she departed from the airport to her car. Edward's name flashed on her screen and sighing she picked up the call.
Amy: What now?
Edward: You know the purpose. You need to be there for the rituals.
She was silent for a while.
Amy: fine.
She ordered the driver to reach a particular address. As they drove off. Her mind wandered. She suddenly remembered her husband. She wondered what he was doing. She had hidden many things from him. But she knew he didn't deserve her. Love, Compassion, Kindness, and Sympathy were far from her life. While he had it all. She doubted how he was so patient with her if she would have married some other guy, he would have probably divorced her by now.
She wanted to convince herself that he didn't affect her but deep down she knew he did. He wasn't dominant but understanding unlike her who wouldn't care about what other people would feel. She was selfish and had a purpose of marrying him for reputational benefits that's why she didn't yet reveal her marriage to the media. She needed to take quick action to complete her purpose and set him free. But yet the thought itself felt like thorns that she needed to bear.
The sound of the engine being killed by the driver brought her to reality. She was now standing in front of a huge mansion which had been a big part of her past. Edward stood near the large gates as his eyes met hers. The mansion was well guarded with guns being carried by each one. Well, the underworld was never a safe space.
Edward: finally you're back. Let's go.
He took her toward the backyard of the mansion. As there were men who held weapons standing in a uniform line. And in the center lay a huge coffin of their former Mafia boss who layed pale in a tux, his hair grey out of years of his old age. The coffin was kept plain without any decorations. Betrayal by your special ones was something brutal to tolerate. But she was way familiar with this emotion.
She found Mateo, Carlos, and Eric standing stood in black attires and their faces didn't dare to show any kind of emotions of weakness. Edward went towards them and stood beside them as she followed him. She saw the rest three looking at her as they shared an uncomfortable silence. Eric started to speak.
Eric: His son had killed him to gain power. That fucker blew his brains off while he was asleep. Coward.
Honestly, she felt nothing for the dead mafia boss or anyone because no one was innocent or a victim. The underworld was always a game of kill or die. The mafia boss's hands were never ridden with blood. He had killed and exploited multiple people and didn't spare even an innocent being. Trust was never an option. A spark of suspicious remark and doubt could lead to death. She just arrived there to pay her condolences as the boss had once given her shelter and helped her till his last breath. But he died even before he could come to terms with her real identity as a woman.
There was a dug soil a few feet away from them which was meant for the burial of the coffin. Soon the ceremony started as the priest started the speech. Several other clan leaders came to the funeral to pay their token of respect for years of loyal relationships in business. Most of them were confused at her presence there. She knew she was a popular face but didn't care.
There was a sudden chaos near the gates as a car entered. Between the commotion, the car stopped near the yard as the doors opened. A man in black formals had entered, he had a sick smile as if he was enjoying his victory.
It was Cody Brown and beside stood a middle-aged man, Mr.Thompson. She remembered his face pretty well the last time she got her hands on him and beat the hell out of the skin at the hospital. Her blood boiled as she remembered her and Jay being captured by his men to hurt them intentionally. Mr. Thompson was his loyal business partner who supported him blindly and helped him in all his doings because he wanted to kill Cody's father, the mafia boss. He was the one who had sent 6 captors to kill her and Jay. She wanted to skin him alive as he imposed serious threats to her husband almost being killed who had nothing to do with the rivalry between them.
Though he was her boss's blood he didn't feel a bit of guilt or remorse. Instead, he crazily laughed while walking as Mr. Thompson followed behind him. He threw a bouquet of roses on his father's corpse as he laughed. His eyes went to Amy as he smirked and stared at her from head to toe to make her uncomfortable, but she didn't budge.
Cody: look! who's here. The great CEO of Ace Ms. sorry Mrs.Amy Conor. How is your little husband doing, hope my men didn't punch him hard.
He cheered sarcastically while Amy didn't move a bit.
Amy: Better complete your shit rituals of a son if you don't want to be buried beside him alive.
Cody scoffed at her remark.
Cody: We will talk at the office Ms. Ash.
He scowled a cry with the fakest of emotions. The funeral was over and people started to leave. She entered the mansion after the burial. She found Mateo and Carlos near the staircase. They were about to speak something.
Amy: business first? Where's he?
Mateo: office, upstairs. Meet others for now.
Amy: I ain't in your team.
She deadpanned and started walking upstairs and Edward followed behind her as soon as he saw her leaving. She opened the door without caring to knock on it for permission.
The door wide opened and she found Cody wiping his gun clean as the corpse fell to the floor. The blood flooded through the wound of the shot, pooling on the floor. The guards flinched in fear at Cody's wrath. But Amy was unbothered. The now corpse was another loyal man to the dead Mafia boss.
It was a daily thing in the underworld to kill or die anyways. She had been here before but as a man like Ash. And now she was Amy.
Cody:Good to see you, Ash.
He tucked the gun back into his pants, sitting back in his chair as he twirled on the wheels. His formal attire and low intimidating tone gave a dark aura. But Amy kept calm. She didn't blink but looked him in the eye. The man in front of her was getting on her nerves. He acted as if he was already declared to be the next boss instead. Nobody dared to look him in the eye because it was a direct invitation to the graveyard. But Amy didn't care.
