When Storms Collide

Chapter 2

I was halfway through taking apart a Beretta M9 pistol in my bedroom when the news finally reached me.

Gianna’s text message was short and simple. There were no extra words, no greetings, and no drama.

Papa is marrying Catalina Galvez.

I stared at my phone screen for a long time—much longer than I usually look at anything. It was funny, really. I was someone who had dodged fast bullets and cut throats in the dark shadows of dangerous cities where most regular people would not survive for a single day. Yet, a simple text message from my sister left me completely shocked and frozen.

Catalina Galvez.

The name was not new to me. Everyone in our world knew the Galvez family very well. They were our powerful counterparts across the sea. To some groups, they were deadly enemies; to others, they were helpful allies. I had heard many rumors about her children before.

Armando: The new, tough Spanish mob boss.

Valeria: The elegant, smart planner who ran a fashion empire.

Maya: The beautiful siren who could trick anyone.

Federico: The quiet artist with a hidden taste for blood and violence.

Miguel: The young schoolboy genius who had fists as hard as stone.

But none of those children were the reason my jaw went tight.

It was the sudden, strange idea of another woman standing right beside my father. Darius Lucas Reign was many things to the world. He was a lion, a living legend, and a scary myth woven deeply into the history of the criminal underworld. But to me, he was simply Father. He was cold, calculated, and always commanding. But he was ours.

And now, he was going to belong to someone else, too.

~~

The big Reign house felt much colder than usual that night. I sat alone on the high rooftop, holding a burning cigarette between my fingers. I didn't even smoke it; I just watched the orange tip glow in the dark. Down below, through the vents, I could hear the faint murmur of my brothers and sisters. They were already talking about the news, adjusting their plans, discussing business logistics, and joining shipping routes as if this marriage were just another company takeover.

Maybe to them, it was.

But to me, it felt like our past was being covered up far too quickly.

My mind drifted back to our mother’s funeral years ago. I remembered how Father did not cry. None of us did. The Reign children were never raised to show softness or tears—not even when we were drowning in deep grief.

And now, here he was, getting ready to marry another woman.

I could have tolerated a regular marriage. If he just wanted a wife, fine. But he wasn't just marrying a woman. He was tying our entire family name to theirs. He was forcing us to become one.

“Sulking does not look good on you.”

I did not need to turn around to know who was speaking. I knew that deep voice anywhere. It was Flavio. The heavy metal rooftop door clicked shut quietly behind him as he stepped out into the cold night air.

“I am not sulking,” I muttered, flicking the gray ash off the edge of the roof. “I am just thinking about how fast people forget about the dead.”

“Catalina did not kill our mother, Lizandra,” Flavio said calmly, walking up to stand beside me.

“Didn’t she?” I looked over at him now, the heat of my anger burning low and hot in my voice. “Her very existence wipes out ours. We are not just the Reign family anymore, Flavio. After this, we are a merged name. A big, messy combination.”

“She is not erasing our family,” Flavio replied, his face completely unreadable in the dark. “She is joining us. She is making us stronger.”

I let out a harsh laugh and threw the cigarette away into the darkness. “Of course you would say that. You are the firstborn heir. You will still have your safe seat at the head of the table no matter what happens.”

He did not answer me. He just stood there in silence. He didn't say a word because he knew that I was right.

Later that same night, I went down to the empty training room. I sat alone in the dark, spinning sharp metal blades quickly through my fingers. The knives cut through the empty air over and over again, as if the physical movement could somehow answer the angry questions roaring inside my mind.

Who are we supposed to be now? And who will I become in a family that is no longer just my own?

I was never raised to be a polite daughter in a happy, blended house. I was raised to be a deadly weapon for the Reign family empire. But the war around us was changing fast. And maybe—just maybe—I would have to change along with it.

The grand dining hall inside the Reign estate was just as beautiful and massive as people whispered about in the halls of power. Large crystal chandeliers hung low from the high ceiling like frozen, shining stars. They cast a soft, warm glow down onto the long mahogany table. The table was completely dressed in fine white linen, expensive plates, and shiny silver cutlery. True elegance was everywhere you looked, and every single movement in this house was practiced with years of high-society rules. But beneath all the beauty, the tension in the room was thick and heavy.

