Chapter 1

The real question was whether to be or not to be. Despite acting crazy, Hamlet had it easy because of his intelligence. He had made his stepfather believe he was crazy. Although his death and the deaths of the royal family were tragic, it was the best thing he could have done.

Shakespearean tales were my favorite. A timeless story of romance, drama, and tragedy is Romeo and Juliet. Everyone denied, but at the same time, felt, their love. I adored romance, and I firmly believe that everyone on earth believes in love. Everyone had the right to love, which is a quality that I have always admired in people.

My heart has always been stolen by beauty and the beast. Undeniably, it's odd, but these stories demonstrate true love. A princess falls in love with an ogre, and beauty falls in love with a beast, but in both of these fairy tales and movies, the characters discovered that the true beauty lies within, not on the outside. Love is a potent force. Romeo was hated by Juliet's family despite her love for him. Romeo cared for Juliet despite knowing that pursuing her would result in his execution. They crossed boundaries and eventually became one.

As I sit in the cafe downtown to my apartment. I thought of my messed up life. I loved my family and although they were far from perfect, they were my family. My three brothers run a drug operation. It was a small operation but it made a decent living. My eldest sister, Leen, gorgeous as she is, traffics women. My family was so messed up it wasn't even a joke.

I woke up to the sounds of gunshots instead of coffee scents. New York was tough for me, that's why I decided to move away from everything and head to California. California was my fresh start but I loved my family too much to leave them behind so they came along and we all start fresh in Los Angeles.

My brothers couldn't leave the family business so they moved the operation to L.A. My sister continued with her dealings as well because I moved them to a criminal's playground. L.A was filled with underground dealings and my family couldn't be happier.

My brothers found themselves girlfriends and god bless the females that could deal with them. My sister was married to the male version of herself, and I loved their love story. Leen had her husband's sister kidnapped and trafficked. Uriel, my brother-in-law, came to save his sister but instead, he took his sister and the heart of my sister. Fast forward, a year later, they had a princess of all evil, Maja.

I was the innocent one in the family. I didn't faint at the sight of blood but I don't enjoy being in the company of where blood trails follow.

"Zara, you need to drink the coffee," Maya said as she reached my table.

Maya was the middle-aged woman that owns this little cafe. I came to the place six years ago and since then, I come to this cafe and sat in the same spot. The place had a calm environment and nice food so it was a benefit.

"Sorry, Ms. M." I gave her a slight smile.

Its the third time she came with a fresh cup. Maya knew why I escaped to her little place of work. Maya was no stranger to the forces of the illegal part of L.A. Moving here was like moving into a crime scene.

"Zara, your brothers do bad things but it doesn't mean they bad people," Maya said as she comforts me for one of the too many times.

"I know, it's not that, Ms. M." I took a sip of my now hot coffee. "I'm scared." I looked up at her.

I will never admit it out loud but I fear for the lives of my brothers and not the lives of the innocent.

"That's good." She smiled. "My baby always says... 'fear is what makes reality exciting but the best part of fear is trusting that you'll overcome it.'"

"Sounds like a wise man." I smiled. "When do I meet this nephew of yours, Ms. M."

This lady loved her nephew. She is always talking about how he is so handsome and has all these skin and bones girls which are models, her words, not mine. Maya is a chubby lady and she loves chubby women. Its thanks to her that I have the hour-glass figure. She keeps stuffing me with food and who am I to say no?

She just smiled and left me alone. I don't know what Ms. M is planing but she always leaves me in suspension and I hated it. Before I could even go back into dreamland my phone buzzed.

You need to come to the office. The boss is checking up again. My best friend's message came through.

I work at Lucifer’s tech. I am part of the market research team, and that requires me to be on the streets instead of in-office, but with my team being useless, I do most of the work because if the team doesn't deliver results, I am stuck with the elephant that will likely cost me, my job.

Lucifer's tech is the best engineering company there is. Their smartphones are ten times better than Android and iPhones. Longer battery life and a network that won't drop you in your time of need but the worst part about them are that they freaking expensive. Like wireless earphones and smartwatches, they most likely to cost half my paycheck.

Our boss, the CEO, is never in the office and when he is, half the company leaves with him. He has the best of the best and doesn't do well with failure. This man is a ghost. No knows how he looks expect the workers that he fires and never have they revealed his face.

I got up from my seat and took my belongings and the cup that I have been using. I head to the counter to see Ms. M talking to a man in an expensive suit. She is friendly to all her consumers so I didn't read into it so much.

I placed the cup on the counter and walked around to her. The guy, she talking to was handsome. He had all females' eyes of him and some males as well. As soon as we made eye contact, I smiled.

"I am sorry to barge into the conversation." I said to him and turned to Ms. M. "I have to go, Ms. M." I kissed her cheek. "Lucifer is in the office today."

She smiled. "I keep telling you to leave your cup on the table."

I gave her a side hug. "And I kept telling you, that I will never do it to you." I sigh. "Is our dinner still on Ms. M? I need a break."

"Sure, love." She smiled. "You get going."

I smiled at her and turned to the company she had. "I am sorry, once again," he said nothing to which I just smiled and left.

The drive to the company was half an hour. I knew that going to a cafe so far away is useless but I needed Ms. M's company every day. Her coffee is the best and seeing her happy always makes my day.

I sang along with the radio. I couldn't drive in a quiet car, it irritated me to the bone. I pulled up at the company. Coming to work is coming to the hell and the Lucifer ruling over our heads.

Let the torture begin.