Author's Chapter Notes:

Here it is, Chapter 1 of my new Fanfic.

Please Note: I am Australian and have no idea about US organised crime, so please excuse little incorrect facts and so on.

Enjoy!


Chapter 1 – The Plan: Stage 1


Huff. Huff.

One.

Huff. Huff.

Two.

Huff. Huff.

One.

Huff. Huff.

Two.

Serena was almost there. Just a little further. She could make it. She had made it this far and in record time too.

Huff. Huff.

One.

Huff. Huff.

Two.

Just a couple of metres more. Her body was tiring, her lungs were burning, her legs were protesting as she continued to push herself relentlessly. She could make it. She was going to make it. She wasn't going to stop or trip up now, not when she was so close.

Five metres.

Huff. Huff.

Three metres.

Huff. Huff.

One . . .

Yes! She'd done it! Serena had finally beaten her personal best!

Serena couldn't help but grin triumphantly at her accomplishment. She'd done it. She'd shaved a full two minutes off her previous personal best.

Coming to a gradual halt, Serena rested her hands of her knees and lowered her head as she forced herself to draw in long deep breaths in an effort to give her body the oxygen it needed. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her entire body felt too hot regardless of the layer of sweat that covered her in attempt to cool itself down.

Serena had never been much of a runner until recently. Oh, there had been the daily mad dash to school to beat the morning bell, but most days regardless of how fast she ran she'd still gotten detention for being late to school.

In her early teenage years Serena had loved her sleep a little too much and getting up in the mornings had been a major drag, but on the bright side it had kept her slim. Even now, as an adult Serena still loved her junk food, pizza, chocolate and ice cream in its many forms in particular, but in her teenage years Serena hadn't possessed the self-restraint to go without her favourite foods for anywhere near as long.

But over a year ago now, everything had changed and not for the better. Her life had been turned upside down when everything her mother had warned her about for most of her teenage years had come to pass.

Now running wasn't a desperate attempt to avoid detention in school; it was a necessity. More than that, it was crucial to her very survival. Running was her only escape, her only peace. It was the only time she felt any kind of freedom. It was the one time that she could almost forget just how wrong her life had become.

Even her dreams gave her no peace. Her dreams always ended the same no matter how they began, in blood and fire. Her dreams always turned into nightmares that woke her up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and shaking – and not from the cold either.

Serena had spent the first half of her life believing that she was just an ordinary girl of an ordinary one parent family. It had just been her and her mother. As it had always been.

Or so Serena had believed until the day after her twelfth birthday when her mother had finally told her everything, had finally explained why she was so overprotective and at times downright paranoid.

Why her mother had always worked for cash and moved them to another town every six months until Serena had turned twelve.

The day after her twelfth birthday had been the day that her life had changed forever and not for the better. In truth, Serena would have been so much happier not knowing, but her mother had had no choice but to let her in on the terrible secret that had kept them on the run.

At least Serena had come to realise that her mother hadn't been paranoid. How could it paranoia when the woman had ended up being right about everything?

At least her mother had died before all her nightmares had come true for her daughter.

A bottle of water appeared in her line of vision, and everything came crashing back, squashing her brief moment of joy and accomplishment flat.

Instead of taking the offered water, or even acknowledging it. Serena straightened, turned her back to the man offering her the bottled water and reached for her own that was attached to her belt.

Running had become more to Serena than a way to escape, it was the only thing in her life that she looked forward too, the only thing she had left in her life that was truly her own. And because running had become so important to her, Serena had devoted a lot of time and money to making it as comfortable and hassle free as possible.

Serena had brought almost everything that could be used to make the activity as leisurely as possible. From her numerous – not to mention expensive – running outfits and jogging shoes to her . . well, Serena guessed she would have to call it her utility belt. On the army green clip belt – it was an actual army belt that she had ordered online from a weapons and hunting store – Serena had her small pink drink bottle that looked like a half-sized pink canteen, two bulky pouches containing energy bars, sunscreen, a small first aid pouch that included an ace bandage in case of injury and a portable ice pack – the kind that became cold when you broke the cylinders inside.

Serena had spared no expense. After all, it was her father's money and Serena selfishly delighted in spending every cent she possibly could as she firmly believed that the money would do better in the hands of the honest store and business owners than in her father's cruel disreputable hands.

The man behind her, dressed in his usual black suit with a tasteful blue tie, really expensive Italian shoes and dark spy sunglasses – who Serena knew for certain carried a weapon hidden beneath his jacket – gave no reaction at her indifference.

Every day Serena did her run. Every day he and three others just like him were there watching her. Every day one of them offered her a bottle of water when she finished and every day Serena turned her back to them.

And like every other day of her life that had become downright miserable, Serena finished the last of her water before returning the pink canteen to her belt and without looking at any of the men who had their eyes fixed on her, Serena walked her way out of the park and across the street to the small coffee shop.

Serena loved that little chill she got when she entered the cool air-conditioned coffee shop, the chilled air caressed her heated sweat-covered skin as the smell of coffee and baked goods filled her nose.

This coffee shop was the kind that women tended to frequent more than men. That was the thing about coffee shops today. There were those that catered to everyone – from teenagers to middle class on their way to work to the bosses that ran the business and companies – and then there were those that catered to a specific clientele. Some catered for the wealthy, some catered to the young cool kids – aka the "hottest hangout" – some catered to the immediate area's needs and some catered to one of the sexes.

Such as the one Serena now stood inside of. Luna's Coffee Shopcatered specifically to women mainly because of the gym next door that catered mostly to women with their palates classes and more feminine equipment. It wasn't like men weren't welcome in either business; it was more that women were ninety percent of their business and the owners of both businesses were smart enough to make the atmosphere compatible.

In other words, both the gym and the coffee shop were designed to make women feel welcome and comfortable while making straight men question their sexuality just for stepping through the door.

It was why Serena used this coffee shop instead of any of the other three in the immediate area.

Not since Serena had first stepped in here had any of her "bodyguards" dared to step inside. Instead they watched her through the window which wasn't that hard as the two exterior walls of the shop were tinted glass from floor to ceiling.

And even though most days her routine was exactly the same, Serena hardly ever made the same purchase twice in one week. What she ordered depended purely on her mood.

Today, Serena wasn't in the mood for coffee. No, today she wanted to celebrate a little for breaking her record; it was a task that had taken her a whole month.

Serena had pushed herself every day, and it had finally happened. She was finally where she needed to be; a full month later Serena had finally broken her record.

It was a small victory, but it was her victory. Something in her life that her father couldn't take away from her.

At the thought Serena's sweet tooth perked up its head, demanding something sweet and chocolatey along with something sweet and chocolatey.

Serena smiled in anticipation, her taste buds already watering as she scoured the goodies in the glass bakery display cases, trying to decide between a chocolate chocolate chip muffin or a slice of chocolate mud cake topped with thick gooey sour cream icing, a dollop of fresh cream and a bright red glazed cherry.

Which would go bettered with her iced chocolate with extra cream? It was a wonderful mix of milk chilled with small square hollow ice cubes and enough chocolate syrup to give an entire bus load of kindergartners a sugar rush that would put the caregivers flat on their faces in sheer exhaustion before the end of the day. If that wasn't enough, it was topped with a mountain of whipped cream that was coated with a layer of chocolate powder.

The combination was a chocoholics wet dream. A worthy prize for her accomplishment.

The accomplishment that meant it was time. She was ready – she could run long and fast enough to make it.

The last thing she needed had finally fallen into place which meant that she was ready to finally put her plan into action. She had one chance, if she blew it then she would pay dearly, but if she succeeded then she would finally have a way out of her living nightmare.


As always, three of her four "bodyguards" exited the black SUV first, only the one who was driving remained seated after pulling up at the front door of her father's ostentatious mansion. The three "bodyguards" took their customary strategic positions between her passenger side door and the mansion's front entrance – one on either side of her passenger side door and the third on the top step that put him almost exactly half way between the SUV and the mansion's front door – before the one standing at the middle of the SUV door opened her door wide for her while the one one the other side extended a hand to help her out of the high vehicle.

