Ethan Theodore.
Location: Tuscany, Italy.
I stood across from the President of the Senate,a man whose power was bought from family wealth and the fear of being exposed of his lies and corruption.
I smirked and rolled my eyes as he signaled to one of his bodyguards to escort me out of the parliament hallways. Why would he put himself through this when he could just adhere without this unnecessary stress?
Too bad he had forgotten who I was.
The bodyguard grabbed my arms, wrinkling my fine tailored black suit I'd just got from the biggest designer in Tuscany, a bribe to make me silent about the dirtiest secret I discovered about him.
I yanked his hands off me, dusting my suit off.
I glared at him as I noticed my suit was now rough.
The President raised his hand, telling them to let me go.
"I already told your boss I'm not going to push other members of the parliament to sign that bill into law. It is well against the development of the economy of Tuscany and Italy in general", he said sternly.
I rubbed my neck gently. With a brief smile, I moved closer to him, staring into his eyes.
"Should we tell the people of Italy about the regional election and how you manipulated the results to become the President of the Senate? and how you are the secret sponsor of Partito Conta il Popolo. Wait, isn't that the protest party against the government of Italy?", I whispered. I smiled as his eyes widened.
After a rapid move in his throat, he coughed silently.
"We should not be doing this in the hallway", He whispered back, his voice trembling.
"You can leave. Give me some time with Mr Lucenti", He told his bodyguards and they walked away hesitantly.
We entered his office.
I sat across him, watching as he struggled to sit. I laughed. "Senator, the seat isn't running away"
I placed my briefcase on the table. I brought out a paper from it and slid it to him. "I suggest you sign"
Reluctantly, he picked the paper up.
"No. This isn't part of our agreement. Why is Rovina Group doing this? I won't sign this"
I sat back and crossed my legs, flicking my lighter. "I know a little about your wife's charity for displaced persons...", I raised my brows and continued, "looking at it, I think it should get audited. And your daughter's school, let me just remind you that New Zealand...I don't think they appreciate falsified transcripts"
"How many cards do the Rovina Group have in their hands? They're so lucky to have someone who knows when and how to drop the cards?", He laughed.
I took a pen out of my pocket and dropped it on the paper. "You certainly do not want to know. If you do, you'll spend the rest of your life in jail?"
With trembling fingers, he picked up the pen and signed the papers.
That was it. My job was done.
As I walked to the parking lot, I started to reflect on my life now living as Lucenti De Luca in Italy. I wasn't Ethan Theodore here. I don't even remember who that was.
Lucenti De Luca, a dirty corporate fixer, they hate to hear or mention, unless you're powerful enough to need me or stupid enough to cross me. I was the one behind most corporate destruction in Tuscan. I was a feared fixer that engaged in blackmail cleanup. I've destroyed alot of corporates, used the rich against the poor. My underlings often convinced me we weren't killing people or destroying them, we just had to do what we were paid to do. But if you point a gun at someone and another person pulls the trigger? Can you really say you're innocent?
I entered the car, closing my eyes immediately.
"Did he sign it?", K, my closest underling asked as he turned the ignition of the car.
"Did that pot bellied man have any choice really?", I answered and he chuckled.
"Ah ah that reminds me. You have a call from New York "
I opened my eyes and sat up immediately.
I frowned, "Who?"
He hesitated. "Shawn Theodore"
That name made me uneasy. Why would he call me after thirteen years of silence?
The phone rang again and I picked up. The moment I heard his voice, something in me wanted to hang up.
"Ethan", he called out smoothly like we just saw each other this morning. "I need you back home"
"I'm already at home. I don't need a new home"
"You brat, I need you back in New York", he screamed.
"I'm not interested", I said, ready to hang up.
"Leo has a terminal illness", he said and I paused. I brought the phone back to my ear.
"So? I'm not a doctor? If you had allowed me to go to a med school then like I wanted, that would have made a difference. But now, I don't think that illness is my business."
He cleared his throat and continued."Your brother's absence will greatly affect the company. You need to come back home. Also, there's a marriage on the table. You have to get married to the heiress of Euphorix Conglomerate "
That name, Euphorix. I'm sure I've heard it before.
I laughed. "You're still a jerk. A marriage?"
"Young Man watch how you talk to me. I'm still your father"
I sighed. "I decline all your offer"
"Who said it's an offer? It's a command,Ethan Theodore", i heard him slam something on the floor.
"I don't care. I'm not coming", I retorted.
"You should care because if you don't I will forward that dash cam video to the Italian Intelligence Division. The case is still unsolved, right?", he said sternly.
I paused. My heart still. I knew exactly what he was talking about.
"What video?"
"You know or are you playing dumb Mr Lucenti De Luca? The video at the Cathedral at Sicily. 2021, the investigative journalist?", he said and snorted.
I gripped my phone tightly. That information wasn't on any public file. The video indeed existed but no one but K and Rovina Group knew about it.
But my father did. He knew about it. This meant but only one thing. The company I worked for or my closest underling had betrayed me.
"Now you're silent, Mr Lucenti?", he said obviously mocking me.
"You've been talking to someone", I muttered.
"You know I'm always one step ahead. You can't beat the best Theodore even after so many years. So if you don't want that out, you better book the next flight to New York."
With that, he hung up.
Immediately we got home, I rushed to the secret vault beneath the wine cellar in my penthouse, which no one knew about. Not even K, Rovina Group or even in the house blueprint. I searched through the old files I've gathered for years in the vault.
And there it was. Euphorix Conglomerate.
"This dirty company!", I slammed the file on the table after reading it. This company was responsible for the death of many people in New York some years back. Now, my father wants me to marry the heiress?
I sat in the metal chair, picking up the file again
"This isn't right", I thought to myself as I read the file further.
"This death does not look like an accident", I thought again as I went through the case file I'd gotten from hacking into the New York Police database.
I'd investigated the Euphorix before, when I first came to Italy. They were associated with M&K Holdings, my father's company. And I firmly believed that no one associated with my father can be clean.
If my father wanted me to marry that company's heiress. It wasn't to maintain the companies legacy. It was to consume her, to destroy her.
He wanted access. He wanted control.
I have to go back to New York to uncover the truth.
I came out of the vault and went into my living room. I met K standing by the stairs.
"I want you to do a background check on someone for me, K", I said to him.
"Who is that? Another prey?", he smirked.
I nod. "It's more of a bait. Check on the Euphorix Conglomerate in New York and the heiress"
"Okay Lucenti"
I sighed. My father isn't to be trusted...
I picked up my phone and booked the next flight to New York.