Danny Torent's POV

The guards load their guns, strap them to their bodies and walk away in a single file. Their faces remain stoic as they troop into the foyer. They stand in straight lines to listen to Sam's orders.

I observe the situation from the overhead railing. Dressed in a prim suit, Sam saunters into the room and climbs the marble stage. He stands in front of a golden throne with a gun in his hand.

Sam keeps his face void of emotion as he addresses them. He gestures at the throne and to himself at intervals.

Female guards join the gathering and stand opposite the males. They wear their hair in buns and have guns strapped to their waist and heels. One of them even winks at me.

"Today, my granddaughter becomes your queen. Your outmost respect and loyalty are all I ask of you. If not, you and your families will leave and face the punishment of your sins."

Some guards swallow thickly at his words, others look away with fear in their eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do we have a deal?"

The hidden threat in his words mock his soldiers and his eyes hold a promise. A promise of death if anyone was to deny his wish.

He's restoring her respect the same make Troy destroyed it.

Through fear.

"Deal." The guards echo.

He nods his head, and they march away. Sam raises his eyes and shares eye contact with me. I narrow mine in response and walk away.

It never ceases to amaze me how he takes pleasure in instilling fear in his followers.

Must be a Griffin thing.

I down the rest of my drink and head to Penny's room. On my way there, I pass different servants who clean up the house. Dressed as maids, they dust the statues and paintings. Some put up decorations and arrange the chairs in the foyer.

I knock on her door and walk in. The woman of the day lies head first against her pillow, with Charlie by her side. The duo stops talking when I walk in.

"Don't stop your gossip on my account. I bet that Sam and Chloe shook the sack." I humour them.

Charlie responds my chucking a pillow at my head with a grimace. She says, "Please, no sex jokes about my mom."

I raise my hands in mock surrender and sit in a chair at the corner of the room.

Charlie pulls out a comb from her hair. She throws it at the door with one eye open. The comb pushes the door shut and locks it.

"What's the plan?" she asks while looking from Penny to me.

Penny groans and turns. She sits up on the bed and rests on the headboard. "Running away isn't an option?"

I glare at her.

"If it were, we wouldn't be here now, would we?"

She remains quiet and stares at her toes.

I can only imagine what is running through her head. The day we've both dreaded since New Year has finally arrived.

Our coronation.

Today is the day that Sam will step down from power. Penny will rule over the British empire, with Charlie and I by her side. Along with Marcel, who will be her third in command.

Our rooms were far from one another, but I knew Charlie was in her with her all night. Pacifying her and convincing her that the worst is over.

Little did they know that the worst was yet to come.

"The plan is to make it out alive." I say after a tense silence. "You will kill Joey and Jordan before they place the crown on our heads. This is to ensure that mutiny will never arise amongst the people."

"And the blood covenant?" Penny asks.

Charlie asks, "What blood covenant?"

Penny turns to her best friends and offers her a sad smile. "The rulers have to take a blood oath. Promising that they would protect the Empire even at the cost of their lives. All four leaders must mix their bloods in a chalice and burn it. It's the tradition of the land."

Charlie takes a pillow and places it in her face. She screams into it for a while. When she finishes, she removes the pillow and frowns.

"Satisfied?" I ask.

She rolls her eyes and remains mute.

"Girls. No matter what happens today, we must all come out of it alive. Remember not to drop your guards, especially when the crown enters the building."

"Speaking of crowns, I found something," Penny says.

She gets up from the bed and approaches her wardrobe. Opening it, she unlocks a safe and brings out Faith's journal. She flips through the pages and stops at a blank page.

She turns it to us and says, "I did some research and discovered that my mom wasn't the one who wrote everything in the journal."

"So, whoever wrote must have been close to your mom to know about her thoughts." Charlie implies.

"Not just that. Look at this."

Penny drops the book on the bed and flips the pages to the beginning. Then she flips the pages to the last entry and we see another handwriting.

Penny reads it.

"I was too late. Cradling the future of the Empire, I ran through the halls to stop her, but she was fast. I thrusted the children into Troy's waiting hands and continued chasing her. We ran for what felt like hours before she slowed down in front of another woman. I hide behind a pillar and watch them talk. Valentiá's pants were the only noise in the room as the other woman murmured. Her voice was as soft as cotton and if you weren't keen, you'd miss what she said-"

Penny turns the page and sees it blank.

