Derek arrived at the Winters Restaurant 20 minutes earlier. He and Benson settled in the private room booked for the meeting. "We'll have a bottle of wine, till our companions arrive." He waved the waiters away. Benson was seated beside him, both of them facing the door, with grim faces. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Derek asked him. "That the men called this meeting because of what happened with Morris?"Derek nodded, with a tight smile. It wouldn't be easy trying to defend himself in front of these men. A while after the waiters left, a knock sounded at the door and three men walked in. "Glad to see you're here on time," Albert spoke, his tall frame towering over them with angry eyes. Herbert took his seat opposite Derek, displeasure written all over his face. The last to be seated was Stephen, a small smile playing on his lips. All three of them were Elders of 3 Mafia societies under Derek. Albert jumped into the conversation immediately. "You should know why we c
"Derek, I was asking you a question. Is there any other thing you would like us to do for you?" Stephen asked again, sipping his wine. Derek's gaze flickered. "I need some men, that's all. But remember, you must keep your guard up all the time. Never relax your security, to prevent being caught unawares!"The men exchanged glances and nodded. "Who else would understand how terrifying Morris is if not us?" Herbert sighed. "We promise to be careful, Boss. In fact, I'm stationing men on the highway leading to my mansion in order to quickly detect any intrusion." Stephen nodded. "Same here, I'll inform my men to be extra-vigilant." Herbert seconded. "I'm curious about one thing, though?" Albert, who had been quiet for a while spoke. "What is the probability that your plan to defeat Morris would be successful, and we won't end up with too many casualties?"Derek and Benson exchanged looks. "Why?""We have to know what we're getting ourselves into!" He snapped. "Even if the chances of w
Benson was confused, as he stared at Derek's cold expression. "Boss, you know the truth, I would never betray you." "Oh, really?" Derek scoffed. "Even if Morris threatens you with your daughter, will you still be standing by my side?" Benson's gaze revealed conflicting emotions, never leaving Derek's face. Derek knew that his only family was a little girl, and he would give anything to keep her safe. But if it was at the expense of Derek's safety... "Boss, can you calm down and think this over?" Thomas stammered, glancing at the other men who were looking confused as well. "I'll consider thinking it over after blowing his brains off!" Derek scowled, exerting force on the trigger. "No!" Thomas screamed from behind. "Boss, please!" "Answer the damn question, you fool!" Thomas yelled at Benson who had been in a trance. Benson broke into a cold sweat at the look in Derek's eyes. "I trust that if my daughter is in danger, you will not spare your energy in rescuing her. You're the
When they arrived in the sitting room, Derek instructed Benson. "You can go ahead with the plan, and prepare our men." When he left, Benson quickly made his way to the men's quarters.Derek had instructed him to prepare men to infiltrate the Elder's Mafia. They had to insert spies among the elders to know their next plan of action.This was better than blindly trusting each of them. He selected 6 men, 2 for each mafia, and led them underground to the tattoo room. "Welcome, Boss." Jake was the man in charge of the tattoo room, which helped to prepare Derek's men with tattoos, piercings, a change in haircut, looks, and everything that could help their men fit in properly as a spy. "There are 6 men you need to make an identification tattoo for." Benson rubbed his chin in thought.He had seen some men from each Mafia before. Their identification sign hadn't escaped his shrewd eyes. Albert's men had a star tattoo in the crook of their neck, Herbert's men had a dragon tattoo on their w
Stephen flipped through the account records of his businesses with a deep frown. With each of his business bearing losses for the past few months, he was nearing a bankruptcy. "Fuck." He rubbed his temples in frustration. "What the hell is going on?"He had handed the businesses to some of his subordinates just because he was focused on the issue with Clinton, and now they were almost bankrupt. Suddenly, a loud knock sounded on the door."Come in." "Boss, there's a man here to see you." His right-hand man, Felix bowed slightly. "Who's it?" Stephen replied without looking up from the document in his hands. "He's from Master Morris.""What?" Stephen's heart skipped a beat."Is it that same man?" He suddenly jumped up, rushing out the door. "Yes. The visitor is awaiting you in the garden, Boss." Felix nodded. "Alright, go get a cup of coffee and snacks ready to the garden," Stephen ordered and quickly made his way towards the garden. Like he expected, it was Wallace- the man Mor
"Don't get all excited yet. Morris has yet to meet you all this while because he's still quite distrustful of you." Wallace poured cold water on Stephen's high hopes. Stephen was stunned silent for a while. "He still doesn't trust me?""You were supposed to prove your allegiance by killing Clinton back then, but you slacked off and allowed that rascal to take over the position! Who would trust you after that?""Wasn't it Morris himself that promised to take care of Clinton?" Stephen was shocked. "You don't still get it?" Wallace asked in an angry voice. "Even though he promised to help, the only way you could have proved your allegiance was by killing Clinton yourself. Then taking over the Head Mafia position!""Well, it wasn't my fault in any way. I only obeyed his instructions to the letter." Stephen said with a scoff. "If he had given me explicit orders instead of going through the corners, I would have proved my absolute allegiance!"Wallace only chuckled. "Even with how far we'
"I'm so sorry, Mother." Derek grabbed her hand tighter. "If it wasn't for that man, you wouldn't be here trapped in this hospital.""He snatched your little daughter from you, then hurt you to the point of unconsciousness. Morris is a monster that deserves nothing less than death!" "But I have good news, Mom." Derek glanced fondly at her face. "I found your daughter, Annabelle.""I was able to discover she was my lost sister right before Morris could make me hurt her." Derek felt a wave of sadness and anger wash over him again. "Oh, mother. It must have been painful to lose your child when she was only young. We all missed her growth phases through childhood, teenage, and adolescence. Every single memory was snatched away!""I recall those times when we were still a happy family. Those times when you used to knit in the garden, telling us evening stories while we waited for Dad to return from work." Derek's eyes became clouded with tears. "Those were such happy times."Then, Morris
"What's wrong, Thomas?" Fred also asked, a little panic on his face. "Speak," Derek commanded him. "I don't know how grave the issue is, but Benson is arriving soon to relay some information to you."Derek frowned. "And what could that be?""He refused to speak on the phone."Derek thought for a while and stood up. "Alright. I think we'd better get to the Hotel and wait for him."He gave Fred another nod before walking off with Thomas. Derek quickly returned to his mother's ward. The doctors had finally brought Annabelle in and placed them in the same room. His eyes clouded up as he stared at both women's faces. "Take care of yourself, Mother. I'll be back soon."He turned to kiss his sister's cheek. "Get well soon, Annabelle."With that, Derek retrieved his things and hurried out with Thomas. In the parking lot, a Silver Porsche caught his eyes and Derek couldn't help but admire it for a while. Right next to it was a sparkling red Toyota Camry. "The cab is waiting, Boss." Tho