Taken By The Mafia Lord

Eric held his breath, counting inwardly from one to ten, and the chill in his eyes eventually vanished. For someone who had a lot of self-control, for the first time in his life, Eric just wanted to let consequences be damned and end that bastard.

Well, he almost did, until he recalled that he was currently on neutral ground. It was a trick. Daniel almost tempted him into being the first to break the rule.

Bastard!

Had he acted on his anger, then it would have been game over for him. No negotiation. An outright war. Now Eric could understand why Natalie was obsessed with keeping her daughter, Arianna away from him. Daniel was crazy. An asshole.

They say a rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, Eric could see a perfect example staring right at him. Marcel seemed to be a cool guy, but with his father hovering over him, it was no wonder people thought the same of him. After all, the apple can't fall far from the tree.

Eric turned to Daniel and said to him, "Thank you so much for that joyful reminder. Since both of you were friends, I'm sure you wouldn't mind attending our wedding. I would be sure to send you an invitation once it's out."

The triumphant smile that should have been on Daniel's lips vanished at once and his face fell while Eric had the last laugh and left him alone.

And while this was going on, Marcel watched the drama going on with his arms folded across his chest. For once, someone beat his father in his own games, and holy damn, the look on Daniel's face was satisfying. He actually looked like someone threw shit on his face. Marcel had to fight back the urge to laugh out loud. It was a lovely scene.

They stood watching as Eric got into the backseat, one of his men got into the driver's seat, started the car, and drove him away till they were no longer in sight. It was just him, Victor, and his father now.

The place was silent and Marcel faced his father, waiting for him to blow up. Usually, in the past, this was the point where Daniel blows up and teaches him a lesson on leadership - by beating him. But he was not the same Marcel anymore and that man was not laying a finger on him, not today, not tomorrow.

As if sensing the change in Marcel, Daniel made no move. He just stared at him and when he couldn't take it anymore, said to him, "You are a big disappointment."

"Get used to it." Marcel rolled his eyes towards heaven. Thinking about it now, ever since he grew up and had his own opinion, his father never seemed to agree with his modern and ingenious ways of solving problems. It was always male, aggressive dominance for him. He just doesn't realize that times have changed and now, it was work smarter, not harder.

If it wasn't outrageous to think about it, Marcel could almost say that Daniel was jealous of him… nope, it was impossible. Marcel didn't want to believe it. Daniel being jealous of him was simply outrageous - and childish.

Yes, Daniel was not jealous of the fact that his late wife hated his ass and reserved all of his affection for his son instead; Daniel was not jealous of the fact that he gets to be with the daughter of the woman he loved; Daniel was not jealous of the fact that he seemed to perform better than him (profit wise) than when he was the Don of the family.

Damn.

While Daniel was always protesting that he was teaching him to be better, he was merely projecting his inadequacy onto him? Marcel's jaw nearly dropped to the ground at the realization. Was he fucking kidding him?

While Marcel was lost in his train of thought, Daniel used that opportunity to get close to him and roused him from his thoughts, saying,

"I had high hopes for you, Marcel. You were supposed to be my perfect legacy, but instead, you became this…" He gestured at him, the disappointment on his face was obvious, "You don't know what you have done today and you are going to regret it."

"No," Marcel retorted, "I did the right thing and you don't have the right to tell me otherwise. And just to remind you, just because I'm your son, related only by the sperm you donated, doesn't make me your legacy. I'm my person, not your fucking shadow or clone and it's high time you got that into your head, father." He called him with great distaste in his mouth

Daniel was dumbfounded. He has been receiving too many surprises since today.

And with that being said, Marcel walked past him, shoving him on the shoulder rudely. Since Daniel called him a disappointment, he was going to show him real disappointment.

Marcel stopped, "Also…."

Daniel turned to look at him.

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, hypocrite!"

Having said those words, Marcel gave him the middle finger before turning to join his cousin in the car. Victor was the best because he already started the car and together, they left Daniel all by himself.

They drove off with Marcel screaming at the top of his lungs. He couldn't believe what he just did and he felt so free. Free from the bondage of his father.

"What the hell was that?" Victor finally asked him after they had given Daniel a good distance. What if the man gets mad at Marcel for giving him the middle finger, and he then loses his mind and chases after them? Who knows? It might happen.

"I don't know," Marcel breathed, genuine happiness on his face, "I just feel free, you know."

"Yeah, I get the feeling. But I hope you know what you're doing because it's Daniel we're talking about here. While others would be crushed by today's event and would give up. Your father is the opposite and I can only imagine what wicked plans he has in his head already."