Chapter 1

• *LEILANI*
• My life had gone from perfect to a rollercoaster in the twinkle of an eye. I had gone to being the reputable daughter of a rich duke to a slave being sold off to a brothel.
• Why am I running? Was it to escape this cruel fate? But why? When I had nothing left. All that I had was gone, my house, my reputation, my family, everything and in the twinkle of an eye. I had no where to go, no one to turn to, yet I was running away from this dilemma that has befallen me. All I knew was that I didn't want to become that person. No, I didn't want to be a slave, a dog who licks the boots of the same men who had plunged me into such demise, I wanted a life where I could decide, I wanted to choose my own destiny and more than anything I wanted those who had put me in this a dilemma to suffer much worse. I didn't want an eye for an eye, I wanted double, however, I was powerless. Without my family's prestige and power, I was nothing but a spec of dust that could be blown away by the wind at anytime.
• Yet, here I was. I was running with all my might, wanting to get away from these men who vigorously chased after me as though their life depended on it.
• Today which marked the day I turned twenty. It was the 5th of July of the year 2020. A day I'd never forget, a day that had caused me so much tragedy which left a deep wound in my heart. A day I wished was a dream that I'd wake up from.
• "Leilani, your father and little brother are throwing you a huge party for both your welcome home and twentieth birthday. It's a surprise," my mother said over the phone sounding excited.
• "Mom, it's no longer a surprise now that you've spilled it. Couldn't you just hold your tongue for a few minute more."
• "Lani, you know how bad I am at keeping secrets, I just couldn't hold back,"my mother laughed. "Anyway hurry, the party already started and it's incomplete without the birthday girl."
• The moment I stepped onto the front porch of my house, I felt my heart racing in excitement and my face beamed with joy. What made me happier was the thought of seeing my parent and little brother's smiling faces again after months of not seeing them. I was delighted.
• My Father was probably still unaware of the fact that I knew about his surprise party, I can't wait to see the look on his face, when he finds out, I chuckled at my thought.
• Pushing the entrance door, my smile grew wider when I saw that the living room was dark, this is probably the part where dad turns on the light and they all shout, SURPRISE like every other birthdays.
• "I'm home, dad, mom, little Bran," I called out, trying to pretend I was unaware of their plan, at the same time I slowly sauntered into the slightly dim living room, without bothering to turn on the light.
• "Brandon.... Dad... Mom .." I dragged, stopping in my track when the lights came on. My eye instantly went wide in horror seeing the sight that welcomed me. The place had been turned upside down and my parents, my little brother and everyone else who had attended the party laid dead in a pool of blood.
• 'No... This can't be. This has to be one of their extreme pranks,' I told myself as I moved forward with shaky legs, first going to where my little brother laid.
• "Bran, Bran ... Open your eyes now," I said almost in a whisper. "Bran... You guys don't have to go so extreme over a surprise party, it's not funny, stop it now and open your eyes."
• I refuse to believe it. Even if I was seeing the cut on his neck, regardless of the blood that was still gushing out. "Bran..."
• I left my brother's side to my parents who laid beside him. "Dad, mom, please don't do this to me, please open your eyes," I shook their bodies vigorously one after the other. "Please, please, please," I screamed. "You... No you can't be. How? Who."
• I shook my head in confusion, disbelief and unacceptance. This can't be real. I just spoke to mom, few minutes ago. How can...
• "They're dead, I hope you liked your surprise?"
• I was pulled out of my trance at the sound of the unfamiliar voice that echoed through the living room. I watched the man who slowly walked down the stairs, with his fingers trailing lightly on the railing. He was cladded in an all black attire from head to toe. Even his head was covered with a hood. Behind him about six other men, also cladded in black followed.
• "You... You did this, you did this to them, but Why?" I asked, my voice coming out hoarse and almost in a whisper. "Why, why why?"
• My eyes remained fixed on the man, who seemed to be in his forties and was about 5'8 feet tall as I walked back to my little brother's side.
• "Why... What did they do to deserve this? My little brother, he... he's innocent.. he's just seven years old, why?"
• By now tears streamed down my eyes, after realizing it wasn't some prank but they were truly dead, they were killed.
• "This is what happens to the weak and righteous, death befalls them," the man said, giving me a wicked smile that revealed the golden grills on his teeth. "You father saw it coming, yet he still refused to join the dark side, it's a pity he had to die a pathetic dead."
• "As for your mother, brother and the remaining people here, we had to send them along with your father so he wouldn't be lonely in the world of the dead. Nevertheless, I did promise your father to keep one of his kin alive, although I didn't promise to give that kin a good life. You'll live out your days in a brothel as a slave serving men like me, the same ones who caused your family's death. you'll be used, trampled upon and while you wallow in misery I'm sure your father would turn in his grave. Knowing that his kin is living so miserable would set him right, so in the next life, he'll think twice before deciding to oppose us. This will be your fate, it has been decided."