But as always, Serena ignored the hand and stepped down by herself.

And as always, the two muscle bound gorillas followed half a step behind her as she walked up the eight wide white stone steps while the third moved swiftly to the front door and opened it, holding the door open for her.

Not one of the four took their eyes off of her the entire time.

Unlike traditional "bodyguards" these ones watched her every move more than they watched the their surroundings for signs of danger.

These "bodyguards" had two duties. The first was too keep her safe and make sure nothing happened to her but their main purpose, their priority, was to assure that she did not escape during one of the rare times she was allowed outside the prison her father had created around her.

Other than her daily runs with a visit to the coffee shop, Serena was not allowed off the grounds without her father's permission. She was allowed one shopping trip per week and allowed to go see her doctor – chosen for her by her father of course, which meant that she was on her father's payroll – for whatever she wanted whenever she wanted but she was never allowed out of the house for anything, except her run, on two consecutive days.

On her shopping day, she could do as she wished; she could go see a movie or have an early dinner in a restaurant or both.

As long as she followed the rules. The rules that made her every bit a prisoner than if she were actually locked in a prison cell in her father's basement.

The rule that was her father's first and most crucial was that Serena was never allowed to leave the grounds "unescorted". She could go anywhere inside the walls that she pleased – except for areas her father deemed that she had no place being in such as his office, his bedroom and for reasons that Serena didn't want to know the basement – but if she ever tried to leave – escape – the grounds then she would be punished.

And when Serena was allowed to leave the grounds she was never to be out of sight of her "bodyguards".

The second rule was that she may use her laptop and other wireless devices but Serena was absolutely forbidden to contact anyone. She could shop and surf the internet but she was not allowed to email or log onto Facebook, Twitter, etc. Her use was closely monitored so if she did try to call for help online then her captors would know.

And she would be punished.

Serena was sure there was a way to prevent anyone from knowing what she did when she was online but she was in no way tech-savy enough to do it.

From there the rules were basically all just repeats of the same basic principles. She was not allowed to try to escape, she was not to contact anyone via any means – phone, internet, fax or smoke signals – she must behave and respect her father – fat chance – and she was to always do as she was told – huh, as if.

On top of that, Serena was not allowed to have anything that could be deemed a "weapon" – as if that would stop her if she had the chance to get her hands on one – she was not allowed to talk to anyone when she was allowed out other than to conduct whatever transaction she was making – sales persons and so on – and under no circumstances was she to attempt to harm any of the father's "staff".

Serena was not a violent person, but she would, and did, not hesitate to defend herself against anyone who got handsy with her, which had happened a few times since entering her father's captivity.

Her father's mansion was a very nicely gilded cage but it was a cage none-the-less; one Serena fully intended to escape.

"Serena, your father wants to see you."

At the sound of the familiar cold voice Serena froze. How she hated that oily used car salesman voice, but not half as much as she hated the man it belonged too. Her father's head lackey and undoubtedly the most dangerous man Serena had ever met. And not because he was especially skilled or big or intimidating, but because of what he lacked.

His name was Diamond – Serena had no clue if it was his first or last name or just a nickname – and he lacked everything that made up a good man. As far as Serena had seen, he had no decency, not one shred of humanity. He had no compassion or felt any remorse and he definitely had no mercy.

And what made him even more dangerous was that he was very clever, cunning and extremely ruthless.

But what made him more dangerous to her than anyone else, despite of her father's protection, was the way he looked at her with greedy lust that he in no way tried to hide. In his mind she was his to have naked on her back beneath him. His opinion of women in general was ground low and the only thing that kept him off of her was her father, the one man Diamond seemed to fear or respect – Serena wasn't sure which – but that did not stop him from touching her when he saw the chance.

Which was why Serena was very careful to avoid him, especially when she was alone. He hadn't managed to back her into a corner yet despite his numerous attempts and Serena had absolutely no intention of ever letting him do so either.

Serena instinctively knew that if and when he did get her alone with no means of escape, she wouldn't like it at all. Of all the things she had come to fear in the past year Diamond was number two on her list, one place above her father.

It wasn't her father specifically that Serena feared most; it was the day that his patience finally snapped and he removed the "kid-gloves" he'd been handling her with and finally forced her to give her him what he so obsessedly wanted from her.

That was the only thing Serena feared more than Diamond.

But regardless of her fear of Diamond, Serena refused to cower before him. She was not nearly as weak as Diamond believed her to be and each and every one of their encounters Serena was determined to show him just how wrong he was about her.

"After I shower and change." Serena snapped frostily, and despite her survival instincts that screamed at her not too, Serena turned her back to him, intent on going to her room.

Serena hadn't even made it two steps before long bony steel-hard fingers closed around the back of her neck through her hair and tightened painfully, causing Serena to cry out in startled pain.

Reflexively, Serena reached behind her and grasped hold of his thicker wrist with both hands in a vain attempt to ease his hold, but even though he wasn't large for a man, he was still very strong.

"You will do as your father orders." Diamond hissed with malevolence in her ear as he yanked her backward until she her back was plastered along his flat hard chest. "And one way or another you will learn not to talk back, even if I have to beat it into you."

Serena clinched her teeth against another pained cry as he tightened his grip on her neck even more in order add more emphasis to his words. Diamond was sadistic and she was in no way going to give him more pleasure from hurting her than he was already getting.

"Let go of me!" Serena demanded as firmly as she was able given her position, which wasn't nearly as much as she would have liked.

Instead of obeying, Diamond chuckled menacingly in her ear and Serena doubted the Devil himself could have sounded more nefarious.

"The way you constantly fight me almost makes me think you enjoy my hands on you," Diamond angled his mouth closer to his ear until he had his lips brushed her ear with every word, his breath hot on her flesh. "Is that what you want, Serena? My touch? Because you don't have to try so hard if that's what you really want. I am more than willing to give it to you."

At the double meaning of his words, Serena came dangerously close to gagging. The very thought of being raped by Diamond was so unbearable that Serena had to fight to keep her brunch from making a violent reappearance.

Serena would rather die than let Diamond hurt her that way.

And that was when Serena felt Diamond's left hand on her stomach where it promptly worked its way up under her shirt to stroke the naked flesh of her stomach, the tips of his fingers were dangerously close to the bottom of her workout bra.

Serena went frozen in near terror. Diamond had had his hands on her before but he'd never managed to make it this far and she was terrified that he wasn't going to stop, that she couldn't make him stop.

Surely Diamond wasn't going to force her right here in the middle of the foyer in the middle of the day? Not with her father close enough to hear her scream through the open doors that separated the foyer and his study?

Releasing her hold on his wrist that was still holding her neck tight enough that he was going to leave bruises, Serena grasped hold of the hand under her shirt and pushed downwards with all her might.

But Serena couldn't budge his hand; she might as well have been trying to move the white stone stair banister. He was too strong, so much stronger than even she had ever realised. He wasn't muscle bound but Serena could feel just how hard his chest was against her back and she now knew that he was deceptively strong.

To her horror, Serena realised that she had even less chance against him than she'd feared.

But she was made of sterner stuff than that. Serena had spent most of her life being the smallest and physically weakest one in any group, and so she'd learned to defend herself in other ways. She couldn't fight him but she had other weapons at her disposal.

Serena forced her fear back and even though she stopped trying to pull his hand away from her body, she did not release her hold on his thick wrist.

"You want me?" Serena whispered softly, focused on him with every fibre in her being, taking notice of his every little movement. She forced her voice to sound borderline-seductive. "Well, you'll have to kill me first because that's the only way I'll ever let you touch me. But I don't think I have to be that drastic just yet. Did you know that my father hates being made a liar out of almost as much as he hates being defied?"

