Mafia Queen

Pearl

Teela's POV

The court has been growing faster than I thought it would. In just over a year, we have gone from just myself to six. There have been no new sons taking over for fathers, so right now we are at a standstill. But I received word that the leader of the Valencia family had taken ill. Rumor is he passed his seat to his oldest child, another "know it all male" who thinks he can run a part of the city. As the family heads file into the meeting location, I clock him. Not easy to miss as he is the youngest male there. Duane, I want to pull my knife out of my bra and through it into his heart just looking at that smug look he has.

As with all meetings, the court sits up front, much like a royal court from the olden days. I sit in the center and am flanked by the others. Rose has no desire to be seen, aside from leeting it be known she is there. She sits close to us but down, as always, taking notes and documenting the meeting. She is in her element here, and we are happy to just let her be.

"The council of Mafia Bosses welcomes its newest family head, Duane. Your father was an asset to us. May you continue his glory," I say, before starting the meeting. "Rose, will you bring him up to speed by reading the last meeting's minutes?"

"There is no need for that. My father kept me in the loop. He said I needed to know what to do when I took over," Duane replied.

My eyes narrowed at him, judging by the way he was slumped low in his seat, it was apparent that the only thing his father told him was the royal court took care of everything. The men were just there as a formality. If that is how he thinks, then that is all he is. He's easily replaced. We had already been in touch with his sister just younger than him, the one their father should have placed at the head of the family. Her ideas for international outreach were the reason for this meeting.

"Alright, Sophia, the floor is yours," I say, looking at her.

"Thank you, Teela," she replied, standing up. "As you know, there has been an increase in foreign production and a need for services as well as products that we supply. I have started a global network to reach out to those who we can ally with and increase our holdings not only domestically but also worldwide. With the approval of this council, I would like to bring in a liaison who can reach out to those people and make sure that everything runs smoothly."

The men grumble, "Why do you even ask us?" one asks, "The six of you are always on the same page. You outnumbered us."

"If you have an alternative idea, that is what these meetings are for," Jade shoots back.

"It's not our fault you guys only use one head," Donna chimes in. "And it's not the one you should be using."

"Maybe if you guys would pull your own weight," Jewel adds.

"Okay," Duane replied. "How about we leave them? If they can't take care of themselves, they don't deserve power."

I lace my fingers together, "Interesting, would you allow almost 5 billion dollars in revenue that would come to the famines to sit untouched or go to another party?"

Duane's mouth drops when he hears the number. "N-No," he stammers out. "I didn't know it was that much."

"Your father did," Rose says from her spot. "It was in the notes that were sent to him and should have been given to you when you took over. You have been the head of your house for almost two months. Surely you read through the notes."

Duane's eyes lowered, he had nothing more to say. "So then I guess we will be bringing in the liaison," I replied to the room.

There is a murmur of approval. I signaled the guard at the door to open it and let the person in. When the door opens, I watch Duane's face go through every emotion. It settles on pure rage.

"You didn't say it was her," he bellows.

"No one asked," I returned.

Duane crosses his arms and sits back in his chair. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Pearl Valencia! She will be our liaison," Sophia replies to the room.

Only the ladies of the court smile at her. The men get up and leave. They want nothing more to do with us and this. Pearl sits beside Rose and watches the men's retreating backs. "Does this happen a lot?" she asks.

"More than it should," I confirm. "Now let's get down to the real reason you are here."

We begin to discuss the level of her brother's stupidity. She slides over the intel we had asked for and then leaves. Before anyone else can grab it, Sophia takes it and starts to read. "I've got this one, he's already following me on everything."

"Good," I reply. "You know what to do."

Sophia nods and leaves. Rose finishes the notes from the private meeting and places them into a separate file that she only sends to the court. "Donna, she might need some help," I reply.

Donna nods and takes off, we can't get our hands too dirty on this one. I look around at the remaining members and give them a look. If they want to be a part, they know how to find the fun. I head to my hotel and change clothes and head to the meeting point. Jade and Donna are already there. I see Jewel show up and then Pearl. Pearl looks confused for a little bit but she greets us.

"I didn't know there would be so many," she replied.

"I'm only here to confirm that the camera is okay," Jewel replies. "I will be in the van over there keeping an eye on the feed."

Jewel walks away and gets into the van. She flashes the headlights to let us know everything is ready. Not a moment too soon, Sophia comes walking up from her parked car.

"He's on his way. I gave him a little taste, and he was eating out of my hand. By the way, he is tiny," she replies when she reaches us.

We all laugh and then go to hide, so only Sophia is there. We always make sure to pick locations that are known for gang hang-outs. This time it is an area that is not claimed, but there are several gangs trying to stake a claim. Right on cue, Duane's car pulls up. Sophia sits innocently on a park bench. When he walks up to her, she smiles up at him. The first gun shot rings out, Jade steps from her hiding spot.

Duane has the audacity to look confused. While he is focused on Jade, another shot rings out. Donna emerges from her hiding place. Duane is beginning to understand, but before he can move, Sophia takes out her own gun and fires. I stepped from where I had been watching it all. Walking up to him, I came close enough for him to hear me, just not touch me.

"You honestly thought you could run your family's businesses. There is a reason your father was sick; he had no backbone. He was afraid," I spit at him.

"Did you do anything to my father?" Duane asks, barely breathing.

"Oh there was that too," I confirmed.

Duane tried to run, but I lifted my gun and hit him on the left shoulder blade. He stumbles, but reaches his car. One more shot rings out and hits him in the lower neck, cutting through his spinal colum. Before his body hits the ground, he opens the car door. The car explodes.

"First time the door closed, it activated the bomb. The second time it hit the trigger, so when it opened for the last time, 'boom'," Donna replied. Smiling at her handy work.