by Keon Smith
As Charles went to pack his bags, he noticed Pearl standing in the doorframe. “You’re leaving?” she asked.
“Yeah, I have to get back to LA. I have a business to run.”
“But what about us?” Pearl asked.
Charles stopped what he was doing to look at her beautiful eyes. He was used to womanizing females. It was so easy just to sleep with them and then dump them. But, Pearl was different. There was something about her that he couldn’t let go of. Something made him want to hold onto her. Something kept him attached.
“Why don’t you come with me?” Charles said.
“I can’t. My father would be very upset if I left. He would disown me. I don’t--”
Charles bent down and kissed her passionately, then stepped back.
“Did that feel real to you?” he asked.
Pearl nodded.
“Well, then, come with me,” he suggested.
“Give me a place where I can reach you. And when the time comes, I’ll call for you to come and get me. Are you sure about this, Charles? I don’t want to be a burden.”
“I could never be more positive about the way I feel about you right now. And I will be back for you. I swear to God .I’m coming back for you, and with God as my witness, you will be my queen.”
With that said, Pearl helped him pack the rest of his things and watched him leave. She didn’t know why she felt this way about him, but she did. Most importantly, she trusted that he would come back for her. But, trust and destiny were two different things, and tomorrow wasn’t promised.
When Charles got back to LA, there was a look in his eyes that none of the members in his group had ever seen before until now. Now that the Colombian cartel was backing him with an endless supply of drugs, Charles hit the streets aggressively in the form of a shark. Many people thought he was just at his old robbery tricks until bodies started disappearing. Months later, when they were discovered on ocean shores after being chewed on by sharks, people started to think otherwise.
It was the signature of an up and coming group of organized crime members. Members who took after Charles’ last name and started calling themselves the Great Whites.
Charles, however, eventually took it to another level, gaining power. In the mansion, he bought in the hills of Los Angeles, he had a large aquarium built that held two adult great white sharks inside. The sharks were mainly fed humans, so instead of taking a stubborn hustler who didn’t want to deal with him to the ocean, he would just throw them in the fish tank and videotape the attack. The footage would be sent to others as an example of his ruthlessness. It was then that fear was caused by rumor, so everyone knew that if you didn’t deal with the Great Whites, then you were shark food.
As the bodies of those who didn’t want to deal with Charles disappeared, new people were put in their place and soon word began to spread that Charles White was trying to take over LA. But, what they hadn’t anticipated was that by the time they found out, it was already too late.
Car trunks of kilos quickly became truck loads, briefcases of hundred-dollar bills quickly became suitcases, and a pack of hungry wolves quickly became a pride of lions, with LA as their kingdom. It was a big, unexpected success, and with success comes arrogance.
Chapter 4
PEARL ELCANA
After Charles’s departure, Pearl felt like she had said goodbye to the last bit of sunshine in her life. She was now a prisoner in Verningo Castor’s mansion. Not once did Castor or her father come to visit her. It was as if they just locked her in a room and told a bunch of guards to keep an eye on her until the time came for her to be taken to Colombia.
Now that Pearl was confined, she had time to reflect on her mother. Her mother was a good spirit who didn’t deserve to be murdered by a rival cartel in order to get back at her father for cutting them off. Pearl could still see the blood gushing from her head after she crawled out from under the bed.
Every time she thought of that horrible sight, tears trickled down her cheek. Her mother was the only one who really loved her, and that love was taken away.
The only good thing about being a prisoner was ordering out for food whenever she wanted. Pearl had been eating uncontrollably. Her favorite was the Chilean sea bass from Prime 112. Verningo Castor’s reputation was so heavy in the streets of Miami, he had the restaurants deliver the food to the mansion.
Days went by like weeks, and weeks like months. Pearl grew tired and restless, so she tried to call Charles, but the number that he gave her was disconnected. She went as far as to use a maid to sneak out a letter to him. After a month or so, Charles still hadn’t replied.
