Christian arrived home from school. He went to his room and got on with his homework. He was so upbeat about how his day had gone. He was very pleased with his progress with getting closer to Gabriela. She voluntarily spent time with him. He was very satisfied.

A knock came on the door. He said "Come in."

A servant came in with their head bowed "Sir. Your grandfather have asked me to pass on this message. They have asked me to tell you that they would like to remind you that you are expected to be ready to depart the mansion in half an hour with your grandfather to join a party at a Hotel for tonight. You will also have dinner at that party sir as you are aware..."

Christian said "I understand. I have not forgotten about tonight. You may leave..."

The servant said "Sir, I was about to deliver another message too. Your grandfather has also asked me to let you know that they expect you to wear new formal clothes for this party and ask for any assistance that you may require from the personnel to get ready on time."

Christian asked "Any more messages?"

The servant said "Yes there is sir. Your grandfather has asked me to also remind you that you need to remain at the party throughout the night until the end and not leave without permission to wander around the hotel. You are expected to remain until the end and leave with your grandfather..."

Christian sighed "I get the message... Tell my grandfather, I will do as he asked."

The servant said "Sir. Do you need any assistance. Perhaps would you like me to iron the formal clothing that you are choosing to wear tonight for you?"

Christian said " No, I do not need any assistance. You are dismissed."

"Yes Sir." The servant bowed respectfully and left closing the door.

Christian decided to get changed now. He wore his suit and got ready. He then went back to his desk to finish the rest of his homework.

Christian managed to finish his homework and then as he was stretching, he heard a knock on the door "Sir, this is your 5 minute reminder. You are expected to make your way down the stairs in the next 5 minutes."

Christian said "I am coming." He then walked to the mirror and fixed his tie.

Tonight's party was quite important. The Irish American crime families at this party were not the ones that his grandfather or the close allies of the Kavannaghs did business with often. The territories they did business in was much farther away. But these crime families still regarded his grandfather very highly and invited him to their social events even if in terms of business the relationship was not that close.

Christian made his way down the stairs and waited in the lobby. Just then his grandfather made his way inside the lobby.

Christian said "Hello grandpa."

Christopher Kavannagh said "Hello Christian." He looked at him up and down as he walked closer to him "This new suit fits you well. I am glad you have chosen to wear it tonight."

Christian said to his grandfather who was now standing in front of him "Of course grandpa. You told me to pick new formal clothes for tonight. That is what I did. I did follow your instructions..."

Christopher smiled and reached his hand to Christian's face and stroked his cheek "Of course you followed my instructions... Let's keep this up for the rest of the night then. Now. Let's get down to business... Do I need to remind you to behave for tonight Christian? I am fond of the families attending this party."

Christian said "I will behave tonight grandpa. I will be perfect. I will be totally compliant to your wishes tonight grandpa."

Christopher Kavannagh pulled his hand away and said "Marvelous. Let's leave."

Christian followed his grandfather to the door. Him and his grandfather picked up their coats from the coat stand at the door and made their way outside after putting their coats on.

Christian took his seat next to his grandfather and the chauffeur drove them as a line of cars followed behind their car and in front of their car.

The ride was long and Christian picked up a comic book to read from the storage back pocket of the front seat while his grandfather made conversation with one of his underbosses, Sedric who was sitting at the front next to the chauffeur.

As Christian was reading through the comic book he was also listening to his grandfathers conversation with his underboss. That was how he always was. He may have been busy doing something in his grandfathers presence but could do two things at once and listen to what his grandfather was saying too. His grandfather had two underbosses, Sedric and Shane. They were quite different and their areas of expertise were different. They both did training with him to strengthen him in different areas. Sedric trained Christian with fighting skills and Shane trained Christian in business and diplomatic skills. Christian preferred Shane to Sedric. Christian did not have a problem with Sedric. Shane was just more loyal to Christian compared to Sedric.

When Christian was younger, Shane was the one who let Christian's rebellious actions and mischief go unreported most of the time. He found his rule breaking ways amusing. But Sedric did not agree. Sedric reported every little offence that Christian committed to Christopher Kavannagh. Of course, for Christian that meant being condemned to being reprimanded by his grandpa. But now that Christian was much older he was better at covering his tracks and Sedric had not caught him doing anything wrong for a while now.

The conversation between his grandpa and Sedric came to a point that involved Christian.

Christopher Kavannagh said "So you are saying Christian is now able to shoot close range and long range with one hundred percent success rate consequently."

Sedric said "Yes sir. He is so talented in shooting just like any Kavannagh." Then he went on and on about how Christian was doing so well in every other aspect of the training he was in charge of.

Christian wanted to roll his eyes. But he refrained from doing so because he was in his grandfathers presence. His grandfather may have thought he was rolling his eyes at him and that was a very bad idea. Christian did not care for Sedric's compliments. He preferred it if the guy let him off the hook when he bended or broke the rules slightly in the most harmless ways. But again he could not blame Sedric. He was there to to obey the head of the kavannagh family who was Christian's grandpa. Christian wished Sedric could turn a blind eye to some of his harmless teenage rebellious actions that went against his grandpa's rules like how Shane did.

