Page 48 of CJ

“The ship is approaching the docks. There have been no issues, and the men are ready to unload.”

“Wonderful. Have Fayha, Messina, and Tehren arrived?”

“Yes, ma’am. They are in their cars waiting for you. We’ve set up the tent as you requested, with tea and breakfast. It’s quite chilly outside, so please dress accordingly. We have heaters in the tent, but I wouldn’t want you to get cold. They have agreed to transfer the money once they see the cargo.”

“Perfect. What was your name again?” she asked, staring at the handsome young man.

“Simon, madam. It’s a pleasure to serve you,” he grinned.

“Don’t go far, Simon. I suspect that I’ll need some relief in a few hours.”

He nodded, leaving her to get dressed and ready for her cargo. She checked her phone, hoping to see an apology from her sister, but there was nothing. On a whim, she decided to check the banking and nearly died of a stroke. She thought Irena was joking. She thought she was making a jest about the money.

It was gone. All of it was gone. Quickly, she checked the off-shore accounts and realized that most of that money was still there.

“No,” she whispered. “No!”

“Madam! Is everything alright?” asked Simon.

“No. Nothing is alright. I want to speak to the men after the cargo is unloaded. We’ll be going on a hunt for my sister.”

“Yes, madam.”

Clearing her head, she quickly showered and dressed in her favorite Dior suit. It was important to look rich, put together, strong, and female. A man must never think he has the upper hand when a woman is doing business with him. She’d learned over the years when she wasn’t doing business, comfort was always preferred.

However, this required heels. Very high heels that said, ‘I’m in control.’ She hated them.

Alana loved her high heels. She always did. When she was small, she would wear their mother’s heels and parade out in front of the many ‘uncles’ that were hanging around. Even as a child, Mikella knew that the men were looking at her with lust and desire.

In some ways, she thought that Alana knew that as well. Perhaps it was what led her to her final path. A path that was laced with sex and men. She enjoyed conquering them, tasting them, allowing them to own her body. She enjoyed taking everything from them. Their money, their things, their pride, and ultimately their life. She truly enjoyed killing them.

Irena had always been more into the game from a cerebral point of view. She enjoyed winning the men over, using her wiles and wit to get them on her side. It was a victory to prove that she was smarter than the men, cleverer, wilier. Although Mikella had originally thought it was Alana’s idea to look alike, it had been Irena behind the scenes pushing her little sister with the idea until she finally voiced it to the others. They closely resembled one another as young girls, but puberty made their differences more apparent. Alana and Irena knew that plastic surgery could change that for them.

If they all looked alike, and if they were caught, they could easily say it wasn’t them. It was their sister. An unfortunate accident of birth. Their sister was not well. She’d been under a therapist’s care. There was no telling where she’d gone.

And it had worked on more than a few occasions.

Irena never had the big vision of her older sister. She wanted money, lots of it, but then she was going to head to a small island, lay in the sun, and just enjoy life. That was never Mikella’s plan.

Mikella wanted domination. She wanted to rule an entire region of the world with men falling at her feet in adoration and fear. Fear was the more enjoyable for her. As a child, on one of her father’s rare visits, she wanted to see just how far he would go to protect her. She told a lie. Telling her father that the gardener had spanked her. Her father cut his hands off, leaving him defenseless and unable to make a living.

She enjoyed that moment more than she should have and realized that she was the daughter who would take over for her father. As she and her sisters plotted to kill him, someone took the joy from them. Knowing they didn’t want to be at the mercy of another man, they waited until Mikella was of age and then helped their mother to her own death.

They’d dug a pit in the forest and asked their mother to take them on a nature walk. She seemed agreeable, even thrilled that the girls wanted to get out of the house. When they pushed her into the pit filled with spikes and razor wire, she stared up at the three teenage faces she’d given birth to and smiled.

“I knew it. Thank you,” she whispered. It almost angered Mikella. She couldn’t possibly know it, thought Mikella. They’d been careful. They’d hidden their intentions.

“She knew,” said Irena. “We had dirt under our nails. That’s how she knew.”

Mikella was pissed at herself and her sisters for making such a foolish mistake. But it was one they learned from. At eighteen, she was the guardian of her two sisters, sixteen and fourteen, and millions of dollars in cash, stocks, and homes.

Of course, their father’s ‘friends’ were more than willing to help them manage everything. Mikella was smart enough to listen and learn, flirting with the older men along the way. When she no longer needed them, she either killed them or bought them out.

It was all a game for her. A game she planned to win.

Straightening her jacket in the mirror, she smiled at the youthful face staring back at her. It was just her now. No one to argue about her plans. No one to question her. Wherever Irena was, they would find her, and sister or not, she would pay for her deceit and betrayal. Mikella would not tolerate betrayal. Not by a sister, not by an employee, and especially not by a man.

No man would ever betray her.

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