"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Asked Elijah fixing the sleeves on his shirt. He had taken off his blazer and tie in the car. Two guns were hanging on either side of his hips.

He handed me one earlier but I had turned him down deciding to met Antonio with none of my own weapons.

Elijah had thought I was crazy and tried to change my mind more than once but I knew what I had to do.

If I wanted to show a man like Antonio that I meant business, then I needed him to understand that I was a threat.

A threat that didn't need my own physical weapons to be deadly.

"No, but I know what needs to be done." I responded honestly. I didn't know if what I was about to do would work but what I did know was that I couldn't play Antonio's game on his terms.

Even if he didn't know it, he had most of the support of the men around here. On paper right now he was more powerful than I was but that didn't mean I didn't know how to change that.

Elijah stopped in front of a door, he gave me one last look asking me if I was sure I wanted to do this.

Rolling my eyes I pushed him out of the way and opened the door.

Instantly my eyes landed on a table with five men already sitting around it. Antonio was the one that was in my line of sight first. I recognised him from the photos that my brother had left on the tablet. He was sitting at the table looking directly at me with a curious look.

Clearly what ever he was expecting I wasn't it.

He was younger than I expected, probably the same age as Elijah. Reagan's information had said he lost his dad about three years ago in a shooting and his mom didn't have much to do in this world with his three sisters. Antonio was left to pick up the pieces from his dads world a lot younger than was planned.

He was part of the next generation of our world and like Elijah and my brother he had already had a head start over me.

"I have to say I never expected to see a daughter of Riker Kennedy."

Showing no fear I pulled out the chair at the opposite side of the table from him and sat down with an air of casualness. I wanted to show them that I had no fear of being in a room full of a bunch of men.

"Are you shocked to see a woman in your world because your sisters aren't?"

Antonio froze at my words and the whole room went silent. I felt even Elijah freeze behind me and if I was to turn around I was sure I would see his hand resting on his gun.

The first thing I needed to do was to show this man and the others that I knew more information than they first thought.

I needed them to believe I knew more than I did.

As mom always said 'control the situation, you control the game.'

Antonio was quick to recover with a grin taking over his features. He seen the game I was about to offer and he was welcoming it with open arms.

"Maybe Reagan was right." Antonio leaned forward on the table resting his elbows on it.

He was trying to bait me into asking for more, he was trying to get me to beg him for answers.

"Reagan is right about a lot of things." I answered not telling him if I knew what he was on about or not. "And so am I."

"Oh really." Laughed Antonio leaning back in his chair once again and the action almost made me laugh. He was uncomfortable, he didn't know what to make of me. "Please, enlighten me."

Looking around the table I seen four other faces that my brother had told me about. "Nico Mancini, Giuseppe Ricci, Aria Costa and Marco Russo."

Pausing for a moment I looked at each one of them who were in shock that I knew anything at all. They had severely underestimated me.

Which was their first mistake.

"Nico here is the youngest of all five of you at nineteen. Thrown into this world after your grandfather handed over his control to you. In fact, he choose you over your own father. Which I'm sure has left a bit of a family power struggle." Nico looked at me in curiosity but compared to the others he looked amused by the whole situation. "I know another secret about you but we'll get back to that one at a later date."

"Giuseppe, you were in control of the gun supply coming too and from Italy. His wife was a former model and they both have two kids together a son and daughter. They are adorable by the way." I said making sure he got the hint that I knew everything. The whole time I spoke my voice gave away nothing.

"Aria Costa, your twenty four and has been dealing with the dirty work of this world. A bit like what Zane Knight is to my dad. If someone needs taken out with no questions asked your the person Luka used to turn too, though let's admit the only one you wanted to take down the most was Luca himself."

Aria was the one that my mom had been getting inside information from. He was probably going to be the one that was easiest to pull to my side but I didn't plan on keeping them all around.

And I wasn't going to be the one to get rid of the weak links.

They were going to do that for me.

"And finally Marco Russo. One of Luca's most trusted men, known mastermind behind every plan. Your smart I'll give you that but you were never smart enough to go against my mom were you?" I could see the anger in his eyes and I was about to use that anger.

