Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
Lukas ignored him and when it became obvious to Daniel that his son wasn’t going to talk to him any time soon, he turned to Victor, who prayed inwardly that the ground opened up and swallowed him.
“It’s been a while, Vic. How are you doing?” Daniel’s focus was now on him.
“Good sir,” Victor breathed. Was it only him or did the air suddenly seize to blow? Thank God, he wasn’t wearing a suit.
“Are you sure?” Daniel looked at him intensely as if he could see through him, asking, “Or how is your illness? What is it called again? A fit? Tantrum? I wasn’t exactly paying attention.”
By now Victor’s lips had pressed into a thin line. He was quite sensitive to that issue being brought up.
“You know I’m sorry that I wasn’t paying attention that night you were taken because I was busy looking for my selfish son. Perhaps, I would have saved you from experiencing such horrors as a child.” Daniel appeared sympathetic.
“But you didn’t and you have an honor degree in being an asshole,” Lukas finally responded.
Daniel turned to Victor with a huge smile, “And that my son, is how you push people’s buttons.” He hinted at the fact Lukas finally answered him.
Well, for starters, Victor was glad that he wasn’t his son. Literally.
Enemies In Their Past Life
“Perhaps we should focus on the arrivals,” Victor said as he saw Lukas staring intensely at his father.
He knew Lukas wouldn’t be stupid enough to reveal the internal crises in their family to the incoming guests, but then Daniel was a real headache and it took Lukas everything in him to stay calm. Moreover, even a blind man could see the hostility between father and son.
The both of them broke apart, their gaze falling on the expensive Range Rover that just arrived at the scene. The car was bulletproof with the windows tinted as well. The car door opened as the Draven Draven family stepped out and It wasn’t hard to find Eric since he had that imposing and charismatic aura of a leader.
He didn’t bring Elijah along, which was a sensible move on his part, Lukas thought. Bringing Elijah with him when he was responsible for what happened would only escalate tension. Eric was wearing black aviator glasses that covered his eyes so Lukas couldn’t see him properly and gauge his ability.
It wasn’t until Eric came to stand in front of him that he finally took off his glasses and the first thing that Lukas saw was his blue eyes. Although It wasn’t as electrifying as Elijah’s Lukas could now see the resemblance between both siblings. It was a wonder he wasn’t able to recognize Eric from the past and put two and two together, figuring out the truth about Elijah.
Nonetheless, it was in the past and Lukas’s objective was for them to come to a compromise that doesn’t involve bloodshed. As much as Daniel thinks they could take on the Draven family, Lukas was a businessman and he was calculating the loss he would suffer if a war were to break out. Not to talk about the loss of lives.
He could take care of himself, but what about his loved ones? Victor? Carmine? Adele? He couldn’t afford to lose anyone valuable to him. Moreover, if Rhea was with the Draven family, that means they would never be together again. There were just lots of disadvantages.
“Eric Draven,” He said, thrusting his hand out for a handshake and Lukas took it, enveloping his palm with his. He had a strong grip, but aside from it, there was nothing more. No hostility. They were just two men from opposite factions coming together to solve a problem.
“Lukas Luciano,” He said before moving onto Victor and nothing happened. But then, the same couldn’t be said when it got to Daniel’s turn.
…..
Both of them must have been enemies in their past lives because the atmosphere shifted and he could sense electricity crackling in their eyes. Lukas did a thorough investigation on Eric before this meeting and from the look of things, it seems that he was Natalie’s current partner, hence the animosity from his father.
Truth be told, Lukas had been anticipating this moment and for someone who preaches that emotions were a weakness, the jealousy on Daniel’s face was laughable. Lukas finally found the button to push if the need arises.
Perhaps, because they were on neutral ground, both men resisted the urge to murder each other. Although his father smiled afterward, it was a sinister smirk that told Lukas Daniel had imagined several ways to take away Eric’s life. Lukas prayed inwardly that Daniel doesn’t fuck this up for him.
Unlike him who had his father as the head of the “committee”, Eric didn’t come with any of his famous and equally influential siblings, only his second in command, and another man he hadn’t cared to know more about. The big fish was Eric, no one else mattered.
