Lilith was sleeping in her room after four bottles of milk Ariz gave her. He turned on the sound machine in her room so she would sleep more peacefully. The soft white noise filled the space as her tiny chest rose and fell gently.
Downstairs, Karim sat in the bar holding a cup of whiskey, his jaw tight, his eyes dark.
The doors burst open.
Both Vamika and Arhant were dragged in by guards.
"Don't touch me!" Vamika snapped.
"Why did you sell our stuff!" Arhant shouted.
Before he could finish—
SMACK!
Ishaan delivered a heavy slap across his face.
"You foolish boy! You have gotten us into a huge mess. Your MESS!" Ishaan roared.
Tamanna stood watching.
"Why did you take his goods and sell it? Bought yourself and your dumb sister useless things?" Troy added coldly.
Karim's phone rang.
He picked it up. "Hello."
"Hi… is Lily there? I want to speak to her please." A calm, beautiful voice spoke.
It was Anika.
"S-she is sleeping. I… I yelled at her this morning and she got upset," Karim admitted.
"YOU WHAT?!" Anika's voice turned sharp, making Karim stiffen.
"She hates loud noises," Anika added.
"My apologies, princess. I will be careful now. I need to apologize to her."
"Get her an iPad with all the Disney princess movies. Or all Disney movies. She has never watched any of them before. Nor cartoons."
"I will. Thank you."
Karim ended the call and left.
Meanwhile—
SLAP!
Tamanna slapped her son.
"Do you want all my efforts to go in vain? Why did you steal that mafia goods? Do you want to get us all killed?!"
"I… I…" Arhant stuttered.
"And you foolish brat! You didn't stop him — you joined him!" she snapped at Vamika.
"Get out of my sight!"
They practically ran out.
Tamanna took her iPhone 15 Pro Max and scrolled before making a call.
"The Gem is back. All my efforts will get wasted if I don't get the position of the Gem. I need her to be killed. I will pay you seven million dollars."
She smirked evilly.
Rhea heard her.
She said nothing.
She ran out.
But Rhea wasn't the only one who heard her.
Two spies heard her too.
In his grand mansion, the Mafia King sat in silence when Troy and the assistant walked in.
"I am here to pay your money back and also half of your weapons that were stolen. It was The Obsidian Triad. Someone used our names. We apologize. Here is nine billion dollars."
Men dropped the money cases.
"You know… something else caught my eye in The Obsidian Triad. And I want it. And I will get it. You all still owe me six billion dollars," the Mafia King said calmly.
"What do you want?" Troy asked.
"I'm not telling you. But I will take it in front of all of you."
He walked away.
Three days left until Lilith's birthday.
Inside the towering office building, Karim rubbed his forehead.
His 19-year-old assistant walked in.
"Sir, you have a meeting with The Dominion Apex. He is waiting. His name is Jordan."
Karim froze.
"And also… I got the Apple 11th Gen iPad for Lily. All Disney movies and cartoons are in it. Also everyone's numbers."
"Thank you."
They entered the meeting room.
The Mafia King stood by the glass window, smoking weed.
"Let's begin, shall we?" Karim said.
Both sides held guns.
They stared at each other.
The tension was suffocating.
Then—
The door creaked open.
A tiny girl stood there.
"H… H-Hello…"
"Lily?" Karim breathed.
All guards bowed to her.
The Mafia King watched closely.
Some people here treated her kindly.
Some wanted her dead.
Lilith had another nickname.
Her Indian nickname — Mihu.
And in Bengali, they called her Neva.
The meeting ended disastrously.
The Mafia King said nothing.
Lilith sat watching Aladdin on her new iPad.
"Come on, Bambi. Time to go. Baccha," Karim said softly.
She looked at the Mafia King.
He gave her a knowing smirk.
"Bye-bye, big man," Lilith said sweetly.
Guards surrounded her as she held Karim's arm.
They walked out.
The assistant noticed something.
Black.
No.
A sniper.
"Boss—"
BANG!
Karim pulled Lilith into his chest, covering her ears.
She whimpered.
"GET THAT BASTARD!" Karim roared.
The sniper aimed again—
But another shot rang out.
The sniper dropped dead.
It was the Mafia King.
"Get her out of here. There are more," he said coldly.
"KILL THE GEM!" another sniper shouted.
Six more appeared.
Karim carried his little sister and rushed her out.
Cars sped away.
The Mafia King watched her trembling figure.
She hated loud noises.
"Boss, we got them all," the assistant reported.
"Send them home. I have plans for them."
He took a long drag of his cigarette.
"There's a match by eight. Do you want to go, sir?"
"Yeah."
Karim rushed into the house holding Lilith.
"Lock all the doors and windows NOW!"
"What happened?" Rezaul asked.
Everyone gathered.
Tamanna's eyes widened.
"She's still alive…" she muttered.
Zafraan gently rocked his little sister.
Karim explained everything.
"She stays home from now on," Troy said.
They agreed.
Tamanna secretly handed Aarav drugs — the same ones nobody knew damaged Lilith's brain.
An evil smile spread across her face.
That evening, the women applied henna.
Lilith watched.
"C-can I have s-some on m-y hand?"
"Yes—" Rhea began.
"NO!" Tamanna snapped.
Lilith flinched.
"This is for girls. Not losers like you. Get lost," Vamika sneered.
She threw henna on Lilith's face.
Aarav threw water at her.
"What the hell?!" Vamika snapped when some splashed back.
"How dare you!" Nilhi shouted.
The boys were furious.
"Come, meri baccha. Let's clean up," Rhea said gently.
Lilith was still crying.
Rhea took her to her room.
Karim turned deadly.
"Tomorrow is her birthday. If any of you mess up or say anything, I will kick you out of this house. I mean it."
"I agree. This time you will be kicked out," Ishaan added.
Tamanna rolled her eyes.
Lilith fell asleep quietly.
Elsewhere—
A spy sent a picture to their boss.
But it wasn't the Mafia King.
It was a Lady.
"Sleep well, my little Gem. I love you," the woman whispered softly.
And somewhere in the darkness…
War was coming.