Diamond said nothing but his fingers flexed agitatedly against her stomach and Serena knew she had shifted his focus from what had he really wanted to do to her and what her father would do to him if he caught Diamond touching her against her will.

The only one thing that Serena was grateful to her father for was that he had promised that no harm would come to her under his "protection". He had even warned his "staff" not to lay a hand on her unless absolutely "necessary" – translation: to prevent her from escaping.

The seconds ticked by as Diamond thought her words over and then without warning Diamond thrust her away from him, releasing her and returning his hands to his side.

Caught off guard, Serena stumbled a step before finding her balance. She immediately whirled around, keeping her eyes on Diamond even as she took another step back to put herself well out of his reach.

Diamond sneered furiously at her, his evil black eyes threatening. "You won't always have your father's protection. When his patience with you is at an end, nothing will keep me from you. As much as your father values his word he wants that one thing more."

Serena couldn't keep from flinching, knowing that Diamond was right. Which was why she had to act and soon. She had to get away from Diamond and her father as soon as she possibly could and there was only one way to do that.

Her Plan.

Diamond spun on his heel and stalked angrily away from her.

Serena remained where she was, her eyes fixed on him, until he left the foyer and the sound of his expensive Italian shoes had faded away.

Serena breathed in sheer relief. After dealing with Diamond, Serena knew she had better face her father now because when she made it back to the privacy of her bedroom she was definitely going to lose it.

Serena didn't know how much more of this she could take. Her mother had taught her to be strong, but Serena didn't know how much longer her strength would last. She was alone and she trapped in in father's house of horrors, waiting in anxiously for the day her father had had enough of her defiance.

And it was coming. Serena could almost feel it. She had no choice. She had to act as soon as she possibly could. She hadn't spent a year carefully and discretely planning her way out only to run out of time.

Serena closed her eyes and took a silent moment to collect herself, refusing to let herself think or to feel Diamond's cruel touch that lingered on her skin, and would linger for the next week, at least until the fresh bruises Diamond had just given her had healed and faded.

Certain that she was in control of herself once again, Serena opened her eyes and straightened her clothes, taking another deep breath in effort to slow down her racing heart.

Lastly, Serena braced herself to face down her father and she crossed the foyer and stepped into her father's dimly lit posh study.

"Yes?" Serena snapped impatiently in way of greeting.

Her father looked up from the papers spread out in front of him on his dark polished desk that was large enough to seat half a dozen men comfortably with disapproval and mild warning on his harsh face.

Serena mentally shook her head in exasperation at his disapproving expression. She would have thought that he would be used to her defiant behaviour by now.

"I am hosting a dinner party on Saturday night. You will be attending. See that you have appropriate attire. And you will be on your best behaviour." His tone left no room for argument. He had given his instructions and he expected them to be followed without question.

But Serena was far bolder than that. "I'm not going to another one of your "fix-up events". I don't know how many times we have to go through this before you get it. No matter what you do, no matter how man "boys" you throw me at, it won't work."

Her father narrowed his eyes dangerously on her. Anyone else would have seen the dangerous warning in his eyes and felt that instinctive fear for their lives but Serena had learned months ago that as things stood she was the one person he wouldn't risk hurting. Not if he wanted to get what he was so desperate to have from her.

Serena had no doubt that one day his patience – one of his key characteristics that had won him his current position complete with massive wealth, power and respect – would snap and then she would regret her candour, and when that day came Serena would end her life than give him what he wanted.

Right now, as her father saw it, if he wanted to get from her what he had become so obsessed with then she had to be healthy and uninjured, also as free of stress as she could possibly be. That was the only reason why he allowed her her daily runs and her trips into the city.

Serena knew well that her father did not understand why she continued to fight him every step of the way, even though he should have.

She was his prisoner, one who would escape if she were ever given half the chance. She might have been imprisoned in a mansion and given access to more money than she could spend in a lifetime, but she was still very much a prisoner.

One who absolutely refused to let herself be seduced by her father's extravagant lifestyle and his money or anything else he possessed.

One of the reasons, other than the fact that her own father was her warden, was that Serena knew very well where all her father's money came from. Her father's blood money. Every dollar he had was soaked in the blood of others, a lot of whom Serena would have considered innocent.

And spending that money on legitimate things was one of the few delights Serena had, giving the blood money back to those whose hands were clean.

Although her father hadn't realised that. No, her father thought she spent so much on her shopping trips because she actually wanted what she brought.

But that couldn't be further from the truth. Serena was just as satisfied with generic brands brought from department stores, even thrift shops, as she was with what she brought from the high priced boutiques.

Well, except for her running shoes. Serena had to admit to herself that her expensive running shoes were the most comfortable shoes she'd ever worn in her life. Honestly, in these shoes – of which she had half a dozen pairs – it felt like her feet were surrounded and supported by cushions of air, almost as if her feet never touched the ground at all.

Her father slammed his hand down on his desk loudly, making Serena jump and her thoughts return to the present.

Serena watched as her father slowly, menacingly, rose to his feet, and while keeping both hands on his desk to support his weight he leaned forward, his narrowed angry eyes fixed on her.

Serena's father was a relatively small man but the air of power and authority he carried around on his always straight tensed shoulders made him appear bigger – and mightier – than he really was.

There were those rare times, when her father was showing her what she was sure he considered caring kindness, that Serena could almost see the man in him that her mother had fallen so deeply in love with all those years ago.

Her mother had told her stories of her father when she'd been young. How they'd met and how he had won her heart, how he had proposed to her. Back when he'd been a completely different man than he was now.

To others her father was known by many names, "the Father", "the Boss", "Mr Cedrone", to those he considered friends he was "Kenneth" but to her mother he had always been Ken, the young man who had made her fall so hopelessly in love with him.

Before he had started to climb the ladder of power within "the Family", drawn in by his own father and generations of strict tradition, he had been a completely different man, according to her mother. In her mother's stories her father had been funny and caring and compassionate.

And he had dearly loved her mother.

But then just after Serena had been born, he had started to change. And her mother Irene had tried so hard to stick with him and keep the man he had been alive in him.

Sadly though, according to her mother, their love had not been enough to keep him from becoming corrupted by his father's influence and the feeling of power the money and respect had given him.

And then the day had come that Irene had realised that she hadn't been staying with her husband because she loved him but because she feared him to the point that she couldn't even bare his touch. Irene had known that the kind and loving man her husband had once been was long gone, even before that night six months after Serena's younger brother had been born.

Irene had come home from shopping towing her two dearly loved children with her. Serena had been three and her brother had been six months old. Fortunately they had been too young to understand that it was blood and a hell of a lot of it, that her father had been washing off his hands.

It had been at that moment that Irene had known that she had to leave her husband for the sake of her children. Irene had loved her children more than her own life and that had given her the courage to act.

It hadn't been until Serena's twelfth birthday that her mother's stories of her father had turned dark and Serena had learned the rest of what had happened.

Irene had planned her escape as best she could. She had even managed to get her hands on enough cash that she could buy knew identities for the three of them, and then disappear and live well enough until she could find herself a job.

But Irene had been caught only days before she had planned to act but thankfully her father, somewhere deep inside, had still felt some love for his wife.

Irene had begged him to let her go, that she couldn't live like this anymore. She had sobbed and begged and for the first time had allowed her husband to see what she had been hiding from him, her terror and her fear for her children. Her soul-deep pain and misery.

Irene had never known why he had done it, why he had for a brief moment become more of the man she had fallen in love with than he had been in years, but he had offered her a one-time offer that she could take or die.

There would be no divorce. Ever. As long as Irene never let another man touch her, that she never remarried, Irene could go and he would not look for her. She could even take Serena with her, but Sammy had to stay; Sammy was going to take over the Family business one day.

Serena could still remember the agony in her mother's tear-filled eyes when she'd told Serena this. It had nearly killed her to leave her child behind; she had sobbed wretchedly at the memory at that moment that had been the worst of her entire life.