“I received your summon,” Eric said to Lukas, intentionally ignoring Daniel. As far as he knew, Lukas was the head of the Luciano family. He only prayed that he wasn’t a pushover and they could communicate effectively.
“It’s regarding your brother, Elijah, as you know already. He infiltrated my organization for the past months under the alias Aziz and God knows how much information he holds about us?” Lukas said.
“You can rest assured that Elijah holds no critical information about your family. He was merely there for the girl and got too involved.”
“It’s your words, Eric.” Lukas hinted his mere words hold no reliability.
“Just like you have a family to protect, I have mine too and my own family has been insecure after finding we have had a mole with us all this while. He was quite close to my underboss, you know, and I can only imagine what he came to know before leaving.”
Lukas was no fool to think Elijah hadn’t stumbled upon secrets while he was here. Secrets that might be detrimental to them in the long run. They needed something as well. A kind of leverage to hold over the Draven family as well.
“We would trade secrets then,” Eric knew and Lukas lifted his head in satisfaction. The man was a good businessman and he hoped things went smoothly between them until the meeting was over.
“But that is not really why we are here, right son?” Daniel finally spoke up, annoyed that he was being kept out of the conversation.
He stared at Eric and said, “Your brother took the lives of our men, five of them, and you should know what that means.”
Eric’s gaze hardened as the protective instinct to defend his brother kicked in. He said, “I need evidence of the crimes you level against him.”
Daniel snorted as if finding his words amusing. He then gestured to Victor who left them and went to the car, returning minutes later with a folder in hand.
“Here,” He handed it to Eric who accepted the document from him while Lukas explained to him,
“Your brother took up the occupation of a mercenary called Elijah and he was popularly known for his mask used to cover his identity. He slipped right out of our fingers plenty of times. Those images you see there were captured on the night our men were out celebrating. He manipulated the brakes leading to the accident that claimed five of them. Honestly, we wouldn’t have known it was his handiwork until he stepped into the camera, confident that he wouldn’t catch him. But we did catch him, didn’t we?”
Bring Shame To This Family
“What can I offer you and in exchange, my brother can go free?” Eric told Lukas.
He has gone through the evidence and honestly, there was no loophole. Even if he were to find one, it would only aggravate the situation. Just what was Elijah thinking?! If he hasn’t shown his face in the camera and claimed responsibility for the accident, then they wouldn’t be having this conversation. Eric had no idea what to do.
He went on to say, “I hope to reach an amicable agreement that doesn’t involve war. You benefit from it and my brother goes free.” Eric enticed him like the head of the commission he was. He couldn’t afford a war, it would jeopardize his position as the leader.
Lukas knew that because he said,” If that is the case, then I would have to get back to my – “
“Elijah has to stand trial,” Daniel announced to Eric, cutting Lukas off with a frown. He said to his son pointedly, “There is no communicating with the family members again. They have spoken already and you have to hand your brother over to us.”
The instant Eric heard the demand, his brows drew together in a furrow immediately. He asked, “What do you mean by Elijah would stand trial?”
Daniel smirked as he said, “It’s a family tradition. You can think of it as a courtesy gesture extended to a high-profile enemy and in your case, to an opposite organization. Your brother would be given the chance to defend himself, however, he would be judged by us according to the charges against him and then, judgment would be passed on him, ” He added, “You’re free to come to watch the whole procession if you want to.”
While Eric was dumbfounded, Lukas pinched the space between his brows. He had this under control! Why does he just come and ruin everything?
“You are going to judge my brother on what account? Who gave you the right? Who made you a judge?” Eric was furious and disgusted at the thought of his brother being messed around like some sort of culprit by a family of villains. It was hypocrisy at its finest and he would not sit down and watch his family being turned into a laughing stock.
…..
It was not going to happen.
“That’s not going to happen,” Eric told him resolutely, “If you want to make a joke of my family, just go ahead and do that rather than using this fake, pretentious method.” He hinted that Daniel was doing this on purpose.