Taken By The Mafia Lord

It was no one else but Winters making a dramatic entrance and all eyes turned in her direction. Marcel's jaw nearly dropped in shock when he saw her, he thought that she would be bawling her eyes out over the breakup. But then, if he could look closely, there was a hint of puffiness around her eyes carefully covered with makeup.

Pride surged inside of Marcel, although she went through a painful break-up today, the girl didn't let it beak her. There weren't many women who could do that. He was extremely proud of her.

"Who is....?" Elvis asked in surprise while Ephraim's eyes were intent on Winters, regarding her slowly as if he could sense something special about her.

As usual, Winters ignored them and came in with her laptop, setting it on the center table in the room and sat beside it with her legs crossed, saying,

"There have been a lot of activities on the dark web and news is going around that someone is buying mercenaries."

"What?" All of the men in the room were dumbfounded by the news. They looked at one another, anxiety on the rise.

Ephraim said to her, "I'm guessing that you're a hacker and honestly, I'm impressed by your age and gender."

And to that comment, Winters rolled her eyes exaggeratedly as a response. What's with people underestimating her all because she's a girl? This was beginning to irk her. She wanted to be praised, not underestimated.

Ephraim must have sensed her annoyance because he added immediately, "I don't mean to offend you, I'm just honestly surprised. However, if I'm to ask, how are you so sure of what you're saying? I'm not trying to underestimate your ability or something, but if I'm going to report this back to the commission, I need evidence, not a thesis. "

Perhaps because this was their first time meeting, Winters forgave him for doubting her. And so she went ahead to explain, " When I was held hostage by Richardo - "

"Who's Richardo?" Ephraim asked, and this time, not only Winters but Marcel's head whipped in his direction.

Dumbfounded by the question, Marcel asked him, "Why do you think Victor is in the hospital? Who do you think is responsible for that? How is it possible you don't know about him after the incident?"

But Ephraim answered, "Your family gets into all kinds of trouble and we, the Draven family, make it our business not to get involved in your business. You only interfere in a matter when you know about it. Ignorance is bliss." He concluded.

And that matter offended Marcel because he sneered, "And your brother calls himself the head of the commission. No wonder Richardo was able to hold ground in the city while you guys sat in your polished position with your head held high. Well, give your brother this message and tell him that while he was being posh, a powerless kitten was able to become a devouring Tiger and what happened to the Basil family is on him!"

"Hey! Eric has a lot of responsibilities you wouldn't even begin to comprehend," Elvis went on the defensive.

"Yeah, enough responsibility that he wasn't even able to sense the selling of drugs in the city he was supposed to protect. Both of us know how much trouble drugs bring which was why the trade was abolished in the city in the first place." Marcel went on to narrate the incident between him and Richardo, without omitting a thing.

"So you killed his girlfriend and now you think he's after you?" Ephraim tried to make sense of what was going on.

"I never even knew they were together until she betrayed me and Richardo revealed himself. You are not innocent either and I did what you would have done if you were in my position."

"You're right," Ephraim agreed with his words, "I would have done the same, however, your mistake was leaving him alive and now he's back a scorned man. Unfortunately, the most dangerous man is the one who has nothing to lose. If what you said is true, and Richardo killed Konstantin to take over his crew with the resources he gained from ending the Basil family, then I'll say you're crewed. "

He added, "Richardo is not just bringing a war to this city, he's bringing a war to your doorsteps and you better be prepared for it. "

"And by prepared, you mean to say that he's screwed, right?" Winters said, and Marcel looked at her.

"Come on," She shrugged, "Richardo fought you the first time and lost. If he's coming a second time, he would buy an entire army just to make sure he doesn't lose again. You need the commission's help." Winters stated.

"Like he would get one," Elvis snorted in amusement.

"Wait a minute," Marcel turned to Ephraim, "Just a minute ago, you were telling me that though I might not be part of the commission, if a war is coming to this city, I would be affected and possibly want my help. But now, everything comes down to me, I'm suddenly alone?"

"I would have to take everything to Eric and he would be the one to make the decision. I'm not going to lie, Marcel, the Luciano family is not part of the family and Eric is going to have to appeal to the other families to help you fight this war."

"Damn, you guys are hypocrites," Marcel cursed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. He was not scared of fighting Richardo, but he had no idea about his capability right now. Help from the other families would go a long way in winning this inevitable war.

"First of all, I need to leave with Arianna and keep her safe. The fact Richardo dared to put a hand on her should be enough proof to Eric that he needs to be stopped. But then, I'll pray if I were you as well considering no one in the commission likes your family. I'm sure left to them alone, they would prefer Richardo wipes you all off once and for all. "