For the sake of her daughter, for the sake of both her children, Irene had taken the deal. She had tried to explain her decision to Serena that night, justify the choice she'd made but she hadn't needed too. Serena had been old enough to understand that her father never would've let her brother go but at the same time her brother would be safe. He would grow up and maybe one day make his choice about what kind of man he wanted to be.

And so for fourteen long years Irene had tortured herself every day over the choice she'd been forced to make, never letting herself be truly happy, not even for a moment.

Irene had carried the guilt of that one choice until the day she'd died.

Serena had been seventeen at the time, only months away from turning eighteen when a drunk driver had run her mother off the road on her way home from work late one night.

Serena had been devastated but she had finally come to peace with her mother's death knowing that wherever her mother was she was finally at peace. Maybe even happy.

And since Serena had only been a number of weeks from her eighteenth birthday, at which she would inherit her mother's life insurance that was surprisingly large considering that her mother had been a waitress for the last five years, the courts had granted her legal emancipation. She hadn't had to go into any care of any sort, instead she'd stayed in the apartment she'd shared with her mother until her eighteenth birthday, surviving off her own hard earned savings – she'd worked in odd cash paying jobs since she'd turned twelve and learned the truth – and the support checks from the government.

The day Serena had turned eighteen she had moved out of the apartment, knowing that her mother would want her to get on with her life and find her own happiness.

Maybe it was some sort of twisted act of Fate, but ten months after her mother's death, eight months after Serena had turned eighteen, Serena had learned through her Aunt on her mother's side that her brother had died only five weeks before her mother had.

Serena had never known her younger brother but she had mourned for him regardless, because her mother had loved him and had carried him with her every moment of her life.

Serena never could have known what her brother's death had set in motion in Los Angeles that was a thousand miles away from where she'd settled herself. She could never have known how her brother's death had destroyed and twisted something inside her father to the point that it had driven him insane.

"SERENA!"

Serena gasped and jumped, startled as she was once again brought back to the present. Serena blinked, clearing her thoughts and taking in what her eyes were registering.

Her father was furious, that much was obvious. Being ignored absolutely enraged her father, he downright hated it. He believed that since he was always the most important man in the room that all attention should be on him.

Not unlike a spoiled little boy.

Her father was glaring furiously at her he teeth tightly clenched and he had that dangerous dark look in his eyes that he had whenever she disobeyed him. He was struggling to control his temper.

Serena had learned enough over the last year of her imprisonment beneath her father's roof that to anyone else that looked would've meant pain and possibly even death. Her father was a very dangerous man, a cold-blooded killer, and Serena had no doubt that when his patience with her finally snapped, she would learn just how sadistic and unfeeling her father had become in his years separated from his wife.

But despite that look and feeling the same fear of him that her mother had, Serena refused to take the step back from him that her survival instincts were screaming at her to take.

"You will not fight me on this!" Her father hissed furiously through his clinched teeth, the veins of his forehead and neck popping at the intensity of his barely restrained rage. "You have pushed me to my limits, girl! Know this, push me any further and you'll regret it! I promise you!"

Serena swallowed even though her mouth was dry, but she was used to her father's temper and she knew she had one weapon against him; his own obsession.

"Go ahead then!" Serena wanted to sound defiant and steadfast, but no matter how much she tried to sound unaffected by her father's tempter, her words sounded emotional and distressed. "I'll never give you want anyway! I'll rather die first! So why don't you just get it over with! DO IT! Go ahead, kill me."

Her father stared at her for a long time, his eyes blazing with his fury, and seconds turned into a minute, and then two.

Then, in the blink of an eye, her father's rage was gone and he was once again calm and collected. He smoothed his tie against his expensive tailor made stripped Italian suit and once again took his seat, taking on a nonchalant demeanour as he reached for his pen, intending to return to the paper work spread out on his desk in front of him.

He did not look at her again.

"I have no time for your melodrama." Her father told her condescendingly, dismissing her words as though she had never spoken them at all. "You'll be allowed an additional outing this afternoon to get yourself something pretty to wear. I don't want to hear another word about it."

And just like that, she was dismissed.

Serena was seething, as she always ended up doing in her father's presence. She wanted to scream and throw things at him but she knew the outcome of that. All that would end up happening would be her being restrained by her bodyguards who would carry or drag her to her room and lock her in.

After a long moment of just standing there silently raging impotently at him, Serena turned on her heel and stalked out of the room.

It wasn't until Serena was climbing the first flight of stairs that connected the foyer with the first of the three floors, flanked by two of her four bodyguards, that it hit her.

Her father was letting her out this afternoon and she was finally ready. She had finally reached the fitness level she had estimated that she would need to put her plan into action.

Today was the day. She had woken up this morning filled with dread at having to face yet another day in her father's captivity but just like that, today had become the day.

She was ready. Serena had been ready for weeks in every other aspect other than her fitness, but now even that had fallen into place.

The last and final piece had been handed to her by her own father.

An unplanned outing that her bodyguards – each time Serena thought or said it word it was always coated with sarcastic contempt – had less time to prepare for.

It couldn't be more perfect. If she was ever going to put her plan into action it would have to be today, now.

Serena had sworn a year ago that her father would pay for everything he had and continued to do to her and today was the day she would put the first step of his demise into action.

Today was the beginning of her father's end.

It had finally come.

If it worked, Serena would finally have her freedom but if she failed and her father found out it would cost her dearly.

Maybe even more than she was willing to pay.


Serena was anxious, jumpy.

Impatient and terrified and excited and relieved. All at the same time.

The hardest part was, while waiting for her perfect chance, pretending to be interested in what she was doing while trying hide the turmoil that was clawing at her stomach from her bodyguards.

Serena was putting every ounce of her acting ability to the test as she tried to appear casual as she looked through yet another high end boutique for something "pretty" for her father's party.

There was not one item in the store that was below four figures. This was the kind of upscale place that offered all potential customers wine, fruit and pastries while they shopped. There was even the option in this one to have dresses modelled for her by the mostly blond beautiful model-worthy staff.

Serena had never liked any kind of royal treatment and had never really wanted it. And in her current alert and uneasy state of mind it was the last thing Serena was in the mood for.

But Serena forced herself to endure; it was all a means to an end.

It was on purpose that Serena had dragged her bodyguards to several stores and had had to look and consider every single dress.

Serena had been forced to shop for one of her father's events before and each and every time Serena had taken the opportunity to irritate and torment her bodyguards by doing exactly what she was now doing. When she was forced to do something by her father while on one of her outings she would always take her sweet time doing it. She would always spend at least an hour or two in each shop and never buy anything in the first six or seven.

At least not on the first visit. Sometimes, just for the sheer joy of it, Serena would drag them all back to the first or second shop they'd visited to "reconsider" one of the dresses.

By the time they made it back to her father's mansion, all four of the bodyguards were tired and irritable as all four were big men wearing thick suits that Serena made them regret wearing – each and every one of the "security personnel" that her father had in his employ was way too serious and well paid to dress down in any way; while on duty not one of them so much as removed their jacket or loosened their tie.

Hell, Serena didn't know the eye colour of most of them as they hardly ever removed those stupid spy sunglasses they all wore that Serena knew made them feel as badass as the gun each of them carried concealed on their person.

Serena actively hated her captures – until her father had kidnapped her hate had never really been part of her nature – and even though it was petty and childish, Serena enjoyed making them suffer in whatever little ways she could.

Except today, this time the purpose of her drawn-out shopping trip was for more than her childish satisfaction.

Luckily, not one of them seemed to notice that she was unusually and falsely fully engaged in her task, even trying on more dresses than usual in more stores.

But as usual, upon declaring in a whiny teenage-girl huff that there was nothing here that she liked and she wanted to try the pink one on again in the second store they'd visited, Serena picked up her bag that not one of them had noticed was unusually baulky and just a little too heavy and stalked out of the store with her four irritable and tired bodyguards in tow.

Serena glanced discretely at her watch. It was late afternoon.

