Nasty Uncles

As she walked down the empty hallway, slender hands tightly hung around Ilyana's shoulders. Despite the woman appearing behind her suddenly, Ilyana didn't put up her guard as she would to others who dared to touch her. The sweet strawberry lemonade scent filled her nose, a scent that was so familiar to Ilyana who was walking toward where her mother was waiting for her.

"Cassia, what are you doing over here?" Ilyana turned her face to her sister whose face resembled her except for the fact that she had such a sweater demeanor with a bright sunshine smile. The girl's hair was cut short and curled at the end, and a black cross necklace dangled down her collarbone, accentuating her fair skin.

"I heard mother gathered the higher-ups— I mean our useless uncles and those old men who couldn't do their work. I was worried they will pick a bone with you," Cassia said with her lips puckered. Although the girl appeared kind, Ilyana could vouch her younger sister had a much more twisted personality than her. But she enjoyed it as all of them, the four sisters of the Zhou Family are twisted to their bones— something they had acquired from their mother.

"They are easy to handle. I rather enjoy meeting them and then tease them for how useless they are," Ilyana left a chuckle out of her scarlet lips.

"Still they only invited you and not us," came the third voice from behind them. Unlike Ilyana and Cassia who were wearing the red and black qipao respectfully, Kiera, the second daughter had worn the elegant black western dress. Her hand was covered in velvet gloves. Her beautiful face appeared to be crossed even though she wasn't truly angry. She looked at Ilyana with her brows knitted together, "I'm worried, elder sister."

"I know Cassia, Kiera. You two always worry too much for me but I can assure you they won't be a problem to me," Ilyana smiled. She couldn't help but always feel touched whenever she sees her younger sisters showing their concern for her. They hadn't been living together since they turned eighteen thus why she wanted to have more time to bond with her sisters.

Cassia smiled and hugged her arm, "I also saw what you did earlier!"

"Which?"

"I meant Blair's! I saw when you put down that woman. Honestly, I have always wanted to rip that girl's mouth for saying uncouth insults about our family but today satiate my violent impulse." Cassia chuckled darkly. "I always wonder why she hates you even though she always follows all your actions. Like how these days I heard she only buys red qipao with golden embroidery like you."

"Blaire's family always compared her with me, it's no question why she hates me but still wants to acquire the fame that I have. She might have thought that by following my actions she could become me."

"Foolish," Kiera spat with a roll of her eyes. "But sister, you didn't have to protect that man from earlier? You know, the waiter."

"Right! It wasn't like you to entertain Blaire in a fight," Cassia commented.

Ilyana also knew how odd it was for her to suddenly confront Blaire when usually she would have ignored the girl's existence. But somehow after looking at "Love" her body reacted immediately to stop Blaire, disliking the idea she will taint the pretty man. "Did you see that waiter's face?"

Cassia and Kiera looked at each other and stared back at her, "Yes we did?"

"Isn't he really beautiful?" Ilyana's almond eyes curved when she lifted her red lips. Recalling Lev's face again, she find herself attracted as if she had just found the most beautiful jewel of her life. She then said, "Blaire has the habit of taking a waiter she fancies from the clubhouse to then sleep with them and throw them aside like used goods. In some cases, she even fed those westerners opium. In small amounts, opium isn't dangerous but she will make sure they will be addicted to opium and ruin them for good."

"Ew," Cassia frowned with a disgusted face. "I know I am twisted but we wouldn't just ruin a person's life just because we take fancy of them."

"Blaire's family, the Zhuang is famous for how they love to ruin the people around them who took their attention, this isn't new. But why is that man different from the other men?" Kiera who have spoken, asked Ilyana again, "You didn't help the others but you helped him."

Ilyana settled her finger under her chin. She hummed for a while and her doll-like face appeared to be in a deep ponder. "I don't know," she said, "But I have always loved pretty stuff. It makes me want to protect them and it makes me want to have them."

Kiera and Cassia both gulped when they saw how their sister's gorgeous face twisted in a dark attraction. "Well, that is true, you always love pretty things since we are young," Cassia commented.

"Oh and then if that pretty things are in someone's hands, you would do anything to acquire them," Kiera added. "But this is a person."

"Isn't that more fun?" Ilyana, who then stopped her high heels as they had arrived at the large round door, stared back at the dragon ornament that was carved into the door. "Zhou's family motto is to have what your eyes had set on. We are true to our desire and I like new challenges."

Cassia and Kiera didn't follow her as she opened the door and waved to her little sisters who decided to wait for her until she had finished her meeting.

Just the moment she had stepped in, Ilyana could feel the unwelcoming gazes from her uncles and noticed how her cousin, Samuel was sitting in one of the seats, something that was rare as the boy was never as qualified as her to be sitting in the same room as her mother.

