After shooting everyone who went on the operation, the middle-aged man, Draco, returned to his seat. He closed his eyes for a while to relax his mind, before opening them again and pointing the gun toward the last man standing.
The dead leader made him too pissed. Only Draco could tell how many months he plotted to do this. They were supposed to keep Tyler in the room, but they all failed a simple task.
Earlier on, when he stabbed Tyler's abdomen, he got closer to taunt him, only for the mafia prince to stab him in the eyes.
Had Draco not recovered from the shock quickly and moved away, he was sure he would have been a dead man by now.
He left to get himself treated, consoled because Tyler would soon bleed out and die.
He wanted to be the one to send Tyler's corpse to his father. Draco wished to do the honours of alerting the Harper clan that they had no heirs left. He would love to watch the anguish on his face.
However, everything became a pipe dream when his tardy underlings allowed his prey to escape without a trace. The most annoying aspect was that they couldn't tell him how Tyler had escaped.
"Get prepared. We leave for the Harper celebration in thirty minutes."
At Draco's words, the young man only stared, stupefied.
"B…boss… Me?" He questioned in shock and horror. His team leader and the others just fell in his presence. He could bet the boss only spared him because he was the driver without direct involvement in planning or executing the mission. Now, he's automatically the leader of the team. A scary position he never coveted. To him, this was already a death sentence.
"Get these trash out of my presence, you dimwit." The boss' bellow brought him out of his thoughts, and he scrambled away, cursing his ill luck for catching Draco's attention.
***
In the Harper mansion, guests could see neatly dressed servants moving about with trays of various drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.
Most attendees only came to see the mafia prince. He was a legend to many, and only a select few could tell who he was. Now, he was to be enthroned as the new mafia king, as his father decided to take a back seat and allow his son to control the underworld.
People of power trooped into the venue, and getting acquainted with any of them could be a dream come true. Pissing a single person off at the celebration dinner would also spell doom for anyone.
"I don't see the mafia king anywhere around." An elegantly dressed lady in her early thirties spoke up. She had caked so much makeup on her face that it virtually hid her genuine look. However, she still stole the show from many ladies and hoped to be the lucky girl tonight. She was certain to be chosen.
"Grow some balls and go straight to the point?" Her younger brother taunted, his tone sharp and merciless.
To diffuse the situation, their mother, an elegant woman in her fifties, spoke up, "Penelope, I bet the real person you are interested in is the star of tonight's show."
At her mother's words, the young lady dropped the act and clammed up. Her cheeks turned crimson, and her brother could only chuckle in mockery. "Tsk! Women. You know you are being too obvious, right?
He escaped from the two women and headed toward his father.
"Hey, Dad, you need to talk some sense into your daughter. SPenelope being too obvious awithher intentions. She's not the only one who wants to be Cinderella, you know." Drew prompted his father in a whisper, earning his full attention.
"Let her be, brat. Your sister would get what she wants. Sooner or later." Seeing his son dumbfounded, he winked at him before pushing him away with the words, "That reminds me, the young lady of the…" Before he could finish speaking about any woman searching for him, his son was already out of sight.
Many watched their antics, but none of the mafia lords and other CEOs around could chastize his son for interrupting them, or the father ignoring them to whisper with the son. They had the right to be cocky, and others could only watch in envy.
"It's already this late, yet, the mafia king doesn't deem it fit to grace the occasion? Why invite us all to this place if you don't want to see us?" There was palpable tension in the room, as the middle-aged man seemed to be speaking to himself, but in an actual sense, he was trying to stir up trouble.
As if the mafia king was waiting for his comment, everyone began murmuring when he suddenly appeared atop a flight of stairs.
The whole place was silent, and no one dared to breathe too loud.
"Good you could all join us..." The mafia king addressed the crowd in an unapologetic tone before he began to descend, perfectly hiding the agitation he was currently feeling.
Before the mafia king could step onto the fifth step, people were already prepared to swoon around him. To their surprise, the troublemaker spoke again,
"Dominic Harper, don't you think you're too old to steal the show from your son? We're all here to meet him, after all."
The mafia king tensed up at Draco's words and missed his step, earning gasps from the crowd.
*******
"How are you awake…?"
Rachel blurted the words without a second thought, as she felt like she had seen a ghost. Iris had no pulse when she left to get help. She returned and found both Iris and Tyler lying unconscious on the bed.
Rachel rushed to the hospital to get a few pounds of blood, hoping to perform some miracle and save her sister. However, all she met was rejection and betrayal from the one person who could have helped her. She was in despair, broken about losing her only chance to save her sister. It was just the two of them for many years, and even though they grew apart, she wasn't ready to accept her sister's death at her own hands.
"When I left here, you were… You were…" The words couldn't escape Rachel's lips, as she feared she might jinx her sister, but Iris completed the statement for her.
"Dead?" she joked, only for Rachel's eyes to go wide from shock. She returned her attention to the computer and behaved as though she didn't notice Rachel's dumbfounded expression.
"You..." Rachel soon felt overwhelmed with joy after her initial shock. She ran to her sister and threw herself at Iris, hugging her from behind. Rachel didn't care what happened, and she knew the events that transpired were enough to drive her crazy.'
"I'm glad you're back, Iris. I'm really glad to have you back." Iris heard her sister sobbing silently, and all her vulnerability and immense love that she tried to suppress were on display.
It was at that moment when she iterated emotionally, "I'm really glad to have you back" Iris finally realized that she truly died a while back. Everything played out in her mind, making her appreciate why her sister was so emotional.
'I guess I truly died again, huh?' She tightened the hug with Rachel and said, "I'm sorry for everything, kiddo. Henceforth, I'll be there for you, and you'll be my priority. You are the only family I have left, Rachel. And I swear to protect you with my life, even if it's the last thing I do."
Iris' words shook Rachel, making her feel safe in her sister's arms. She didn't doubt her words a single bit. This was the Iris she missed all these years.
"Iris," Rachel called carefully. She had something to say, and could only hope that Iris won't misunderstand her.
"You know we have more family out there, right? How about we… " Rachel pushed…
"We'll cross that bridge soon enough, Rachel," Iris responds affirmingly, much to Rachel's glee.
She smiled at her and added, "Our shares are plummeting too fast. For now, I got some jerks to take care of…"
That said, Iris checked her phone when she heard a beep. She was expecting a message from Petra, but the display on the screen shocked her to the core.
"Holy crap!"