Lady Elegance

I. Into the Abyss

"Come on, we need to start soon, she can wait," Jago started but was cut off by the door slamming open, a feminine figure walking through.

"Were you missing me already, Marfori?" Astrid toyed, a flask in her hand as Jago rolled his eyes, his jaw tensing.

"You wish, Maude," Jago spat, leaning back on his chair and taking a deep breath, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"If you want to bicker, go outside, we ain't got no time to be messing around," Xavier spoke, a puff of smoke emitting from him as he spoke, a cigar in his hand.

"No, we're fine," Astrid told him, leaning back on her chair and taking a massive gulp from her flask, the intensity of the vodka having no effect on her.

"Why is she even here?" Jago moaned, locking eyes with Astrid, his stare laced with rage and curiosity.

"I'm here on behalf of my mother. If I think the money isn't being used to its full advantage, then you will cease to have it," Astrid told him, swishing her flask around in her hand.

"And what do you know about any of this, sweetheart?" a man mocked her, a group of men laughing and agreeing with his comment.

The man looked at Astrid, eyebrows quirked and a smirk on his lips, as if he believed he knew everything about her just because she was a girl.

Oh, how wrong he was.

As a rage of anger rushed over her, she felt she had to prove herself. Astrid didn't know why, but she wanted to see the look of defeat on his face, the moment he knew he was wrong and had made a mistake.

Smirking, she reached her hand down and pulled the knife from her boot. Astrid treated it like her baby, the red stripes down the side reminding her of the blood of her victims.

She knew it was gory, but she also found it sentimental at the same time. With the smirk still prominent on her face, Astrid threw the knife and, to his surprise, made it land mere millimeters from his skull, trimming the top layer of his hair.

Suddenly, the room went silent, even Jago shot up at the recent event. But, sitting at the front in his plush velvet chair was Xavier Marfori, a proud smirk on his face as he took another drag of his cigar.

"You ever underestimate me again, I might have to trim your f*****g heart instead," Astrid sneered, raising her hand as her knife flew straight back to her.

The shocked faces whenever that happened always made her smile. Little did they know it was simple technology.

Underneath her palm was a magnetic chip, activated by her brain, something about the transmitting neurons.

Her brother, Ade, had made it for her. He took his mother's path of technology instead of the path Astrid took. Aurelia always said she didn't have favorites, but Astrid knew that she wasn't the favorite.

"Now, I present to you Astrid Maude, our new member," Xavier announced, chuckling to himself as everyone stared with wide eyes, still in shock.

"What did you want to discuss?" Astrid asked, wanting desperately to leave the room full of obnoxious, misogynistic men.

"We are being told our products aren't reaching as far as they should. This is a problem. Anyone have any proposals?" Xavier asked, holding his hands out as everyone stood silent.

"What is your current tactic?" Astrid asked, leaning forward to engage in the conversation.

"They're being handed out at all of our clubs, to the right audience," Xavier started, but Astrid cut him off, her brain storming through multiple ideas.

"But they're in the wrong state of mind. If they don't remember the product, then they are unable to buy it again," Astrid explained, making multiple people raise their eyebrows, impressed, whereas the rest just rolled their eyes, one of those being Jago.

"Well then, what do we suppose we do instead? Dry them out?" Jago spoke, wanting to show up the bratty girl whom his father adored.

"No, you give them the first batch- enough to give them a proper taste, but not enough to put them in another reality. Then, they'll come back wanting more. Now, you give them the proper amount. They'll already have a sober memory of the product, so they'll know where to get it - that's how sales increase," Astrid proposed, leaning back into her chair and crossing her arms, feeling proud of the defeated look on Jago's face.

"Well then, I believe we have a winner," Xavier spoke, a smirk on his face as he raised his glass of whiskey, sending her a wink.

Although it was meant to mean he was thankful, she immediately felt uncomfortable. Astrid couldn't count how many times men had approached her, thinking she was easy - but she wasn't.

