Chapter 1 Meeting Him

Eloise asked, her voice low and taunting, her lashes drooping slightly as she spoke, "Is there someone else, Jeremy?" "No, I... I...", Jeremy stuttered. "You fool," she whispered, giving him a crazy look that said she knew everything. "For a man whose father runs a big business, you sure do stutter a lot." "I'm sorry." "How stupid of you," she said, standing up with her eyes spitting fire. "You think you can break up with me? Tell your father the contract is canceled." "No, please. He'd kill me!" "That's not my problem,” she said and walked away. As Eloise stepped out of the café, her chauffeur was already waiting by the car, holding the door open for her. She slipped inside with a sigh, the weight of the encounter pressing down on her. "Home," she instructed curtly, and the car glided smoothly away from the bustling streets. Eloise’s mind was agog with her next move as she rode home. She doesn’t like to feel defeated. Suddenly, she ordered her chauffeur to head to her favorite bar for a drink to clear her head. The chauffeur looked at her through the mirror in amusement. On getting to the bar, she headed straight to a table for three. Burrowing through her bag as she sat, she picked out her phone and dialed some numbers. “Are you free for a drink? Reach the others. The usual spot”, she said and hung up. "These are too pedestrian for my liking," her voice choked with disgust and disappointment as she ran her eyes through the rows of champagne. “I am afraid this is all we have," the pitiful-looking bartender answered. "Domain Pérignon is what I expected, not this." She said loudly, drawing everyone's attention. Her friends who had just walked in were ashamed of the fuss she created over nothing. “We can make do with what they have”, one of her friends Francesca suggested. Eloise's eyes flashed with annoyance. "Make do? You want me to settle for this...swill?" The pitch of her voice rose higher. Swallowing hard before shaking her head, she followed after her as she stormed out of the bar. Arriving home, she allowed some feigned tears to moisten her eyes as she yanked open the door to her father’s study room. Gambino Escobar's stern expression softened immediately when he set eyes on Eloise. He noticed the tears that lined her eyes ready to fall at the drop of a hat. "Eloise, what's the matter?" he asked with concern evident in his voice. "Daddy," Eloise began, her voice trembling as she approached him. "Jeremy... he broke up with me." Gambino's eyes darkened with anger. "What? Why would he do such a thing?" "He said... he said I'm too controlling and that I don't make him happy," she sobbed, her tears flowing freely now. Gambino pulled Eloise into a comforting embrace. "That ungrateful bastard. How dare he treat my daughter this way?" Eloise buried her face in her father's chest. "I just want to make him happy, Daddy. But he was so mean to me. I couldn't take it anymore." "Don't worry, my princess. I'll take care of everything. You won't have to see him again." He assured. "But Daddy," Eloise continued, her voice small and pleading. "What about the contract with his father?" Gambino's eyes hardened. "The contract is off. Jeremy will pay for hurting you." Eloise pulled back slightly, looking up at her father with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Thank you, Daddy”, she said. Gambino kissed her forehead after which she walked to her room. ~~ Admiring herself before putting on her shimmering short gown for a night out with her friends, Eloise texted the meeting venue to her friends. Arriving at the venue, Eloise began to narrate all that happened between her and Jeremy. "And then I told him to fuck off because I didn't like him anymore," Eloise said, her voice carrying a note of triumph. All her friends laughed because they knew it was expected. "I never even liked him. He was such a dick," she added, rolling her eyes. "He sure was," Francesca agreed, though her voice wavered slightly. "That bartender looks so hot," Sophia, one of her friends, said, her eyes twinkling with interest. "Yeah... but unfortunately, he's poor," Eloise replied, her tone dismissive. Then, with a sudden gleam in her eye, she stood up. "But I can get him in a second." "He wouldn't be too hard to get," Francesca said, a hint of mischief in her voice. As Eloise sauntered toward the bar, A guy in the company of his goons suddenly bumped into her, causing his drink to spill all over her. Instantly, her face flushed with fury. "What the fuck? Are you blind? Oh my God," she exclaimed, looking down at her now-soaked dress, the luxurious fabric ruined. Turning to face the culprit who remained silent, she thundered, "Are you stupid? Do you know how expensive these clothes are?" His eyes had a striking shade she had never seen before, and for a moment, she was lost in their depth. "You should say sorry," she said, her voice softer but still edged with irritation. The mysterious guy frowned and stormed out of the bar like one who had an urgent appointment to catch up on, his friends trailing him. Eloise returned to the table and had more fun with her friends for close to an hour before leaving the bar and heading home partly angry, partly mesmerized. As her chauffeur drove into the compound, she noticed a strange-looking jeep parked to the side with two hefty guards leaning on it with guns in their hands. Her heart skipped a bit. It skipped the more when she stepped down from the car and was almost scooped by her father’s guards into her room. Wriggling furiously, she broke free from their grip and throttled upstairs calling out to her dad with each step she took to report what had just happened. "You have some nerve showing up here after what you did," she cussed, ignoring her father’s plea. "Eloise," Gambino tried to intervene, but Vincent held up his hand, stopping him. "Let her speak," Vincent said with a chuckle. "Daddy... this guy spilled his drink on me tonight at the bar without apologizing," Eloise exclaimed, her voice full of rage. "Uhm... maybe you should let it go, baby," Gambino suggested, but Eloise's eyes went wide immediately. "Let it go? Daddy!" she exclaimed, turning back to Vincent. "Arrogant thing!" she said, rolling her eyes in disgust before storming out of the office. "I am so sorry about her, Mr. Lucchese," Gambino apologized, but Vincent just smiled. "Ten years ago, I remembered the way you held her hand in a bid to comfort her when you lost your wife. Now, she’s all grown. "Dad! Your men tried to drag me into my room!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing through the room. Gambino's eyes widened in alarm. "Eloise, this isn't the time—" But before he could utter one more word, Eloise turned to look at Vincent. "You!" she exclaimed, sounding both shocked and enraged. Vincent slowly turned his head to look at her, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Ah, Miss Escobar. We meet again.” Gambino's heart sank as he realized the gravity of the situation. "Eloise, please—" Gambino's eyes flashed with a mixture of grief, guilt, and fear. He knew that Vincent was not just reminiscing, but also sending a message that he knew Gambino's weaknesses and vulnerabilities. “Grant me access to your distribution network. Exclusivity for my shipment,” he said with a tone of dismissal before marching out of the room. Driving out of Gambino’s mansion after making his demands for compensation known to him, he reminisced how his entire family was wiped out in one night. It all happened on a warm evening when Vincent was barely six years old. A loud bang echoed through the house shattering the quiet stillness of the night. His young mind racing with fear and confusion, he sat up quickly on the bed and called out to his mom but nobody answered. His heart hammered itself to silence in the dark hallway as he cried out once more, his voice hardly audible above a whisper. There was still no response. Vincent crept down the stairs, the darkness closing in on him. There, in the living room's dim light, he saw them: five black-clad men, each with a gun in hand.