Chapter Five

Diamante and Onice had all eight leaders sitting inside the dining room. The leaders had finally recruited some new people and are setting up their posts. They had been working on the assignment for a week, and now they would be inspected for the first time. Onice is going to see Aheli, Charlotte, and Jancy. Meanwhile, Diamante would see James, Andrew, Mustafa, Anastasia and Nikita.

Mustafa is the first leader to show his team and his post inside the Manor. "Mustafa, what is your position?" Diamante asks. The man responds by nodding and taking Diamante towards the third storey. He then takes her to the hatch, which leads to the attic.

Mustafa opens the latch, and the ladder opens up. He lets Diamante climb up and then follows her. She peeks inside, and her diamond eyes widen in awe. What was previously a dusty storage room, is now an organized office with nine mahogany desks and uniquely carved chairs.

Eight of the desks were in two rows of four, and the last and biggest desk was in between the rows and in the middle. Diamante has to say, Mustafa did a good job. Each desk had one person working on some paperwork, except for the other desk, which Diamante assumes is Mustafa's.

"I am a straightforward man. But I am smart. I will rather use my brain than my strength."

How did Diamante forget? Mustafa may look like a humble older man from the Middle East, but he was the longest circus act for a reason.

That's because of his tremendous strength.

"Well done. So what have you done this week?" Mustafa smiles and calls out one of the people. She stands by his side and hands him multiple files. Mustafa holds the first one up.

"These are the exact transactions of the people you have encountered." He gives the first file to the woman and gives Diamante the second one. She flicks through the pages and is impressed by the numbers.

"This is the amount of money that we have spent," Mustafa says, holding the final file with pride. He confidently hands it over to Diamante. She skims through it and is utterly surprised at how much intel it contains.

"And that folder" Mustafa gleams. "Contains the information of the best seamstresses, carpenters, bakers, butlers, cooks, blacksmiths, crooks, thieves, and maidens who we found and are willing to be paid a small amount." Mustafa finishes with a satisfied sigh. Diamante nods in appreciation and hand the folders back to him. Within a week, Mustafa has been able to utilize the time and is helping with the Manors transformation.

"This woman," Mustafa lays an arm around the meek assistant standing beside him. "Is the intellect of my team. Her name is Madeline. And without her, it would have taken a long time to assemble everything." Diamante shakes her hand, and both of them exchange a few words before Diamante climbs down the ladder.

Next are James and Andrew. Both of them decide to be a pair and share responsibility. So she expects everything to be better than finished. She walks down and sees that the leaders are still waiting for her.

"James and Andrew. Please show me your department." Andrew carries James and leads Diamante to the basement. Diamante is about to question why Andrew is carrying James. But then she sees the curtains.

James stands on Andrew's hands and pulls down the opening of the curtains. Diamante's expectations are crushed by the reality in front of her. First, the place is empty. The medical beds are still in the building phase. Diamante also notices that the beds are facing each other against the walls. And they lead up to a man-made door. Diamante's face is full of disappointment. It's nothing like Mustafa's office.

"We know that it does not look good. Our medics and nurses are quite busy at the moment." Jame's pathetic attempt to reassure Diamante doesn't work. Diamante is angry at this point. They don't seem to take this seriously.

"WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING INSTEAD OF MAKING BEDS FOR THE SICK?!" Diamante doesn't mean to be this angry, but they seem to have done nothing important. James and Andrew look down on the floor in shame.

"We apologize," James grumbles. Diamante's harsh expression softens when she sees the giant shed a tear.

Diamante and James have been talking, and it has come to light that Andrew is a bit of an imbecile. He cannot be able to do anything right, but to James, it doesn't matter.

"It's fine." Diamante's voice softens and tries to ease the situation. "Well, do you mind showing me what you have been working on instead?" The pair share a look and a smile. They lead the young woman to the door and opens it. Diamante's previous demeanour changes.

Now, this is something she likes.

Inside the 'room,' there is a huge table. On that table, there are test tubes and beakers full of colourful chemicals. James and Andrew's crew are all around the table, making concoctions and writing down critical information that Diamante can't dream of. On the other side of the room, there is a shelf full of jars that contain remedies.

A man holding a glowing beaker gives it to James; he thanks the medic and allows him to make more potions. "Our leading Doctor Jacques has been able to heal Andrew's pain with a drop of this potion," James explains. He hands the concoction to Diamante, and she cannot help but be shocked.

"Wow," Diamante doesn't know what to say. It's so elaborate that she feels stupid for yelling at them. She should treat with more respect.

"James and Andrew, I am sorry for yelling. This is quite good. But I expect you to finish this next week. Also, put curtains in between the beds. Understood?" Both James and Andrew nods before she exits the basement.