Two months later, Pearl had given up all hope of being with the man she fell in love with at first sight, until a package was delivered to her room. She opened it to find a wedding gown inside. She really began to stress now. Tears began to fall. She didn’t want to open the card, fearing another order from her father.
Pearl wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. She opened the card and read:
Put this on, my queen, and walk to your window.
Charles
When Pearl saw that, her heart fluttered. She quickly got up, disregarding both the dress and the letter, and opened the slide window to walk out to the terrace.
There, standing by the railing, was her knight in shining armor.
“Charles,” she gasped before running to his arms.
She buried her head in his chest as tears of joy flowed. “Why aren’t you wearing your dress?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, I just got so excited. I’ve missed you so much,” Pearl said, hugging him tightly.
Once they released each other, Charles went into his pocket and pulled out a huge, unusual colored diamond engagement ring. It was just a small piece from the large diamond he took from the Russians and sold to some South Africans, but on Pearl’s finger, the 3-karat, reddish-orange diamond sparkled in a 24-karat gold setting.
“Charles, it’s beautiful!” Pearl said before clasping his face and kissing him.
All of sudden, there was a knock on her bedroom door. The two quickly broke their romantic bond. “Charles, what are we gonna do?” Pearl asked.
Charles took Pearl by the hand. “Come on, follow me.”
He led her to the railing and helped her over to the other side. He then climbed over himself. They snuck into the vacant room and out the door. Silently, they crept down the hallway. Pearl was so scared they would get caught, she started having slight pains in her stomach.
“Ouch!” she gasped, stopping to clutch her stomach.
“You okay?” Charles asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Hey!” one of the guards shouted, spotting them from the other side of the balcony.
Charles took Pearl’s hand and rushed her down the steps. Pulling out his pistol, he spotted two guards at the door and quickly fired two shots, dropping them both. He and Pearl trotted down the steps as gunfire erupted.
Charles and Pearl rushed out to the mansion’s open gates where two dead guards remained in the booth. On the side of the road was his red Ferrari. Pearl got into the passenger’s side as the sound of screeching tires announced that cars were peeling out of the mansion’s garage. Charles ignited the Ferrari’s engine and roared off.
For a short while, they were under heavy fire, but when Charles got a clear lane, the henchmen’s old Buick was no match for the foreign cars powerful, screaming engine.
Charles smiled at his cunning before looking over at Pearl, who was frowning. She was looking at something between her legs. Charles followed her gaze and saw blood.
“Oh, shit! Are you shot?” he asked.
“No, it’s not that,” Pearl said with tears.
“Then what is it?”
Pearl stared at Charles with sad eyes. “I think I just had a miscarriage.”
Back at the mansion, Castor was led up to Pearl’s room by the maid. The wedding dress was on the bed, and she was gone. Beside the dress was
a card. Castor picked it up and read it with clenched teeth. Afterwards, he balled it up and flung it to the floor. When he turned around, he was staring at Diego Elcano, who was shaking his head in disappointment.
Castor had never been so humiliated in his life. He had proven that he wasn’t worthy of being an ally to the Elcano cartel; therefore, their business relationship was no more. Charles White had made the ultimate mistake. He had wronged a vicious devil. But it wasn’t over. From that day forward, Castor swore that he would unleash hell on Charles White and everyone he loved until that man was put in a casket.
Chapter 5
BRENDA SMITH
Three months after the eventful trip to Vegas, Brenda went to her doctor for a check-up. She hadn’t been feeling like herself lately and needed to find out what was wrong with her. For the past few months, she had become cranky and temperamental. Her co-worker, Stacy, volunteered to keep her company. Stacy lived two blocks away from Brenda and was a good friend. No matter what, she always had Brenda’s back at work.