Amy: why did you call me?
Cody: I wanted to compliment you. I thought that no one ever dared to betray my dad and kept secrets under his nose. But look at you!
He gave a sarcastic smile as his face didn't show any real emotion.
Amy: Thank me later for saving your ass. I haven't started yet. You see. I worked under your dad but now it's over. Hand over the chair to Ed by yourself or you want some drama on your end?
Amy said monotonously.
Cody held a poker face not wanting to show himself boiling in rage and wanting to blow her brains off. He knew she was testing his nerves. He was insulted in the face but couldn't do anything about it. Cause she was right, his dad had declared Edward as the next heir to carry the inheritance.
Cody: you shouldn't have hidden, sweetheart. If you want you could still have the advantage to be with me and get more than you want.
He said with a playful and seductive voice trying to deteriorate her character.
Amy: I ain't gonna be your bitch. I bring great benefits by keeping my mouth shut and hiding your deeds from the officials. Unless and until you want to lay lifeless beside him and want me to expose your dirty illegal deals to the world. Mind Your Own Damn Business.
She said indicating the dead man still laying on the floor. The room went silent, men around were amused to see a woman with such tone and power. It wasn't the profanities that made her stand out but her tone was enough to make people disgust themselves. The words pierced like a knife as the air turned thin. Amy turned to leave as she spoke her last words before she left.
Amy: Dare to poke your nose around my business and you'll see HELL.
As soon as they left the glass table broke into pieces, and the now-raged Cody landed his fist on it. He kicked the table and chair as he took his gun and randomly shooted, injuring his men in there. No one had ever dared to piss him off as much as she did. Though Edward wanted to kill Cody at the moment he was restrained as Cody was the legal heir. But what is even legal in the underworld? People kill to overpower others.
Edward escorted amy through the stairs to reach his room on the 3rd floor of the mansion. The duo walked in silence through the hallways each man had his eyes on her cause she was the only woman in the mansion. Her memories overpowered her thoughts.
Wherever she is now, this mansion isn't a safe place for everybody. Women are considered trophies, used for pleasure, and thrown away once satisfied. She knew she needed to hide. It was when Amy became Ash. But now she had revealed herself.
Both of them entered the room as Edward rushed towards the desk drawer, fishing out something. It was a small box, he handed it to her. She opened the box and those sparkly things caught her eye. It was her piercings, she used to wear them when she was Ash.
Edward: wear them for me!
He said softly. Though he was someone you wouldn't want to mess with. But when it came to her, he was someone else. He knew she was taken but still wanted to use every chance he could get to have her.
Amy headed towards the mirror to wear them. She had piercings on her lower lip and left eyebrow. She always decorated them with silver rings. There was another chain earring that fitted on her ear's helix and earlobe and the chain dangled between them. The earlobe had another dangling chain that had the initials of the number 666 vertically. It was "the devil's number".
Finally, she was over wearing the piercings as she turned back at Edward. He smiled at her while she had a blank face. She knew he was always different person to everyone else but she never asked him why.
Edward: your clothes are in there, change if you want. I'll be in the training area.
He pointed towards the closet and she nodded as he slowly left.
Amy went towards the closet, she found the clothes she used to wear for training, all black. Changing into pair of tracks and a shirt she went downstairs to the backyard where the training area had been situated.
A large boxing ring and a set of gym equipment came into her sight. On the opposite, stood the target boards where one could practice shooting.
Amy closed her eyes as her mind dwelled on the past.
FLASHBACK:
A 14-year-old Amy ranned down the street in search of escape and hiding somewhere safe. She had just witnessed some gangsters kill an innocent for money. And they noticed her presence as they chased after her. Life had never been better after her father had replaced her. She took shelter in an orphanage but brutality didn't leave her sight. The caretakers abused the kids who weren't adopted by anybody. They would starve the kids for days as punishment. She knew she needed to run after all. The caretaker had once cut her long hair short as a punishment just because she stole some food to eat.
Soon Amy rushed to an alley and covered herself behind a wall. Her breathings were heavy. Her face looked frightened in fear. Fear of being killed. No one existed for her at that moment. Her ears perked as she heard footsteps approaching her side. Her eyes shut close. A layer of cold sweat covered her forehead. Soon there was a shout.
"No one's in here! Lucky kid!"
She heard the footsteps fading as she sighed in relief. Slowly coming out of the alley she looked around and her blood ran cold. They hadn't left. They looked at her smirking as Amy started to run for her life. But luck was far away from her fate. She was caught as a hard blow landed on her face. She could see stars in the day. She had accepted her fate that she was going to die at the hands of those hooligans.
The mobster landed a rain of punches and kicks on her and she started to lose consciousness. But suddenly everything stopped. There were shouts and banging noises. But she couldn't quite comprehend what was happening. Her sight was a blur as she felt dizzy.
The next time her eyes opened as she found herself in a bedroom lying on the soft cushions and drapes of the bed. Her sight started to turn clear. She looked at herself as her wounds were untouched. Footsteps were resonating in the room which made her anxious.
