Hollywood Zenith

" What do you think most such people want in life?" Samuel asked.

" Money? Power? Control?" Mateo replied.

" Don\'t forget some people are just evil. They do such things for just the sake of it." Enrique added. He was right; it would be impossible if Samuel hadn\'t had his system.

He had checked everyone with his powers and rooted out those feral in nature, even Zero, who refused to meet him till today; he sneakily checked him too! So, such anomalies were close to nothing in the core organization.

" That may be true, but I offered them a choice. Everyone was forced into that life when they were with the Medici family; even women and children were not excluded. How would one feel if their family was doomed to the same fate as them? There was loyalty in that structure, but it was controlled." He paused for a little.

" What I did was I made a promise to everyone if they gave their all and submitted to me. I will not let this vicious cycle repeat! The organization might weaken in the future, but their enthusiastic support meant they would earnestly teach others. It was a simple choice after that."

They talked briefly before Liliana and Isabella entered, holding trays. Marianna forced them to prepare tea for Samuel as they believed he favoured tea over any other refreshment. It was not true, but Samuel went along with it.

" Really? Tea this late in the night?" Mateo complained. Wasn\'t it supposed to be liquor?

" It\'s Chamomile tea; it\'s famous for helping one sleep comfortably," Isabella said.

" If you don\'t like it, don\'t drink it. I happen to like tea!" Daniel bashed Mateo.

" When did that happen?" Enrique said, surprised about his choices. They joked while the girls served them.

" Here you go, Samuel." Isabella gave him his cup and moved behind him.

" Thank you."

" You look a little tired. Should I give you a massage?" She asked. Samuel looked toward Liliana, who was still not looking him in the eye. What were these sisters up to?

" Massage, you say? Are you feeling generous today, or do you like him?" Mateo teased.

" Of course I like him. Do you even know how worried I was for Liliana? Nothing seemed to excite her except fashion, but now look at her bringing home a guy like him. Isn\'t that incredible?" She smiled at Samuel. What the hell was going on? Wasn\'t that too straightforward of her?

" I am alright, thank you for asking. I just need a good night\'s sleep." Samuel didn\'t even try to comment on her statement.

" Come on, I know what I am doing. I give an excellent neck massage!" She moved closer, placing her hand on his neck.

" It\'s good to see you are getting along. I suddenly remember when the boss offered him to take you in with your sister-" Daniel said, but Enrique immediately cut him off.

" Idiot! Why are you telling her that?"

"" Father!"" Both sisters shouted at the same time.

" How could you do that?"

" I see; I am just an object that you try to sell whenever you see fit, right?"

" I was joking; Samuel knew it, too, right?" He pleaded with his eyes. Samuel still remembers how nonchalantly he offered Isabella that day; he barely escaped that trap!

" I don\'t know; you sounded pretty serious that day." No mercy for the old man. The sisters piled on their complaints as Enrique was forced to hear them. When Isabella was done with her father, she focused on Samuel again.I think you should take a look at

She shifted around his scarf and saw the same damage on them as Liliana. Seeing this, she increased pressure on his neck.

" Ouch, Can you please slow it down a bit?" Samuel asked her, but in turn, she kneaded it more mercilessly. 

" Sister..." Liliana noticed what Isabella was up to, they had a \'long\' talk before coming here, and she knew how much her sister was worried about her. She punished him for a few more minutes before she felt satisfied.

In the meantime, the talk continued, and sisters also joined in telling a few more stories; Samuel learned more about Isabella through them. She had a strong personality, and unlike Liliana, she never trained in any combat. 

Her charm lay in the fact that she was brilliant and a great conversationalist; her outspoken demeanour was very refreshing in the era where keeping appearance was the norm.

Most of the girls who first knew about Samuel\'s background would act modest, but not her; she was outright bullying him because she thought Samuel wronged her sister!

Enrique looked at the time; it was already half past ten. He hesitated whether he should talk about it and finally made a decision.

" It\'s getting late, but I wanted to discuss one more thing." Enrique looked at everyone\'s faces. Daniel and Mateo immediately knew what he was talking about, while others remained clueless.

" Alright." Looking at the old man\'s serious expression, Samuel knew it was important to him.

" But first, Isabella, take your sister inside. It\'s not something people like you should hear." He asked his daughters to leave.

" People like us?"

" I am staying! I hardly escaped from her-" Both had different reasons to stay.

" It\'s not up for discussion. You are too young!" He exclaimed, putting more power behind it to make them back down.

" Samuel is the youngest here! I am staying!" Liliana made an excellent counter. Enrique could only look at Samuel for an answer.

" I don\'t mind it. I trust them." Samuel proclaimed, trusting Liliana was understandable, but Isabella too? Enrique looked at him for a few more seconds; he couldn\'t figure out what this young man was thinking.

" Okay."

" So what\'s this about, and why are you so afraid to bring it up in front of them?" He asked directly.

Enrique turned toward Daniel, asking for him to tell him.

" After the collapse of the eighty-ninth street gang, many of their hideouts were abandoned. Our territory shared a border, so we naturally moved in a few blocks to expand. It sounds bad, but many of these areas were originally in our hands." Daniel started lightly, first clearing it was not a hostile move on their part.

" I am aware. Naturally, you want to expand, but I hardly see it as a difficult topic for you." Samuel was still puzzled.

" In one of those hideout, we found something, a ledger. The reason why the boss was hesitant to bring it up is connected to information inside it."

" What kind of information?"

" There was significant proof that the gang connected with a foundation, the Verdant foundation."