Savannah’s POV
We were seated around a rectangular table long enough to accommodate more than thirty people.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on me.
Some looked at me with calculation while others with grief and beneath all of it was something far more dangerous.
Judgment.
Their judgement and acquisitions towards me and to the pride their La Madrina left.
“Where is her body?”.
The question came from the first Doña.
It was Aiffera, she’s wearing a calm face yet her eyes were piercing me with anguish and hatred.
The same woman who had once pulled me from Inferno’s grip.
I lowered my gaze for a moment.
The silence around the table pressed against me as everyone waited for an answer.
“One of his men told me they disposed of her body using acid and chemicals,” I said.
No one dared to speak.
The room became still.
Then I noticed it there red-rimmed eyes.
Tears gathering but refusing to fall.
Hands slowly curling into fists.
“She was shot in the side,” I continued.
“They didn’t give her any medication.” I continued
Aiffera’s eyes snapped toward me.
Her expression hardened.
“While they treated yours?” The sarcasm in her voice cut through the silence.
Then I saw the third Doña shift in her seat, as if preparing to stop her.
Before anyone could say another word, one of the Comare stood before my eyes she’s probably one of the made women.
One of the women who had served as the right hand of La Madrina.
The first closest to La Madrina before the Donna’s.
She grabbed the glass of water in front of her.
And threw it directly at my face.
Cold water ran down my cheeks.
My eyes were shut and for a second, no one moved.
My lips parted slightly as I wiped the water from my face as my jaw tightened.
Then I reached for my own goblet in front of me.
The woman barely had time to react before I threw the water back at her.
She gasped and stumbled a step backward.
“Don’t try to disrespect me,” I said calmly as my gaze were hardly pointed at her.
The entire room went silent.
“Enough!” The second Doña slammed her palm against the table.
“Stop acting like children!”
The tension remained, but everyone slowly returned to their seats.
The second Doña stood before us.
She reached behind her chair and picked up a black briefcase.
My eyes followed her movements.
She placed it on the table.
Click.
The locks opened.
She lifted the lid.
Then pushed the briefcase toward me.
“We do not accept a complete stranger as our next La Madrina,” Eve said.
She’s the third Doña.
“And especially not someone who came from a government agency.”
I looked down.
The point was there and we didn’t barely knew each other yet I was here on behalf of Yannah and to my last promise before she dies.
Several weapons were arranged neatly inside the case.
My eyes stopped on one it was a pistol.
I looked back at her and she was waiting coldly and deadly at me.
“Take a weapon,” Eve continued.
“This will determine whether you deserve to become the next La Madrina of El Sorellanza.”
Every woman around the table stared at me.
There was no sympathy in their eyes it was only challenge.
I slowly lifted my gaze.
“What if I never planned to become part of your organization?”
I pushed my chair back and stood.
“Can I leave now?”
No one answered.
I turned toward the tall double doors at the end of the room.
My hand was only inches away from the handle when a rough voice stopped me.
“No one leaves once they become associated with us, woman.” I slowly turned my head.
The woman leaned back in her chair.
“Or you can simply tell us that you’re a coward.” My blood heated instantly.
A slow smile touched my lips.
“Are you challenging me?”
No one answered instead she gave me a silent nod and twitch her head.
That invitation made my muscle twitch and excitement ignite within me.
I removed my jacket and threw it over the back of my chair.
Then I pulled my shirt over my head, leaving only my tactical bra and combat pants.
A few smirks appeared around the table.
Across from me, a woman with a powerful physique stood from her seat.
She removed her upper clothing as well.
The room suddenly erupted with noise.
Chairs scraped against the floor.
Every Women stood.
I can hear some laughter that meant to underestimate me as the shouts erupted into the walls to make my opponent gather more confident.
Then one of them walked toward the wall beside a burning torch.
She placed her hand against a hidden section of stone.
Click.
The sound was small.
But everyone immediately went quiet.
I narrowed my eyes.
Then she pressed something into the wall.
The ground beneath my boots moved.
My body tensed.
Then the floor split apart.
The table disappeared from beneath us.
The entire platform began descending.
My hand instantly grabbed the edge of the railing that rose from the floor.
The women around me remained calm.
As if this was completely normal.
Her gaze were already trying to wreck me thinking she could win with just a minute.
I looked down.
As darkness swallowed everything beneath us.
The platform continued lowering.
Cold air rushed upward.
The scent of metal and dust filled my lungs.
Boom.
The platform stopped.
The impact sent a vibration through my legs.
Torches suddenly ignited along the walls.
One after another.
Flames illuminated the underground chamber.
My eyes widened.
It was an arena.
A massive circular fighting ground surrounded by stone walls.
Above us were balconies filled with women.
Some stood with their arms crossed.
Others leaned against the railings.
They were watching, waiting for a match where there expectation will be the judgement.
The woman beside the wall stepped forward.
“Welcome to the proving ground.”
I stepped away from the platform.
My boots touched the cold stone floor.
“So this is your test?” I retorted calmly.
Aiffera descended from the platform and walked toward me.
“You wanted to leave?” She stopped several feet away.
“Earn it.”
A murmur spread through the women.
I glanced toward the exit.
There wasn’t one.
The walls were solid.
The doors above had already disappeared behind stone.
As if the only way to escape was through the mechanism that could take us above the arena.
A smirk etched on my face as I raised my head towards the ceiling and it was also blocked.
I let out a slow breath as I turned back toward them.
The muscular woman stepped into the center of the arena.
She rolled her shoulders.
Then cracked her neck.
“You fight her first,” Eve announced.
I stared at the woman.
She was bigger than me.
Stronger in appearance.
Her arms were marked with old scars.
The kind that didn’t come from training and they came from surviving.
“What happens if I win?” I asked.
