ONE

KHLOE ROSWELL.

"Khloe, we need to retreat, this is too dangerous!" my second in command, Diego, yelled at me. But I wasn't ready to listen to him; I was hell-bent on getting back my diamond from them. Disregarding Diego's warning, I shot at their car, busting all their tires, and signaled to my men to train their guns on them.

"Out of the car, now!" I commanded, my voice seething with anger. They all obeyed, "Throw your weapons away, now!" I said and they did as told. They threw their weapons and went on their knees. I glared at the man in the back seat, he didn't budge, he was still seated and staring at the scene before him.

"Are you mad? Come out of the car now!" I yelled at him, but he wasn't budging, so I proceeded to get him out. I opened the door, and my eyes fell upon calm but daring ones - his eyes calmly scrutinized me. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out. He seemed like their leader, and nothing like the other rough-looking men. He was dressed in a black tight shirt and loose pants. As I intended to pull him down to his knees, he held my arm firmly, his grip surprisingly strong.

"Don't you dare!" he snarled, his fingers digging deep into my arms. His grip was like a vice, causing pain to shoot through my limbs. Without hesitation, I swung my gun in a swift arc, striking him across the neck with a loud crack. He let out a pained scream as his grip relaxed, and I took advantage of the momentary distraction to shove him to the ground, sending him crashing down by kicking his leg.

"Don, we've got the diamonds." My men yelled at me and we instantly retreated, while still pointing a gun at him and his men, we ran to our car and drove off at a high speed.

"Khloe, you are a mad woman," Diego said as he tried to catch his breath. I bursted into laughter at the way he struggled to breathe.

"And you are a woman, why were you so scared, Diego?" I said to him as I unwrapped my arm.

"Because Uncle said we shouldn't go after the diamond, remember it's theirs - we stole from them twice!" Diego said, referring to my father. My father, the former head of the Italian Mafia group, had handed me the title of Queen of the Mafias. Of course, he wouldn't like me going after the diamonds, but they belonged to my late mother - she had stolen them fair and square, and I wouldn't let them take away what belonged to her.

"I'll handle my father, your job here is to go along with whatever story I tell him. I'm sure those men will not try to get the diamonds from us." I said, certain that I had managed to scare them off.

"But who are they Khloe? And why did they try to take the Diamonds away from us again?" Diego asked.

"Father had told me that they are the Turks, and he and my mother had stolen those diamonds for her a long time ago. So they probably came to take them back; perhaps their new mafia king thinks he's stronger than me." I laughed, knowing I had managed to send a message to the Turks not to mess with me ever again. They thought they could steal from me and get away with it. Oh, silly people.

"But who was that man you injured? He seemed too strong to be put down like that, I mean you beat him up." Diego said, he was right, that man seemed stronger than me. I wonder why he let me do those things to him when he could easily have beaten me up, or worse, killed me.

"He is probably their leader," I said. "Enough about this, we have reached home. Remember, do not go outside our storyline, okay?" I said to him and he nodded. As we drove into the gigantic mansion, I took a deep breath and hid the diamonds in my pocket. We alighted down from our car and walked into the mansion and toward the sitting room where my father and my stepmother were seated. The minute my father saw me, he stood to his feet, anger spread across his face.

"Where are you coming from?" My father asked, I glanced at my stepmother and she gave me a sorry expression.

"I am coming from school, I had a class to attend by 5 pm," I said to my father. Who clearly could see that I was lying. He shifted his gaze from me to Diego, he glared at him and then at me.

"Did you go after the diamonds?" he asked a question whose answer he knew.

"Why do you like beating around the bush father? You can tell I did." I responded, earning a faint gasp from Diego, who was so intimidated by my father's presence that he likely would have wet his pants if he weren't careful. Everyone feared my father, including myself, but I refused to show it.

"Khloe, what did I tell you about the Diamonds?" he asked with gritted teeth.

"You said I shouldn't go after it," I said, he nodded.

