"James where the fuck is he? I thought the meeting was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago?" I yelled, slamming my palm on the table.

"Sir I'm so sorry. I'll go give him a call right now," James replied, quickly snatching his phone from his pocket and sprinting out of the conference room.

Sitting impatiently at the head of the table on my armchair, my staff glance up at me anxiously now and then, knowing full well that I'm going to burst at any moment.

This was meant to be a thirty-minute meeting for me, and after that, I'm headed to my third meeting of the day with my media firm. But I'm still waiting for this irresponsible jerk to show up.

Tardiness has always been one of my major pet peeves, and this idiot had the audacity to tamper with my schedule. Every minute of my day is valuable, and I can't afford to lose even a single second of it.

I got up to leave after taking a long breath in while I noticed the door open and I see Ryan, who was about to unveil a new proposal for my hotels in Hawaii which I was about to launch over the next few months.

He mumbled pleadingly, "I'm sorry for my tardiness sir, I-..., I- I just had a family emergency." For the time being, I've resolved to put my rage aside.

I tapped my Rolex and said, "You got fifteen minutes. Do you believe you'll be capable of making it?" I inquired.

"Uh yes sir," he replied hesitantly, and I motioned James to begin the presentation.

The presentation continued for the following ten minutes, and to my surprise, he came close to finishing it. So far, his presentation has gone well, with all of the primary aims and recommendations for my hotel to improve. Striving to make it will result in a higher profit for my business.

His speech came to a close with a round of applause from the audience. I notice he's putting in a lot of time and effort as well.

"What are your thoughts, sir?" As the room went silent in anticipation of my response, he questioned.

"It's fine, it's acceptable!" I say this cautiously, not wanting to come out as unfair or overly enthusiastic. "However, you will no longer be managing the project," I declared, as all eyes were drawn to me.

"Sir, I-I put my full time and effort into this presentation and project. How can you-" "The presentation is fine, but I did not want to risk appointing an irresponsible head for this project," he argues as I cut him out.

"From now on, David, you will be the project's new leader. James will provide you with all of the information you need to complete the project. Now, I'd like to have this finalized within the next four months. "The meeting's over!" As I rise from my armchair, everyone else rises to depart as well.

As I was walking inside my office, I heard Ryan shout out for me from near the threshold behind James. "Sir, I'm sorry," he said as he let him in. I agree that being late for such a crucial conference was very unprofessional. Sir, please just give me one chance, I'm begging you sir."

"There's no such thing as a second chance in my mind," I declare aloud.

"Sir my sister, she-she passed away this morning at the hospital and I was honestly so devastated that I forgot".As I stood immobile, while he signed, attempting to explain.

"I think You should be grateful I didn't fire you as you never know when I might change my mind. I'm not going back on my words so now get lost" I say as I settle down at my desk. I remain engrossed in my work for another hour or so, until my ringtone interrupts my thoughts.

"Yes, Alex," I answered.

"Boss, she's gone." He replies, "She managed to get away." Fuck.

This women is a force to be reckoned with. Again for the past two years, I've been trying to locate her. For me, she remains an unsolved enigma still.

"Don't worry, boss; I've gotten everything under control now." She's obviously an easy target. He exclaimed, "She appears to always have a reliable source of saviors, and if we figure out who they are, we'll most definitely have her."

"How did it turn out?" I inquired.

"We'll, we've been tracking down her location for the past week or so since she arrived. Final destination was a club on Columbus avenue late at night last Wednesday. Franco had her when she fought back screaming, attracting attention of people nearby. While I listened, he exclaimed, "Which resulted in a brawl and the cops were summoned."

"There appears to be no report filed yet," he added, "but I believe that there is already someone following her, including her savior, who really doesn't want our hands on her."

"All right, that's OK. Do you have any idea where she might be right now? " I wondered as I leaned back in my seat.

"She was last seen in the hospital; I'm not sure where she is now, but don't worry, I'm still keeping a watchful eye on her." He claims that she is aware that she is being watched and protected, which is why she doesn't appear to mind.