It was time.

Seated in the back-seat of black SUV Serena forced herself to sit still as she stared out the window not seeing any of the city beyond the tinted glass and focused on the steps of her plan, running each through her head over and over until they were firmly imprinted on her brain. Even returning to this one particular boutique was all part of her plan.

In fact, this boutique was the perfect starting point and had everything Serena needed. If everything went according to plan and she didn't screw up, then in less than an hour's time she would be putting her fitness to the real test.

It was what she'd been training for after all.

Time seemed to be passing quickly and slowly at the same time as they made their way across the city back to the place that had been her true destination all along. It had nearly killed Serena when she'd left it earlier in the afternoon but it had all been a necessary part of her plan. If she'd attempted her plan on the first visit then she would've had almost no chance of success as her bodyguards had been way too alert and invigorated, but now, finally, they'd begun to tire which made their focus half as sharp as it would've been otherwise.

That was one mistake her father had made. Instead of having two groups of men watch her over shifts, her father used the same four all the time. The only breaks they had during the day were when she was safely at her father's mansion. At the mansion only one of the four had to keep an eye on her as there was almost the entirety of her father's security team spread out of the mansion and it's grounds to keep an eye on her.

The only time Serena had any real privacy was when she was in her bedroom. No one watched her while she was inside but the only two exits were always under surveillance.

That was why this was her one and only chance. She had a plan to escape the grounds but she could only use it once and she had a purpose for that one time. It was a crucial part of her plan. If everything went according to plan that one escape path would not be wasted.

Serena shifted her right foot, feeling the tracking device that was always on her ankle brush against the material of her black dress pants.

Her father took no chances with her.

The SUV pulled to a stop making Serena lift her head and look over the shoulder of the passenger seat in front of her to see that they had arrived. The driver had parked on the street right out front of the boutique.

Perfect.

So far, everything was going according to plan but the hardest part of Stage One was still to come.

Serena subconsciously tightened her grip on her baulky shoulder bag.

This was it. Her one chance. If she failed Serena knew that she wouldn't get another, not for a very long time if at all.

As always Serena remained seated as the four bodyguards exited and took their positions between her door and the stores front entrance.

Her door opened and Serena drew in a deep breath for courage, knowing she was as prepared and ready as she was ever going to be. She was so terrified but she WAS NOT going to let her fear of her father make her hesitate for even a moment.

Her mother had been brave and made the difficult choice when she'd been forced too and Serena was her mother's daughter; she was going to do whatever needed to be done.

Serena owed it to her mother and to herself, but what Serena owed her father was a whole lot more and Serena was going to see that her father got everything he deserved. Serena would make sure of it.

Ignoring her bodyguards, Serena slid out of the vehicle and without acknowledging either of the bodyguards that opened both doors for her, she stepped into the cool and too brightly lit boutique. Every surface except for the dresses and accessories themselves were pure white, that clean sterile white that made the colours of the stores stock appear all the more brilliant, more vibrant. Serena had no doubt that the stark contrast between the flawless perfect white and the dresses and gowns was no accident. It had been designed this way to make the overpriced stock more appealing.

Serena had no doubt that it was a ploy that worked on many women but not on Serena; Serena only found all the white irritating as it hurt her eyes.

What made this boutique so appealing to Serena wasn't it's stock or it's service, but it's layout and it's location.

Not wanting to wait one more moment, Serena walked straight to the pink dress that she'd already picked out on her first visit earlier in the afternoon, and made a deliberate show of considering it very carefully and very seriously, turning it this way and that.

And of course her obvious interest in the garment quickly caught the attention of the too pretty bright red-haired sales assistant – who wore a too-thick layer of make-up on her face – wearing black high heels so high Serena had to wonder how she didn't fall forward the moment she tried to stand in them.

The moment the sales assistant was close enough, Serena pointed at the dress and plastered a fake smile on her face.

"I want to try this on again." Serena purposefully made it a demand, not a request.

At her insistent and rude tone the sales assistant didn't falter in the slightest. Obviously as it was the second most expensive dress in the store all the sales assistant saw was her juicy commission.

"Of course." The sales assistant said too sweetly with big fake smile on her perfectly painted face as she took the dress from the central main display and indicated towards the back of the store with her other arm. "This way."

Serena followed a step behind as the sales assistant lead her to the very spacious changing rooms at the back of the shop – that just happened to be located in the hallway that lead to the door that connected the store to the back rooms.

Back rooms that just happened to have a back door that exited out into the alley behind.

Before the sales assistant could lead her to the first dressing room in the white hallway, Serena swiftly took the dress from the sales woman without snatching it and slipped into the next dressing room along before the sales assistant could utter a word, and closed the door behind her.

There were six fitting rooms in total, three on each side of the hallway that ended in the door that lead to the back rooms and each had a proper door that when closed gave the occupant complete privacy. There was even a flimsy lock on the door that Serena promptly clicked into place.

It was an actual room, as opposed to the stalls with curtains found in most department stores and smaller boutiques. The fitting room was the size of a standard non-executive office with mirrors on all four walls, even the back of the door so that the customer could see the gown from all angles and was well lit by the long fluorescent lights above.

But Serena didn't care about any of that. The moment she locked the fitting room behind her, Serena sprang into action.

She dropped the gown carelessly on the floor, not caring about it in the least. It was just a prop after all. Serena ripped her clothes off as fast as she could, all but her underwear – that she wore when running for the extra support. Even her all-purpose sandals were discarded.

Then Serena dove into her bag, emptying all its contents onto the floor on top of her black dress pants so any noise would be muffled by the fabric on the white tile floor. With almost frantic movements Serena spread the items out so she could find what she needed without digging through the pile.

The first things Serena grabbed were the aluminium foil folded into four-layers-thick strips and the scotch tape.

Oh God, Serena hoped this worked. Everything depended on this one thing working. Unlike everything else in her bag this was the one thing that she hadn't been able to test without giving her intentions away.

And it was the one thing that could betray her entire plan and ruin it beyond recovery.

Settling in the middle of the floor, Serena studied the tracking device secured to her ankle for a brief moment before reaching for the first strip.

At first Serena had wanted to remove it all together but after spending countless hours studying it, Serena had realised that it wasn't going to come off without setting off an alarm as there were wires connected to the device that ran through the entire length of the thick black strap that bound it to her ankle. Her father had warned her that it was tamper proof and he'd almost been right.

Her father had meant that she couldn't get it off without setting it off but it was not an unbeatable piece of technology. So she had altered her thinking and had come up with a solution that should work.

That was why Serena was quickly threading the six inch long and one inch wide strips of aluminium foil around the black box attached to the band around her ankle, using all ten strips as she had to assure that every inch of the box was wrapped beneath multiple layers of aluminium foil.

Once Serena had wrapped the last strip around the black unit, making it twice as bulky as it was before, Serena completed her task by securing the aluminium foil in place with the scotch tape, making the tracking anklet bulkier than what she was used too.

Serena studied her work for any sign of gapes, wondering if it had worked and how long it would be before someone at the mansion noticed that she was no longer a blimp on their computer screen. Had one of the fathers goons already noticed and was in the process of contacting her bodyguards and her father?

How closely was the signal from her tracking anklet monitored? Was there someone there watching at all times even after a year of her wearing it without incident? Did they watch the screen every moment that she was off the mansions grounds? Was it checked every so often or was it only used when someone wanted to know exactly where she was?

That was the one unknown that made Serena count every second, every heartbeat; every ounce of hope she had was on the latter.

Well, now that it was done, one way or another Serena was going to find out. What she was not going to do was waste a single moment more thinking about it now that she was putting her plan into action at long last.

Serena leapt to her feet, not giving her anklet another thought and reached for the dress where it lay in an unruly pile on the floor. She then plastered herself along the inside of the door as she opened it and thrust the poofy pink dress through the opening.

Serena was not surprised that the sales woman was waiting on the other side.

