2

LEO

“Are you ready?” I looked up to see the pitiful eyes of Kierro. He was holding a cup in his right hand, while the other was in his pocket. Instead of answering, I averted my eyes to something else. I heard him sighed.

“You need to be there, Leo. After all, it’s our father’s funeral.”

I stood up, answering, “A lot of people will be there. I think no one can notice me slipping out of the crowd.”

“Still. You need to be there. You know the rites, the title will be passed to you this evening.” Kierro added, ambling towards the door.

“There’s something I need to do first. There’s a mole in the group.” I said seriously.

It’s been a while since it came to my attention that there’s someone who made this year a rough road. I knew about it when I stumbled upon a document that was ripped and nearly shredded. Because of my curiosity, I’ve decided to rearrange the strips. It’s my father’s code. The code that he showed me two days ago. It contained the coordinates of Marcio’s wealth and connections. It’s a top secret, and only me and my father knew about it. Or so I thought…

I am Leonard Achiel De Mapiol, the first son of the greatest mafia in the country. Not only are we known here, but my father was also branded as one of the deadliest leaders in Southeast Asia. All was going well until Kierro found my father lying unconsciously with his mouth bubbling. He was poisoned, and I am sure that the suspect is inside the group. The security inside the house is severely tightened, and no one has successfully assassinated the past leaders of the group. My mind is completely set out; the mole is just a step away from us. I need to know who that person is before he completely snatches the power from my family’s hard-earned work.

I need to clear my mind and start to think straight. I need a plan. But first, I need to show up at my father’s funeral. I stood up, drank the cognac in one gulp, and picked up my coat. I went out of the room when I was stopped by someone.

He patted my shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, kiddo. It’s my fault; I didn’t keep a close eye on your father…who is also my friend.”

“We all know that this is bound to happen. It's just that my father wasn’t being careful with whom he trusted.”

It’s my father’s right hand, Etnad. A guy who has been with us since I was a child. He also taught me how to fight and shoot.

“The ceremony is happening. Go in there now.”

I didn’t bother to look at him again and started walking towards the black door.

The funeral was held in one of the bases of the group, and it was a closed funeral. Only me and the small bosses under my father were present. When they saw me, there were smirks on their faces while they were doing their bows. I am certain that they think I am not capable of being the leader of the most successful mafia in the country.

I maintained my stoic expression while continually walking to the front.

“Let’s get this started so we can end it early.” I said meaningfully.

They gave me their blessings by doing the blood oath. I also cut my palm and squeezed it for the blood to come out. Necessary things were made.“We’ll see how good you are, Leo. I hope you won’t disappoint us,” said one of the small bosses as they made their way out.

I went towards the glass where my father’s urn lies.

“I’ll do everything that I can to catch whoever poisoned you. I’ll make their lives a living hell. And all their families will also suffer from it. Everything.”***

It’s been nearly my second month as the boss, and I can feel that they were just waiting for me to make a mistake for them to barge into the main house. My gaze went to Kierro as he suddenly went inside my office. He is my half-brother, only that we shared the same mother. That’s the reason why, even though he was a year older than me, he wasn’t fit to be the successor to my father. They didn’t share the same blood.

“Leo, we need to go now! Etnad is making his way here as well as the small bosses in both the south and north.” It’s ironic that his face remained calm despite the situation.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

“I will explain everything to you later. Let’s get out of this house first. They will kill you, Leo. I heard them planning your death.”

We went out of the secret passage leading to the underground garage. Kierro was the one driving, and he brought me to an abandoned building. It was his secret house. As he didn’t live with us, my father gave it to him to keep him safe.When we arrived at the apartment, the first thing I said was, “Explain yourself.”

“You asked me to look into the secret files of the group, right? That’s when I discovered that Etnad was secretly laundering the group’s money into his own account. He's done it for years, and our dad knew about it. He just didn’t care as he was a close friend.” Kierro said while handing me a brandy.

I accepted it while intently listening to him.

“I installed a bug in his room and had him tailed. He was planning to kill you on his way to power. He got the support of all the small bosses. You won’t survive if you’ll stay there.”

“I didn’t think that Etnad could do that. I mean, he was very close to our family. How could he?” I said, gripping the glass tight.

“I have a plan. I only know about it now that Etnad is known in the entertainment industry. He owned a series of acting companies.” Kierro said.

“Let’s hear about it.”

“And he has a daughter, whom he denied to the public. Let’s use her against him.”