Finally, before hanging up, I told him to get some of my men over to the manor for my New Year's Eve celebration and to make sure everything was ready and on time since there were two days remaining. I grabbed my blazer and Urus keys and left for my next meeting.

I stumbled upon Dr.Helms on my way into the manor when I arrived. I shook his hand in a stronghold, surprised by his appearance in the estate, as he held his hands up to greet me.

"Good evening, Mr. Venttali," he says. "How are you doing?" In the midst of the main entryway, he queried.

"I'm alright," I answered. " Is everything alright? "Could you tell me why you're here this evening?" I inquired, concerned and recalled my mother. Did her blood pressure rise once more?

"Everything is OK." He let go of my hand and remarked, "I was actually called to check upon your guest."

"Guest? "What guest?" I wondered aloud.

He explained, "Oh I assumed you knew." "Miss Sophia has a sick and wounded visitor over, hence I called to treat her," he explained, while I was preoccupied with my own thoughts about this strange visitor.

"At last, if you don't mind, I'll get going then," he remarked while I moved on my feet and approached one of the maintenance maids to tell me where my mother and sister are. She pointed me in the direction of the main lounge room.

As I reached, I paused near the entrance of the doorway, eavesdropping on their discussion as Sophia continued talking about the guest.

"Mom, I was passing down the street when I noticed her out there in the middle of a blizzard," she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air.

"That still doesn't mean you bring her here to our home, Sophia. For all I know, she could be dangerous." When I came into the lounge, my mother exclaimed, "I know damn well Daniel will also not be pleased with you having a stranger into our home."

"Good afternoon, I hear we have a visitor staying over," I say while I stood by the fireplace, my mother sitting on the one-seat sofa across from sofia.

I take a deep breath and reach down for my right pocket as Alex hands me an already ignited cigarette. I take a small puff and then exhale tapping the ashes off into the fire pit.

"Who is it?" I inquired of Sophia, then turned to face her before returning to my cigarette.

"I-... "I don't know Daniel," she stutters as I come to a halt and snap my eyes to glare at her. In less than seconds, I came rushing towards her.

"What do you mean you have no idea?" You mean to say you brought someone into the mansion that you do not even know?... What the fuck is wrong with you?" When she lowered her head and played with her fingers, I raised my voice over her.

I drew in a few smokes from my smoke while I walked back away towards the fire pit, waiting for her to respond. tossed the cigarette into the ashtray after a minute of waiting for an answer, while she remained still toying with her fingernails.

"Look up and answer me, soph," I almost yelled at her, demanding a response as she stared at me down. She sighed, rolling her eyes and taking a deep breath into and out.

"Stop accusing me as if I did something wrong" She says, placing her hands over her chest, "All I did was just help the poor little thing thats all."

"Honey, that's not what we think. I'm sure you helped her out with good intentions but the thing is we don't know who that girl is? she could be dangerous" my mother tried to explain.

"Mom, please stop treating her like a child. She's well aware of why I'm questioning her. Now speak and answer my damn question" I urge holding my hand up signaling her to stop being so lenient on her.

"I'm not sure Dan, I was just returning from Lily's Christmas dinner when I saw her on the side of the road." She appeared to be in distress. So, while we were in the car having a long argument, Mateo accidentally hit her with the car. I immediately walked out to check on her for myself," she continued, eliciting a huge gasp from my mother, who apologized with a smile.

"I'm Sorry mom; I know I shouldn't have gone out but I felt bad. Anyways, she was hurt and had a few bruises on her hand and you know what mother?" As I stroked my temple, she questioned my mother.

"Mom, she went out in the cold with nothing on her body to keep her warm, no jackets or sweaters, no shoes, just some ugly slippers. Can you believe this? " Shaking her head left and right, she asked. "I'm curious as to what occurred to place her in that circumstance," she added.

"God forbid, if I hadn't arrived on time, she would have died by then. That's why I decided to bring her in and had Dr. Helm examine her," she proudly stated.