There were 4 boys around her age. They looked intimidating. And she was so sure they belonged to a clan. She needed to do something. She found them scrutinizing her from head to toe. Her hair was disheveled, they were acute. Her body was filled with wounds. She wore a worn-out shirt and pants.
"You should thank us kiddo!"
One of them started to speak but there wasn't any response as Amy stayed silent. She was perplexed. The bedroom looked luxurious and each material spelled rich.
"Who are you all?" She spoke stuttering.
" Ever heard of dragons negros."
The name felt too foreign but She didn't ask further.
"I'm Edward, this is Mateo, Carlos, and Eric."
The boy in front of her introduced himself while indicating his hand to introduce others.
" How about you boy? What's your name? "
The Edward guy spoke.
Amy was frightened as she contemplated on what to speak. She was scared.
"I - I'm I- Amy."
The boys frowned but got distracted by a bodyguard entering the room.
"todos ustedes están convocados menos el maestro"
The bodyguard spoke. It was a foreign language.
"sí, estaremos allí"
The Edward guy spoke again as they all left the room with a final glance at the wounded Amy.
She was now panicking. She needed to escape. But where? She had nowhere to go. She was all by herself. She slowly left the room and peeked through the door, finding no one in the hallway. She ran and found a staircase as she rushed downstairs. A guard was approaching her unaware of her presence, so she ran to hide.
There was a large door nearby, she opened it and entered inside without thinking twice. The room was dark but the small windows were the only source of light. She shuddered at the sight.
There were girls, many were of small ages like 8-10 years old. Some of them were around her age. As their eyes went on her, they started to cry and beg her to set them free. She took a step back as the hairs on her nape rose. She felt cold sweat covering her forehead.
The sight was dreadful. She knew these girls were the victim of human trafficking. Feeling helpless she started crying. The girls were chained to the hooks on the ground. Some of them had marks and wounds on their body as a result of being manhandled by the goons. She needed the keys to set them free. But she couldn't do anything.
"You are such a coward! You think we girls are your plaything or a commodity to use! Set us free you piece of shit! Bastard!"
The girl who was in her 20s screamed at her. She felt guilty but couldn't do anything for them. She now knew that she needed to hide her identity. No one should know that she wasn't a boy but a girl. Ever. She needed to hide that she was Amy.
She feared that people here knew about her identity. They would sell her like the girls in there. She kept mumbling sorry to them and left the room with wobbly legs.
The mansion felt like a maze, she ran through the hallways cluelessly trying to return to the place she was kept in. But after a while, she found herself in the kitchen. She felt thirst and hunger attacking her nerves. Her eyes went towards a tap near the basin, she stumbled towards it. Turning on the tap, she bought her hands together forming a concave shape to hold the water in her hands. She dipped her face towards it and drank the water not caring if it spilled over her. Her thirst was now quenched and it felt heavenly.
She found a packet of bread on the kitchen island, grabbing it she tored the packet messily and started eating it after days of starvation. She then heard footsteps, being scared she hid under the kitchen island which had a free gap to fit her in. She knew someone had entered the kitchen. The footsteps stopped right in front of the place where she was hiding. She realized there was water spilled on the floor and bread crumbs had spreaded across.
Suddenly the figure crouched down and their eyes met. It was the Eric guy who was in the room before. He looked at her and smiled.
" Gotcha kid! You could have informed the guards that you were hungry. I thought you ran away. Why are you hiding here? Don't be scared of the guns in here. They won't hurt you unless...you know."
She understood his context but didn't dare to speak. He held out his hand for her to hold. She slowly forwarded her trembling hands towards his not sure if he was a good person or a lull before the storm. Her mouth was stuffed with food as she quickly gulped and wiped the bread crumbs that stuck to her face as she stood up by herself.
The other boys stood there too. Later they took her to the office where she met Mr.Brown. His eyes went to Amy as he was back facing them before talking on a phone call.
Mr.Brown: What's your name boy?
Amy gulped as the dreadful scenario of the girls flashed before her eyes.
Amy: Ash.
Mr.Brown smiled but it was his mere trick to manipulate the helpless by acting kind.
Mr.Brown: Do you wanna join us? Mind you if you don't know about the dangers.
Amy nodded as she didn't care about what she had gotten herself into. She needed help to survive and get power.
After this, her world changed. She became one of them. The mafia boss even allowed her to complete her education to make her blend in the society. Though she learned to fight but rarely used any weapons, she mastered the skill to manipulate people and make people dance on her fingers which didn't go unnoticed by the mafia boss. He knew her qualities. As soon as she turned 18, she proposed a deal to the boss. She would revive Ace which was destablished due to illegal doings and make it their space for dealing with the underworld. She even modelled as Ash to grab attention.
She used her skills to make Ace's reputation trustworthy by frequently making donations to NGOs, inaugurating Orphanages, and donating here and there. The strategy worked as their shares boosted and people started trusting the brand again. But no one knew about the wrongdoings that happened behind the closed doors of the company. No one could ever suspect them.
*********************
Hey guys, back with an update on the story, keep tuned for further more updates. ✌️ Peace 🕊️
