Whispers Of Chaos | ✓

| 3. 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒔

So shine bright, tonight, you and I
We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky
~ Rihanna

Chapter 3. Diamonds

A Mariano.

She was a Mariano.

A freaking MARIANO.

Holy fuck.

Oh my God.

Cheers to being a Mariano, where trust is a myth and sanity is optional.

The man quietly chuckled at her reaction. Her calm mask cracked as she sputtered with her jaw dropped. Varied emotions flashed on her face in seconds and were endearing to watch. He smiled when Selena cleared her throat and behaved as if nothing happened.

"You are correct. You are the daughter," he affirmed her thoughts.

"No shit Sherlock," she said to herself. She cursed her awful reaction.

"Please," he motioned for her to board the jet as they took off for the capital. Selena looked away from him, embarrassed, realizing that her reaction had given away more than she intended.

"After you," gesturing for him to move.

"The flight is three hours long. You might want to nap before we arrive in the city," he suggested as Selena shook her head. "No, thanks. I would feel even more tired after a nap," she refused outright.

The man nodded and started texting someone. Selena's eyes were on the phone, but her mind was in another world, scrutinizing her thoughts.

Selena Mariano. The Mariano Clan's infamously lost daughter. The only girl born after three generations, she had been spoiled since birth, only to be tragically kidnapped at the tender age of two.

After a decade of desperate searching and countless failed attempts, she was declared dead—a devastating blow to her family and the community.

Selena closed her eyes, trying to regain control of her racing thoughts. The sudden revelation of her true identity had turned her world upside down.

Her identity is going to change a lot of things.

She opened her eyes and sighed.

Selena: Did you know who I was, brother?

Big Brother: Yes, about a few months ago.

Selena: We will talk about this later.

The weight of her past and the expectations that now lay upon her felt almost suffocating. At that moment, she silently repeated her mantra, "Control," as if willing to maintain her composure in the face of overwhelming emotions.

She had heard about the Mariano family dispatching an army to find their daughter, only to fail. They owned vast stretches of land, encompassing over two-thirds of the country's mines, from rugged granite to precious, rare diamonds. They were blue-blooded old money.

And then there was Maxim, the eldest son of the Mariano family, a figure who held the key to even greater wealth and influence. His chain of private banks had become a force—capable of single-handedly swaying the country's economy. The sheer magnitude of their wealth and power left Selena taken aback,

She wouldn't be surprised if they shat diamonds and wiped them with hundred-dollar bills.

After all, they were one of the five families.

The five families loomed over the country like towering giants, their influence stretching far and wide. Their power was not merely a product of wealth but of a deeply rooted network of connections and alliances that penetrated every aspect of society. They were the puppeteers, pulling the strings, ensuring the country danced to their tune.