KIDNAPPED BY THE MAFIA.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Kaia groaned as her alarm rudely interrupted her beauty sleep at the ungodly hour of 6 am. She reluctantly rolled out of bed, muttering to herself about the injustice of early mornings. With a yawn and a stretch, she stumbled towards her phone to silence the alarm. "Another thrilling day awaits," she sighed, dragging herself to the closet. After a brief struggle with her wardrobe, she settled on a white blouse and a black skirt, the perfect ensemble for her detective duties.

Once she was finally presentable, Kaia embarked on her morning routine, taking a refreshing shower to wake up her sleepy senses. As she emerged from the bathroom, she transformed her room from a chaotic mess to a picture of pristine perfection. Downstairs in the kitchen, she skillfully whipped up a breakfast fit for a detective, complete with fluffy pancakes and a steaming cup of coffee.

Just as she was about to dig into her delicious creation, in walked Cleopatra, looking like she had just survived a wild party. Her hair was a glorious mess, sticking out in all directions. "Is that the heavenly aroma of pancakes I detect?" she exclaimed, plopping down on a stool next to Kaia.

"Indeed it is, my dear Cleo. It's Pancake Tuesday, remember?" Kaia replied, passing a plate of pancakes to her friend.

"Ah, you're a true breakfast hero, K," Cleopatra said with a grateful smile.

Kaia beamed at her friend as she got up to wash her plate. "Well, I must dash off now. See you later, Cleo."

"Until we meet again! Oh, and heads up, I might grace the firm with my presence today," Cleopatra teased.

Kaia paused in surprise. "But don't you have a shoot today?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cleopatra flashed a mischievous grin. "Well, thanks to our little party yesterday, the director and some unfortunate souls got hit with a case of food poisoning. So, we've been gifted with a day off."

Kaia's eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of some quality girl time with her busy friend. "That's fantastic! We'll have a slumber party tonight,"

Kaia's excitement bubbled over as she imagined the upcoming slumber party with her busy friend. "Oh my gosh, that's awesome! We're totally having a slumber party tonight, just like the good ol' days back in university," Kaia exclaimed, a nostalgic smile spreading across her face. With a wave goodbye to Cleopatra, Kaia stepped out of their apartment building, making sure to greet the receptionist, Michelle, with a friendly "Hi Michelle, have a fantastic day!" She then turned her attention to Romeo, the guard, and cheerfully chimed, "Good morning, Romeo!"

As Kaia walked out of the building, she hailed a taxi to whisk her away to her workplace. The sign outside the building proudly displayed the name "Milton's Firm." With her chin held high, Kaia confidently strode through the doors, greeted by the familiar silence that enveloped the early morning hours. While most people started arriving around 7:20 am, Kaia always made it a point to arrive 20 minutes earlier, ensuring everything was in perfect order in her office. Her superiors were known for their intimidating demeanor and high standards of excellence.

Without wasting a moment, Kaia made her way to the third floor, where she meticulously organized the files, leaving no document out of place. With efficiency and grace, she swiftly headed to the office kitchen, preparing a fresh pot of coffee in anticipation of her colleagues' arrival. The aroma of the brewing coffee filled the air, signaling the start of another productive day. Kaia couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as she eagerly awaited the hustle and bustle that would soon fill the office.

After putting each coffee-filled mug on the tables of her superiors, they all started swarming in as expected.

"Good morning Mr. Martins."

"Morning Miss Gerner."

"Morning Mrs. Knight."

"And morning to you Ms. Evansville."

Kaia diligently and respectfully grated all her Superiors as they all headed to their respective stalls.

"Good morning Kaia, Thank you for the coffee." Mike Martin said, amongst all her superiors, he was the only one who treated her nicely and cut her some slack, he was a sweetheart so to say.

Kaia smiled at him upon hearing his response but was rudely interrupted by the infamous Mrs Knights.

"I hope you worked on the files I asked you to and looked into all the necessary information because the hearing is in one and a half hours and I expect perfection ." Mrs. Knights asked her with a straight face.

'It certainly wouldn't kill her if she asked nicely and smiled once in a while, ' Kaia thought as she gave a reply "I did all you asked and all the files are ready, all that's remaining is for you to go at the court."

Mrs. Knights smiled dubiously, "We're actually going together, so get the files and meet me in my car in ten." She proclaimed, picking up her bag and walking out swaying her hips to the sides 'Diva.'

For some reason, Kaia had a really ominous feeling about this, Mrs. Knights had never taken her to a hearing before, only Mr. Martins ever did that.

Mr. Martins must have sensed her nervousness and reluctance because he came up to her, putting a hand on her shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile, "It will be alright, go before she ends up getting mad at you for being late."

"Thank you," Kaia said as she picked up the files and headed out to meet Mrs. Knights.

Kaia found Mrs. Knights already seated in the car, with her hands gripping the steering wheel and her fingers impatiently tapping on it.

"You took your precious time." Mrs. Knights sneered shooting her a displeased look.

Kaia checked her watch, then looked back up to Mrs. Knights, "Well you gave me ten minutes and I'm three minutes early." She countered smiling sweetly.

"Get in the car!" Mrs. Knights said louder than intended making Kaia flinch a little bit.

She entered the car and they drove to the courthouse.

Their drive took 30 minutes and it was the most dreadful 30 minutes of Kaia's life, their ride was filled with an uncomfortable silence and tension that could probably be cut by a knife.

They both walked into the courthouse, Mrs. Knights in front with Kaia tagging behind her. They entered a private room, where they met their client.

"Good morning Mrs. Knights, for a second there I thought you'd bail on me." Marianne the client spoke out and sighed in relief.

"I was just taking care of everything before we could come here." Counselor Knights clarified.

"No problem, the fact that you're here has already given me serenity." Marianne let out looking relieved.

"Marianne, meet Kaia, she will be representing you today." Mrs. Knight unexpectedly said leaving Marianne and Kaia perplexed.

"What!" Kaia and Marianne exclaimed in unison.