Chapter 1.1

Estelle Maldini came to Twinbrook with no family and no past – or at least none that she would ever speak of. She would never even tell her children or grandchildren about her life before moving to Twinbrook. She came with a few belonging – really just a change of clothes stuffed in a bag – and a heavy cardboard box filled with money…

It was a very great sum of money to have in cash, and especially for a young woman to be carrying around! But despite this, the property manager of 1703 Riverview Rd asked no questions. The large block of empty land had been on the market for many years now, and this strange young woman wanted to buy it!

It was nothing but a huge block of land, far up in the hills behind the township of Twinbrook. It was sunken block, surrounded by hills and trees. To Estelle it was perfect. This was now her home.
After buying the piece of land she had scarcely any money left, but somehow it would have to be enough, until she could find a way to start making some money. She had just enough left to set up some of the basic living requirements and then she was broke.

It sure wasn’t much…

After Estelle had pitched her tent beside the toilet/shower block, she decided it was time to start looking for some work. The kind of job she was after was not the type that was advertised in the newspaper, but she flipped through it anyway, hoping it might give her some kind of indication of where to start looking.

She had heard whispers of a vast criminal organization currently operating from within Twinbrook. It was these rumors that had brought her here in the first place. The potential of such an organization in a place such as Twinbrook was huge, but the current organization was in a state of disarray since the former leader was overthrown. It was said the new leader failed to live up to the expectations of the other criminals and many had now broken away from the organization and were operating on their own.

It was this chaos within the ranks that Estelle was hoping to take advantage of. Her plan was a long term one, but through careful scheming she knew she had what it took to take on these criminals and become their new leader.

A very obscure ad in the Job Section of the paper led her to the rundown warehouse of Llama Corp Shipping Co.

As Estelle walked through the gate she saw security cameras, high up on the wall of the seemingly abandoned warehouse, watching her every more. She smiled to herself – she knew she was at the right place.

As the walked up the sealed entrance she was starting to wonder what her next move would be.But then the door miraculously opened for her. Estelle hesitated for just a moment, then she lifted her chin and walked straight into the dark passage beyond.

After being searched and questioned, Estelle was at length allowed an interview with The Leader, who was in fact a rather handsome man by the name of Dennis Racket. He was impressed by Estelle’s eagerness to be a part of his business.

“No promises,” he said, “but I may have some work for you within the next few days. You’ll hear from us if we have anything.”

Estelle left with excitement in her heart. She had just taken the first step towards running her own criminal empire! She checked she had her phone at hand. When that call came with a job for her to do, she didn’t want to miss it.

Estelle headed home again. If she was going to be a great criminal, she would have to be in top physical form. Time to start working out!

Estelle spent the entire afternoon going through an intense fitness routine until her body ached, but she knew she had to keep pushing herself. She was only young and with a slender build – none of these big tough crims were going to respect her until she bulked up a bit and proved she was tougher than she looked!

When she could exercise no more, Estelle hit the shower to wash of the sweat and grime of the long day.

As she emerged from the bathroom, exhaustion hit her. It was only late afternoon, but she decided it was bedtime anyway.She didn’t even bother changing, she just crawled into her tent and immediately fell asleep.

Estelle was awoken abruptly in the middle of the night by intensely painful stabbing pains in her stomach. It was only then that she realized she hadn’t eaten a bite since arriving in Twinbrook early the day before.

She recalled passing a dingy little diner not too far from her home on her way here yesterday. Light-headed with hunger, she set off for the diner, hoping she didn’t pass out before she reached it!

As she arrived she saw the sign stating the diner served dinner for $18 per person.

Estelle hesitated. Pulling out her wallet, she looked inside and saw a single $20 note. A meal here would leave her with almost nothing left!

But she was so very hungry, what choice did she have? Surely the criminal organization would have some work for her tomorrow and she would start making some money…

So she walked into the diner, determined to enjoy her dinner to it’s fullest, after all who knew when she would be having her next meal?

After leaving the diner, even though her stomach was now satisfied, Estelle’s heart was heavy. She wasn’t sure what her next move would be. What if she didn’t hear from the organization? How would she survive? As she wandered through the town, her mind filled with these gloomy thoughts, she suddenly spotted the sign for the Twinbrook Community Garden.

It was the middle of the night so the place was empty, and she let herself into the fenced off garden. All around her she saw plants and trees overflowing with fresh fruit and vegetables.

Estelle smiled. Now she knew she would not starve, she could pick enough food from this garden to keep her going as long as she needed.

She continued in the garden until the early hours of the morning, filling up baskets with fresh produce.

As the day began to brighten, Estelle walked with her hoard of fruit and veg into the main part of town.

Spotting the grocer, she had an idea and headed inside.

Sure enough, the kindly owner of the grocer was willing to offer Estelle a small sum of cash for her produce. It wasn’t much, but any little bit was better than nothing!

Estelle emerged from the grocer feeling cheered. It was a beautiful day, and as she looked out over the wide river that flowed through Twinbrook, she once again felt hope that this was the place where her dreams could come true.

Wandering through the town, she discovered a patch of brightly colored wildflowers in the park.

As she picked one and raised it to her face to inhale it’s sweet scent her phone rang – The Leader had a job for her!

The next day dawned dark and gloomy, pouring with rain, but Estelle couldn’t care less because today was the day she started working!

She was picked up by one her new accomplices and taken back to the Llama Corp Shipping Co. warehouse to receive her first assignment.

She knew this was her opportunity to really impress The Leader. She knew she had what it took to get promoted time and time again and this was her chance to prove it.

Estelle walked confidently into the criminal headquarters once again, ready to start her life of crime…

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