"I'll take it and all the accessories too." Serena told the woman whose eyes immediately lit up and Serena could swear that she'd actually seen dollar signs appear in her eyes with the accompanying cha-ching!

"Wonderful! Is there anything else I can do for you?" The sales assistant asked eagerly as she eagerly took the dress from her.

"Can you get everything together and run them up while I dress?" Serena asked, making sure that it was a request not a demand this time. "The men with me know my sizes."

"Of course, it's my pleasure." And the sales woman turned and immediately went to gather everything together, strutting with so much enthusiasm Serena had to wonder just what the woman's commission would be.

As Serena closed the door, knowing that her bodyguards relief at her finally picking a dress would buy her a few more moments of distraction.

Just as she had anticipated.

And Serena was not going to waste them.

Serena had packed a change of clothes that she was now swiftly changing into; each item had been very carefully considered before she'd packed them. First was the snug pair of comfortable and well worn thin denim jeans that allowed her to move just as freely as the sweat pants she wore on her daily runs. The jeans were complete with a belt that was already threaded through the loops of the jeans on which were clipped three pouches that already contained everything she'd need for the next step of her escape plan – the set-up eliminated the need for a purse or bag and were more secure than a pocket which things could easily slip out of.

It took her only a moment to fasten her belt tightly enough that there was no danger of the added weight pulling her pants down.

Next was a pain white cotton long-sleeved shirt that ended just above her belt, baring only a glimpse of her flat belly that was toner than it had ever been in her entire life.

But unlike every other time Serena had ever dressed, Serena did not pull her long blond hair out from under her shirt. Her hair felt a little prickly against her the bare skin of her back but she ignored it as hiding her very distinctive long blond hair was far more important than her comfort.

Next Serena slid her arms into her well-worn dark denim jacket and flipped up the collar to help conceal her face. Which was why Serena had also brought along a dark brown wig – which she'd only been able to get without risking undue suspicion due to that one of her father's "fix-up parties" had been a consume party – and a baseball cap.

Serena quickly slipped the wig on, using the mirrors to assure that all her golden hair was concealed, and then put on the baseball cap to help keep her wig in place and to further hide her face.

Next came her most comfortable pair of running shoes. It was handy that her most comfortable pair was also the pair she wore the most – they looked well-worn which hid how expensive they really were. Her expensive but well-worn shoes would not stick out, nor could anyone tell that they were an expensive pair of shoes that should have been out of the price range of the normal middle class young woman she was disguising herself as.

The last thing was the cheapest watch she owned. It was a gold watch and still worth over a hundred dollars but unless you looked at it closely it looked like a real good but cheap fake. It wouldn't cause her any undue attention.

And just like that Serena was ready, and it had only been a minute or two since she'd handed the pink dress to the sales attendant.

Now was the moment of truth. All Serena needed was a few seconds to make it to the end door. She knew that none of her four bodyguards were standing by her fitting room door but when she'd opened the door to give the sales assistant the pink dress Serena had seen that two of them had an unobstructed view of her dressing room door.

Those were the two that she needed to be distracted.

Serena drew in a deep breath and prayed as she slowly opened the door a crack, barely wide enough to glimpse out.

The one bodyguard Serena could see, the one with the most direct view, was currently talking with the blond sales assistant who had two pairs of shoes in her hand. Both pairs were identical so common sense told Serena that they were different sizes.

The bodyguard pointed at the pink pair of thin-strapped high heels the assistant held in her right hand, obviously pointing out the pair that were Serena's size.

It was now or never.

Without thinking about where the other three were or what they were doing, Serena silently opened the door enough for her to walk through and stepped out, pulling the door closed behind her in the same motion but not closing it completely so that it would appear closed until you were close enough to touch it.

In two wide strides Serena was at the door at the end of the short hallway and between one breath and the next Serena had it open and was through it.

Serena turned, closed it quickly while being careful to keep the door handle turned in her hand so when it closed it made only a very soft thud as the door met the frame.

And instead of just releasing the door handle, Serena slowly turned it all the way back until the latch was back in place, holding the door closed.

Then, and only then did Serena bolt, not wasting any time by taking in her surroundings other than the space between her and the door on the other side of the room with the illuminated green EXIT sign over it.

Someone above must have been on her side because the direct path to the door was completely unobstructed. Unlike the store front, nothing in the store room was white, including the bare concrete floor between her and the door.

Serena reached the door in moments, not seconds and took only one brief scan of the door, looking for any indication that it was alarmed – either burglar or fire – but seeing nothing Serena took the chance and opened it without a moment more lost.

Nothing happened. No alarm sounded.

Serena had done it. It wasn't over yet, not by a long shot, a lot of things still had to be in her favour, but at least for the moment Serena had given her bodyguards the slip.

But her absence would not go unnoticed for long; it would not be very long before they checked on her. She only hoped that they were tired enough from her long "shopping day" that they didn't realise that she was taking a little too long in the simple task of redressing herself.

Her past childish behaviour was working for her once again. With any luck they would think that she was taking her sweet time on purpose as she always did just to irate them.

Now that Serena really thought about it, it would most likely be the sales assistant that would notice her missing first as her one of her bodyguards would pay for her items, and with the sale completed the sales assistant would no doubt hope to sell her something else. One thing that had come from all her visits to high end boutiques was that most of the sales assistants tended to be the same and that made them predictable.

The alley was like every other, from the potent smell of dirt and decay to the garbage and empty boxes littering the space.

Serena didn't waste any time considering which way, left or right. She knew the exact route she would take and even had a few detours in mind if needed. Not that there was any question which way she would have gone even if she hadn't already mapped out her route and memorised it – if she went right then she'd come out right at the SUV as the alley turned, exiting only one store down from the boutique's front entrance.

Turning left, Serena ran for all she was worth. She could see the street ahead, maybe fifty feet or so where people were walking back and forth, going on their way.

Her running shoes barely made a sound on the badly cracked grey concrete as she ran. Serena could barely hear the sound of her feet's rhythmic contact with the rough solid surface beneath her, the sounds of the city were louder – the sounds of people and traffic and modern day life.

But the sounds of the city were not the loudest noise in her ears. No, that was her own heartbeat and the sound of her already accelerated breathing.

So much depended on these few seconds. In the alley, despite her disguise her bodyguards would know the petite fleeing figure was her. She had to make it to the street where she could hide in plain sight amongst the busy crowds. If she could make this one step of the plan then her chances of success would increase dramatically.

Only an extraordinary amount of bad luck could stop her then.

But so far it was good luck that was on her side.

The alley flew past in an almost blur and the street ahead seemed to be racing towards her as if she were standing still and it was the street that was coming to her.

It was a surreal feeling.

And just like that, Serena bursted into the street, barely missing a collision with a middle aged man in a Hawaiian shirt beneath a beige jacket, walking with a woman in a bright green sundress.

She had made it!

Serena ducked her head and muttered a quick apology to the couple before she turned right and forced herself to walk with the crowd. She wanted to run, her instincts were screaming at her to run, but she fought them. If she ran she would stick out when what she needed to do was blend in.

In city crowds someone running drew attention but someone walking the same pace as everyone else was less likely to draw attention at all, other than what it took to step around her or walk beside her without bumping into her.

So Serena walked, working hard to slow her breathing so that no one would notice her panting and wonder why she was breathing so hard from just walking.

It wasn't until Serena was half a block away from the alley that she risked a glance at her surroundings to get an idea of her exact location.

The intersection was one store ahead. She was less than two hundred feet from her first destination, the one that she could easily mix in with the crowd and use to put enough distance between the boutique and herself. With any luck at all, it would be several minutes before her bodyguards even laid eyes on the place, possibly even longer as there was no way they could know which way she'd gone after leaving the alley.

There was no possible way they could guess where she was headed, there was no way they could know that she had planned every step of her escape.

And every step she put between herself and her father's men brought her time. And with enough time she would be gone. They would check every store in the vicinity before they realised that she wasn't hiding in any and begin searching the city for her.