Looking around the table my eyes landed on Antonio. There must have been a knowing look in my eyes that connected something before I turned back to Marco.

"In fact Marco my moms not the only one that seemed to piss you off is she?"

Marco looked confused at first before it hit him. Then panic overtook everything as he shot out of his seat slamming him hands down on the table.

"You better shut your mouth, bitch." Seethed Marco, looking between me and Antonio but that was the wrong move because that eye contact with Antonio was all he needed.

"What is she talking about Marco?" Asked Antonio carefully. I could tell he wasn't sure if he should believed me but at the same time Marco's reaction wasn't doing him any favours. In fact it would've done him better to have ignored my comment all together.

He had basically just put Antonio under my control and none of them knew it yet.

"Layla." Elijah's voice rang out from behind me in warning. It was pretty clear he didn't like where this was going.

That was a difference between Elijah and River. While Elijah was trying to discourage the shit show that was about to go down River would be living for it.

I held up my hand like I was in a classroom. "I can answer that question if you wish."

Antonio's eyes clashed with my own when he looked away from Marco.

"Why should I even trust what you say." Antonio was right of course. Why should he trust anything I say.

"Because I see the bigger picture over here and I'm not going to let people who I can't trust be apart of it."

Marco pulled out his gun and pointed it right at my head. I could feel my temper start to sore and it took everything in me not to react but that didn't stop the anger from overtaking my words.

"I'd get that fucking thing out of my face before I make you." Venom was dripping from my voice as Elijah drew out his own gun and pointed it at Marco.

Marco though didn't seem to get the message that the rest of the room had read loud and clear. He walked closer to me, the gun now only a mere few inches away from my face. I didn't react, not even glancing at the gun as I looked past it, looking directly at Marco like the thing wasn't even there.

"You are your mothers daughter." He spat and I seen red.

He didn't mean it the same way everyone else did. He meant it as an insult, as in that I was nothing more than someone who was in the way.

My temper got the best of me and before I had time to process my thoughts I swiped my leg behind his, knocking him to his knees with a cry. My hand went to the back of his head slamming it hard against the table. My other hand took the gun out of his hand.

The movement didn't last more than a spilt second and it took everyone a moment to even process what had happened. All of them looking at me and each other in shock.

Inspecting the gun I click it open and watched as the bullets dropped to the table. Clicking the gun closed again I dropped the gun down beside Marco who was rubbing his head in pain.

"I'm also my fathers daughter."

Not once did I move from my seat and I turned to look at Antonio who looked like he was trying to process everything.

I was done playing nice.

"Marco here was the one that killed your father." I tilted my head like a child who was talking about something so causally. "Your dad wasn't happy with the way Luka was doing things and made that pretty clear. Marco here didn't like the disrespect seeing as half the ideas were his. So he took matters into his own hands."

"You fucking bitch." Seethed Marco which just made me roll my eyes.

"Yea, yea you've already said that."

Antonio was out of his seat in a flash, gun in hand. Elijah came to stand beside me but I wasn't worried.

It wasn't me that he was after.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted you." Antonio all but growled out.

"We-"

Marco didn't even get a chance to finish the sentence before a shot was fired.

Antonio had shot him straight through the head.

One down, one more to go.

Antonio was standing a mere few feet away from but I paid him no attention as I looked at Giuseppe. He noticed that my attention had turned to him and he looked comfortable.

Though this wasn't a secret about him, it was a secret he was about to know.

Leaning forward on the table I ignored the dead body that now lay a foot away from me. Not only that but Antonio still hadn't stepped away.

"How's you're wife?" My question was so casual even Elijah looked down at me not sure where this was going. Then that infamous smirk that I shared with my dad started to creep onto my features. "Or maybe I should ask Aria that question."

Giuseppe was quicker at clicking on than I thought. The second the question had left my lips he shot out of his seat looking at Aria with a deadly look.

"I fucking knew it." Seethed Giuseppe as he pulled out his gun.

It took everything to keep my laughter at bay as how easy it was to turn them against each other. Antonio noticed and he gave me a blank look. He clearly knew that I was up to something but didn't make a move to stop it. Which told me one thing.

