𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒓𝒆 » 𝐀. 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐒

❝𝒊𝒊.❞

𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧. 𝟏𝟗𝟐𝟏

Nora returned to London with haste, with intentions to get her mother some answers as to what is happening with her biological children. While no one could fill the void of her biological mother Marie Toussaint,  Polly Gray was an amazing mother to her, and Michael and Anna deserved to have her in their lives. While she knew her biological father's side of the family was Gypsy, she had minimal knowledge of their culture, just from the time she spent with Polly. Her mothers family was originally from the Haiti, and they were a family of witches. She had an aunt and some cousins making a living out of New Orleans presenting themselves as a spectacle to the tourists. Little did they know that their power was real. 

She couldn't wait to dive into the spells that her mother had taught her. She knew searching beyond this realm was dangerous if done incorrectly, but as out of practice as she was, she would do it in her sleep. She had some of Michael and Anna's old things and she sat in a seance, looking for something, anything at all for a sign of Anna or Michael. She chants in Latin silently as she slit her wrist. The moment blood spattered on the floor it didn't take long for her to see a young girl, a few years younger than her, shriveled up, dead. Anna. She immediately woke up in fright and shut down the spell, shaking as she blew out candles and cleaned up her floor. She wouldn't call her mother with news like this. She would go to Birmingham that weekend and tell her in person. 

The next morning she was strolling into London returning to the office at one of the many clubs she owns, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆. It was the most profitable club of the five she and her people ran in London. It hurt the egos of many that women were running a huge chunk of the entertainment market, but after a year, they had infamy to back them up. They were known as 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒋𝒆𝒛𝒆𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒔. 

"Good morning, 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆." Her assistant, Clara sits in front of her and starts running through the numbers of her businesses. She had spaced out as Clara's voice rang in the background. Poor  Anna. If only she could figure out if she was at peace. If not, she would help her.

"And Alfie Solomons has requested a meeting. Again. " Nora snaps out of her trance and closes her eyes in utter annoyance. "The Jewish man." "Yes. The baker from Camden Town?" "He is definitely not a baker. We've rejected his business offers thrice in the past year." "Well he's requesting a face to face." "Okay, can you meet with him please? Just make him feel heard and then insist that we are still uninterested." "We've done that already remember? He knows I'm not the boss. He wants to see you. It seems he won't take no for an answer." "I'm a busy woman. We're busy women Clara. The answer is no." "Okay, I'll make them leave." "He's here?" Clara nods. A man this persistent to see her made her suspicious. "Have Ophelia and Peggy search and send him in." 

"Yes, 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒆."

As Clara left, Nora checked for all of her weapons before settling back in her chair. Two men enter the room. Clearly annoyed, she doesn't stand up as they settle in. Clara closes the door behind her leaving them alone in the room. After a moment of silence, one of the men breaks his silence. 

"Do you usually stay seated when guests enter the room?" Nora raises her hand at him to cut him off, "You are not a guest, Mr. Solomons. Definitely not. You're a nuisance. Allow me to make this very simple for you. Whatever my associate has said in regards to business of any kind came from my own mouth. I have no need for your business." 

"That's not what I heard. Your liquor vendors got shut down, and you're running out of liquor." She looks up at him and scoffs, flipping her hair. "They did, but we're working on it. It's none of your business, Mr. Solomons." "Here, take this," he pulled out a bottle of rum and placed it in front of her, "it's a gift. free of charge, just try it." "I don't drink when I'm in the office." "Well maybe you and I could go out for a drink, outside the office. We could get to know each other a little better."