As powerful as her father was not even he could find her easily in a city this size, but what he could and would do was cut off her exits – the airport, the bus stations, the train station.

Her father was powerful enough that he would find her. Serena had absolutely no doubt about that, between his own goons and those in the various policing forces that he had in his pocket, he would have all possible escape routes covered, not to mention men on the streets actively searching for her.

Serena wouldn't even put it passed her father to put a price on her head and have every lowlife in the city on the lookout for her too.

Which was why Serena was headed the one place that he would never think to look, the one place he would never even consider that she had the impertinence to go.


Serena stepped over the threshold as the relief washed over her and she finally allowed herself to breathe.

Serena did not stop. She lifted her head eye to see where she was going and kept moving, making her way through the crowded arcade filled with various loud and flashing arcade games and even louder kids aging from around three all the way up to bordering on adult. There were also a few out of place parents and of course the arcade's staff in their distinctive neon-pink uniform T-shirts.

The arcade was like any other. Too loud and filled with happy screaming kids who moved excitedly from game to game, some in small groups while others in not so small groups.

But there was one thing that made this arcade very special to Serena, the reason why she'd crossed the intersection diagonally and walked a quarter up the adjacent block instead of sticking with the crowds on the street.

This arcade ran straight through the middle of the city block which made the gaming area a little too narrow but long, fitting in more games than most arcades in a straight line with a service desk in the middle that was also doubled as a snack bar if the clientele wanted something other than what was offered in the various vending machines spread throughout the arcade.

This meant that Serena was able to walk straight through, unnoticed, from one side of the city block to the other without being out in the open on the street. It also put another city block between herself and her bodyguards that by now had to be searching frantically for her, baffled at how she had managed to give them the slip without betraying any sign to them of her intention to bolt.

And what made the arcade even more perfect was the taxi stand right outside its other exit.

So Serena was able to walk straight through the arcade, out the other end and almost straight into a waiting yellow cab.

The driver didn't even look her way. She gave him the address and when he pulled out into traffic Serena slumped back in her seat in relief so strong that it bordered on exhausting. For the first time in a year she felt safe, or at least safer than she'd felt all year.

This was really happening. After all the months of planning and getting everything together, she had finally been able to do it. There was no doubt that she would pay for what she was doing but how much she paid depended not on her, but on those she was forced to take the risk to trust.


Serena was tired, no she was downright exhausted, but she had come too far to stop now.

Serena had burned a lot of adrenaline today and it was finally taking its toll on her, but she kept pushing herself onward. Everything now depended on her going through with her highly risky plan. If she was ever going to be free of her father, of his sick obsession with her, then this was the only way.

At first, the plan had been to run, which once she reached this point she could've done, but even if she did somehow manage to get out of the city and by some miracle her father didn't find her, she would spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder too terrified to live her life.

Just as her mother had done.

No, this was the only way. The chances of success were so slim that attempting it made her foolish and possibly suicidal, but it was better than the alternatives. She was never going to give her father what he wanted from her and she wasn't going to wait around until he forced her to give it to him, and she couldn't run.

So this was the only choice. A long time ago her father had lost his humanity and when her brother had died he had lost his mind. There was nothing left of the man her mother had fallen in love with and because of that Serena owed her father nothing, so she didn't feel guilty over her chosen course of action.

But she was afraid.

Afraid of her plan not working, afraid that it would.

Serena sat in the back of the fourth cab she'd hired today, with her head resting on the back of the seat staring out the window at the passing city streets.

Serena felt like some inexperienced recruited damsel in a spy movie but she wasn't going to risk taking one cab from the arcade to her final destination. She had no idea just how far her father's influence could reach but she wasn't going to take any risks. She had to be so careful and if that meant being paranoid too, then so be it. Being paranoid had kept her mother out of her father's hands for the remainder of her life after leaving him and so Serena was going to be even more paranoid than her mother had been.

She had just reason to be so.

The first three cabs Serena had taken had all picked her up and dropped her off at popular places, most of which were tourist locations. The first taxi cab Serena had had take her to the city's largest mall and then she'd walked two blocks south to another taxi stand where she'd asked to go to the closest movie theatre which she had intentionally not named specifically.

At the cinema Serena had waited twenty minutes, taking the time to use the faculties, before she'd walked another two blocks to another local popular arcade where she'd caught her third cab in which she'd asked to be taken to a popular place to eat on a budget.

From this request Serena had known that there were only three possible places that he'd most likely take her too and she hadn't guessed wrong. The taxi driver had taken her to the street markets that quite possibly offered the largest selection of greasy food from the most nationalities where Serena had forced herself to eat half a sloppy but surprisingly delicious loose meat and gravy roll.

That hadn't been the plan but while walking through the market to catch a cab on the other side the various mouth-watering smells had caused Serena's empty stomach to very loudly and persistently demanded substance. She had been exhausted and hungry enough that Serena had reasoned that food would help keep her alert.

Finally, Serena had entered her fourth cab, wiping the last of the gravy from her fingers with a paper napkin, which was where she'd given a very precise address.

The address was six and half blocks from her final destination, the one Serena had been aiming for since the moment she'd realised that she wasn't able to go on the run.

And what seemed like forever and no time at all at the same time, the taxi cab driver pulled into her requested address and Serena paid him out of the cash she'd been saving from all her shopping trips over the past six months. Her father had never let her have more than a couple of hundred dollars in cash at one time, insisting that she use the credit cards that her bodyguards kept on them for most things.

That way he assured two things – that kept the large amounts of money out of her hands and he could keep track of her purchases in case she tried to buy something suspicious.

Like a gun.

Serena stepped out of the cab and into the cool night. The sun had set half an hour ago and the temperature had dropped but Serena barely noticed.

Being cold didn't matter. Nothing mattered, not with her final destination finally within reach.

Serena had a distance to walk, and at this time of night in this area that was outside of the main shopping area, there were no crowds to hide herself in. The best Serena could do was to keep her head down, her hands in her pockets and appear as normal as she possibly could.

Hopefully, Serena would look like a nervous young woman out later than she'd planned in a hurry to get where she was going who wanted to avoid any trouble.

As she walked down the long street that had various towering office buildings on each side, looking up only when she came to a street crossing, Serena carefully kept her mind blank, not allowing herself to think at all.

Because if she did, if she allowed her thoughts to wonder, then Serena had no doubt that by the time she reached her destination, she would have chickened out of her plan and instead have tried to leave the city, deciding that living on the run was smarter and safer than this.

Her chances of her Plan actually succeeding were slim but it was her best chance. Her Plan was the most dangerous option, no doubt, but the best option as its results would last the long term. Serena herself was proof that running and hiding didn't work with her father, look at how easily he had found her after her brother had died.

Oh, Sammy. A wave of sadness swept through Serena at the thought of the younger brother Serena had never had a chance to know.

Serena couldn't even remember him as she'd only been three years old, too young to remember a baby.

She had never known Sammy, but he had still been her brother, her blood, whom she had never had a reason to hate. In fact, Serena had felt sorry for him as he had been forced into their father's footsteps and he had paid for it with his life.

If only Sammy hadn't died. Their father most likely never would have gone insane and Serena would have been free to live out her life without knowing just how sick and twisted her father had become.

At least Serena couldn't doubt that her father had loved her brother, or at the very least cared about Sammy as much as his cold closed heart was able too.

It was this life, the Family, the life, that had destroyed Serena's family. It had twisted her father, turned him from a funny and loving man into a cold-blooded killer with ruthless ambition to be at the top of the pyramid and had taken her brother well before his time.

And it was this life that was the very reason why Serena so adamantly refused to give her father what he wanted, even though it would buy her her freedom from him once and for all.

That was if her father kept his word, anyway. There was no telling what her father would do to her once he had what he wanted from her.

Serena shut her eyes tightly, fighting against the tears that had welled up.