"Let me see this." I take it from her hand and examine the handwriting. I've seen it somewhere, but I didn't know where.

The t's had a special crossing, one that was oddly familiar. It reminded me of an insignia used to signify a family from a distant land.

Distant.

Of course.

"Guys, I know who wrote it." I tell them and bolt out of the room.

They follow me as we race through the halls and enter Penny's office. I reach for her drawer and bring out the treaty between us and the Spanish Mafia.

I show them the similarities to conclude my suspicions.

"It was Rae Jean. She must have taken Faith's journal and written an entry on the night of Faith's death."

Penny stares at the writings and nods. "Next time we meet Rae Jean, we will ask her."

"Who's Rae Jean?" Charlie asks as we step out of the office.

Penny loops elbows with Charlie and leads us back to her room.

"She's supposed to be my brother-in-law's daughter."

A comb falls from Charlie's hand like her jaw.

"Shut up," she sputters.

Penny laughs at her expression. "I'm serious, she's Carlos' daughter."

"Carlos?" Charlie tilts her head in confusion.

Penny sighs while I bite my lower lip. Leaving Charlie out of the loop has its good and bad sides. Though it never gets old to see her confused expression.

I walk around the two women and kiss Charlie. Patting their heads, I move backwards.

"You too need to prepare for the ceremony, while I handle a few loose strings." I say.

Charlie glares at me and goes to speak, but Penny interrupts her. "Will do, Pooh."

Penny drags Charlie back to her room and explains who Carlos and Rae Jean are on the way.

A fond smile lights up my face as I walk away. I'd do anything to make them look peaceful despite the surrounding chaos.

I come out of the mansion and walk toward the residential area. The Empire members work tirelessly to ensure that the ceremony goes as planned. They clean up every nook and corner of the property, even the bushes get a trim.

They keep their heads down and go mute as I pass. The fear that emits from them has me putting on my RBF. Men, women and children stay off my path as I walk to an abandoned part of the residential area.

With a bottle in hand, Marcel sits on the porch steps of an abandoned house. He takes a swing and keeps his head up to the sky. It's as if he questions God about his existence. I would too if I were I him.

"How are you holding up, Marcel.?" I place a firm hand on his shoulder.

I sit beside him and take the bottle from him. Gulping some of its content, I throw the bottle away and offer the man a bottle of water.

He takes it from me and finishes it in one gulp.

"Seeing this place after so many years makes me want to drink myself to stupor." He says.

"I didn't think you'd go with the cowardly version of suicide." I say.

He ignores my jab and stays quiet.

Immediately after he landed on mother soil, he bolted from the hangar. He didn't even respond to Sam's greeting. Most people have a death wish if they don't treat Sam with the utmost respect. But I believe because it was Marcel, the man let it slide. I knew if it were me, he might have decked my neck.

The two men have a lot of bad blood brewing with them. Even though Sam won't admit this to Marcel's face, he knows that Marcel's presence is vital.

Handling the Empire as a lone man has made Sam a walking corpse. He doesn't sleep, not even in his room, which is heavily guarded by both men and computer. He believes that one of his men would turn on him and kill him in his sleep.

The saying of sleeping with one eye open is an understatement of what Sam does. Most times I catch him in his office till the early hours in the morning. Other times, he sips coffee on the balcony while facing Racheal's cottage.

Since the French spy attack, he's doubled the security in her cottage. The man added a retina scanner, thumb print and voice recognition as an extra precaution.

See, this occurs when you're forced to keep your loved ones in this place. You turn them to caged animals. Only free to move around at your command and when the Empire members are at their best behaviour.

After observing these two for an entire year, I knew I'd do the same with Charlie. When the ceremony ends, I'll ask her to marry me. And we'll move into a house in the residential area.

Empire be dammed if I'm not able to enjoy the woman of my dreams.

"You know," Marcel's voice drags me out of my mind. "I used to think that if I returned, this house wouldn't stand anymore."

"I knew Sam would demand my return. I hoped if he did, I'd make him agree to leave Marci out of this."

"Would that be possible?" I raise a brow.