"Ilyana," her mother's voice rang, bringing Ilyana's attention from studying the people at the table to looking at her mother whose appearance remained legal even though she had reached fifty-seven this year. "How is your day, darling?"

Ilyana showed her mother a smile. She always felt off whenever her dearest mother behave kindly to her in front of others, especially her uncles who think she was not fit to be the heir to Pandora as she is only a girl. Usually, her mother's fondness for her only reflects badly on her as her uncles will only see her as an even bigger enemy since deep down they want to rob the position of the heir from her hands.

Today out of the other days in the past, her mother called her "darling" a term that she only use when they were alone in their family house.

"I hope I didn't come late," Ilyana said, her seductive voice ring to the room that she noticed to have caused her cousin's lips to twist disgustingly.

Did he seriously just leer at his cousin?!

"You weren't late," said one of her uncles, she could see it to be Uncle Eddy, the man who has been famous for the past few weeks for leaving his pregnant wife alone in the house while he spend all his time. "But I don't think you should ever let your elder come earlier to a meeting before you."

I knew it, thought Ilyana. Indeed, Uncle Connor was someone, who cannot be trusted when it comes to lightening the mood. Instead, he had made it worse.

Hold on to yourself, whispered Ilyana in her head. These bald men with tattoos on their necks as if to show their mightiness for being able to withstand the pain of tattoos are mere men who don't know anything about work and could only think of how to spend their wealth are just dumb men who she will remove once she becomes the head of the family.

"I'm sorry for making you wait for me," Ilyana said with a gentle smile. She walked toward the chair beside her mother. As their wooden table was round and their chairs were set around it, she was forced to take a seat between her mother and her annoying lecherous cousin, Samuel Zhou. Taking a seat down with a faint sigh, she purposely didn't greet Samuel which made the latter look at her with his eyebrows slowly knitted together into a deep frown.

"Please we have only arrived about a minute right before you, we didn't wait for a long time," the most sensible person in the room was the fourth brother of her mother, the man who was as thoughtful as weak he is. The man always wore the tiny circular sunglasses that cover his eyes, giving him a meeker look, especially with his clothing where the collar was always buttoned to the point that it looked suffocating.

Hearing his words, Uncle Connor seemed annoyed. He didn't believe his younger brother was being on his niece's side when they all had the same goal of revoking her right to become the heir. The man dropped his teacup harshly to the table, "Shush Ethan. It is the truth that we are waiting for her. She will become the next heir of Pandora, she has to know how to not make others wait for her."

Just from one word that Uncle Connor had uttered, the table went silent.

It wasn't silent because they began to rethink how embarrassing it is to bully a young woman.

They were silent as all of them once again were reminded of their true goals of arriving at today's meeting which was none other than preventing Ilyana Zhou, the eldest daughter of the Zhou Family to lose her right of being the Pandora Gang's heir.

They eyed her. Ilyana could feel how sharp their gazes are as they looked into her facial features as if they were about to carve their eyes into her body. To them, she was a woman and the youngest. And what is worse than being a woman and the youngest in a mafia family? She was the weakest and the most hated, thus all her actions are being read carefully for a time when they could use it as a weapon against her.

But they had played with the wrong woman.

Ilyana had taught herself to live in this men-dominated world. She had learned how to still her face like a porcelain doll and to turn their harsh words into her weapon.

She smiled without feeling unbothered much by her uncles' disappointment who wished she would lash out.

Ilyana spoke with a faint sigh, "Oh but I think that is wrong JiùFù," she stared into Connor's eyes where her black gaze was deeper than the space, causing him who wasn't scared of her to gulp once and rethink how his action had been rude.

"What do you mean by wrong?" Uncle Connor demanded an answer.

"When I become the next heir, JiùFù, I don't need to wait for someone. They wait for me. If they cannot wait for me then that would be their loss. Pandora will always strive to be at the top amongst the others. And someone from the top never waits for their dogs to follow what they ordered them to do. My dogs simply abide by my orders without a single question asked. When they cannot—" Ilyana pulled her hand forward to grab the glass, which startled her uncles at once when she tightened her grip and cause the glass to fracture. "—their next fate will be similar to this glass, broken forever and ever."

"And who are you calling your dogs," Uncle Connor, despite fearing how her words had cut and chopped the pride of the men at the table, remain to nitpick on her words.

Ilyana, being the devil she is then tapped the round table edge, "Of course, it's none other than the men who I can trust. I don't think 'dog' is a bad term honestly since dogs never betray their master."

"Of course as when they do we will kill them. Just like always," the person who had spoken brought immediate silent between the uncles. As if scared they all put down their heads and stared at the carvings on the table as if they did not dare to interrupt him, showing their fear and respect for him which was more than their respect for her.