[Are you prepared?] The patriarch inquired over the phone, his voice hoarse as it was threatening. “Patriarch, I know I made a mistake and…”[I don't need your useless assurances. I have done some work to ensure this… Richard Smith won't be getting much help in the battle against you. I have also made it so that one of the Princes would be presiding over the process. Make sure to impress him. For this, a substantial sum will be sent to you soon, use it well. And remember, fail me and I won't hesitate to end your entire lineage.]“.... Understood, Patriarch.” With that, the call ended and Caesar was left sweating profusely.He couldn't afford to lose again.No matter what, Intercity would be his!***The drive back to the estate was mostly silent with Jerome lost in thought while Richard made the preparations for the take off to Riverdale.Richard allowed Jerome to head back to his place to inform Jemima about the impending trip while Richard busied himself with packing up for the bo
Vir Enterprises is one of the biggest consulting firms in the world.Having consulted for some of the most powerful companies in the world, they had established themselves as a powerhouse and so, those that worked for them considered themselves the best of the best.Established by the Ramirez family, it was currently no longer a privately owned company and was instead headed by a board of directors with the Ramirez family holding a fair portion of the company out of respect for their founder.Jerome had always been happy that he managed to get into such an establishment.It was a testament to his years of hard work and he felt that as long as he kept pushing, he would one day be at the top.Unfortunately, it was not to be so and he lost out on everything and ended up deported as a result.Perhaps, due to feeling nervous about the inevitable meeting, he was unable to sleep the whole night, tossing and turning while looking for something to get his mind off things.At the end of the nig
“I'd say nice to meet you but I can't lie, so I'll get straight to the point and ask, what the hell are you doing here, Jerome?”Jerome hesitated, unsure of how to respond as he knew that a wrong word would be used to rip him apart.Cecelia was good at that, picking apart the statements of others and utilizing that to bring them down completely.He hated her for framing him but he had to acknowledge her skills.“Hello, I asked a question, Jerome, or are you suddenly dumb?”Jerome took a deep breath as he replied. “I have important work, that's all I can say.”“Hah, you, important work?... Do you plan on violating an unsuspecting woman again?”“You know I did nothing wrong!” Jerome exploded.Cecelia smirked as she knew that was his weakness. “Tell it to the cops, now you'd best leave before I inform them of your presence. I mean, how were you able to reenter the city after you were deported?”Jerome bit his teeth, hesitant to respond.He'd known he was a fugitive considering the circum
Lucia was helped down from the car by her guards, her gaze sweeping the premises before ultimately landing on the trio standing at the entrance.Her gaze remained on one in particular, the latter of which was a man dressed quite casually, revealing no intent of having wished to wear a suit or something more corporate.That was her target. That was the man that had given her the shock of her life.Taking a deep breath even as her heartbeat increased, she slowly made her way to the trio with her guards escorting her.When she got close, the woman amongst them tried to speak.“Hello ma'am, my name is Cecelia, I'm…”A simple hand gesture rendered her silent with Lucia not even bothering to regard the man standing in the middle.Soon she was standing face to face with the mystery man who looked back in slight amusement.“Ms. Lucia.”“And you must be Mr. Smith. I expected you to be dressed more formally.”“Apologies for disappointing you then.”“On the contrary, I quite like your current a
Those responsible for ruining Jerome's name were dragged like dogs by security under the order of Lucia.She hadn't expected this to happen when she came in but to appease her potential ally, she knew what had to be done without hesitation.After ensuring the culprits would be dealt with according to the law, she went ahead to broadcast their confession to the entire company while also reaching out to her contacts in the force to revert the tag labeling Jerome as a deportee and a criminal.All these were achieved in the space of an hour with Richard busying himself with looking after Jerome who had broken down like a child.It was understandable after all, who wouldn't react the same way if they were in his shoes?Regardless, Jerome soon regained his composure, taking the chance to step aside to head to the bathroom to clean up while Lucia approached Richard.“He must be your brother,” Lucia commented as she stood beside Richard.“Not at all, but he once was,” Richard replied, reminis
The other family members in the sitting room consisted of two aunts, an uncle, five cousins, three of whom were grown, and a sister-in-law.With Abella at the head, they all regarded Richard and Jerome with intrigued eyes, displaying varying emotions in them.Some were negative, others were not and some others… were just downright wrong. Regardless, Abuella was the one that held Richard's attention suggesting something that Richard had grown tired of hearing.“Would you not consider my granddaughter?”Realizing he wouldn't be escape easily, Richard decided on an ambiguous approach. “No one knows what fate has in store for us, ma'am, so we can only hope and pray that fate is kind to us.”“Indeed, but that doesn't mean we cannot make our fate.”Richard nearly facepalmed with Jerome suppressing the laughter bubbling within him.Having had enough, Lucia was forced to speak up. “Grandma, Mr. Smith came over for lunch so perhaps you could let him come with me so I can settle him in before
Jerome didn't know how to feel seeing Lucia kneel before Richard, pleading for his help.Such a powerful woman was forced to her knees and it was all because she wished to ensure that what belonged to her family was returned to her.It seemed even the rich were also vulnerable when it came to familial ties.Biting down on his lower lip, Jerome thought to say something, perhaps to convince Richard to help Lucia but Richard seemed to see through his intentions as he raised a hand, silencing him before he got a chance to speak.“I'll think about it.” Richard calmly replied with Jerome pursing his lips.Lucia remained silent, pondering if his response was a good thing before ultimately nodding. “Alright. Thank you.”“You don't have to thank me. As I said, I'll think about it. If it's beneficial for me, I'll accept, if not, then I'd rather return to the empire. I already have too much to handle as is.”If Lucia reacted to his words, she did well not to show it as she got to her feet and sa
Richard had initially planned to reject Lucia's offer.Though it was harsh he knew more than anyone the dangers of stretching himself too thin.He had enemies in Intercity already, one of which was a cunning snake that would use any and every method to ensure he fell on his face.Caesar was the type of enemy that one needed undivided attention for.He had already wasted enough time helping Melinda and this was because Vincent agreed to watch and ensure Caesar did nothing untoward.Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to stop Caesar from carrying out his dastardly plans.Which was why the thought of getting involved in another mess wasn't appealing to Richard.If the problem with Lucia could wait, then it would be for the best as it would save him the loss of a potential ally, if not, he would have to take his losses.But then again, it would seem fate had other plans for him.Standing before Mario, he couldn't help but recall his stepmom who had also sold out the Smith family.That