Christopher Kavannagh turned to Christian "It seems like you have impressed Sedric. That is hard to do. I have never heard him pay such compliments to anyone. You are a great fighter... Not only that. You are quite knowledgable when it comes to business too by the sound of it. Shane has also spoken to me recently how well you are doing with him too. You are exceeding expectations in terms of performance considering your young age. I am very proud of you and how you take your training that I set for you seriously. You are truly your fathers son. He also always was the top fighter and business man in my organisation and no one came close." He then leaned close and kissed the side of his grandson's forehead. "You are a strong heir. You are a true Kavannagh."

Christian turned to his grandfather "Thank you grandpa."

Sedric said "Sir, if you don't mind me suggesting, I think your grandson may benefit from focusing on assisting you with your work more from now on rather than spending so much time with before school and after school clubs that have nothing much to do with his education. He would benefit especially if he gave up baseball because it is taking so much of his free time when he has to attend training in addition to home and away games."

Christian wanted to curse at this guy so badly. What was his problem? Christian loved baseball.

His grandpa said "I think I am involving Christian enough in my business right now. He is very young. He needs to do what he enjoys at school like any other teenager. I will not forbid him from doing any activities in school that he enjoys and does not pose a risk to his health. At the moment he is involved enough in the business and I am satisfied with what he does."

Christian nodded enthusiastically "Grandpa. You are right like always." He then went back to reading his comic book as he continued listening to rest of his grandpa's conversation that took a different direction suddenly. Maybe Sedric sensed that there was no point pushing an idea to his boss that he did not approve of.

Soon after, the car arrived at the party. Christian followed his grandfather outside the car and he made his way alongside his grandfather through the hotel car park to the entrance. There was so much security around. The hotel was a nice one. No wonder his grandpa had warned him not to wonder off without permission. The nice new building shouted to him to come and explore me wordlessly.

As grandfather and grandson entered the building they were directed to the cloak room where they left their coats. Then they were directed to the reception hall where the adults were having cheese and wine while socialising walking around and standing in groups. After this session dinner was going to be served in the private dining hall of the hotel. Christian was meant to go to another hall to have snacks and drinks with the children of these crime families while his grandfather stayed in the adult section.

After everything was explained by the hotel manager at the entrance of the reception party hall, Christian asked "Grandpa. Should I go now?"

Christopher Kavannagh took a drink from a tray offered to him and said "Have a good time Christian. See you at dinner time."

Christian said "See you later grandpa." He then made his way to the children section. He of course was not followed by any guards. This was no ordinary party. The security at the place was pretty good. His grandpa's men had surrounded the hotel though just like men who worked for other crime families who attended this event.

Once Christian was inside he had a look around at the groups of boys and girls who surrounded the place standing, eating and drinking. He walked around the room trying to choose who he wanted to socialise with first. But of course, others saw him first. Before he knew it, he found himself face to face by a group of three boys who he had not seen in a long time. They were the most dominant young alpha males in this party. The first born heirs to their family's empires. Three very close friends who's families were part of a strong alliance.

Fredrick Fitzgerald, Owen O'Keefe and Oran O'Shea. They were all sixteen like Christian.

The three boys greeted Christian one by one and shook hands with him.

Fredrick said "You are no where to be found these days Christian. What is keeping you busy?"

Owen said "Fredrick has a point. You kept rejecting every single invitation any of us sent you over the summer. You owe us some social time."

Oran said "What have you got to say for yourself Christian?"

Christian said "I have been busy lately..." He was busy spending time with Gianluca in his free time. He preferred his company to anyone else. He just did.

Fredrick said "Tell someone who believes you Christian."

Owen said "Excuses Christian... Too many excuses to count."

Oran said "We are not interested to hear excuses. We want answers. Are you coming to our this weekend's trip that has been organised?"

Fredrick said "We sent you invitations two weeks ago and you said no. But you did not mention any reasons."

Owen said "Are you busy again this weekend?"

Christian said "I am in fact busy. How did you know?" He then chuckled "Fine. I will try to come." Maybe he had recently abandoned his diplomatic duties abit and had prioritised having fun with Gianluca instead of meeting up with these future heirs. This was no social outing. This was business networking.

Fredrick said "You can't get out of it now Christian. You did say you will try to come which means you will come. We will be expecting you."

The boys then changed the subject of the conversation and talked about what they were upto recently. Christian did get along very well with the three boys and they were right to complain to him. If anyone else rejected their invitation without giving every detail of a good reason why, there was no chance of them being invited again. But of course Christian was an exception to their rule. They let his rejections slide.

After Christian had a long conversation with the three boys, he excused himself to go to the rest room. He made his way to the restroom and then came back. As he entered he picked up a drink from a tray offered to him by a server and then he started looking around again to see if he wanted to join another group to socialise. He noticed a group of girls who included sisters of Fredrick and Oran.