The Galvez brothers and sisters were the very first to arrive at the hall.

Armando Rego Galvez stood right at the front of the group. His powerful posture made him look like a serious general leading an army. Beside him stood his sister, Valeria. She looked closely at the expensive paintings on the walls with the sharp, judging eye of a top fashion designer.

Maya walked into the room with smooth, effortless grace. Her pink lips were curved into a small, amused smile, keeping her dangerous charm tightly hidden for now. Federico looked totally calm and collected as he tapped a finger against the side of his head, already looking around to check the security cameras and exits of the room. Young Miguel kept his body to the very back of the group, staying quiet, observant, and ready for anything.

As they walked closer toward the main house, a sudden movement outside the glass windows caught their attention. Their footsteps slowed down.

A sleek, expensive black car had just pulled up to the entrance. A woman stepped out into the dim light.

She held her dark suit jacket lazily in her left hand. Her right hand was casually holding a cigarette between her fingers. She took one last, deep draw of smoke before dropping the cigarette onto the stone pavement. She crushed it hard beneath the heel of her black Louis Vuitton shoes. Her long, wavy dark hair moved like black ink in the wind, framing a face that was both incredibly striking and completely impossible to read. Even from far away, her presence felt magnetic. She looked confident, deliberate, and entirely unapologetic.

The Galvez siblings found themselves unable to look away from her.

“Who is that supposed to be?” Federico asked, curiosity breaking through his usually quiet, neutral tone.

“Maybe she is one of the Reign siblings,” Valeria suggested, her eyes still locked on the mysterious woman outside. “Or maybe she is just a very close friend of the family.” But even Valeria did not sound totally sure of her own words. Nobody invited just a regular friend to a secret, high-level meeting like this one.

Maya’s lips curled up into a wider smile. “Whoever she is, she walks like she completely owns every single room she steps into. She is absolutely gorgeous.”

Before they could think about it any longer, a guard walked up and opened the large double doors for them. A polite maid gave them a respectful bow and guided the Galvez family straight toward the grand dining area.

A few moments later, the Reign brothers and sisters entered the dining hall from a completely separate side hallway.

Flavio came in first, wearing a dark, perfectly tailored suit. His face was as unreadable as a stone wall. Gianna followed right behind him with quiet, watchful eyes, immediately scanning the room to check on everyone. Ambrose walked in silently, his sharp eyes observing every tiny movement the Galvez family made. Regina kept herself just one step behind her brothers, a look of calm mischief hidden behind her quiet face.

And then, I walked in. Lizandra Davina Reign had finally arrived.

I walked with slow, easy grace, my suit jacket now draped casually over my shoulder. My entrance was just as dramatic as my brothers and sisters always expected it to be. I was calm, unreadable, and always two steps ahead of everyone else.

As both families gathered at the edge of the dining hall, a third set of heavy footsteps echoed from a different hallway. And then, with an air of quiet power, Catalina Mitre Galvez and Darius Lucas Reign entered the room together—holding hands.

It felt like time slowed down completely. All of their children froze in place.

Darius had a gentle, soft smile on his face as he looked at each of his children one by one. Catalina looked radiant, beautiful, and completely calm. She gave a firm nod, as if she had practiced this exact moment in her heart a thousand times before.

"This is the moment we have all been waiting for," Catalina began. Her voice was smooth, steady, and filled with warmth. "Tonight, we introduce our families to one another. We are not meeting as two separate bloodlines anymore... but as one single family."

The silence that followed her words was incredibly thick and heavy. No one knew what to say.

I was the very first person to step forward. Keeping myself completely calm, I looked straight into my father’s eyes with quiet confidence.

"Then let us sit down and eat," I said, a polite, composed smile forming on my lips. "We have a lot of things to discuss tonight, and a lot of things we need to understand about each other."

