PREFACIO

Twenty-Two Years Ago

 

The eight-year-old boy listened to his parents argue. He watched the scene through the crack in the door. His father spoke in a pleading tone while his mother remained impassive.

 

“Sherlyn, you can't leave me like this!” he cried in despair. “Tell me, what can I do to keep you? If the problem is money, don't worry, I built the Evans Empire from the ground up once, I can do it again, but only with you by my side and with our son, you'll see how everything will work out, I'll continue to give you everything you need, I promise you'll never want for anything,” her father continued, trying to get closer to her mother.

 

However, she slapped his hand and looked at him with a gesture of contempt.

“I don't want to build anything with you, why should I when I can have it all with Jonah Johnson? He's a young man and now ten times richer than you were,” the woman pointed out without hiding a smirk.

 

“Because he stole from me, he took advantage of our friendship and the trust that was placed in him to take all of my assets from me. How can you ally yourself with the cause of the destruction of our lives?” exclaimed the incredulous man, feeling a deep sadness as he realized the selfish and self-serving nature of his wife.

 

“He has not ruined my life for me, in fact he offers me a promising future, on the other hand at your side only a miserable future awaits me, I assure you, that is not attractive to me at all,” the woman declared, raising her chin in a defiant manner, to then turn around and continue her task of packing all her things.

“If you don't want to do it for me, do it for our son, Christian needs you. Do you want to leave him alone, suffering the absence of his mother?” the man asked, hoping to change his wife's mind. “This man will never love you as much as we do, he may end up leaving you in the end. Please don't leave me, I beg you...” the man began to cry as he knelt before the woman.

 

“You are so pathetic, I don't know what I saw in you to end up with a spineless man like you, you should at least have some dignity and not beg like a fool. I don't care about that stupid brat, he can stay with you, I don't care about either of you,” the man stepped in front of her to prevent her from leaving and spat at her in an arrogant tone. “Get out of the way!”

 

“If you leave, I swear I'm going to kill myself,” the man said, convinced.

“I don't care. You can blow your brains out for all I care,” she snapped in annoyance. She opened the door and saw the boy looking at her with tears in his eyes. “Stop crying. Act like a little man.”

 

“Don't go, Mom, don't leave me!” the boy begged, holding her hand as a stream of tears began to run uncontrollably down her face.

 

“I'll tell you something Christian, never forget, I hope you take this advice, I'll give it to you so you won't become a loser like your father tomorrow. Beautiful women are only interested in two things: money and power, and with the former almost always comes the latter.

 

With that, he walked out the door without looking back, while the little boy watched as he got into a car parked in front of the house, driven by a man much younger than his father.

 

As he closed the front door, a detonation was heard inside the house, the boy ran out frightened to his father's office, when he entered, the man lay dead, brains and blood splattered everywhere, while the little boy knelt beside him, crying desperately, trying to wake him up. 

You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have. Bob Marley