Page 1 of Forever Filthy

Chapter One

Vivian

“Lordess, we must leave now to make it to the opening in time.” I lift my gaze from the stack of books scattered around my desk and sigh. At the rate I’m going I will never pass any of my college classes!

“Okay, David,” I say as I grab my purse, pull my dress down, fluff my hair, and deem myself ready. Given that I am only nineteen and still have not graduated from college has some of the members of The Brotherhood unhappy about me becoming their lordess. I weeded out a lot of the assholes that voiced their loyalty to Thomas Valerian, the previous lord that ordered my father and Ezekiel’s dad to be killed.

A lot of people think I was handed this role, they have no idea the amount of struggles I faced in order to claim my birthright.

“You also have a meeting with Brodie Holmes regarding the new expansion to the high school,” he reminds me as we walk outside. I nod and pull out my phone to make sure I have my notes handy. I spend the car ride to the opening going over my notes and making sure I have all the key points highlighted and ready to go. Brodie is the best contractor in the county and he is one of the few people in this town that can’t be bought. He won’t proceed with the expansion unless I can prove to him that this will benefit the community.

For the past year, I have spent all of my time trying to right the wrongs of the lords before me, including both mine and Ezekiel’s fathers. I know my brother and his best friend think that the light shined out of our dad’s asses but the truth is, they were just as hungry for money as Thomas. My twin brother always held a candle to my father's memory and thought he was a God. All his efforts to keep me from ever leading the Haven Saint’s was for nothing. Vox has no idea our father and Ezekiel’s were just as bad as Thomas.

Just thinking about my brother has a sharp pain making itself known in my chest, every time I think about him or my best friend Nova, nostalgia always hits me like a bitch. The lies and secrets are what tore us apart. Well, his secrets and my lies, or maybe it was the other way around? Who the fuck knows but for a solid year I have been on my own. I won’t allow my mother to visit me, the backlash I received when I took over the Saint’s still holds a bitter taste in my mouth so the further away from me she is, the better.

“Lordess, we are arriving now.” I nod and slip my mask into place, as I said before, I am nineteen so it’s not ideal for me to be seen as the face of a multi-billion-dollar operation.

“David, tonight needs to go off without a hitch. This is the first big night for me as the Lordess of the Haven Saint’s and I can’t afford you fucking it up by calling melordess.”

He cringes and nods. “Are you sure this is the way you want to do things?” I can hear the uncertainty in his voice and I get it, I really do but right now with the stigma and the blowback from Thomas’s shady dealings, I have no other choice but to be in the background and watch from a distance. Tonight is the first night that we will have all the big players and the big names under one roof. Only the members in The Brotherhood of Hollow Hills know I am the lordess, as far as all ourpartnersaround the world know, David is the L, of the Saint’s. I want to sit back and watch tonight and see who can be trusted and who doesn’t think with their cock!

“Yes, I want to judge them. A lot of these men will think it unwise that a woman is the leader of a brotherhood and I want to hear their unfiltered thoughts. I want to see them and watch how they move, interact and deal with the women tonight.”

“I understand, Lord—Vivian.” I smile and shoot him a wink.

“Now you’re getting it, Davey-boy,” I coo, earning a stern look from my right-hand man. I never thought David and I would become as close as we have and even I have to admit, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without him. He was an unlikely ally and someone I thought would rise against me. In the time I spent gathering intel and finding weak spots in The Brotherhood for Nikoa Tempest—Ezekiel’s estranged uncle—I thought David to be loyal to only Thomas. Turns out I was wrong and I have never been happier about that.

I glance out the window and smile at the sight ofLividica. The hotel is a front, what’s behind the glitz and glam of the hotel is where the real money is. I needed to make a statement when I first took over and knew instantly this would be the way to not only please the members of the Haven Saints but it would also create more jobs for the locals. As much as the men detest the fact that they are being led by a woman, they couldn’t help but be overjoyed by Lividica’s grand opening. Not only did I winbrownie points for this opening but the fact I have made them all swear to keep my status as lordess a secret seemed to go over way too well. “There was another letter,” David says so casually before he climbs out of the car, I force myself to remain calm and get my game face on. David extends his hand inside the car.

