Chapter 1

Somewhere in a dreadful basement…

A few months ago I was living a very mundane life: I was in my last year of college, I had an awesome best friend Kamila Griffith and the only things I was concerned about were if I was going to pay my rent on time, have I finished my economics homework ? But now all these problems seem so insignificant to me it's true right now I'm tied in the basement of a building I don't know where watching the love of my life being slaughtered by dozens of armed men without being able to do anything to help him and all because of me. If only I weren't so stubborn and didn't always do what I wanted, maybe we wouldn't be there.

But wait ! Our story began six months ago, when I was still just an ordinary student with completely ordinary problems.

"Ashley hurry up or we're gonna be late for our class with Mr. Langley again and Brad is already waiting for us downstairs," Kamila shouted.

" I'm coming, I'm coming. I'll just grab my coat and we're off," Ashley said.

That's me, Ashley Conrad, I'm in my final year in Economics and Management at the University of Wrentford. It's a very prestigious university, I worked like crazy to get a scholarship and study here but despite this I still had to take several jobs at the same time when I was still in high school to meet my various needs. on a daily basis because life here is not cheap.

The girl who shouted earlier is Kamila Griffith, my best friend since I've been here at university. Kamila is the daughter of a billionaire like most of the students at Wrentford who are all either daddy's boy or daddy's girl but Kamila and I never let our financial situations interfere with our friendship. And this ‘Brad’, is only Kamila’s childhood friend, he is also a daddy’s boy but he doesn’t want to admit it. Kamila, Brad and I have a few classes together like the one we have with Mr. Langley that's where I met them. It's Brad and Kamila who have the same track as they are both preparing to take charge of the companies of their respective father. 

And Brad also had a crush on me too, he invited me several times to go out but I also refused several, in fact I didn't really have time for that since the lessons had become harder when we are in the last year and in addition I had to take several jobs at the same time also because some courses are no longer supported by the scholarship so I have to pay extra money to follow them.

“Ash !! Hurry up !”, shouted Kamila again.

“Yeah ! Yeah ! I’m coming”, Ashley replied.

“Finally !! Come on ! Let’s go”, Kamila told her and then they hurried to leave Ashley's appartment.

Later that day….

At Casino Herrera,

"Capo, he's back again," said a man with a Spanish accent.

"But didn't you tell him that if he set foot again in one of my establishments, I would kill him with my own hands," said a mysterious man with a Spanish accent.

"Of course, we did.  We even told him several times but he comes back every time", the other man said.

"How much does he owe me this time?", asked the mysterious man.

"More than the last time. Even a lot more", the other man answered nervously.

"What is he playing ? Does he want to die or what ?", the mysterious man asked .

"So what do we do with him, Capo ?", asked the other man.

"Take him downstairs. I have a couple of words for him", replied the man with an accent.

You are probably wondering who am I. Well it's none other than me, Rafael Herrera, I own several casinos all in my name, nightclubs too, but I also own the most prestigious hotel complex in the whole city. These are my activities during the day, but during the night it is quite another thing.

During the night I am at the head of the Agulla empire that I inherited from my uncle, Ramon Agulla, he raised me like I was his own son when I lost my parents many years ago and I was still no one at that time. But some people tremble just hearing the name of  Herrera , but strangely this gambling addict Paul Conrad drunk still doesn't know who he's dealing with. He's been hanging out for months in my casinos and nightclubs to stir up trouble and he owes me several hundred thousand dollars and today he's finally going to pay them with his life.

"Conrad! Conrad! My old friend! I haven't seen you since last week when you lost several thousand dollars in my casino and you still haven't paid me back", said Rafael.

"Rafael, listen I finally got it this time. I promise I won't come back if you erase my debts again this time. Please untie me", said Paul Conrad with a trembling voice.

"Shhhhh .... But those days are over my dear Conrad. Now is the time for you to pay me back and if you don't have my moneys, it will be very bad for you. So where's my money my dear Conrad? ", Rafael said calmly.

"Give me another little month and I swear I'll pay you back", said Paul Conrad with a trembling voice again.

"Let me think. The answer is no", Rafael told him firmly. 

"But I haven't got your money yet. You see I was hoping I had better chances at the game today but  my bad luck still got me", Paul Conrad said.

"Too bad my dear Conrad. The luck is now that you must have it because it would take a miracle for you to get out of here in good shape", Rafael told him while opening  his special kit for this kind of situation.

“Wait ! Wait ! I have something you might be interested in. All I ask you in return is that you spare my life and erase all my debts", said Paul Conrad. 

"What do you offer then my dear Conrad ?", Rafael asked him curiously.

"Well, I have a daughter. If you spare my life and erase all my debts, you'll dispose of her as you want. So do we have a deal ?", Paul said confidently.

"Alright my dear Conrad we have deal. I'll erase all your debts and spare your life in exchange of your daughter's life", Rafael told him.

"So now untie me", Paul said with a raised tone.

"Not yet my dear Conrad, I have another plan for you right now", Rafael replied and then punched him.

"Heyy!! You said that you won't kill me so why did you do that ?", Conrad said, furiously.

"You're right my dear Conrad. I said that I'll spare your life but I never said that I won't punch you", Rafael replied with a devilish smile on his face.

" Carlos I want all the information on this drunkard's daughter", Rafael said.

"Si Capo. And what do I do with him ?", asked Carlos.

"You can dispose of him as you want but just spare his miserable life. A man who's ready to sell his daughter just to save his own life doesn't deserve to live but a deal is a deal", Rafael replied always with a devilish smile on his face.