Orlaith O'Shea was Oran's sister who was a year younger than him. Then there was also Freya Fitzgerald who was Fredrick's twin sister. Owen O'Keefe did not have any other siblings like Christian.

Christian normally did get on well with the girls. They were both very intelligent girls. Orlaith and Freya were perfect females to stand by a future leader of any criminal organisation. There was nothing that their brothers did that they did not try to do. Maybe their weaker physical strengths as females was a barrier at times when strength was a key factor. They could not match their brothers when it came to fighting but they could match their brothers in some other areas. They were very professional and formal. They were kind to him too. So in theory he could spend time with them and their group... But there was one slight problem. They liked him. And he had Gabriela. Freya and Orlaith had not said it in clear terms but they did give him hints and suggestions here and there that they liked him and wanted him to ask them out. They were very smart in their interactions.

Maybe if Gabriela did not exist, he would have chosen either Freya or Orlaith as his female if he had no choice. He was an only heir to the Kavannagh family. He had to have a family and heirs. If he was not going to have a love marriage he was going to have a non-love marriage with a girl who liked him and did not mind being with him if he did not like them back. However, luckily because he had Gabriela he did not even have to think about these girls and the possibilities of marrying any of them. For now what he focused on was to make small conversation with them like he did with any other member of another Irish American crime family and not give any slight indications that he returned their affections. That was easy to do. He did have no feelings for them. Before he could walk to them to ask them how they were, he found himself face to face with them as he was sipping from his drink suddenly.

Freya and Orlaith were now standing in front of him.

Christian had now finished his drink and placed the empty glass on a server's tray who just walked by. He said "Hello ladies."

Freya and Orlaith greeted him back.

Christian said "Are you also going to that weekend trip your brothers are going to?"

Orlaith said "Not exactly. We will be nearby having our own girl's weekend at the same hotel you boys will be staying at. Won't we Freya?"

Freya said "Yes we are. You are welcome to come join us any time during that trip if you get tired of the company of those boys..."

Orlaith said "Yes Christian. We would love to have you around. You are such a gentleman..."

Freya said "But if you do decide to drop by to visit us during that trip do not bring any of those three boys. We do not want their company..."

Orlaith nodded "I know. Their company is not welcome. We tell you now. Is that clear?"

Christian said "Loud and clear ladies...

Orlaith said "We made sure that our rooms are at the opposite side of the hotel to the rooms they have picked and is no where near their path."

Christian asked "Out of interest ladies, why did you pick the same hotel as these boys for your weekend trip if you did not want to be near them?".

Freya said "We had to. Everyone is staying at that hotel. Our parents are having some business meetings to deal with over there. They have booked the entire hotel for that weekend. We were offered to have our weekend there. The boys may have to leave you behind at some point to attend some business meetings. We are not allowed to attend so you can come join us if you feel like it when they leave you be..."

That was new information to Christian. He had no idea they were doing business on the same site for that weekend. His grandpa did not do business often with these three families so he did not need to attend meetings with them unless those meetings did involve his businesses which was not very often.

Orlaith said "The entertainment rooms and the sports facilities of the hotel that we get to use are pretty good. I look forward to visiting the private cinema of the hotel. We can watch any movie that we request."

Freya said "We can't wait..."

Orlaith nodded "Yes. We can't wait..."

Christian said "This weekend's trip sounds great ladies. Thank you for giving me more information about it."

Freya said "You are welcome."

Orlaith said "More than welcome."

Suddenly there was calls from the servers for the ladies and gentlemen in the room to make their way to the dining hall to be seated. It was time for dinner.

*****

After Gianluca had finished his dinner, he had left home to spend an evening with his grandfather. Gilberto Bellagio had decided to meet his grandson at an opera house for a special performance for the night.

Gianluca was dropped off by his father's men in front of the opera house and was directed to where his seat was meant to be which was on a top balcony that was looking over the opera house. When he had arrived, his grandfather was having a glass of wine as he was looking over the opera house. The curtains were drawn as music was playing. The crowed were slowly making their way to their seats.

Gianluca greeted his grandfather who greeted him back as he carried on drinking his wine and looking over the scenes below them that was happening on the flood he picked up a glass of lemonade. The balcony seat was quite nice. He had a very good view from that top floor.

Gianluca broke the silence "Grandpa. What are we watching today?"

Gilberto said as he was drinking "Today's special performance is from a European performance company. The opera music production is called Carmen."

Gianluca said "Carmen?"

Gilberto nodded as he looked at his grandson "Have you heard of it?"

Gianluca shook his head "No."

Gilberto said "This opera performance is quite famous... It is a tale of love and jealousy. It tells the story of a beautiful woman who lives in the 1800s in Seville, Spain. He is loved by a soldier. Then she leaves the soldier for a bull fighter. The soldier is a jealous man. He murders the bull fighter as revenge in the end. Carmen is an opera that has great melodies."

Gianluca said "Many Opera performance are based on tragic stories. The end has to have a death for dramatic effect it seems."

Gilberto said "Tragedy is part of life Gianluca. The end of any life is death either way..."

Gianluca said "That is true."