Two years after reuniting with Aria,
"I say we continue with the original plan and bring down LABELS to its knees." The man sitting on the first seat to the left of the long rectangular table shrugged. He was wearing a white mask covering his entire face except for his dark brown eyes.
The man beside him nodded in agreement. "We have a few bussiness in our control but not the owner of LABELS. So, I think it's time we stepped up and took over them. What if he tries to take over the rest of the fashion industry? We can't risk it. It's growing way too fast." He sighed. He was wearing a metallic silver mask covering half of his face and the /upper part of his left side. The only thing visible was the large scar starting up his chin to his right eye.
"Tch, Do you think that will be easy? Isn't that designer rivaling their designers too? He doesn't even have his own company and, he is already rivaling LABELS. I think we should deal with him first." Someone else spoke; he was sitting in the front of the table, indicating that he was the one leading the meeting. His mask was a mix of black and white. There was no design to it, but that didn't make it any less creepy.
"Stupid. Midnight clan already tried to attack him/her, but half of their men disappeared. I suggest you all protect your businesses instead of attacking them. If you don't become a threat to them, then they will leave you all alone." A feminine voice interrupted everyone's argument. Her mask was black, and it covered the upper half of her face. Her grey eyes were exposed and, so was the bold red lipstick she was wearing. With a hood over her face, she tapped the table and closed her eyes in annoyance.
"Tsk, What do you know? You are only here to assist us. Don't think you can have opinions." A man on the right side of her with a gold mask covering half his face spoke with a twitched mouth.
"All of you shut up! We will do as she says. Just stay away for now. The meeting ends here. You are all giving me a headache." The man who's mask was a mix of black and white spoke slamming his hand on the table. The other man just glared at the woman.
He stood up and left the room. The rest where quiet. "He's just angry that you beat up his men so easily." The man with a white mask chuckled.
Adriana scoffed. "I have better things to do than to waste my time with you idiots. Continue with your corrupted business, but I'm out!" She stood up and also left the room, leaving the rest of the men there stunned.
"Hey! Wait, we need you."
Adriana paid attention to it and left. She walked up the stairs and exited the basement they were in before.
"Ma'am." Ralf bowed with his mask covering his face. "Let's go. I already accomplished my goal, anyway." She sighed. Ralf nodded his head and escorted her out of the building. The night was quiet, and the roads empty. One lone car was parked outside and, that was the one Adriana and Ralf entered.
Inside the car:
"Wouldn't it be better if you lead your own clan? We have met a handful of loyal acquaintances in these seven years. I'm sure they will join you." Ralf suggested as he drove. Adriana removed her mask and, she pursed her lips.
"It's best if I don't. I don't want to become a big shot in the underworld. I only joined the shadows because they were targeting me. I need to re-direct their plans. My only goal is to protect my career and my kids." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"The underworld is complicated. Lately, the most powerful clans have been trying to blackmail and control the biggest businesses." She explained. "I understand. You only wanted to protect yourself, but why did you also protect LABELS?" Ralf smiled meaningfully.
"Will you believe me if I tell you that I only did it because I don't want to be affected if they go down?" Adriana asked. "No, not at all." Ralf chuckled, and she stifled a laugh.
"Right. Just drive me home. I'm tired." She mumbled and decided to take a short nap.
"Yes, Ma'am."
*******
Adriana looked at the silver watch on her wrist and sighed in relief. The clock indicated it was 8:30 pm. She was relieved to have arrived early enough to put her babies to bed. She took Ralf's extended hand and exited the car.
She removed the black hood that covered her face and half of her body, almost like a cape. She then handed it to the butler who came outside to welcome her. She gave him a small smiled and walked inside the villa.
As soon as she did, two little figures jumped into her arms. "Mommy!" They cheered at the same time. "Babies, did you eat dinner?" She asked, carrying one in each arm. Aria kissed her cheek, and James hugged her neck.
"We did. We also changed into our pj's." Aria started. "Yup. We were just waiting for you so that we can sleep!" James finished. Adriana smiled and kissed them in the forehead.
She carried them up the stairs to their room and laid them down in their seperate beds. Since they both always wanted to be put to bed by her, they agreed to share a room together. One side was for Aria and the other for James.
Their room was the same color and sending since they share the same favorite color; that would be blue, of course.
After putting each of them to sleep, Adriana turned off the lights and closed the door. She then walked inside her bedroom, which was located in front of theirs. After stepping into the shower for a quick bath, she wore a pair of pj's. A rose gold-colored short and tank top set, to be exact.
She dried her hair with a towel and took out her laptop.
She spent a few more hours going through work and making sure everyone in her team had submitted their tasks for the week. Since it was Friday, she needed to make sure all of the preparations are ready for the fashion show the next day.
Tomorrow night the official announcement of her new line of clothing would be made. She wanted to make sure everything is perfect tonight so that she could spend half the day with her babies and attend the runaway show with them at night.
When she made her debut to the industry, the first thing Adriana took care of was forming her team. Her best model, which is also her best friend since high school, Crysty, was the first person to join her team. The next was Natalie, who is also her assistant, Tony, who is in a director in charge of marketing, Alexandra, and Amelia, who are designers under her. She created a team of 50 people who work with her in preparing her fashion shows and clothing lines.
She bought a property and set up a small store the first year, the second year, and she purchased a whole building for them. From there, she hired employees that would manage the little store, and three years later, she already had a chain of stores across the country.
She and her team have a whole floor to themselves to do their work, and under them are people in charge of other things. After meeting loyal subordinates and creating a healthy working environment for them, Adriana concentrated on making her name big.
It was hard to raise her children, manage her team, and design her clothing brand in seven years, but she did it. Even now, she is still growing and becoming more powerful. With the determination to protect her children and provide the best life for them, she accomplished so much just for them.
Now, all she has left to do is take her revenge and get rid of the threats around her family. After finishing her work at precisely 4 am, Adriana decided to sleep.