"How far are we?" Gael asked half an hour into the ride going towards the location. Giovanni had one of his men drive them there using Gael's black SUV. The two of them sat in the backseat, and he had his eyes closed, wanting to clear his head.

"Fifteen minutes away, boss," responded the driver.

Giovanni was on his phone, talking to his men on location who were scouting the area for any potential problems. So far, there wasn't anything threatening. They were also set on the fact that the Morellis wouldn't want to make unnecessary fire with the Parks. Any unusual activities would reach them, and that would cause an unwanted rift between the families—especially since Esmea was untouchable.

This meeting with the Morellis even had to be approved by the Parks. And in order to make this official, they sent someone from their side, making sure that everything would be amicable.

The vehicle came to a full stop in an alley used as a hotel's backdoor entrance where they would have the meeting. A man in a black suit with wire attached to his ear opened the door for them. They got out of the vehicle and scanned the secluded area; there weren't any other cars in sight. The man who was escorting them towards the door had a family crest pinned on his coat.

Gael studied the symbol at one glance. It was a lion standing on its hind legs with a crown on its head—the Park's family crest. Although he didn't like them in particular, at least he knew they were there to make sure there was peace, considering two Italian-American mafia families were about to meet in their territory.

He took a deep breath as they entered the door. They were immediately stopped just as they stepped inside and were asked to leave all their weapons and devices before they could continue deeper into the building. He didn't like the thought of not bringing his gun with him, but they were assured that the Morellis, who arrived a couple of minutes before them, also did the same.

Once they passed the security measures—a.k.a being copped thoroughly and twice—which was so much fun, he swore he wanted to take a bath after being felt that much by a man—they were then brought up to a meeting room on the third floor.

Because it was a Saturday evening, there were many patrons, but the Parks made sure the route they took was private and had no foot traffic until they reached the room. There was so much security, but he couldn't expect anything less from this family. Gael was almost impressed.

He glanced at Giovanni, whose face was unreadable just like his, and his uncle smirked but kept his mouth shut.

The door to the private meeting room opened. Two Morellis sat on a brown leather sofa while another man whom Gael thought was a Park stood by the tall window with his back facing them. The latter turned around, a devilish grin split his face as he greeted, "Ah. Welcome, De Lucas." He crossed the distance and extended his hand to shake theirs. "William Park. I'll be your...spectator for this lovely evening. Please. Have a seat."

Gael and Giovanni shook William's hand. It was the first time they met him, but they knew who he was—William was the son of the Parks' current head of the family.

"It's been a long time," said Filippo Morelli from the sofa with a grin.

The fûcker didn't even bother to stand. And the man next to him—his brother—only looked at them with an expressionless face.

"Filippo," muttered Giovanni.

Gael, who didn't give two shits to these people, took an armchair and told them, "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

***

Meanwhile, Angela had just sent a message to Gael, telling him that she was already at the party. He usually responded fast, but she didn't receive a reply this time, so she figured he must already be in the meeting. She looked around, a small smile hinting on her face as she admired the glamourous family event.

Wearing a purple-grey floor-length evening dress, Angela looked breathtaking. It had a V-neckline with a sheer corset bodice and sparkling beaded work across her chest and halfway down her skirt. Her hair was wavy and gorgeous, and she had light makeup on her face. She put her phone in her purse just as Nina came, handing her a glass of white wine.

"Great work, Ninz. Everything looks amazing," Angela complimented as her best friend was in charge of the set-up of the venue, among other things.

"Ugh. This drove me nuts for weeks. And look! Nobody probably even cares that pear green is different than olive green! And yet I lost hair more than I should in a week because the supplier delivered a horrendous color twice! Twice!" Nina spewed several curses under her breath before taking a huge gulp of her wine.

Angela hooked arms with the other, smiling as she calmed her down. "Let's just enjoy the rest of the evening. You have to save your energy for your 'favorite' cousins who'll arrive anytime soon."

"You're right." Nina sighed, then rolled her eyes when she saw someone coming their way. "Speaking of cousins, the devil's spawn is coming."

A woman in a short red dress stood next to Nina. She had a glass of red wine in hand and bold red lips to go along with everything else going on with her. Even though the party required a long evening dress, this woman still came wearing differently without shame. "Can this party be any lamer?" complained Lauretta, Nina's cousin who's been living with her the past few weeks.

The best friends exchanged looks and did not respond to her, hoping she would go away and not bother them.

Lauretta then proceeded to bîtch about her father and his 'Elizabethan' era plans of arranging her marriage after she and her ex-fiancé's relationship failed. She went on and on about her fears in meeting this man, her face scrunching at the thought of it. "What if that guy is fat? Or if he has B.O.? Heck, what if he has a small dick? Can you imagine—"

"Oh, my god! Will you shut up?" Nina snapped. "Why are you even talking to us? We don't like each other."

"Woah… Too much fire already?" A man's voice came from behind them, catching their attention. "It's only seven in the evening. Leave some for later."

"Hey, Nolan," Angela greeted Nina's older male cousin. Nolan was a doctor in his early thirties and was one of the very few cousins whom Nina actually liked.

"Hey, doll face." He clinked his glass with hers and then faced Nina and Lauretta. "Why do you girls always argue? Don't you ever get tired?"

"Well, as long as she stays within six feet within my radar," said Nina, folding her arms under her chest.

Lauretta made the biggest eye-roll and then took a sip of her red wine, muttering incoherently to herself. Then she faced Nolan, "What's up?"

"Oh, your dad's looking for you. Said there's someone you need to meet, so go look pretty or something."

"What the hell?" Lauretta looked down on herself. "Do I look like I need more makeup? Ugh. Whatever. I guess I'll go make sure my boobs stick out. Can't believe my own father's pimpin' me out." She huffed and walked away.

The three of them watched as she sashayed across the room and disappeared into a hallway.

"I don't mean to be rude, but I really don't like her. How are you guys related?" Angela remarked and Nina and Nolan only shrugged. Neither of them had the energy to talk about their odd cousin.

Moments later, while they talked about a trip they wanted to go in the summer of next year, whispers and chatter around them caught their attention. They followed where the people were looking and found a group of men in dashing formal wears who just entered the hall.

"It's as if they're celebrities who own the place," commented Nolan, then he glanced at Angela. "Spot anyone you like, doll face?"

Angela didn't even hear what he said. Her focus was centered on one particular debonair man among the group. Her heart thundered in her chest as she watched him being introduced to Lauretta, and the latter flirtatiously hugged him like they were a couple.

"...so that's Lauretta's husband-to-be?" said the woman behind her.

"I think so. He looks so hot. You think he has a brother?" said another one.

Nina squeezed her hand and probed, "Anj… Is that—"

Angela's breathing hitched, feeling as though her soul had left her body when she whispered, "Gael."