"Now you see, if you weren't so foolish, you could have just ordered Mateo to seek medical attention for her rather than bringing her here," I commented.

Standing up on her feet "Dan stop it now, that's enough" she rolled her eyes once again. "You should be thankful I didn't bring her into the main estate and instead kept her in the guest house. I also wanted to make sure she was okay, which is why I chose to bring her here to get checked by Dr. Helms, and saves time."

"Mom, you should be delighted that I even contributed save someone's life, unlike someone here who often despises and tortures those lesser than him," she says, glaring at me.

"Honey, All we're concerned about is your safety. "I'm pleased of you for assisting the girl, and I'll definitely make sure to meet with her tomorrow," my mother says, standing up and hugging her. She's really not taking me seriously.

"No one is permitted to see her." Now that you've saved her, now that should be enough. Dr. Helm will do one last checkup on her, and then she should be dismissed," I order.

"But-" she protests, and I lift my hand up again, instructing Sophia not to utter a single thing. "It's a command," I say.

"It's good to see you performing humanitarian work and assisting these low-class idiots, but remember Soph don't you dare to defy my orders, I'll make sure to put a stop to all your parties and gatherings. i'm sure you wont like that" i called to ask as she looked down without saying anything further.

"Yes Dan, they'll be gone. Don't worry" she assures playing with her fingernails once again.

"All right, I guess we should start dinner so we can talk about the party more. We have a big day ahead," I introduce as I begin walking out to the dining hall, accompanied by them.

My New Year's Eve party will be held tomorrow. It has a guest list that includes all of the most powerful families, from politicians to celebrities and models, you name it.

Since I took over, I've been hosting for the past few years. This year, I'm hoping for a good turnout because I've invited someone particular for a special purpose. Now all I have to do is hope that everything goes according to plan.

The party has been going on for the past hour and a half. It's going well, but our special guest for tonight has yet to arrive. He hasn't shown up yet tonight, or he's probably still reeling from the invitation.

He doesn't have the fucking balls, so I knew he wouldnt show up. Over the phone, he tried to challenge me by seeming tough and mighty, but he didn't dare to confront me. I smirked inwardly.

When I felt a hand slowly slide round my body and descend to my waistline, I was too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice. I looked down and then saw a femine hand with white long fingernails touching my waistline. I looked up to see none other than Amanda.

"What the hell are you doing?" I inquired, my jaw gritted.

"It's okay, baby; no one can see us." Everyone was too preoccupied with their very own company" I clenched my jaw more so as my frustration with her antics grew, but I attempted to maintain a calm demeanor so as not to make a fuss.

"Baby, let's dance, come on," she said, attempting to lure me to the dance floor. As soon as I spotted some of my key stakeholders and partners approaching me, I yanked her hands off me.

Inviting her, or even initiating the whole hookup game with her again in general, was definitely the greatest mistake I made. Maintaining a strategic distance from them, I turned to face her, grabbing onto her arm and gripping it tightly.

"Dont you fucking dare. Leave, right now!" I warned her, pointing my finger in an authoritative tone to make it obvious that I didn't want a scene to be made. She finally gave up and stamped her foot on the ground before continuing on her heels.

I turned around facing my associates shaking hands with them. "Happy New Year's Eve Mr. Ventalli!" they all wished in a union as we continued our conversation. Twenty minutes later I called over the waiter to hand us over some drinks.

Holding the glass of champagne high in the air, I raised a toast to the new year with the inspirational quote saying "Let wisdom be the key to tremendous prosperity this year. Allow it to guide us into the New Year and to serve us on a consistent basis. Happy New Year's Eve everyone!"

I was taking a sip from my second glass of champagne, when Alex whispered in my ear our special guest had arrived. Excusing myself from the men and followed Alex as he led me towards him.

There he was Miguel Hernandez. My half-blood relative from my mother's side and opponent commonly known as my cousin, son of uncle Edgar whom I loathe to this day and the lone heir to the Spanish mafia.