So, Astrid gave him a tight-lipped smile, taking an even bigger swig from her flask.

"If only my son was blessed with such marketing skills," Xavier added, and Jago's jaw tensed, the grip on his glass becoming stronger.

Jago still couldn't believe a girl could simply waltz in, wave her money around, and make his father almost bow down to her. This angered Jago to an extent that couldn't even be described with words.

The rest of the meeting passed smoothly, if you ignore the countless death stares exchanged between Astrid and Jago and the drunken man slouched in the corner.

"Now, that's all. Karl, take you and some others to do a patrol around The Ember, some of Carlos' men were spotted," Xavier told a man, presumably Karl, as he nodded and exited, a group of men in tow.

As everyone began exiting, so did Astrid. Xavier had held the meeting in his home, which happened to be Astrid's for the time being.

To solidify the relationship between the families, both in social and business life, Xavier had opened up his home to the Maude's, much to Jago's dismay.

The Marfori Mansion was bigger than Astrid thought, even bigger than her family's mansion back home. As she continued walking through the endless number of corridors, she figured she was lost.

As she got her phone out of her pocket, ready to call Estela, she felt it slapped out of her grasp, clattering to the floor.

Before she could even respond or grab her phone, her back was slammed against the wall, making her yelp out in shock rather than fear.

"What the f**k was that?" Jago yelled at her, holding her hands over her head and standing between her legs to prevent her from kicking him in the balls.

"You wanted to get in between my legs, all you'd need to do is ask," Astrid smirked as Jago grew even more frustrated, his grip tightening.

"Your sister doesn't find that hard, does she? Opening her legs for everyone, can't wait for that little s**t to be kicked out," Jago chuckled to himself, making rage build up in Astrid.

"Oh, and if you ever try that s**t again, I'll-" Jago started, but Astrid cut him off, laughing louder than she initially meant to.

"You'll what? You lay a finger on me, your dad will go apeshit," Astrid spoke, tilting her head slightly. "Who's to say I'll even give you the chance?"

Before Jago could respond, Astrid took her head back, bringing it forward with such force that made Jago loosen his grip on her hands.

As he did that, Astrid took the opportunity to grab both of his wrists, twisting them harshly until she heard a crack. That sound was music to her ears.

Just to put the cherry on top, as some would say, Astrid took her leg back and kicked him forcefully in the crotch.

The sheer force of this action made Jago stumble back, holding his crotch as he looked up. Astrid stood in front of him with a winning smirk on her face.

"If you ever mention my family again, I'll gouge your f*****g eyes out and dissect your bloody d**k myself," Astrid spat, her face flushing red with anger.

Jago was shocked; he'd never seen any girl this skilled at fighting. He believed it wasn't sexist and that it was just genetically impossible for girls to be better fighters, but Astrid had proved him wrong.

Thinking about it, Jago wondered how she could be so good at fighting. He had been training all his life, and, from past conversations with Maude, she hadn't even practiced once; apparently she was just 'gifted'.

Jago called bullshit.

Walking away, the rage had nearly surfaced in Astrid, but she forced herself to turn around before she did something she regretted.

But she knew that she would regret getting this close to Marfori's; guilt bubbling inside of her. Astrid had never felt guilty before, not even for her targets. But having to betray the family who welcomed her into their home? The guilt was almost too much for Astrid to handle.

However, the guilt did boil down inside of her when she remembered who she had to kill.

The self-absorbed prick who showed no mercy. One who felt nothing towards anyone, with a heart as cold as ice.

As the thoughts rushed over her, Astrid grabbed her sunglasses from her pocket, placing them on her face.

Astrid loved sunglasses; it was the only superficial thing she wanted, that she needed.

Astrid believed sunglasses could hide anything; lies, betrayal, especially a brutal hangover.

But she needed them for the first two reasons, trying to act like she was fine; but she wasn't. Astrid loved to call herself loyal, but now she realized she wasn't- she was far from it.

