Page 1 of Seduce & Destroy

PART I

A wonderful likeness

Prologue

LANEY

Two weeks before…

“It’s not blood, it’s wine.” I said while I stood staring at the red puddle at my feet, holding the neck of the bottle. Liquid dripped from the shattered glass body and stained my hands a crimson not unlike that which rapidly coursed through my veins.

Father said nothing from his position in the doorway.

I wanted to beg. These bottles were old. It’s not my fault.

But he just stood there. The guilt was seating at me the longer he stayed silent.

“I can explain—”

“Your grandfather is missing,” he finally said.

My head shot up to meet his gaze, but his eyes were unseeing, staring right through me. Or rather, down at the puddle by my feet, I slowly realised, not at me at all.

“He didn’t make his weekly check-in.”

It wasn’t a surprise. In his latest years, Edward Ravencroft redacted his life to show only the parts that made up a strong leader. Nothing of his kind heart or filial love that I knew him for. Between weekly check-ins and operational briefs, he led the Ravencroft Estate from afar and hid his face in a remote cabin up North with a cloak of shame. Alone. While I knew that the Ravencrofts ruled from a gilded cage, I didn’t know why our family was such a burden to him.

As Father puffed out his chest, his eyes caught the light. They were glistening, but not in a sympathetic way, I realised. It was pride. “If someone is after him, we must be vigilant and potentially go incognito. Until we locate him, I’ll be stepping up as interim figurehead of the Ravencroft Estate.”

No, no, no. Please, no. The leash around my neck tightened.

In my anxious state, I’d ripped a nail from my forefinger, it stung. “Father, I’m sure he’s okay. He’s resilient enough, he could’ve—”

“In twenty-five years, that man hasn’t broken contact once. I’d assume the worst if I were you.” He didn’t even appear saddened.

“That’s your father!”

“And that’s why we need strong leadership to efficiently channel our energies to find him.”

“You can’t just replace him!” I whispered, bitter. He couldn’t be gone. He was the backbone of syndicate operations, distance never seemed as far with him in charge. But Father was no longer in the doorway to hear my protest. “We’ll find him.” I told myself.

I lived similarly to my grandfather, but I didn’t take the same comfort out of it as him. Instead, I was under strict curfews, awaiting the time when Father would finally see that I could step foot on the concrete pavements of London and not set the world on fire. He would love to see the streets ablaze. I did not doubt it, but he wouldn’t allow me to be burned by the flames.

Loneliness clung to me harder than the leash Father held me on. But alas, that was the life of a mafia princess. Until I proved to him that I was capable of this lifestyle, I had to suck it up and hope that someday the mean streets of this city would meet me.

My gaze returned to the pool of red at my feet. A maid walked past the door, finding me alone staring at the stain. “The wine will soak in the wood, darling.” She said, softly.

I breathed a sigh of relief. That’ll tidy itself up then.

“No!” My eyes snapped open at her tone. “Clean it up now, it’ll stain!”

“Oh-oh!” I fumbled. “Okay.” My clumsy hands found a tablecloth to fashion as a cleaning rag and repeatedly dabbed at the liquid. It wasn’t pretty. I was smearing the wine more than I was cleaning it up. All I wanted was a nice glass of wine to fill the void in my stomach that the pills helped fill in my head. Anxiety induced a pounding migraine, and soon, my energy level fell to zero.

When I eventually lifted most of the liquid from the floor, I called the only person who could get me out of my head. My one friend. My cousin. And by that time, I was close to tears.

The phone rang three tones before she picked up. I sighed as soon as I heard her voice. “Laney? Oh my god...” Her voice was thick with tension. “Is it true? I just heard the guardsmen chatter, I didn’t think—”

“It’s true.” I nodded though she couldn’t see me.

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