Brenda didn’t have many friends due to her split personality, but Stacy seemed to be the one who could tolerate most of her nonsense. As Brenda sat on the examination table, the doctor came into the room with her chart. “Well, Ms. Smith, I’ve tested your blood for STDs and it came back negative. However, you may want to start looking for baby clothes. You’re pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Brenda repeated nervously.
“That’s right. I recommend that you eventually get an ultrasound so you can see if it’s a boy or girl.”
After coming out of the hospital and getting into Stacy’s car, Brenda was stone faced. “What happened?” Stacy asked.
Brenda looked at her. “I’m pregnant.”
“Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Stacy asked.
“Stacy, if I tell you something, you have to promise me that you will keep this between us,” Brenda demanded.
“Okay, Brenda, I’m not going to say anything to anyone. Besides, who cares? We don’t have any friends. Now, what’s going on?”
“That week I spent in Vegas with my boyfriend, well, we met this guy named Charles White and I--”
“Oh, my God, you slept with him!” Stacy exclaimed, wide-eyed.
“He was just so charming, so confident and sexy, I couldn’t resist him, I swear,” Brenda explained.
“Oh-my-god, so he’s the father?”
“I think so. Me and Sal always use a condom.”
“And you and this man Charles didn’t?” Stacy asked glaring at her.
“It wasn’t like that. The condom broke. God, what am I gonna do?” Brenda moaned.
“Just calm down. Where is Sal now?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since Las Vegas. He sends me love letters and postcards, but that’s it.”
“What about this Charles guy? Have you been in contact with him?”
“Once or twice. He lives in Los Angeles.”
Stacy shook her head. “Girl, you’ve got some serious issues going on. And this Sal guy, how come you never let me meet him?” Stacy asked.
Because your ass is too flirty, Brenda thought to herself.
Stacy didn’t know what to tell her. And, she also didn’t know that Brenda was playing a dangerous game involving two men. Fortunately for her, Sal stayed away longer than she anticipated, and six months later, she had the baby. When Brenda saw the baby boy’s features, she knew exactly who the father was. She named him Clyde Charles White. Once she summoned the strength, she called the baby’s father. She kissed her son on the cheek, but she knew that she would never see her baby again. This would just have to be one more skeleton of the many that she would have to stuff in her closet and keep out of sight for good.
Chapter 6
THE BIRTH OF A PRINCESS
5 YEARS LATER
It was a dark and surprisingly cool night throughout Los Angeles. The sky was clear and the moon was only a crescent. As a few homeless bums stood by a metal can, burning wood, a man’s shouts of pain echoed down the dark and gloomy strip of warehouses. The homeless men paid the sounds no mind and continued trying to stay warm for the night.
In the depths of one of the abandoned warehouses, came the piercing cries of torture from a Colombian assassin, Chico. Two armed men stood in front of him as he hung from the metal pipes while they beat him with blackjacks.
“Ahhh!” Chico screamed before cursing them in Spanish while the boss watched with cold satisfaction.
Chico was an assassin, for the Colombian drug lord Verningo Castor and was sent to kill Charles White for personal reasons. However, Chico made the ultimate mistake when he got to America. He flashed White’s photo to the wrong people, serious people. As Chico hung from the pipes, bruised and severely beaten, he laughed arrogantly in pain. Although he knew he couldn’t take much more, his mouth kept firing away.
“You are a dead man, Charles. There is nowhere you can hide. Nowhere can you run. I no succeed, but someone will,” Chico mumbled in broken English.
Before Charles could reply, another soldier with a white top hat and a black suit walked into the warehouse, along with three of his own assassins. His attire was almost as dapper as Charles’ who dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes and a black top hat. The man whispered into Charles’s ear, “Sir, your wife is having a baby. Would you like me to take over?”
“That isn’t necessary. This’ll only take a second,” Charles replied, while pulling out his nickel-plated Colt .45 automatic.