"And you fucking did! Do you know what you've caused? I've worked so hard to ensure that the Italians and the Turkish mafia get along, but this stupid action of yours has put all my work and this country in danger. Do you know what you've done?" My father angrily yelled at me, I could see Diego take a few steps back.

"Father, I only went after what belonged to my mother, and I'm the leader of the mafia, not you, so I am responsible for whatever would befall this country and I can handle it," I said, choosing my words carefully. My father laughed, a sinister laughter that made Diego move further away from us.

"To become a good leader, you must learn to listen to the past leaders and learn from them. But you my dear are very foolish and do not have what it takes to be a leader, which is why you are no longer the leader of this group." My father stated.

"What do you mean father?" I asked, clearly not understanding what he was talking about.

"I mean, I have decided to appoint a new leader of the mafia group. It was a mistake to think a woman could rule," he said, I laughed.

"And who might that leader be? Santos?" I asked and he nodded with a smile. I glanced at my stepmother and she looked very happy, she was smiling like a fool. Santos is her son, he is my step brother and I am five years older than him.

"Santos is a child, he is only 18 years old, what makes you think he can rule better than me?" I asked my father. I was very angry!

"You were also a child when I handed you my throne, but the difference between you and Santos is that he is a man." My father stated, I was in no mood to listen to him speak any longer. So I turned around and walked away while he called out to me.

As I walked away I heard my stepmother say something to him. "I told you to get her married." She said as I walked upstairs, making my blood boil. As soon as I got to my room, I locked myself inside and sat on the bed, reminiscing old memories of my mother. My mother died when I was five years old, she was murdered by my father's rivals, the so-called Turkish mafia he's trying his best to stay on good terms with. My mother was Turkish and Italian, she was everything I had and after her death, I became alone and my father instantly got married to my wicked stepmother. In order to take myself from the pain, I started training on how to take over the mafia throne from my father, which was the right thing to do as that throne belonged to the first child of the mafia and not the second. Santos doesn't deserve the throne, I do! I am the first child and the throne belongs to me. I cannot stand and watch Santos take away what belongs to me, I will fight for my throne.

As I intended to make a phone call, Diego barged into my room, a document in his hand. "What do you want Diego?" I asked.

"I know you want to be alone, but your father asked me to make you sign this."

He passed me the documents and I grabbed it. I read through it, and I hissed loudly.

"What are documents about?" Diego asked as he sat next to me.

"The power document, he wants me to hand everything over to Santos," I informed Diego.

"Are you?" Diego asked and I shook my head, telling him no.

"I am not signing this, Santos does not deserve the throne," I said.

"And you deserve the throne more than my son?" My stepmother had said as she walked into my room. I lifted my head to stare at her.

"Get out of my room, Melissa," I said to her, she smirked.

"Sign those papers, Khloe." She insisted.

"Why should I? So your spoiled child can give you a title in the mafia group as you have always wanted?" I said and she glared at me. Behind her walked my father, he had some men behind him.

"Sign them now, Khloe!" My father ordered anger in his voice.

"I will not hand my rights to her son!"

I said, I was ready for a war if that was what was required to keep my title.

"It seems you are forgetting that your mother's family are still at my mercy, imagine what would happen to them if I decided to..." I cut him short.

"Don't you dare!" I said, struggling to push back my tears. "Why are you doing this? Because this is not just about the Diamonds." I said. This couldn't just be about the Diamonds, I’m certain there was more to his decision.

"Sign the papers Khloe." My father ignored my questions. Feeling compelled to ensure the safety of my mother's family, I took a deep breath, picked the papers, and signed every page, tears filling my eyes as I did. When I was done, I handed the papers over to my father.

"Are you happy now?" I asked and he nodded, telling me a yes. Before I could say something else, his guards immediately pinned me down.

"What are you guys doing? What is going on?" I yelled as they brought out an injection and ingested it into me. I struggled to fight them off but I couldn't, I suddenly found myself floating into oblivion with the last statement from my father being the last thing I heard.

"Fly her to Turkey, her husband awaits her."