TAKING POWER [ MAFIA QUEEN ]

RED FILE

Lorenzo POINT OF VIEW

My past has finally caught up with me , after five years of running from it.

Five years of pretending I could outrun a name, a bloodline, a history written in violence.

Five years of clearing my name. Years of scrubbing my record clean piece by piece. The many years of proving over and over again that I was not with them. That I was not my mother. That I was not the Malika legacy everyone whispered about behind closed doors.

Five years of discipline. Of early mornings and sleepless nights. Of obeying orders, following rules, living straight.

And then one wrong day ruins everything.

All it took is one mission, one mistake. My first failed mission because of my mother.

The irony of it almost makes me laugh, except there is nothing funny about this. Not when government assets are missing. Not when alarms are still echoing in my ears. Not when men under my command are looking at me differently now careful, unsure, and disappointed in me .

I have been moving from base to base for years now. Different cities. Different countries. Different time zones. Protecting government assets so classified we were not even allowed to say their names out loud. Weapons , documents , and even people.

I am good at my job , that is why I am always leading these missions . And today was supposed to be just another assignment. And now it is a disappointment with my name stamped on it in red.

Infuriating does not even begin to express what I am feeling right now . I am beyond furious .

Why did she have to steal now? Why today? Why while I was on duty? Why is she always like this?

I tear my helmet off and throw it onto the metal table in the briefing room. The sound is loud and sharp. A few heads turn. No one says anything.

They do not need to.

They all know.

“Sir, the Chief General wants to see you.”

One of my subordinates delivers the message stiffly, eyes forward. He salutes, sharp and formal, then turns and leaves before I can say a word.

My family has found a way to ruin everything I have worked for again. Even from the shadows. Even when I tried to be something else.

Could this day get any worse?

I already know the answer as I start walking.

The halls feel longer than usual. Every step feels heavy, like my boots are filled with lead . My jaw aches from how hard I am clenching it. I can feel the anger sitting in my chest, hot and violent, begging for a way out.

Everyone knows the Chief General hates failed missions.

But missions involving government assets?

That is his personal hell. He must be boiling red by now.

I stop in front of his office door and knock twice. I do not even finish lowering my hand before his voice cuts through.

“Enter.”

His voice is sharp , cold and controlled. That scares me more than shouting. My heart beats out my chest seeing the anger in his face .

I step inside.

The Chief General is pacing, hands clasped behind his back, boots hitting the floor in an uneven rhythm. He does not look at me right away. He keeps walking, back and forth, like a caged animal.

“Do you know how much the government has lost today?” he suddenly shouts.

The sound slams into me. He does not offer greetings or acknowledgment and I know I deserve far worse than this.

“Sir …” I start.

“Don’t,” he snaps, turning on me. His eyes are blazing now. “Do not even try to explain. Do not think of any way to justify this . Everyone is on my neck from as high as ministers , intelligence , and defense force . They want answers, and more than … ” he jabs a finger into the air, “… they want those criminals caught right now .”

I stand there and take it like a man .

I listen as he tears into the mission, into the failure, into the embarrassment this has caused. I listen to his determination, his certainty that justice will be served. Little does he know that the criminals he want are not ordinary .

The Malika family is never caught and it has never been caught .

They do not even leave loose ends. They do not make mistakes twice. They do not fall into traps set by men who think authority is the same as power. He will waste millions chasing ghosts if he is really determined to catch them .

My family is different. They are dangerous , old-school and ruthless. They have been running the underworld long before uniforms like his existed. And still, I stand there silent and respectful letting him dream.

Then he suddenly stops pacing.

“I need an inside man.”

He snaps his fingers, like the idea just appeared out of thin air. My heart drops. An inside man?

No one goes against my family. No one betrays the Malika empire and lives to tell the story. No one will even dare to attempt not for money , not for protection and certainly not even for mercy.

Everyone who has tried has disappeared . The world has even forgotten they ever existed because the Malika family made sure of it .

“Sir,” I say carefully, choosing my words carefully , “how will we get an inside man if we do not even know who is responsible?”

He turns and looks at me then. Like really looks at me as if the answers are written on my forehead .

“That is where you fit in,” he says calmly making me uncomfortable . “Find them. And be my inside man.”

The room goes quiet.

I instantly feel rooted to one place and the world around me starts spinning . My ears hear just from listening to his bright idea .

Does he have any idea what he is asking from me ?

Does he know what the Malika family does to people who backstab them? To traitors? To blood that turns against blood? I am even lucky to be standing in front of him right now .

I force confusion onto my face, even though my chest feels like it is caving in.

“Sir… I do not understand.”

His jaw tightens a bit . He repeats himself, slower this time. Firmer even .

“ Besides the fact that you failed to protect government asserts . You are the only one amongst everyone who is smart and brave enough to do this .Infiltrate them , get to know how they think and give me all the necessary inside we need .”

My pulse is roaring in my ears. This is not just a mission. This is a death sentence. Running away from family is another thing but betraying them is suicide . No I can not do this mission . I tried my best to leave that life , cannot go back .

‘’ Sir , I think I have a better idea on how to catch them .’’ I respond to him and his face changes .

“ I do not need your ideas and this is the only one that will be activated . And do not make the mistake of thinking that this is a request . This is a command .”

“Yes, sir,” I hear myself say, because that is what soldiers do. They obey. Even when the order cuts straight through their soul.

As I turn to leave his office, one thought pounds through my head louder than anything else. This is going to be the toughest mission of my life.

And for the first time in five years, I do not know if I will survive it.