He aimed it at Chico’s beaten face before saying in Spanish, “I’ll let Castor know that you’re waiting for him in hell when the time comes.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Walking out of the warehouse, Charles got into the back seat of a black Mercedes S500 and tapped his driver on the shoulder. “Take me to the hospital and step on it.”
The Benz peeled off with two other vehicles following. This was probably the second happiest day of his life. The first was the birth of his five-year-old prince, Clyde. He took the boy from his biological mother as soon as Clyde was ready to leave the hospital. Now, his wife was delivering his second child.
Charles loved those three things: his son, his soon-to-be daughter, and his half-Cuban, half-Caucasian wife, Pearl. The two had a history together that many believed came right out of a Hollywood movie.
Pearl was by far the prettiest woman Charles had ever been in love with. She had long, dark hair, vanilla skin tone, great figure, and captivating brown eyes. Charles smiled as he thought about her. She was worth it all. When the Mercedes entourage pulled up to the hospital, Charles got out and headed for the entrance, with the rest of his henchmen on his heels. He walked up to the front desk, where a woman in blue scrubs sat. She was taken by this imposing group of men.
“Can I help you?” she asked to the group in general.
Charles stepped forward. “Yes, I’m looking for Pearl White. She’s currently in labor. I’m her husband,” he said smoothly.
This bit of news changed the woman’s attitude, from cordial to cooperative. “Oh, Mr. White. Right this way, sir,” she said, getting up and personally escorting him to the room.
Once they arrived, Charles walked in to see his wife cradling a beautiful, bright baby girl in her arms. Upon seeing her husband, Pearl rolled her eyes. He was supposed to be there to see his princess being born, but he was too busy running the streets, as usual.
“You’re late,” Pearl reprimanded him. “Well, since you’re here, the least you can do is name her.”
Pearl handed the quiet infant to her father, who was astonished by her light, glowing complexion. Just like a jewel or a precious stone, he thought. “I’ve got a name for her. We’ll call her Diamond, because that’s how she shines. Diamond Keyona White.”
A broad smile spread across Pearl’s face. “My Diamond,” she said, with high expectations for her newborn. “Charles, I think we’ve got something special on our hands.”
Charles loo
ked down at his daughter and nodded, but said, “Worse, we’ve got an Aries baby on our hands. I just hope the world’s ready for her.”
Chapter 7
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Brenda was disrupted from her bath by the knocking on her door downstairs. Looking at the clock on the wall, she saw it was only 6:45 AM. She knew it wasn’t her girlfriend, Stacy, coming to pick her up for work. Stacy only lived around the corner, and they didn’t have to be there until 8:00, so Brenda was at a loss. Pulling her gorgeous light-brown body out of the hot bubble bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and headed down the staircase.
Brenda lived in a two story 3-bedroom row house on an east Germantown block called Ardleigh Street. The house wasn’t large like the ones on Chelten Avenue, but due to her good taste in interior decorating, she lived comfortably. The house had freshly painted whitewalls, and blue and gold wallpaper to match the finishing of her gold baseboards, banister and blue carpet. All her furniture was imported, thanks to her secret lover in Los Angeles.
There was a knock at the door.
“I’m coming. Jesus, who is it?” she snapped.
“Who do you think it is, woman?” a baritone voice responded, causing Brenda to flash a smile.
She recognized the voice instantly and quickly unlocked the door. As soon as she opened it, her man, Sal, stepped in to embrace her.
“Damn, you smell good, baby. It’s been too long,” he said soothingly.
Brenda buried her head into his chest and cried with joy. “Don’t ever leave me like that again. Do you understand me?” she said, cupping his face.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Sal replied, kissing her on the forehead.
He knew he was wrong for leaving without saying a word, but that was the life he led. He was a big arms dealer, the product of black and Saudi parents. His father was from Florida, his mother from Saudi Arabia. Raised by rebels all his life, selling illegal weapons was his mission in life until he met Brenda after making a big sale in Philly. Ever since that first encounter, he was mesmerized by the woman’s style and grace.