Damn it! Serena hadn't meant to let her thoughts wonder! Now she was feeling emotional and that was one of the last things she needed to be when doing what she had to do next.

Needing to distract herself, Serena raised her head and looked around, trying to figure out where she was and how much further she had to go. She had been walking on autopilot for so long, that for all Serena knew she'd walked past the building she was looking for.

But to her surprise, Serena found herself standing out front of the very building she had been headed for all afternoon.

So this was it. The point of no return. Once she entered that building, there would be no choice for her but to see this thing through.

It wasn't too late. There was still the option of turning around and walking away, either taking her chances with running and hiding, or returning to her father's mansion and begging his forgiveness.

Serena swallowed.

No. She had come too far to chicken out now. This needed to be done. It was her only choice, the only way she would ever be free of the man who had scared her since the age of twelve.

Drawing in a long deep breath, needing every ounce of courage she had, Serena lifted her head up high and walked straight into Los Angeles's FBI headquarters.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated, among other things, organised crime.


It was close to the end of normal business hours but for what Serena had to say, had to offer, she highly doubted that anyone here would comment on the hour.

Serena walked straight up to the front desk, right up to the woman dressed in a crisp black feminine business suit and white blouse – she looked exactly like Serena expected a member of the FBI to look – who looked up when she heard Serena approach but she did not smile.

"Can I help you?" Asked the woman in a fully business no-nonsense manner, although there was something about her that made Serena think that this woman was about to head home.

Maybe it was the small collection of personal items beside her right arm – an empty black coffee cup and an open leather half bag half suitcase with what looked like an empty lunch-box inside.

"Yes, I would like to speak to someone in Organised Crime." Serena said using in a-matter-of-fact voice. "I believe I have some useful information that the FBI would be highly interested in."

"Oh, I'm afraid most of those Agents would have gone home for the day." The woman looked at her computer screen that Serena could only see the back of. "Would you like to leave a message and someone will get back to you? Or you could make an appointment with an agent if you prefer."

"Trust me when I say that Organised Crime is going to want to speak to me and they won't mind staying late to hear what I have to say." Serena looked her straight in the eye, sensing that she finally was beginning to get the woman's attention.

"You see, my name is Serena Stevens. My father is Kenneth Cedrone. The head of LA's most powerful Mafia Family."

The woman's eyes grew wide. Apparently even the secretaries of the FBI knew the name.

Serena couldn't help but smile just a little.

"I'm here to help the FBI bring down the entire Family."


Boston. Four hours later . . .

4:09 am local time

Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring.

Darien groaned into his pillow.

Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring.

Maybe if he ignored it it would stop.

Ring. Ring.

Silence.

Darien sighed heavily, hugging his pillow closer with the intent on falling back to sleep and returning to the beautiful uncomplicated woman in his dreams who was very nice to be with.

Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring.

Darien groaned louder this time and with a reluctant and defeated sigh he rolled over onto his back, reached over to the bedside table and switched on the bedside lamp, instantly casting a dim orange glow over the Spartan room that held only the basic furnishings – the single bed he was sleeping on, the bedside table with the ugly brown lamp and the beat-up old dresser by the one scum-coated window.

The only sign that anyone inhabited the space other than the tall man in the bed was the slim flip black cell phone on the bedside table that was out-of-date technology by more than four years.

Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring.

Habit made Darien check the caller ID before he answered. There were only five people who had his number and each one had one number they called him from programmed into his phone – no names just a four digit code number that in no way would lead to an individual.

If Darien didn't recognise the number then he didn't answer it.

But this number was one he did recognise and of the five people Darien expected to be calling him in the middle of the night, this person was last on the list.

Which told Darien just how important this call was going to be.

Instantly more awake, Darien sat up as he flipped open the phone and put it to his ear.

"Shields." Darien said crisply in way of greeting.

"Did I catch you at a bad time, Shields?" Greeted the emotionless humourless sharp voice that anyone else wouldn't have been able to recognise as belonging to a woman.

"Just sleeping, ma'am." Darien responded, respectfully.

"Well, trust me. You'll want to hear what I have for you."

"Of course, ma'am." Darien replied promptly to the woman who was so high up the chain of command that one risked nosebleeds just talking to her.

For a moment Darien could have sworn that the woman on the other end of the phone, who was his boss's boss's boss, chuckle. But that was impossible; this was a woman who never smiled let alone actually chuckled. The woman was pure ice, lethal and cunning and at times manipulative, but nothing less would have gotten her to her current position – she was the first woman to ever claw herself into the position she now held – and did very well.

Which was why Darien was all business and respectful when the head She called him. Her official title was the FBI's Organised Crime Deputy Director, but that was nothing more than a cover. What She really was was head of the off-the-books Deep Undercover Division that specialised in Terrorist groups and Organised Crime.

Darien himself had met the woman only once and talked to her on the phone less than a handful of times, as She had subordinates to pass on her instructions to her undercover agents.

So if this woman took the time to call him, then it was guaranteed to be of the uttermost importance.

So, regardless of the fact that Darien had only managed to get two hours sleep in the last three days as he had finally wrapped up his latest undercover mission that had had him undercover in Boston for the last six months.

"I know you just came off a bad one, Shields but I have something you might be very interested in." She told him in a very smooth voice, almost charming. "It's Kenneth Cedrone, we have an in."

And just like, all traces of fatigue were gone and Darien snapped to his feet, every fibre of his being focused on what his boss was telling him. "What?! How?!"

"I thought that would get your attention." Again there was that hint of dry humour in her tone, not quite a chuckle this time though. "Four hours ago, in Los Angeles, a young woman walked into the field office and just like she was ordering a burger, offered us everything we need to bring the entire Cedrone Family down."

"Who is she? What does she want in return?" Darien asked promptly, almost urgently, wishing that he was in her office having this meeting face to face rather than over the phone.

"Well now, that's where this gets interesting. She claims to be Kenneth's daughter."

Darien's heard sank. That was impossible. "He doesn't have a daughter. Not a living one anyway. She died with the wife fifteen years ago."

"Well, according to her that was just a cover for his wife leaving him and taking their eldest child with her." She explained with a hint of amusement. "They disappeared and they did it well."

"What proof does she have?"

"I'll show you everything we have when you get here. How long will it take for you to get to LA?"

Darien looked at his watch and said with all confidence. "I'll be there by morning."

"I thought you would be." Said the voice on the other end of the line right before She hung up.

Darien closed his phone and closed his eyes, taking a moment to absorb what he'd just heard.

All his grown up life Darien had worked hard to get into the FBI, to where he could bring down the ones responsible for taking everything from him. He had tried for years with no success as the Mob families, especially this one, were way too clever at covering their tracks, but now he might finally have a chance to do what he had spent every moment of his adult life trying to do.

But Darien was not going to get ahead of himself. It all sounded way too convenient for him to believe. The long lost daughter of the man at the top of one of the most powerful Mafia families in the country had just walked into the FBI and offered her father up on a silver platter?

Who was this woman? What was her angle? What did she want in return? It had to be something big. He hadn't missed that She hadn't answered him when he'd asked her.

What kind of woman was this long-lost daughter and what exactly was it that she was offering?

Darien knew one thing for sure, if this woman was anything but legit then she was in for a very nasty surprise when she ended up being brought down with her father.

But what if this really was the chance he'd been waiting for?

If it was then he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stand in his way.

One way or another he was going to bring this monster and his entire Family down.


In the early pre-dawn hours of the next morning, a white cleaning service van left from the back exit of the below-ground-level parking area of Los Angeles's FBI Field Office, driven by a harsh looking man in white overalls, underneath which a sleek black service weapon was tucked safely in his concealed shoulder holster.

He had one very important task given to him by a secretly VERY important and powerful woman, and it all revolved around his precious cargo who was at that very moment sitting quiet and still in the hallowed out janitor's cart.


Chapter End Notes:

Chapter 2 will be posted soon. I am currently half way through it!