Being loyal means: 'giving or showing firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution.' Astrid hadn't done that.

Astrid had betrayed numerous people, her own family, and the one whose roof she was living under, and she wondered if they'd ever be able to forgive her. If they ever understand.

Astrid wasn't bothered about her task, but she was more bothered about the aftermath of her actions. How she would become the monster she never wanted to be but was forced to turn into.

So, Astrid kept all of this hidden under her sunglasses, a stone-cold look on her face to try and cool the hot tears rising in her eyes.

The Day Before:

"Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be kissing their arses?" Astrid spoke, being shut up as a harsh punch landed on her face.

"Alright, sweetie, I don't think you understand," the man spoke as he circled around Astrid, who was tied to a chair, her legs and arms being restrained by ropes.

"We have men looking straight at your precious little sister, your mother, your brother," the man told her, now standing in front of her with a smirk on his face.

"Oh, what about your precious little niece?" The man continued. The mention of Arabella made Astrid's cold stare falter for a moment, and the men seemed to recognize that.

"You stay away from her," Astrid told them, grabbing a pocket knife from her sleeve and trying to discreetly cut through the ropes on her hand.

"Oh, only if you agree to do the task," the man spoke, a proud look on his face at his negotiation skills.

Astrid found it pathetic, but bit her tongue to prevent herself from saying it; she wasn't going to risk Arabella's life for a snarky little comment.

"What do you want?" Astrid spat, the man walking away as another man entered, though he was facing away from her.

The man was dressed in a pristine suit, a whiskey glass in his hand as he looked out onto the bustling street. It was an unusual sight to see in an abandoned building.

"You need to complete one last task, darling one," the man spoke, sounding much more intimidating and put-together than the other man.

"Don't 'darling' me, what the f**k do you want?" Astrid sneered, still in the process of cutting through the ropes, but it proved to be a harder task than she thought.

"Have you heard of Jago Marfori?" The man asked, no emotion showing in his voice.

"Yeah, he's an arrogant f*****g prick," Astrid muttered, and a low chuckle escaped the man's mouth, but Astrid didn't feel like laughing.

"You need to kill him," the man spoke, his laughter ceasing as the words left his mouth. Astrid stopped cutting the ropes and froze; she hadn't expected those words to leave his mouth.

Despite how much she hated him, she never intended to ever kill him. Brutally harm, maybe, but never kill.

But she told herself that he was now a target, and she showed no mercy, or any feelings whatsoever, to the people who fell under that list.

Astrid reminded herself that she was doing this for her family, to keep them safe, especially Arabella; but can you make them hate you and keep them safe at the same time?

The answer was, yes, Astrid could. But she tried to convince herself that it was easier to make them hate her than watch them die. She couldn't let them die because then she'd have no one.

"Why him? I didn't think he was that special," Astrid spoke, trying to hide the emotion that threatened to show in her voice.

"Oh, he's more precious than you'll ever know. He's the heir to the Mafia; he needs to be eliminated," the man said, but he didn't know Astrid already knew.

Astrid knew everything about the underworld and how he ran it. She remains shocked to this day that he hasn't figured her out yet.

Maybe he won't be the hardest target after all...

"The heir? Why not aim for the leader?" Astrid asked, genuinely confused at why they weren't targeting Xavier.

"Give it 3 months and he won't be around; you have my word," the man spoke, a certainty in his voice despite having no definite knowledge of whether it would happen.

"How do you know?" Astrid asked, no intention of breaking out until she had all the answers she wanted.

"That doesn't concern you," the man spat, taking a large swig from his whiskey glass and letting out a deep breath.

"Jago Benedict Marfori is just a man; he will fall - you will make sure of that," the man spoke before walking out, the restraints now nonexistent and the room eerily empty.

Astrid didn't know much about these people, but she got the idea that they didn't break promises. This meant she would have to do it to ensure her family's safety.

Astrid had to kill Jago Marfori.