The Series of Unfortunate Events (pt. 2)

The days went by and suddenly I wasn't so homesick anymore. Being in the DiRusso hostage compound had taught me a few things and the room back at the mansion was actually quite homey now. I quickly got used to operating from the shadows, and pretty soon, I'd amassed a small army of eleven people in high positions to do what I needed from them. Now, you might be thinking, 'Eleven people? Katarina, that's not enough!' Well it was enough for me.

I'm a simple woman. I see someone in a position of power pretending to mind their business, I blackmail. Now that I had all the forces necessary rallied against the DiBiancci's, all I needed was time. Honestly, in moments like these, time seemed like a luxury. Also, it wouldn't hurt if I could turn a few of the guards to mutiny, which I had, but that was at the compound.

I needed to get a few guards in the house on my side, so I did my darnedest to do just that. Marco didn't trust me, obviously, so he allowed me to roam the house under constant supervision. I used this to my advantage and took it as an opportunity to use my charm.

I had asked Aurelia if she would allow me to use her kitchen to practice my baking, and she said yes, so I made my bodyguard sit and watch as I whipped up my famous Black Forest cake. This guard was really so lucky to be witnessing the making of this masterpiece. After years of perfecting the recipe to get it just right, my final rendition of the perfect Black Forest cake took me four hours to complete. Every time someone ate it and complimented it, I acted like it was my first time making such an extravagant dessert. Little did they know, this thing was my secret weapon.

I could bring down entire armies with this cake, and by the way my bodyguard was looking at it, the guard was coming down too, apparently. "Would you like one with a cherry?"

The guard narrowed his eyes at me slightly, but after a few seconds of me just smiling at him, he nodded cautiously. Happily, I served him a slice of the cake and just watched anxiously as he took a bite of it. The batter should have been baked to perfection, so there wasn't much that he would be able to complain about. At most, the unlikeable part of the cake would be the cookie and cream chantilly I piped on top but that could be removable.

I stood there watching silently as he ate silently. It was all a very big moment filled with tension and I couldn't wait for him to finally just say what his thoughts were. Of course, the moment never came and I was left fishing for answers myself. Was it not good? Maybe I didn't add enough egg whites to the batter? Maybe I should have added the yolk too? I knew it, the batter was too dense. Dammit, and I depended on this cake to fulfill my mission, too. Great going, Kat.

"More, please."

I couldn't believe my ears. He wanted more! I happily served him another slice and did a little dance before beginning the arduous task of clearing away the plates and utensils I'd used for the decoration process. There was still a lot of crushed cookie chantilly left over so I decided to put the rest of it in a container and place it in the refrigerator for when I made cake pops or something.

Bribing an entire house full of criminals was surprisingly very cottage core-esque. I actually loved it. Cooking in this kitchen was a dream!

Pretty soon, more and more guards who had been doing their rounds of the house were attracted by the scent of the chocolate and vanilla rum flavours wafting out of the kitchen. It was a good thing the cake was massive because I wouldn't have had enough to prepare myself for the barrage of men and women with automatic rifles and handguns that came into the kitchen demanding to know what was the source of such an angelic scent. Perfect. Everyone was falling victim to my little scheme.

"What is this?" A booming voice shook me to my core, but the guards ignored it and continued eating. I assumed it was Marco, so I turned around ready to charm his pants off. Of course, it wasn't Marco, it was his father. My smile dropped immediately. I didn't have a plan for charming Vincente, so I didn't even try. He was a despicable man and I hated his guts. He'd be one of the first to go.

"This is what I call rewarding your loyal workers. Would you like a slice?" I pointed towards the cake with my knife and a fake smile, watching as his eyes drew toward the sugary creation.

"You didn't poison it, did you?"

"Don't be stupid, Vince," I scoffed, already cutting a slice and plating it for him. "I'm saving the poison for your son," Vincente rolled his eyes at me before taking the plate and just walking away like the crow he was. "Ungrateful ass."

"Oh, something smells good," Aurelia followed her husband shortly after with a bright smile on her face. I liked her, she was nice. When I killed everyone, she'd be the last to go. "Black Forest? My favourite!",

"Would you like some?" I was already slicing a piece for her while I asked. It took me less than ten seconds to hand the plate to her. Admittedly, I was on my best behaviour because I needed to fool everyone into believing that I was a little more tame even though that was the farthest thing from the truth.

"Thank you!" She took a bite and immediately went in for a second. "This is fantastic! You'll have to give me the recipe."

"Absolutely," I started carving out more slices in order to feed the rest of the people who were drawn into the kitchen. Once again my foresight had saved me by instigating the creation of such a huge cake. Everyone could have a second or third slice if I was smart about the way I carved.

"What's going on here?" That was definitely Marco's voice. He was returning from whatever the heck he was doing outside. His white shirt was clinging to his sweaty chest and I could clearly see the outline of every single muscle on him. I had to admire him, I didn't even care if he caught me staring. This man was sex on legs. "What is everyone doing here?"

"Taking a break from all the bullshit you put them through," I immediately responded, sending him a sweet smile. "Here, I saved you a piece." Could I fool him into thinking I had Stockholm syndrome? That seemed like it would be a last resort, but on the other hand, it might be more beneficial to me than anything. Marco took the plate and spoon from me with a skeptical look on his face, but it quickly changed once he actually started the act of eating it. "I wanted to thank you for finally allowing me to return. That hostage cell was awful," my bottom lip trembled, causing Aurelia to give me a side hug. Marco wasn't looking at me again, and I decided to push it further. "Thank you, Marco. I owe you one," my arms wrapped around him in a hug, and I immediately wanted to gag. Didn't matter how sexy he was, the smell of sweat overpowered any and all of my desires.

"Yeah," he cleared his throat and patted my back, looking very uncomfortable every time I repeated my thanks. Good, I hope you choke on your guilt, you freak. "You're welcome."

"No, you even took a bullet for me! I owe you my life!" Nobody told him to take that bullet for me but I needed to push this act so there was nothing I could do. My eyes caught swift movement behind him, and I tried to hide my smile as one of my guards crept past him and to the basement. Perfect.

In a few moments, the tracker would be activated and the police department would be sent an alert for illegal activity. With all the drugs and evidence that I'd planted around the house even before my transfer to the hostage compound, the DiBiancci's were sure to go down and that politician scumbag would secure the vote because I'd make sure all credit went to him. The people loved a political leader with an impeccable sense of justice.

Rest assured though, once he served his purpose, I would sink him and everyone in the boat with him.