Marcel throws the bottle into a nearby trash can. "Unfortunately, no. It's our tradition, and it's how it has always been. The children shall pay for the sins of their parents no matter how small they are."

"I'm made to understand that Faith bargained for her life to save yours."

"Which is why it doesn't surprise me that Sam still demanded my presence. Given that the people would have found me and dragged me back kicking and screaming, I strongly believe there could have been another way."

"How?" I asked, baffled. "The UK government allows our operations and therefore, four heads need to rule the land. I'm surprised Sam could hold down the forte for this long."

Marcel laughs. "It came at its own price, Danny. After my departure, Faith told me all what happened till the day of Peyton and Lola's arrival. After that day, a woman in a cloak paid me a visit."

Rae Jean.

"She warned me of Valentiá, but I was too blind by family loyalty. But before she left, she told me that if things ever went south, that I'd be free to come to Spain. I'd protected by the Spanish Mafia."

Even under a coma, she's moving pieces of the game.

"The woman that met you is Rae Jean. She's the future Dona of the Spanish Mafia and she is our ally."

"Danny, I want to make a deal with you."

Marcel doesn't look at me as he speaks. His eyes remain fixed on a little girl in front of us. The youngster plays in the front yard of her house. She plucks flowers from the ground and uses them to play. Her smile remains perched on her lips and continues to grow as she plucks more flowers.

An older version of the girl comes out of the house and scoops the girl into her arms. The child pouts and tries in vain to kick her way to freedom. The woman locks eyes with us and recoils in fear. She quickly bows and hurries into the house.

"I want you to find a loophole. Marci should never live in this place, even if I die. You must find another person to start a new Wellington generation. Just as how you are restarting the Reynold generation."

He turns to look at me and his eyes tell his story.

A little boy who lost his family protecting the love of his life.

I didn't know what to ask for, but I knew if I granted this favour to Marcel, he would always be in debt to me.

"Deal."

-

Penny stands before her people with a stern look. Her posture remains rigid as she takes her time to commit their faces to memory.

Fathers, mothers, children, all of them seated before her, awaiting her words. The women openly look at her with spite, thinking it will spur her to behave uncultured. The children have mastered their emotion and remain still, with fear in their eyes and trembling lips.

The men wear weary looks as they take in her appearance from head to toe. Some glance at her suggestively and her frown deepens.

Guards walk around the perimeter with guns drawn out. They seem oblivious to Penny's figure.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Peyton Griffin and after today, I will be your queen. A lot of you look down at my capabilities because I am a woman. My father has soiled my name and my family's respect. Despite all of this, you lot would never cross paths with my grandfather, Sam Griffin. I will earn the same treatment you offer him, because I am worth it."

She pauses and shares eye contact with Sam. He nods at her in encouragement, and she resists the urge to smile in appreciation.

"I'll lay down my life to ensure that every man, woman, and child can walk the streets of the Empire with no fear in their heart. Our enemies will always grow, but so will our allies."

She turns to gesture at Marcel, Charlie and me who stand behind her.

"My comrades and I are a united front. Disrespect one of us and you will feel our wrath. My second in command is Danny Torent and he will restart the Reynolds' bloodline. From this day forward, him and his descendants shall be called Reynold. My third in command is Marcel Wellington. Many of you are familiar with what happened with his family. He is back and has paid for his crimes against the Empire. And who ever dares me shall receive a similar fate. And my fourth in command is Charlie Sandel. Our enemies assassinated Mr Oscar Sandel a long time ago, and he was her father."

Penny gestures for Charlie and Marcel to walk to her. She grips theirs hands and faces the people.

"Yes, their origin differs from ours, and their skin differs from ours. They have proven time and time again how loyalty works. Which is why the Griffin household welcomed them into our family. With that being said, we will consider any racist comment targeted at them and their descendants' insubordination. Such acts are punishable."

Penny releases their hands, and they walk back.

"As your queen, I will protect you from enemies within and outside these walls."

She turns and walks to the two men chained to their knees on the floor. Bruises adorn their swollen faces and both men have their legs twisted at odd angles.

Penny takes a gun from a red velvet pillow and points it at my father.

Joey Torent.

"This man tricked my father into marrying him and tried to destroy the Empire from the inside out. Our enemies are in contact with him and his death will serve as a warning to them. That no matter how many people they send to us, none of them would ever successfully bring us to our knees."