I have to give him credit for coming into my home. I'm sure his father is probably going insane right now if he finds out that he's here of all places. I laughed to myself, that asshole I shook my head looking back up at him.from afar.

As he spoke with my mother, he appeared to be all magnificent while holding onto the young woman's waist alongside him. I remained there, then marched forward toward them, as he stepped forward to welcome me, but I didn't return the greeting.

"Hello cousin, won't you greet me as warmly as Aunt Jenny did?" With a side grin, he added a bit more emphasis to the word cousin. I just wish I could take that smirk off his face right now.

"You finally chose to show up, I was a bit wary that you would not make it," I said firmly as I extended my hands for a tight handshake hardly, adding it just a little pressure while we both glanced up at each other.

I cast a quick glance towards Omar, wondering if the girl Miguel was with was the one we'd been tracking. I assumed that if he showed up, she would as well, but it's evident from Omar's look that it's not her. Though she does have some connection to this motherfucker for sure. shit.

"Don't be so arrogant, Daniel. I get a special invitation from you and I don't show up, there's not a chance I'd miss that," he answered, breaking my thoughts.

Without saying anything else, I motioned for a waiter to come over and to offer him a drink, but while he took a glass, He joked, "I hope it's not poisoned."

I tried to control myself by tightening my palms together. With a wicked grin, I replied, "I wish I did, I would at least have one opponent down."

I managed to complete another glass of champagne without being bothered by his snide remarks over the next few minutes until I noticed a furious Alex, Brandon, and several of my other men making their way out of the ballroom.

I handed my glass to the server and told Omar to keep a close eye on Miguel while I turned to follow Brandon and Alex. As I approached the exit, I excused myself from any attempts at small chat. I ran out the ball as I queried about Alex and Brandon with the maids, who pointed me to the guest house.

I made my way to the guest house, which was on the opposite side of the main manor, in the chilly weather as small flakes of snow dropped from the sky. As I approach the guest house, I notice two of my men standing outside the main door with Brandon.

"What's going on here?" I yelled from a few steps away from where they were standing.

"Daniel, that girl who Sophia brought woke up an hour ago and caused a ruckus with Dr. Helms. She raced into the woods, and Alex went after her, while I proceeded to examine the area," he said. Girl? What was he babbling about, anyway?

"Wait, what girl?" I asked, but then I remembered. Sophia, shit. She hadn't let the girl go. She had the fucking audacity to disobey my orders. "Was she not informed to leave by morning yesterday?" I shouted questioning the two remaining men alongside Brandon including Victor, slamming my palms on the damn door.

"No, boss," he said, bowing his head, "but she hadn't woken up yet, and Dr. Helms suggested she stay until she woke up, so he was told by mistress that she must stay till she recovered."

"Are you certain she ran into the woods?" I asked them again while I searched my surroundings for any sign of this foolish woman.

"We don't know," he replied, "which is why we were instructed to wait out here just in case." I really hope she didn't go into the woods because she'll be electrocuted to death if she comes too close to that barbed fence I thought to myself.

"sophia, sophia, sophia," I repeated aloud, scratching my temples with my fingertips in frustration as my rage for her boiled over. She needs to be taught a lesson so that she doesn't dare to bring in low-class peasants with no brain cells to think again.

I'm hosting a New Year's Eve party indoors, but I'm freezing my arse off dealing with my idiotic sister's messes that need to be dealt with. I return my gaze to Brandon, having decided to end this nonsense.

I took another deep breath and exhaled slowly before instructing Brandon to check the front while I checked the outdoor space and pool area.

Since I rushed up towards the pool, I stopped and looked around the fire pit in the dim light, as all of the lights had been turned out. It was close to midnight, I believe. I didn't think much about it and instead turned on the flash on my phone to glance around the scalding hot underground heated pool.

I was going to turn away because I couldn't find the girl, but I was halted in my tracks when I heard a slight hiccup and a muffled wail.That's it i thought, She was located.

Turning on my heel, I followed the muffled cries as they got lower and lower, as if she was trying not to make a sound so she wouldn't be discovered. Pathetic I thought.