Chapter One

Five years ago,

Damian Tucker sat inside his office on the top floor, going through his projects. He's a 28-year-old dark-skinned man with blue eyes and jet-black hair. His hair was styled in an afro, and he had an eagle tattoo on his right arm and a cross symbol on his left arm.

His chest bore a star-shaped symbol on his right side. He is a mafia boss, respected and feared in his territory. He ruled the secret mafia world and underground cartel in North Wind Town.

Inside his office, he wore a black suit and sat at his desk, checking his laptop for other coded business.

His office was painted in an off-white hue, and a knock on his office door interrupted him.

"Boss, Mr. Max Dawson is here to see you," his assistant, Jeff Brody, informed him, and Damian sighed.

His father had just handed over the head position to him, and he looked over at Jeff and replied, "Let him in."

Mr. Max Dawson, a businessman involved in illegal dealings, entered Damian's office, and the latter made no attempt to stand up or shake hands with him.

"What do you want?" he asked, still seated and continuing to click on his laptop.

Mr. Max swallowed the hard lump that had formed in his throat, knowing that doing business with Damian was more difficult than it had been with Damian's father, Mr. Mark Tucker. The name alone instilled fear in other groups.

"It's business, Damian. It's a deal worth $10 billion." Mr. Max said. He was pleased when he saw Damian look away from his laptop and shift his gaze to him.

"Sit," Damian gestured to the middle-aged man. "Go on," he ordered, and Mr. Max went into detail about what the business was all about.

Damian listened with keen interest. "So, what do you need my assistance with?" Damian finally asked Mr. Max.

"As the feared mafia lord, I don't want the other groups to interfere in this business, and I will need your assistance to loan me money to proceed with it," Mr. Max explained.

Damian was interested in this business; however, he had other ulterior motives. Dealings like this, he would personally hijack instead of handing it over to his boys.

"I will lend you the money, but you must promise to pay it back with interest. I don't care if the business works out or not. All I care about is my money," Damian told Mr. Max, and the latter nodded.

"You have nothing to worry about, Damian. I will pay you back, but I will need your assistance with it," Mr. Max said, sitting across from Damian, who was still looking at him.

"Don't worry; I will have Jeff assist you. First, sign the deal." Damian offered the document to Mr. Max to sign for the loan. His mind worked in mysterious ways as he focused his attention on the man who reached for a pen and signed the deal.

"Done," Mr. Max said, a broad smile on his face as he rose to leave Damian's office.

"I will be looking forward to the date." Mr. Max left Damian's office after the deal ended, and Damian kept thinking about the deal worth billions of dollars.

"I cannot allow him to have that kind of money. It will invoke the higher authorities' knowledge of us, so I have to take care of it." A smirk played its way across Damian's lips as he called Jeff back into his office.

"Take care of Mr. Max's business and ensure that the money gets transferred to my offshore accounts."

"Okay, Boss," Jeff said, his eyes widening in surprise, but he dared not question Damian's orders. He looked up to him as his older brother, even though he was only two years younger.

He went to do as he was told.

*****

A few months later, Mr. Max was heartbroken to see that the business hadn't gone as planned. After borrowing money from the ruthless mafia lord, he had only a year to pay off the $10 million he had taken out.

"Honey, what's the problem?" Mrs. Jennifer Dawson came into the room. She was a middle-aged woman, 45 years old, and she looked at her husband, who paced about worriedly.

"I am finished!" was all he said, placing his hands on his head.

"You cannot be finished, honey. Talk to me," Lady Jennifer tried to beg her husband, but he replied, "I shouldn't have trusted that son of a devil. Doing business with his father hadn't been bad. Our dealings hadn't been hijacked by the government, and now I have lost everything I worked hard for."

Mr. Max was on the brink of tears. He shouldn't have trusted Damian to handle the business for him. The boy was still young and new as a mafia group leader.

"Calm down, honey. Talk to me," Lady Jennifer tried to talk her husband out of his misery, but he smacked her hand away and shouted at her, "Don't touch me! Where do I get $10 million to pay the T-Group?"

"The T-Group? Who are they? Calm down, honey. We can raise the money. Where did you borrow such money from? Why would you even borrow such a huge amount too? For gambling?" Mrs. Jennifer asked, shocked to hear the amount of money her husband was dealing with. But he told her, "Get out of my room. I don't have time to explain anything to you. Just leave me alone. If I don't raise that money in a year's time, they will come for us. All of them, and you need to leave with our kids. They shouldn't come back here. I am finished."

Mrs. Jennifer Dawson stubbornly shook her head and told her husband, "I cannot leave you to die alone, honey. You cannot turn me into a widow at this young age. You shouldn't have borrowed the money in the first place. Calm down; we can figure out how to raise the money."

Mr. Max went to his office, leaving his wife alone in their bedroom, and she paced around, wondering what was wrong with her husband.

That night, Mrs. Jennifer came out and saw her youngest daughter, Alicia, in the living room.

"What's going on, Mom? I heard you and Dad arguing?" Alicia, a 19-year-old girl, asked. She was a nursing student and hadn't graduated yet. Her skin was as fair as the sun; she was very blonde and looked like her mother.

"It's your father. He loaned $10 million, and now he has lost everything." Mrs. Jennifer cried, and Alicia nearly fainted.

"What?! $10 million? Where do we start paying off such a huge amount of money? Oh no! We are doomed, Mom! If Dad cannot pay that off," Alicia joined her mother in crying in the living room. They were rich, so why would her father go to borrow such a huge amount of money?

This meant they would have to sell off all their properties. But would it be enough to pay off such a massive debt? Alicia cried, thinking about their predicament.