And with that, everyone gathered around the long mahogany table. The expensive wine began to flow, and the silver cutlery gleamed under the crystal lights. The Reign family and the Galvez family sat down together—not just as a future family, but as the powerful leaders of two massive empires learning how to share a single crown.## Part 1: The News in Istanbul

I was halfway through taking apart a Beretta M9 pistol in my bedroom when the news finally reached me.

Gianna’s text message was short and simple. There were no extra words, no greetings, and no drama.

> *Papa is marrying Catalina Galvez.*

I stared at my phone screen for a long time—much longer than I usually look at anything. It was funny, really. I was someone who had dodged fast bullets and cut throats in the dark shadows of dangerous cities where most regular people would not survive for a single day. Yet, a simple text message from my sister left me completely shocked and frozen.

Catalina Galvez.

The name was not new to me. Everyone in our world knew the Galvez family very well. They were our powerful counterparts across the sea. To some groups, they were deadly enemies; to others, they were helpful allies. I had heard many rumors about her children before.

* **Armando:** The new, tough Spanish mob boss.

* **Valeria:** The elegant, smart planner who ran a fashion empire.

* **Maya:** The beautiful siren who could trick anyone.

* **Federico:** The quiet artist with a hidden taste for blood and violence.

* **Miguel:** The young schoolboy genius who had fists as hard as stone.

But none of those children were the reason my jaw went tight.

It was the sudden, strange idea of another woman standing right beside my father. Darius Lucas Reign was many things to the world. He was a lion, a living legend, and a scary myth woven deeply into the history of the criminal underworld. But to me, he was simply Father. He was cold, calculated, and always commanding. But he was *mine*.

And now, he was going to belong to someone else, too.

---

## Part 2: A Quiet Rebellion on the Roof

The big Reign house felt much colder than usual that night. I sat alone on the high rooftop, holding a burning cigarette between my fingers. I didn't even smoke it; I just watched the orange tip glow in the dark. Down below, through the vents, I could hear the faint murmur of my brothers and sisters. They were already talking about the news, adjusting their plans, discussing business logistics, and joining shipping routes as if this marriage were just another company takeover.

Maybe to them, it was.

But to me, it felt like our past was being covered up far too quickly.

My mind drifted back to our mother’s funeral years ago. I remembered how Father did not cry. None of us did. The Reign children were never raised to show softness or tears—not even when we were drowning in deep grief.

And now, here he was, getting ready to marry another woman.

I could have tolerated a regular marriage. If he just wanted a wife, fine. But he wasn't just marrying a woman. He was tying our entire family name to theirs. He was forcing us to become one.

“Sulking does not look good on you.”

I did not need to turn around to know who was speaking. I knew that deep voice anywhere. It was Flavio. The heavy metal rooftop door clicked shut quietly behind him as he stepped out into the cold night air.

“I am not sulking,” I muttered, flicking the gray ash off the edge of the roof. “I am just thinking about how fast people forget about the dead.”

“Catalina did not kill our mother, Lizandra,” Flavio said calmly, walking up to stand beside me.

“Didn’t she?” I looked over at him now, the heat of my anger burning low and hot in my voice. “Her very existence wipes out ours. We are not just the Reign family anymore, Flavio. After this, we are a merged name. A big, messy combination.”

“She is not erasing our family,” Flavio replied, his face completely unreadable in the dark. “She is joining us. She is making us stronger.”

I let out a harsh laugh and threw the cigarette away into the darkness. “Of course you would say that. You are the firstborn heir. You will still have your safe seat at the head of the table no matter what happens.”

He did not answer me. He just stood there in silence. He didn't say a word because he knew that I was right.

Later that same night, I went down to the empty training room. I sat alone in the dark, spinning sharp metal blades quickly through my fingers. The knives cut through the empty air over and over again, as if the physical movement could somehow answer the angry questions roaring inside my mind.

Who are we supposed to be now? And who will I become in a family that is no longer just my own?

I was never raised to be a polite daughter in a happy, blended house. I was raised to be a deadly weapon for the Reign family empire. But the war around us was changing fast. And maybe—just maybe—I would have to change along with it.