She points the gun to her first lover.

Jordan Kendall.

"This man was my first lover. He caused many fights between my father and I. His crimes involved using my loved ones as bargaining chip to make me bend to his will. Our recent allies are in contact with him, and so we should've had spared his life. But just as he turned his back on his people, they've turned their backs on him."

Jordan's face remains passive as Peyton tells him his fate. From the looks of it, the man had already made peace with it a long time ago. And I know he wishes to tell Penny one more thing, but the woman of the hour turns into a deaf woman.

"You don't fuck with the British Empire and go scot free."

Her voice is soft as she speaks. It's calm and calling. Like a snake luring its prey into a sense of pseudo-safety before striking.

Two bullets echo in the quiet room. They came from the same gun but moving in two directions. The bullets hit their foreheads and the men slump forward.

Guards move in to remove their bodies while a man in a white suit walks from the crowd. He has a cat's smile and wild brown eyes. When he is within speaking distance of Penny, he bows and speaks. "Forgive my manners, queen. My name is Basil, Basil Hatt. The Hatt bloodline makes the crowns for the royals, and administering the blood covenant."

Penny says, "Let us begin with the blood covenant."

"Very well." Basil gets to his feet and plucks a knife from a red pillow.

He motions us forward and holds out his hand over a golden chalice. Penny places her hand in his and he raises his knife to her palm. Just when the knife is inches away from her palm, a bullet knocks it out of Basil's hand.

We turn to the culprit and a jaw dropping silence follows.

"Apologies for the interruption. I believe the queen has arrived for her coronation." She says with a smirk.

The unwelcomed visitor waltz into the foyer with deadly intentions in her blue eyes. With every step she takes, her short blonde hair sways, but doesn't tangle.

She makes her way between the people who look at her with admiration and fear. Oblivious to it all, the woman approaches us with only one thing in mind.

To claim her crown.

"All this time I taught we were family. That you lot fought to protect each other and stand together despite what problem we faced. The plan was always to escape this place, wasn't it? So why are you getting crowned as its ruler?"

She directed the last statement at Penny. Penny feigns ignorance, but those of us close to her can tell that deep down, seeing her again rocks her to her core.

Penny swallows. "Plans change-"

"Oh, really!" she cuts her off. "Plans change? That's the excuse you're going with?"

Stepping back, she scoffs. "Little sister, you always thought you could protect us all, even when you destroyed yourself. When were you going to realise that you were the problem all along?"

Penny inhales to calm her emotions, but as always, her eyes betray her.

"Lola, you know that everything I did and have done had your best interest in it."

"That's not what this looks to me."

Lola spins around the room and scoffs against. "This looks like a coronation."

"I had no choice but to be their queen!"

"Does a queen turn her back on her sister? Does a queen toy with those who love her just so she can have her way in the end?!"

The two women play the roles of ice and water in the same cup. Both fighting for dominance despite being from the same origin and serving the same purpose.

Lola smiles falsely and dusts her shoulders. "I didn't come here to debate the past. I came here to collect my crown."

"You have no crown." Sam joins the conversation.

At those words, Lola pulls out a gun and points it at his throat.

"Keep your words in your mouth, old man. My mother's death is on your hands, and if you think I would think twice to avenge her, then you are wrong." She whispers.

I tilt my head and observe her up close. Many tattoos adorn her body and the fighting gear on her body has French symbols imprinted on them. The French flag imprinted on her wrist answers my question before Sam voices it.

"You claim to have a place here, but you belong to the French. And therefore, you are our enemy."

"I've read the rules of our forefathers. As long as Griffin blood runs through my veins and I'm the first in the generation, I have every right to the crown."

"So, what's say, Sister?" Penny asks with a frown. "Did you really think you would walk in here and we would hand over the crown to you?"

Lola rolls her eyes, drops her gun, and faces her twin. "I knew you wouldn't. That's why I'll offer you a deal that could go both ways. They crown me as queen and you and your comrades pledge your allegiance to me till the day you die."

"And if we don't?"

"You and I will fight to the death. Winner takes the crown."

"Deal."

Lola smiles. "Just so we're clear, Sis. I wouldn't hesitate to kill you. If you plan to protect the people from enemies within and outside the walls, I suggest you do the same."