CHAPTER 57: THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES 1Zahra's Pov I would be damned if I chickened out of this war because of the Intel we were getting on Damian's preparation to attack. But as the day went by, I began to have negative feelings about the whole situation.It seemed too easy. And, even if I didn't know Damian like that, with what I had heard, I knew he wasn't going to go easy on his brother. But, that wasn't the secret I hid from everyone on mine and Dashiell's team who were practicing and plotting immensely so we would emerge victorious. The secret was that I was afraid. I was afraid for Dashiell.My Dashiell. I heaved a sigh and leaned into the plush leather seats of one of Dashiell's limousines. My luggage was kept in a car which followed closely behind us as Gotham drove to my apartment building. My hands slowly moved to wipe the tear that had just rolled down my face. I know how much I had begged Dashiell not to go to Italy yet, but he refused. He said something about a fam
CHAPTER 58: THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES 2Dashiell's PovThe engines revved along the streets as I hit the brakes to speed up the pace at which my black, Hennessey Venom F5 car moved.Steering the wheels with one hand, I felt a smile creep onto my lips as an image of Damian's shocked expression when he later sees me in Los Angeles filled my thoughts.Who wouldn't know that an invitation to go to a family gathering like that was in fact a trap? Although the basis of his plan about everyone in our family helping him to take control of my empire would have made me really pissed. Thankfully, I made Gotham the mole who I placed to watch Damian. I figured how botched the plan we had would look if nobody got on the private jet. But, at the end of the day, I found someone who was willing to take my place.My cousin, Richard.Richard and I looked almost similar. He would pass as me if not for his strawberry blonde hair. But, thankfully, we had Siobahn make us a custom wig and a 3D printed mask wh
CHAPTER 59: I SMELL DEATHDisclaimer: This chapter is filled with gore and the death of a character.Zahra's PovThe rain lashed against the car's windshield, the droplets falling heavily and hitting the glass, mirroring how my heart thumped while I side-eyed Maya who was driving toward Dashiell's cabin on the outskirts of the city.Leaning against the passenger side door, I shut my eyes, my head resting on the cold window as my thoughts drifted off to what happened earlier."I probably overreacted, and I'm sure you think so too," I mumbled, my voice barely audible over the rain and soft music from Rosé of Blackpink playing in the background.I didn't look up from where my gaze was fixed on, but I could tell that she was looking at me. Biting my lower lip, I sighed as trails of tears rolled down my cheeks to the glass. Maya's gaze lingered on me for a moment, her eyes softening with concern. "I won't lie…" she started, her voice breaking through my spiralling thoughts. "You were righ
CHAPTER 60: VIVUSZahra's Pov The slightly cold and harsh prick of thorns pressed against my knees, damp from the rain that had started to fall. It was a light drizzle at first, just enough to seep into my skin, but I barely noticed. My eyes were glued on the coffin in front of me, sitting silent and still beneath a thin black cloth.Next to the coffin was a large frame which stood on two antenna-like poles, with a hand-print of "Here lies the body of Dashiell Blackwood," written on the frame.A tear trickled down my chin as I reached out, my fingers trembling as I brushed the side of the coffin. I wanted to open it, but it was locked and binded by strong, silver chains. "Wise…men say," I sang, my voice low and shaky. "Only fools rush in," I mumbled, my gaze shifting to the trees which were now swaying in the wind. "Fuck me," I cursed under my breath as the tightness in my chest increased and became difficult to hear. I bowed my head as the drizzle became steady, the drops tappi
CHAPTER 61: MY LOVEDASHIELL'S POV "Regardless of the alliances made in secret to disrupt my term as godfather, I am willing to give you all another chance to right your wrongs, hence the removal of some of you from my board," I said, leading the room which was once silent to now be filled with hushed here and there gasps.I tilted my head to the side, making eye contact with my uncle, Domenico, who formerly sat at the head of the table. "You will be taken away from here, stripped of all your wealth and titles for conspiring against the current godfather to be removed from power," I added, my gaze shifting to the stack of paper in front of me. Heaving a sigh, I leaned back on my seat, the weight of sharp pain in my chest leading me to let out a grunt. Zahra, who was seated next to me, immediately reached for my hand and caressed it."There will be no room for pleas because I have already given you a second chance, the second chance being that I would not kill you, of course. You w
CHAPTER 62: DETOURZahra's Pov The hum of the private jet was calm as we headed back to LA. Thankfully, Dashiell recovered in less than two weeks, which gave us plenty of time to shop for Italian itineraries and their luxurious accessories.Leaning back on my seat, I flipped lazily through one of my favorite magazines, my entire focus on the women draped in beautiful Italian fur coats and jewelry. Dashiell sat across from me, tapping on the keys of his laptop as he had unfinished work to handle. Adela sat quietly, her head buried into a newspaper as usual, nothing much except for the short image that plastered in my mind of her coming to Dashiell's Italian mansion to beg that she only had good intentions in wanting to be godmother. He had no intention of punishing her, nor did he give her a letter with a red stamp. I turned another page of the magazine and furrowed my eyebrows as something thin and heavy slid out from between the glossy sheets, falling onto my lap with a quiet thu
CHAPTER 63: SABA; EMPTY BARRELZahra's PovI rubbed my eyes absentmindedly as we stepped off the jet, the chill London air blowing towards our way, sending a shiver down my spine."My intel should be here in five minutes," Dashiell said, his stern tone cutting into my thoughts as he joined me in the black limo which was driven there for our use.I sniffed briefly, wrinkling my nose as the AC wafted its own artificial breeze in my direction. "That's good. He better not make us wait." The limo just sat at the private airport with Dashiell and I inside while Blazer, Gotham, and Adela stood outside talking about God knows what.While we waited a few minutes in silence, Dashiell received a phone call and immediately knocked on the partition."Drive. We can't meet up here, it's not safe." He said, and the driver started the limo.***********The limo pulled up to an old office building, almost hidden away from the busyness of London. Inside, we were quickly taken into a private room where
CHAPTER 64: MINA AL ARABZahra's Pov The quiet hum of the jet echoed in the cabin as we made our way toward Ras Al Khaimah. And I felt the tension in my body tighten even more as the pilot's voice sounded through the intercom that we were going to land in less than forty minutes.What made me even more tense was the fact that I was getting roped into something that I wasn't even a part of. I mean, my father set up a trust fund and built empires for my brothers while they were still very young, but because I was a girl, my father gave me nothing.In his words, he said, "Nothing for you, whore. When you are sixteen you're going to get married to Malek Kashem and I don't want any of my hard-earned money to sit in his pot-belly." I wouldn't want to imagine what would have happened if my mother gave birth to five daughters instead of four sons and one daughter. Dashiell sat across from me, scanning through emails on his phone. His expression, sharp and serious. "Ali's team purposely