Now finally, Diamante is going to Anastasia's and Nikita's portion. The twins are the first to make a group, as they are the heart of this entire organization.

Diamante enters the dining room and sees the twins are the only people there.

"Anastasia and Nikita. As the biggest and fundamental section of this organization, I expect you to be victorious." Both twins exchange a smug look before leading Diamante outside. Diamante doesn't think much of it until she sees the people sparring.

"These are our recruits," Anastasia says with a gleam. Both of them lead Diamante to the people fighting. There, Diamante notices an incomplete building.

"What is that?" Diamante asks while pointing to the structure in curiosity. Nikita answers Diamante's question with a look of satisfaction.

"That is going to be our arena. It will help enhance our recruits' strength, endurance, and agility. Anything can go wrong with our encounter, so we need them to be in the best conditions." Diamante nods and walks towards two people training.

One is in a blindfold, and the other is holding targets. Without warning, the person throws three targets in the air. The man with a blindfold directly shoots three bullets in the air, shattering the targets.

The impressive skill does little to phase Diamante. From his stance to his ease of being blind, she can tell that there's something off about him. But she doesn't want to assume.

Diamante smiles as she sees the man take off the blindfold. As soon as their eyes meet, Diamante feels a shiver down her back. The man walks up to her and smiles.

"Salutations, my name is Marcus. It is an honour to meet you." Marcus says charmingly. What he does next surprises the diamond-eyed woman. He leans down, grabs her hand and kisses it. Diamante stays silent as the man blatantly disrespects her.

Nikita notices this and immediately tells Marcus off.

"I'm sorry, Diamante. Marcus doesn't seem to know his place. Marcus." The man looks straight at Nikita.

"This is Diamante, Marcus. But she is better known as the Diamond Demon." When Nikita finishes his sentence, Marcus' expression pales. He gives Diamante an apologetic look before walking away.

Diamante pulls out a handkerchief and cleans her hand. She will have to teach the man some proper manners.

The other man stands completely still as Anastasia introduces him. "This is Jeffrey. He and Marcus are our best recruits and are the main trainers for all of our recruits." Once Anastasia says his name, Jeffrey politely bows.

Diamante nods in approval. She is glad that at least one of the leaders' henchmen is a gentleman. Diamante doesn't say it, but Marcus' behaviour towards her lacks respect and obedience.

And you already know how Diamante Stanzolio thinks about disobedience.

"It is very nice to meet you, Jeffrey. I hope that it will be of great pleasure working with you." Jeffrey nods and politely thanks Diamante for her time.

Now that Diamante is done. She will have to talk to Onice about the leaders, their henchmen, and what they are specifically doing.

Diamante thanks Nikita and Anastasia before walking back inside the Manor. While walking down the corridor, she encounters Marcus.

Marcus bows and quickly apologizes. But Diamante still has to teach him a lesson. So she grabs the back of his neck and pulls him, so he is looking at her in the eyes.

"Marcus, you are a great worker. But I will not entertain your behaviour with me, understand?" Marcus nods. She then lets go of him, and he quickly scurries off.

Diamante enters the living space and sees Onice already sitting down on the couch. "Onyx, what are Jancy, Aheli's and Charlottle's duties in the organization?"

Onice, smart and cunning as ever, hands Diamante the piece of paper. Diamante notices that it is long and full of detail. It is a list of all the names of the recruits and their occupation. Onice must have taken about two hours to do this.

"Aheli is in charge of the maids, cooks, and butlers. She has the main butler and highest maid. Their names are Harold and Fionna. Jancy is in charge of the blacksmiths, builders and carpenters. Her main henchman is a man with the name Abdullah."

"But what about Charlotte?" Diamante's interruption causes Onice to glare at her. He isn't in the mood.

"Do not speak unless I allow you to." This shuts Diamante up. It is remarkable that Diamante Stanzolio, the Diamond Demon, will only cower in shame in front of her cousin.

Diamante has to bend towards Onice's vision of her plans. Otherwise, it will not come to fruition. His ability to read her is scary, but Diamante knows that Onice will never fatally injure her,

"Anyways, all of the recruits and their families will be staying here. We will build more rooms later. However, children need supervision. So Charlotte will be handling the kids." Diamante smile at the discovery. For a long time, Charlotte has had no one her age around her.

But now, she'll have the opportunity.

"Thank you, Onice. I will talk to you again soon." Diamante dismisses. Onice nods and Diamante goes into her chambers. Today has been a busy day for everyone. But it will all be worth it.

Because Diamante will finally be able to take down the Frontenac Enterprise.