I place my hand in his and allow him to help me out of the car. I’m instantly blinded by the flash of cameras and fight the urge to lift my arm to cover my eyes and hide. David places his hand on my lower back and I stiffen without meaning to. I keep a fake ass smile on my face and allow him to lead me inside the hotel. This place is awe-inspiring from the outside but upon entering, the opulence is next level. The inside is decorated in red, black and gold. The furniture is sleek, and the waitresses and waiters are dressed in the finest uniforms but this is just a front for what is behind those big red doors. Guests can book rooms and spend as long as they like here, but unless they are members of Lividica they cannot enter these doors.

David stands in the lobby and makes small talk with a few people while I observe everyone. I take in the crowd as we all wait for one of the hostesses to announce that we can enter. Pride simmers inside me, I made all of this possible. I brought this dream to life. Those old fucks may not want me here but I also won’t allow them to push me out. I originally wanted to shut the Saints down and say fuck you to The Brotherhood that cost me my father but when I looked deeper into their records and actually listened to the stories some of the members told me about my father, I learned he wasn’t the man we thought he was.

“This here is my date, Emily.” At the mention of my fake name, I push away those thoughts and turn my attention to the two men David is speaking with and smile politely. It grates on my nerves when their gazes immediately drop to my tits and the older man with the receding hairline smirks. David clears his throat pulling their gazes back to him. “Emily, meet DrewAnders and Ford Booth.” I smile and nod. “They are owners of Anders Booth Construction.” It hits me then, these men are the ones that Thomas used to build his condos and homes for his real estate business, they are crooked and pay whoever they need to so they can cut through the red tape and sell shitty homes to good people.

“We were just telling David here how perplexed we are that our services weren’t called upon to build this place,” Drew, the older man, says. I force a smile and wait for David to answer, I need to see how he does under pressure.

“Your services are always needed but for this particular project we went with the company that the architect we hired recommended to bring this masterpiece to life. They did extraordinary things, don't you think?” David doesn’t wait for their reply, he leads me over to another group of men who introduce themselves as the councilmen. These men at least have the decency to try and be discreet about their ogling of my tits. The way they speak about me like I’m not here is fucking disgusting.

This just cements it for me, I plan to steer The Brotherhood away from these crooked fucks by taking us in a direction where we can all make money and not rip people off in the process. Lividica was built to win over the brothers but it was also built to help the people of our community. I want to do shit like this, not rip people off just to line my own pockets. Unlike the lords before me, I don’t see people as a way to make a quick buck. I think that if I can form the right bonds with certain people we will all be able to work together and help each other build something fucking epic.

A waiter comes into the lobby and takes all the hotel guests to the next level where the ballroom is so they can enjoy a live show and free meal courtesy of Lividica while theothersstay down here, these are the men who are involved in all things to do withThe Brotherhood and we cannot allow the general public to be around when we discuss business. Once the guests file out there are only roughly forty or so people left in the lobby.

A hush falls over the room when the lights dim and the windows and large glass doors that allow the press to see inside turn black to block out their view. The big red doors open and nerves begin to take flight inside me as I watch the reactions of everyone in the room, the men look excited and almost eager while the minimal women who are here look bored. I designed this place to captivate not only the men but the women as well.

A gorgeous brunette appears in the doorway wearing a sexy red lace lingerie set that has the men clearing their throats and reaching up to loosen their ties. Her eyes are alight and the blood-red lipstick she wears enhances her full lips.

“Welcome to Lividica where the seven deadly sins are welcomed and all kinks are praised and embraced by different womenandmen.” Her sultry voice echoes around the lobby sending tingles down my spine. I look at the women who now seem intrigued and ready for what lays beyond these doors. The possibilities of what this place can offer are endless.

Chapter Two

Vivian

Everyone follows the hostess while David and I hang back, when the lobby is finally empty he turns to me with a triumphant look that sends pride swirling inside me.

“I doubted you.” His words have me reeling back but I remain silent. “I thought you were crazy for wanting to open this place, I never thought a palace like Lividica belonged in Hollow Hills but it turns out, I was wrong. Judging by the looks on the guy's faces who don’t even know what awaits them inside there, they will all want a Lividica in their hometowns.”

“And the women?” I press.

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