“Mother, I received your message. Did my foolish little brother get his hand chopped off?” A beautiful woman with jet black hair and a deadly air about her inquired as she stepped into an indoor sauna installed in Davina's side of the Lopez manor.“It is. Nobody came to Barracuda and humiliated our family, yet your father does nothing about it. He has grown weak, Eva, the Conqueror that I knew in my youth has lost his touch.” Davina replied while soaked in the warm waters, her expression steeped in anger.Eva clicked her tongue as she remarked. “We were always aware of this, weren't we, mother?... Isn't that why the Estebans are helping us right now?”“Have you reached out to them?”“They are willing to provide us with everything we need. Soon, the Lopez family will be in your hands, and at that tiFatherther and Grandpa dearest can leave this world for good.” “Good…”Before Davina could say more, Eva's phone rang, cutting her off.Eva took out the phone and answered, listening to the
“Hope you have been well,” Anna remarked causing Eva to smirk.“Of course, I'm not the one that has to hide in a hole like a rat.” As the standoff between the step-siblings continued, onlookers began to murmur amongst themselves.“Wasn't it said that Ms. Anna was missing?... It sounds like she was chased out.”“Of course she was. How can an illegitimate daughter be allowed to stay in the Lopez house?”Rolling her eyes, Anna attempted to walk past her only for Eva to put a hand up, blocking her path.“What is it?” Anna asked with a raised brow.“Mind explaining what those people with guns following you are here for?... I don't recognize any of them as members of the Lopez family.”“That's because they aren't, dear sister. They are my entourage.”Eva stifled a mocking laughter as she remarked. “You?... You don't even have the money to buy clothes for yourself yet you say you got a personal entourage?... You should learn to lie better, dear sister.” “Bold of you to assume I have no mon
“Mother, we have trouble.” Eva cried out worriedly, her earlier calm demeanor gone as she rushed to her mother's side.Seeing her so flustered was quite troubling for Davina as she inquired. “What's the problem?”“That man, Richard Smith is here.”“And so?”“Mother, you can't underestimate him at all. He has connections in high places.”“What are you talking about?” Davina inquired, her brows furrowed as she waited for Eva's explanation which quickly came.“He was the one that housed Anna before grandfather brought her back and now he is back, he has Anna with him and has even paid for an armed entourage for her.”“What?” Davina stunned by the reveal, scowled. “So that bitch has found someone to help her out of the rat hole she was in. Regardless, that fool doesn't think he can compete with us on our home turf, does he?”“I don't think so, I believe he plans on getting us to feel indebted to him.”“How do you mean?”“He plans to heal grandfather.”“What?” Davina nearly dropped the gla
Davina glared at Anna, her eyes trained on the person who should have died several years ago if she had her way.She was like the biggest slap to her ego and until her death, Davina would never be able to sit still.The urge to charge at her and rip her head off was there and if not for a certain Mr. Smith, she might have dared to do so.Clenching her fist, Davina swore in her heart to ensure Anna's death, come what may.Not privy to Davina's thoughts, Anna remarked. “You speak about enemies so much when you happen to be the one most likely to be an enemy among us.”“Oh please shut your mouth. When elders are talking, rats aren't even supposed to show their faces.” Davina spat coldly, not at all hiding her disgust for Anna.“Is that so, Mrs. Davina?... I am quite curious to hear you say that again.” Richard calmly remarked, his eyes trained on Davina's face.Davina hesitated but ultimately chose not to repeat herself, a lingering feeling reminding her to be cautious of Richard Smith.
“I believe I have permission to begin the process?”“... Yeah, you can begin.”“Much appreciated. And yes, I hope you won't try to put your mouth after the bet is concluded.”“You…”“As you remain silent now, remain that way even after I'm done.” Richard coldly remarked.Not even bothering to wait for a response or for David's guards to give out yet another pointless threat, he approached the bed Mr. Lopez was on with Melinda tagging along and Anna keeping her distance from Davina and Eva.***The tension in the air was palpable as Richard hovered over Mr. Lopez, utilizing his [Eyes of Truth] skill to inspect the old man's body.Meanwhile, Melinda had already begun her treatment, utilizing a special technique from the Dawson family martial archives to run checkups on Mr. Lopez's body. More than a minute passed before she raised her head to meet Richard's gaze.She shook her head, indicating that she hadn't detected anything wrong with the old man's body, either be it in his flesh, bl
‘No, this is impossible. There's no way, it can't be!... How did he use water to deal with the poison?... Just how?’ Davina almost lost her mind as she tried to fathom how Richard managed to cure Mr. Lopez.The thought of what would happen now caused her to grow even more terrified as she began to figure out a way out of this mess, having no idea that Eva had devices of her own.Eva, knowing fully well that the gig was up, decided to make a statement before attempting an escape.From the moment Richard had been bold enough to ask her father for permission to try healing her grandfather, Eva had experienced a nagging feeling that something was wrong which was why she had prepared for such a scenario.Pulling out the hairpin she used to hold her hair in place, she charged at Anna before anyone could even recover from their shock at seeing Mr. Lopez recover so quickly.“Die, you bitch!” She cried out as she brandished the hairpin, covering it in a thin veil of Spirit energy and swinging
“What nonsense are you spouting now, jezebel?... You'd best explain yourself before I do something we'll both regret.” Mr. Lopez warned as he prepared to rise to his feet.Despite his words, however, Davina no longer cowered like before and even grew bold as she grinned. “Do you think you can still scare me with your empty words, old bastard?... You'd best care more for what's about to happen to your pathetic Mafia.”“You have grown bold, isn't that so?... Fine then, I'll make you realize that in this family, I am still in charge.”Mr. Lopez sprang up to his feet, acting as though he hadn't just spent several weeks in a coma, his complexion as rosy as could be as he stomped toward Davina.Just then, an explosion somewhere caused dust to fall from the roof causing Mr. Lopez to stop in his tracks, his expression cold as he glared at Davina who was grinning wickedly.“What is the meaning of this?”“Hehe, Be prepared, Lopez family, your reign over Barracuda will soon be destroyed as a new
The entire city of Barracuda was in a state of unrest as the common folk couldn't help but worry about the battle happening in the Lopez manor.The fact that the Lopez had remained overlords for many years ensured that the people were familiar with what they were capable of.But with these new attackers?... What if they were worse?... Would they have to experience even more hardship because of this?For most, they had to hope that the Lopez family would emerge victorious else the coming weeks would end up being a trying time for all those involved.Of course that only applied to the middle and lower class in the city.For the upper class, they were eagerly eyeing the battle to find out who would come out on top.For those that were directly linked to the Lopez family, they didn't hesitate to sever those links while those that weren't, kept a neutral stance, not willing to support anyone just yet.It was a means to get ahead as long as they could quickly gain the favor of whoever would