He didn't trust these two either.

Aria was quicker though and he seen what was coming before Giuseppe had a chance himself to do it.

Aria pulled the trigger before Giuseppe and Giuseppe was the one to drop to the ground.

Just the way I wanted.

Silence fell in the room as it seemed to click in them what had just happened.

"What game are you playing at?" Antonio questioned but there was nothing in his voice that told me that he was annoyed about the situation.

"I don't need two old men getting in my way that I can't trust." My answer was simple enough. "It's time for a new age, with new loyalties."

Antonio laughed as he put his gun away but there was no humour there. "And you think we trust you?"

"Of course not." I waved off like I wasn't stupid. "I don't trust you and you don't trust me but I think we can come to some sort of mutual understanding."

"What makes you think I will believe or follow anything you say?"

"You don't have to." I agreed shrugging my shoulders. "But with the state of this place at the moment you can fight for power all you want but there is nothing to have power over."

Antonio paused and looked at me. He knew I was right even if he didn't want to say it out loud. There was nothing here to fight over. Everything had collapsed after my dad had taken on Luka.

"I like her. Not every day you come across a woman that can play the game like that." Commented Aria stretching out his back on the chair when he straightened back up he sent a wink my way.

"She almost got you killed." Antonio remarked talking about the fact that if Giuseppe was quicker than Aria.

"I think we both know Aria was going to win that fight." I gave them all a pointed look. "And I didn't even have to get to the part about the fact Aria is actually the wife's kids dad."

Nico looked at Aria with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously? You couldn't keep it in your trousers."

"What? She's fit." Shrugged Aria like it wasn't a big deal making me roll my eyes.

"You think anything with a vagina is fit." Commented Nico with boredom as he looked around the table at who was left.

"So boys do we have a deal on our hands for at least a compromise." I asked wanting to move this conversation along. The long flight was starting to catch up with me and I already knew this battle had been won.

Nico was the one to speak up first. "How old even are you?"

"Seventeen." I remarked without a second hesitation. I knew my age was going to come up at some point.

"Same age as your parents when they went to France." Commented Aria with a questioning look.

"And how do you know that?"

Aria scoffed like I had just made a joke. "Your parents have their foot in the door in just about every crime family around the world."

My parents world was expanding and I was going to make sure I was in the heart of it.

"Well as much as I'd love to stick around and chat I want to get home and sleep." Standing up I stepped over Marco's body as I turned my back on them all. "When you have your answer I'm sure you can find me."

I didn't want around to hear more. I didn't want them to think that they had the power to control the situation with their answer. I needed them to believe that they needed me more than I needed them.

Even if it was the other way around.

Elijah followed me out of the room and both of us walked silently towards the car. The warehouse had armed men everywhere and they watched my every move.

Keeping my head held high I walked around ever corner like I owned the place. There was no way I was giving these men a chance to think I was intimidated by them in any shape or form.

When we got back to the car Elijah was the first to speak.

"I'm impressed." It took everything in me not to grin at his words.

For the first time in my life I actually felt like I could do this without my parents in the background.

"Stick around you'll be more than just impressed." Getting comfortable in the seat I could finally feel my whole body start to relax as Elijah drove us away from the warehouse.

"You know I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I was told that you were coming over but that wasn't it."

Looking at him with a knowing look I grinned at him. "Don't tell me you underestimated me too?"

"No of course not." Elijah spook up looking at me from the corner of his eye. "But you have remember the last time I seen you, you were this fourteen year old kid that was quick to anger."

"Oh trust me I'm still quick to anger." I waved off causally. "Tripping Marco like that wasn't in the plan."

"Tripping isn't the word I'd use for it." Laughed Elijah. "I thought you were going to get your ass shot a second before that. Then the next the man was on his knees crying out in pain and you hadn't even left the chair."

"Dad, Ace and Kate had spent a lot of time teaching me a thing or two." Closing my eyes I started to drift off.

"You're telling me." Commented Elijah but his voice sounded far away as sleep started to overtake me.

One thing was for sure, using your brain like that sure tired it out.