Eve’s lips curved slightly.
“You continue.”
“And if I lose?” Aiffera answered this time.
“You won’t become the La Madrina.” The muscular woman smirked.
“That’s if you’re still conscious and alive.”
The women around us laughed.
I slowly walked toward the center of the arena.
My footsteps echoed against the stone.
The woman raised her fists.
I studied her stance.
She had a wide footing, heavy shoulders and she was expecting a direct fight.
Big mistake.
“Ready?” Eve asked.
I raised my hands.
Then the woman rushed first.
She’s moving fast, faster than I expected.
Her fist came directly toward my face.
I stepped aside.
Her punch cut through the air.
Before she could recover, I drove my elbow toward her ribs and she blocked it on time.
Her knee came up and I twisted my body just in time as her knee missed my stomach by inches.
I backed away grasping for some air then she smiled.
“Not bad.” she said as a total excitement rush to her face “I was going to say the same thing.”
She charged again.
This time, she didn’t throw a punch instead she grabbed my arm.
Her strength pulled me forward.
I felt her hand move toward my shoulder as she was trying to throw me.
I planted my foot against the ground and twisted my wrist as I slammed my elbow backward.
She grunted and her grip loosened.
That was enough to steal some time and I immediately spun around and kicked the back of her knee.
She dropped slightly.
I drove my forearm against her shoulder and pushed her backward.
The crowd roared as it keep us awake but she wasn’t finished yet and swiftly grabbed my waist.
My back hit the stone floor as the pain shot through my body.
Before I could move, she climbed over me.
Her fist came down so fast luckily I caught her wrist.
Her other hand came toward my face and I blocked it with my other hand.
For several seconds, we struggled.
Her strength pushed against mine.
My arms shook as her weigh was heavier and stronger and I couldn’t overpower her if I would just push my force towards her.
I suddenly loosened my grip and her body shifted forward.
That was exactly what I wanted.
I drove my knee upward then I heard her gasped.
Her balance broke.
I twisted beneath her and shoved her off.
The moment she hit the ground, I rolled away and stood.
The crowd exploded with noise.
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
Sweat ran down my neck.
The woman slowly pushed herself up.
She wiped the corner of her mouth.
Then she gave me a smile.
A dangerous smile that includes mockery and judgement of challenge “You’re better than I thought.”
I tightened my fists.
“Stop underestimating me.” Her smile disappeared.
Then she attacked again.
This time— She pulled a blade from behind her waistband.
My eyes narrowed.
“That wasn’t part of the rules.”
“There are no rules,” Aiffera called from above.
The blade flashed beneath the torchlight.
The woman swung and I jumped backward.
The knife sliced through the air inches from my stomach.
She took another strike.
And I swifty blocked her wrist.
The blade came dangerously close to my side.
Then I twisted her arm.
She slammed her shoulder into my chest.
I groaned and stumbled.
She tried to stab me again but I caught her wrist with both hands.
The knife hovered between us.
My arms strained as I pushed it away.
Her eyes locked with mine.
“Give up.”
I clenched my teeth.
“I hate repeating myself.” I slammed my forehead forward.
Then she recoiled.
The knife dropped and I kicked it away.
Then I grabbed her arm, pulled her forward, and used her momentum against her.
Her body hit the ground.
Before she could rise, I placed my knee against her arm and pinned her down.
My fist hovered above her face.
The entire arena went silent.
I could hear my own breathing as her eyes stared directly into mine.
She was waiting for me to strike, and to prove what kind of woman I was.
My fist slowly lowered.
I stepped away from her.
“I don’t need to kill someone to prove I’m strong.”
Silence erupted from the arena but there gaze wouldn’t left us below.
Then— A slow clap echoed through the arena.
Everyone turned as Aiffera stood from her seat.
Her eyes were fixed on me.
For the first time since I entered that room, I couldn’t see anger in them.
There’s only a sight of calmness and authority.
“Interesting.”
Eve leaned forward.
“But one fight doesn’t make you La Madrina.” The ground beneath me suddenly shook.
I immediately stepped back as a loud mechanical sound echoed through the arena.
Stone walls began moving.
A section of the floor opened.
My eyes narrowed.
Something was coming up.
Slowly the platform rose from beneath the ground.
But this time— There wasn’t just one woman standing on it.
There were three.
They are all armed.
The woman I had defeated slowly stood and walked away.
My breathing slowed then I looked at the three figures.
Then shifted at Eve.
“You said there’s only a single fight?” I said.
Eve smiled.
“I said you shall continue.” The three women stepped off the platform.
There’s a deadly weapons in hand.
The doors above remained sealed.
The arena became quiet.
And then I slowly raised my fists again.
My heart pounded against my chest.
Three against one.
I looked around trying to figure some escape route yet there’s no escape.
I don’t have any weapons, and no one was coming to help me.
Aiffera’s voice echoed through the chamber.
“Show us why Aiyannah chose you.”
My eyes hardened.
As my expression turned sour.
“If you don’t welcome me. Then don’t! I’m not forcing and fitting myself into people who don’t respect my presence” I retorted.
I turned my back at them and took a step but then the three women moved toward me.
“It’s an order Agent Beltran! What would think will happen if you took a step outside of our territory? You proved yourself Savannah but no one will go out unless you survive and became the La Madrina or die” It was an oath as all of the woman sitting in the arena took there gun and pointed it at me.
A chuckle escape from my mouth.
“I’ll accept your challenge but let’s make it a deal….if I win. YOU WILL OBEY ME” I stated as she went silent then she fire a bullet into the air.
“Deal” She stated as her gaze narrow at me.
It’s sooo tense!
Want a spill?
For the upcoming chapters you’ll meet Aiyannah’s fiance…..So,stay for updates everyone!