"The Regis are not a joke!" Albert's voice rang through the room as he let out his frustration.
"It's just an invite to one of his Grand celebrations. Besides he just returned from Italy, there's nothing to worry about" Vincent tried being reasonable with the argument that had been going on for about an hour now.
The Regis family after the bloodshed had completely vanished. Just a few months back, the young Cosa Nostra found out about the Family's new heir. Now that the pack had a leader, not to mention a young one.
Albert was on alert at all times. The memory of the gruesome death of Arthur Felix Regis was still fresh amongst the underground lords.
Arthur had a son and was hidden all along bothered Albert the most. No one had ever seen Regis's new king, Gabriel Arthur.
To think that the first thing upon his return, was to invite his Father's murderer to the Regis Mansion did not settle in for the Mafia Lord.
Gabriel Arthur had become well known for his charms after his return to Vegas. The 29-year-old Director of Fashoryx Private Ltd had taken over the fashion industry in just a couple of months.
His huge investments had caused many to subside their business but his company grew better and better. Within 2 months, Gabriel had already taken over the fashion world due to a huge rise in his company's shares.
But to everyone's surprise, he also invested in building subsidiaries which bought in a lot of opportunities for small businesses to cooperate.
Though his act was a little harsh at first, after the collaboration, Gabriel had become a real trend and was seen as a promising fortune for the fashion industry.
Not long after in an interview did the captivating young man reveal that he was the son of non-other than the Late Arthur Felix himself. Making him the new leader of the Regis Family.
That not only was a shock for the media but the subterranean lords themselves were aggravated by the sudden divulgence. Though the real cause of death, of the former leader of the Regis family, was kept away from the media, the sudden demise had everyone astounded.
The Demonic Cosa Nostra had to take care of the press immediately after Arthur's dismissal to not entice too much attention. Only after withdrawing most of the shares his father had invested into other businesses did Gabriel take over the throne of the Regis family.
This again left the industry in devastation as most of the shares Arthur had were in the import-export business. The whole withdrawal had caused a whopping loss of $28.7 billion on the stock exchange, forcing most of the companies to shut down.
The act did not go unnoticed by the media and once again the alluring boy was a trending topic. With his way to play with words, Gabriel easily manipulated the people to believe that his actions were for a good cause.
His father had external affairs with dangerous people which he wanted to stay away from and start new. In many of his interviews, he mentioned that whatever his father had done in his life was against Gabriel's rules and he did not approve of his actions. He had asked his father to stay away from the chaos of Vegas as it would only call for trouble.
Hence, he made sure to stay abroad and settle in Italy, though he had to return after getting the news of his Father's sudden death.
"Why exactly would he want me to attend some stupid launch party when I am not even from the industry?" Albert countered back as calmly as he could.
"Maybe he just wants to meet his Father's murderer in person?" Luciana commented sarcastically, gaining a death glare from the angry Mafia Lord.
"No time for sarcasm, this is serious. We don't even know what his motives are. He was never in the picture before." Mark said out loud what Albert had been thinking for a long time.
"I think Albert you should meet him, I mean there is nothing to worry about." Luciana finally started getting a little serious. "Mark and I can provide backup and Vincent is always there to handle the security. Not to forget you have Leonard always around." she pointed out to which Vincent nodded agreeing.
"It's not about the invite, it's about the reas-"
"You are seriously thinking a lot. Don't sweat over such an invitation. What's the worst that can happen?" Vincent cut in even before Mark completed his words.
"Ah... Maybe shoot him dead? Are you kidding me, don't you see it's a trap?" Mark said irritated. Albert who had been quiet all this while raised a brow at his words.
Trap...
What exactly was Gabriel thinking about calling his long-time rival to visit the Mansion itself?
Was he not scared of the aftermath?
Even if it was a trap, did he think that Albert would go impromptu?
Whatever, it was that Gabriel was thinking, Albert wanted to be prepared for it.
"Are you serious you think he will shoot him in front of all those cameras?" Vincent spoke the obvious.
"He's right! The media always covers the events Gabriel hosts, there is no way he is going to do anything stupid in all that limelight" Luciana said making a point, "Though it does not mean we put our guards down" She continued.
"I don't think he is that much of a threat honestly. Look at him covered in all that sparkling stuff!" Leonard finally spoke for the first time, while looking at the video of Gabriel that had been playing on the projector since the meeting started.
It was true, Gabriel was all about Fame and Fashion. His aura exuded BRAND. Looking at the details that Vincent had gathered from the main portal of the Family, It was pretty simple to track down Gabriel's whereabouts.
There was nothing much to him but his life could be simply summed up in two words. Rich Brat. According to the information Albert had in hand, Gabriel was 29 years of age. His father was indeed Arthur Felix Regis but his mother was someone named Ginevra Diego.
Which meant that Gabriel was the illegitimate child of Arthur. The young blood was more of an outgoing person. Usually spotted at events, parties or even clubs. His usual spot was Ebriacus. The luxury 5-star bar was infamous for sucking in all the haughty striplings of the rich. The pictures projected just should Gabriel dancing, drinking or flirting with croquettes.
Nothing seemed abnormal from the usual. Some clicks showed him meeting people, while the other just showed how he stumbled all over the place, drunk. Albert looked at the invite in his hand and his grip tightened as he kept staring at the piece of paper in his hand.
The red edges delicately designed were now crumbled by the hands of the troubled Mafia King. He did not want to get involved with the Regis again. Not because he was worried about anything, but now he had Annabelle under his supervision. What he had long waited for could not be taken away from him again.
"Albert, I think you should go... Maybe we can get a lead?" Mark finally spoke through the tension. "You can actually get your hands on something, I obviously am going to be beside" he stated factually.
"Mm..." the pack could clearly sense that their leader was distracted.
"What are you thi-" Even before Vincent could complete his words, Albert tossed the piece of paper in his hand and walked out of the room. Tension filled the room making it difficult for anyone to say much.
"Is it really such a deal?" Vincent asked confused at the sudden action. The others were just as confused and none could answer it.
----***----
On the other hand, every passing second felt like a pinch in her heart for Annabelle. She was scared, worried and tired - physically and mentally. Her body was giving up on her because she refused to eat or drink anything.
This made Albert feel guilty but he refused to let her go or even explain to her about everything. Annabelle had refused any kind of aid as well, she would barely come out of her room. Her visits to the library were also shortened as days passed by.
*I can't do much if she weakens...*
"You're making it worse, the girl's scared. Can't you see that?" Luciana spoke taking a seat as she broadly bit off of an apple.
"I don't want to go all over this again" Albert spoke almost in a whisper looking in the direction of the closed door as worry filled his eyes.
He was sure he had to do something about the invite but before that he had to make sure everything was under his control. The Mafia lord already had a lot on his plate and Gabriel's interest in him was not helping at all.
"Tell her!" Luciana said annoyed by the other's stubborn attitude.
"You think she will understand? She barely remembers anything" Albert stated raising a brow.
Luciana obviously knew Albert would do what he already had in his mind. Wasting her breath was going to do no good.
"I hope you know what you are doing," She said as she walked out playing with the apple still in hand.
I am not sure what I am going to do…
All Albert wanted to do was clean the mess his father had caused 2 years back and he was hoping for the odds to be in his favour. If not he was ready to make amends…