The funeral ceremony of Adrian Mateo Ramirez dragged on, the people seated on every pew of the church were dressed in black all the way down to their feet, everybody was sober or sobbing their hearts out except one person- Julian Mateo Ramirez. Julian had already grieved his father's death long before the ceremony had started, as a matter of fact he had been grieving for days but today was different because he knew that amongst the sad faces and the black attires his father's killer played along with the ceremony as a disguise.

His piercing eyes scanned from face to face watching for a reaction that might give the person away, he was also dressed in black as well but he wore a red tie and hung a red rose on his coat breast, the red on the black signified his lust for bloodshed, he wanted to spill the blood of the person that murdered his father.

His mother who was sitting close to him noticed his searching stare.

"If you continue looking like that you might scare the person that you're looking for away" She whispered in his ear, he eased up a bit and he realized that he had been in a stiffened position for so long.

"I plan on doing exactly that." he said coldly.

"Not a very bright plan if you ask me."

"Well, nobody is asking you, mom." he spat at her angrily, she left him alone and focused on the service.

Julian tried to focus but the sermon was making him even more angry.

"Today we are gathered here to put a hero to rest, a good man, a virtuous soul that helped the needy and gave alms to the poor."

The preacher went on with the list of achievements and good deeds that his father had done.

'If he was such a good man, why did he have so many enemies? Why was he so hated by his business partners? Why was he envied by all when the only thing he did was to feed the needy and help the poor?' Julian questioned the things the preacher said mentally, his father was a generous and honest man no doubt, but in this world it seemed like good men don't last anymore.

During his piercing search, he had noticed a few people that weren't really all that sad, some faked the tears while others excused themselves for a while and they came back looking as if they've been crying since the previous night.

One person caught his attention though, it was a man who he dimly remembered but he recognized him as someone who had come to his house one time to see his father about some business, the man too was among one of the fake criers but what interested Julian the most was the brunette that sat close to the man.

"Who are they?" He decided to ask his mom at last since his memory failed him, his mother cocked her head to their direction and she pouted her mouth in disdain.

"That is Mr. Romeo Arturo Rodriguez, he was a close friend of your father that was supposed to be on the same status as your father but his gambling addiction prevented him from upgrading into the upper class."

"And the girl?"

"She is his first daughter, nothing much about her other than the fact that she is well behaved."

His mother noticed the way his eyes lingered on this particular person and she wondered if he knew her from somewhere.

She didn't pester him with questions though because like her Julian had also come here to grieve.

The ceremony finished and now everyone either talked within themselves or they went home without further questions or conversations, Julian had his hands full with his father's business partners that were in attendance, he shook hands with, sympathized with them as they came to him in endless waves.

"JULIAN, MY BOY!! Look at you all grown up now, I remember carrying you when you were just a baby and now look at you, looking as if you've been a grown man all your life!"

A well-built old man with white beards and white hair hugged Julian from behind before carrying him up with some kind of strength that Julian didn't know he had.

"Mr. Dorchester, it's always a pleasure to see you, how is the family?" Julian greeted the man with a warm smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"The family is doing great, you never come to visit us up in new London, so, what more can I tell you?" The man said laughing, his eyes twinkling when he laughed.

"I have been busy ever since."

"Oh, no need to bother yourself with an explanation, how could I be mad at my own blood? Even though your father was from a Latin descent while me from the British isles, we still considered each other as family both in business and outside business. It's a serious tragedy and we received it with a heavy heart."

He took off his hat and placed it on his chest with his head bowed, he said a silent prayer before he continued.

"Do you have the slightest clue about who did it?" He asked in a low whisper.

"No I don't."

"If you don't know about the shooter then what about the person who gave the tip?" Julian shook his head. He didn't know who had pulled the trigger or who had sent the anonymous tip that his father should be assassinated.

"I want you to know that the Don K family will support you with whatever resources you need both financially and business wise, just come knocking and my doors will be wide open." Mr. Dorchester said with a big smile, Julian didn't return the favor though he hugged the man before he went his way while Julian was facing Mr. Dorchester his mother was facing a hoard of well-wishers, friends and family alike.

"Catalina! You look so pretty in black, please accept my condolences." Mr. Rodriguez said as he came close to her, he was looking shabby and his suit was too small to cover his oversized belly. His daughter hung around them but didn't come close and Catalina could understand why.

"Don't say things like that Romeo! Do you want my in-laws to think that I was the one who killed my husband?" She reprimanded him playfully, even though he was looking unkempt he was still her friend nonetheless and she was going to treat him as a friend.

"How is Julian liking his new position as the new CEO?".

"He seems overworked and it's just his first week!" Catalina worried over her son's health state more and more as the days rolled by.

"He's going to get the hang of it, he's a man."

"That's the same thing everybody is saying, anyways how is your family?" Romeo's face dropped as she asked that question.

"We are barely surviving." He said in a small voice.

"What happened?"

"Let's discuss this somewhere more private, shall we?" She agreed and they went outside the church, they talked on the church yard under the shade of a tree.

"My daughter and I have been barely surviving, ever since their mother died, I just lost control of myself and most of our funds went into my gambling addiction and my drinking problem. "

When I got laid off things got even worse, my oldest daughter Diana had to get a job to cater for our needs but it's not enough for us to get by."

Romeo was near tears now, he felt guilty for squandering their funds on some stupid things.

"You know that I can't give you any money, right?" She said bluntly, Romeo's teary eyes shone in surprise.

"Why?"

"I am not the one in charge of my husband's wealth, at least not yet until some issues are resolved." she paused to look left, right and over her shoulder before continuing.

"My husband's family are doing an investigation to know if I am the one who killed my husband, so, until they are done, I am not allowed to spend any money directly from his account but there is a way I can still help you though." She said thoughtfully, Romeo's hopes sky rocketed again.

"How?"

"I can give your daughter a job in my son's company and I will tell him to make her salary triple the usual payment so that means double payment for her while you will get one fold of her salary so that you can be using that money to either start something profitable or feed your addictions again, I don't care." Romeo tried to hug her but she halted him in his tracks and offered him a hand instead.

"Do we have a deal?"

"Yes, we do. You won't regret this, I promise" He said, shaking her hand with so much joy.

"I hope so too, well, there will be certain conditions attached to it and one of them is that she will be staying with us during her work days which will be from Monday to Saturday, sometimes Sunday too, if he pleases."

"Absolutely, no problem, I will tell her the good news right away." He said excitedly.

"Don't tell her yet I want to speak with my son about it before anything. I will contact you when he has given his verdict." They shook hands and she went back inside the church, Romeo took his daughter back home in high spirits.