16. Chapter 16
Omniscient
The suffocating stench of scorched rubber, charred metal, and melting paint hung in the damp night air, settling thick over the private grounds.
Brooklyn stood barefoot on the gravel driveway.
Her eyes were wild and bloodshot, fixed on the glowing black skeleton of her car.
Beside it, the entire back passenger side of King Eze’s truck was melted into a warped, metallic nightmare.
The flames had eaten deep enough into the rear wood framing of the main house to leave a gaping, blackened hole in the structure, and the raw timber still smoldering in the dark.
The fire crew was wrapping up their hoses after dousing the last embers.
What took place was a disaster that easily could have consumed the entire western quadrant of the territory.
Brooklyn’s chest heaved under her silk robe.
She was fuming, and her mind was spinning out of control.
The stress was eating her alive from the inside out, burning hotter than the wreck in front of her.
Through the lingering haze of smoke, she spotted King Eze standing near the rear bumper of the fire rig. He was speaking in hushed tones with the responding law enforcement officer on the scene.
Brooklyn’s jaw was locked so tight her back teeth groaned. It was mind-boggling to her how everyone around her was taking their time as if she wasn’t the victim.
Why the fuck would the local precinct send out one damn officer to respond to an arson attack?
She knew she close to being officially declared the second wife of the royal bloodline, yet the authorities were handling the firebombing like a routine noise complaint. King Eze was nodding away. His expression was calm, almost passive, as he conversed with the deputy.
Brooklyn lost whatever microscopic shred of sanity she had left. She knew with there was only one psychotic, unhinged bitch on this island capable of pulling off a stunt this loud, this arrogant, and this petty.
The pregnant woman marched straight across the gravel, and stepped into the officer’s face.
"Aren't you going to go fucking do something about this?!" Brooklyn shrieked across the quiet driveway.
The officer was a tall, dark-skinned woman. She slowly turned her head to the shorter woman. She clenched her jaw tight, taking in Brooklyn’s hysterical state with an expression of unbothered disgust.
"Ma'am, we’re going to look into the matter," the officer replied, but her tone was flat. "Do you have any security video footage of the incident?"
Brooklyn gasped, throwing her hands up in utter disbelief. "We don't need video footage! You know who did this shit! Everyone on this damn island knows who did it!"
The officer slowly shook her head, adjusting the belt resting on her hips. "Unfortunately, without any clear physical video footage, my department cannot make such a wild, unsanctioned accusation against our Queen. She might be wild, but she’s not usually this dramatic."
A scream tore out of Brooklyn’s throat.
King Eze quickly stepped forward, raising his hands as he let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah, officer... please excuse her. She's just under a massive amount of stress right now with the baby—"
The female officer held up a gloved hand, cutting King Eze off mid-sentence. "I would be under a lot of stress, too, if I was as treacherous and as much of a snake as she is."
Brooklyn froze. The air left her lungs as her eyes locked onto the officer’s face in shock.
"The reason we ain't got the fucking footage," Brooklyn spat, "is because the cameras got burnt in the explosion! And who the fuck do you think you're talking to?!"
The officer didn't flinch. She took a half-step closer, looking down her nose at Brooklyn. "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to calm down."
"Fuck that!" Brooklyn screamed. "Repeat what you just said! Say that shit with your chest!"
The officer looked Brooklyn dead in her eyes. Her lips curled into a disdained smirk. "Ma'am... if you wasn't fucking another woman's man, you wouldn't be going through this right now. Karma is something serious, ain't it?"
A deafening siren began blaring inside Brooklyn’s head as her mind fractured.
It was that moment she officially cracked.
She had been prepared for the war. She had been prepared to weaponize the pregnancy, to play the tribal council, and to manipulate the legal system.
But what she was not prepared for was the entire island, turning their backs on her, treating her like a target that deserved every bit of the fire.
Brooklyn glanced down at the officer’s gold nametag: DEPUTY T. AIKEN. She felt the remaining air bleed out of her chest.
This wasn't just some random local cop power-tripping on a call.
This was Tamika, her third cousin. They had walked the exact same halls at Aiken High School, spent four years sweating together on the varsity tournament team, and stayed up until two in the morning prepping opening statements for state debate finals.
They hadn't been best friends, but there was a deep, unspoken respect between them when they crossed that stage at graduation. They had come up together.
Now, Tamika was standing in front of her in a crisp uniform, looking at her like she was sewage on the bottom of a boot.
The sting of it cut deeper than the smoke stinging her eyes.
This was a girl who knew what it took to survive.
Yet here she was, choosing to shield a monster who was out here firebombing her property.
The island’s loyalty to the Queen ran so deep that it didn't just blind strangers—it erased decades of mutual respect.
Brooklyn’s soul turned pitch black as the realization hit her. She wasn't just fighting a rival; she was fighting a whole community that had collectively decided her life wasn’t worth anything. She watched the red and white lights disappear as they left the scene.
If she wants to play like this, Brooklyn thought, then we both can be evil. Fuck all this shit.
King Eze quickly stepped between them again, trying to smooth over the officer's cold declaration. "Look, officer, I apologize. Like I said, she’s just under a lot of pressure, she's a little crazy right now... but ma'am, what about my truck? That's a quarter-million-dollar vehicle—"
The officer leaned in close to King Eze, and her eyes were dark under her campaign hat. "I don't know, Eze... and quite frankly, I don't give a fuck."
“Hey, let’s not get disrespectful. It is King Eze, don’t forget that title.”
She squinted and challenged him, “What kind of King gives shelter to a traitor of the island? You are no King of mine. I’ll make a report, but that’s all you’re getting from me.”
That was the final straw.
Brooklyn reached under her silk robe and yanked her gun out and drove two rapid rounds into the officer's chest.
Tamika gasped, her flashlight tumbled from her fingers and bouncing across the rocks as she collapsed back onto the gravel. Dark blood pooled across her crisp uniform as her body went still.
King Eze stumbled back, and the color drained from his face. He stared at the bleeding body on the ground, his voice cracking with pure terror.
"What the FUCK did you just do?!" Eze roared.
Brooklyn casually lowered the smoking barrel, but her face was blank. "Tell the department someone is crazy on the loose, make up some shit. I’m sick of these local bitches thinking they can talk to me however the fuck they want."
She picked up the shell casings, before tucking the piece back into her robe.
"I need to go back to the States," Brooklyn declared. "She thinks she’s untouchable. Let’s see how that bitch feels when I pay her old boo a visit."