Flashback
Two Years Ago
Dylan adjusted his hat and caressed the spikes on the crown of his staff as he looked at the dark-skinned man chained before him, his head hanging. The man was stripped down, save for the underwear covering his privates. He observed the man's build, he was quite muscular. His biceps pumped as he strained against the binding force of the chains. They both were certain of one thing though; there was no getting out unless Dylan decided so.
Three other men stood behind the chained man with their hands clasped behind them. The Vicar, Bishop and another of Dylan's top men, Luther, all dressed in black suits and white shirts.
"Why did you do it?" Dylan finally asked.
The man spat out blood before raising his head to look at Dylan, revealing a bloodied face borne out of a series of beating from the 7 Daggers. He looked at Dylan for some seconds and sucked his bleeding lower lip before looking away.
"I asked a question, Ceaza" Dylan said calmly, further caressing his staff.
"What was I supposed to do? The damn cops were on my ass and their fucking Chief wasn't helping" Ceaza replied.
"And you had to bribe them with my drugs?" Dylan asked.
"They wouldn't hear of me paying them in cash. They wanted the stuff" Ceaza replied in defense.
"And what was my rule concerning cops?" Dylan asked again, this time lowering his head to get a better view of Ceaza's face. "Hmm?" he hummed when Ceaza wasn't answering.
"Never do deals with cops who aren't the chief in the district" Ceaza murmured.
"There was a reason for that rule. I have a public image. Once or twice, paparazzi might catch me with you. What happens when someone identifies you as a drug dealer?" Dylan asked rhetorically.
"That's why I have their chiefs on my payroll. These are the only ones you can make deals with. Did you give your district's chief his due this month?"
"No" Ceaza exhaled.
Dylan turned around in disdain. "Do you see where your problem lies?" he yelled. "There is a reason we pay them their dues. They keep their subordinates in check for Christ's sake, Ceaza" he turned back to him.
"Now your section is compromised and my stuff is in the wrong hands!" Dylan thundered.
"I don't just entrust areas to anybody. I do it with trust and Ceaza, you have broken that trust. You acted stupidly and you broke my rule. Those are two things that don't sit well with me" Dylan said in a grave tone.
"I did what I could, Pope. There was no other way" Ceaza pressed.
Like lightning, Dylan's hand swiped and the next second saw his staff whipping Ceaza in the chin. The spikes on the crown tore into his flesh, making blood spill in the process. Ceaza closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he took in the pain.
"Do not talk back at me" Dylan hollered, stressing each word. He twisted the crown of his staff, screwing it off the body and revealing a sharp pointed blade at the tip of the body.
"By the rules of 7 Daggers, you deserve to be killed, but as one of those closest to me, I will grant you the mercy of the Cross" he said as he walked around Ceaza, running the tip of the blade along his torso, drawing blood in the process. He stopped as he noticed a new tattoo at the middle of Ceaza's spine. It was an impression of a crown that had a sword at its middle.
"Is this your new insignia?" he asked, piercing the blade into the middle of the sword. "Is there something you're not telling me, Curtis?" he added, calling his real name.
"You know everything, Pope" Ceaza said, his expression blank.
"Look to the Cross" Dylan ordered.
Ceaza tilted his head upwards, fixing his gaze at the white cross carved into the ceiling in the room. Next came the sound of slicing in the air
"Aaaaaargh" his screams echoed, his body writhing in agony as Dylan slashed him violently seven times all over his body.
Dylan whipped his staff in the air, wiping the blade of blood and replaced the spiky crown covering. He adjusted his suit and walked out leaving Ceaza whose body hung with blood oozing out of his biceps, back, thighs and calves.
¤¤¤¤¤
Present Day
Dylan washed his face in the ceramic washbasin in his bathroom. He rested his hands on the washbasin and looked at his reflection in the mirror above it. He closed his eyes and exhaled, taking his mind back to what he saw.
As she twirled, right there in the middle of her spine, he had seen the exact same tattoo on Chelsea. A crown with a sword in the middle.
"Fuck" he exhaled and rose from the washbasin, walking back to his room. He had left the minute he saw saw tattoo. He could still remember the confused expression on her face but he didn't care. If he hadn't left, he probably would have done something that would stain his image forever.
He pulled out a white shirt and an ash suit and contemplated on his next course of action.
Initially he had reveled in the hopes that she was just a random lady who happened to get the chain via one of Black Ceaza's boys who stole it. But seeing the exact same tattoo he saw on his last night with Ceaza on her, and in the same spot, this wasn't just any random lady.
Ceaza had left after the torture that night and never returned. He surfaced months later as a new mafia don by the name of Black Ceaza. He disrupted 7 Daggers' operations and his activities gave rise to the revival of many dampened mafia cartels.
Dylan wasn't going to let a prodigal son destroy what had took him years to build. So he began what he called The Cartelimination, a series of well-plotted operations that was focused on killing all the rival mafia kingpins in Florida.
He was successful in the process and soon all the rival cartels were erased, save for one, The Black Romans, led by Black Ceaza. The final showdown cost Dylan a handful of men, including Luther, but the Black Romans were finally exterminated. Black Ceaza, however, escaped. Since then, Dylan lived in fear of his re-emergence.
"There's only one way to face the devil" he said to himself and threw on the white shirt.
Chelsea sat cross-legged on her bed, fiddling with a beaded bangle. She stared ahead but her gaze was fixed on nothing. She had stood agape in the lounge, wondering what went wrong. Unable to decipher the reason for Dylan's silent action, she had gone to her room.She checked her outline if there was anything wrong but she saw nothing wrong. Her shape was still curvy and well pronounced. The same body she had used to lay down men while swiping their assets off. What was the problem? She just couldn't place her finger on it. Then something hit her. Maybe he was married. No, she shook her head. These type of men aren't the faithful ones. If he wanted to stop, he would have stopped in the office and not follow her here. Besides, he didn't have a ring on."Ugh" she exhaled, resigning to her bed. Less than ten minutes later, she heard her doorbell ring. She didn't recall ordering any room service or food. Lazily, she got up from her bed and trudged to the door. She looked through the pee
"Dylan?" Chelsea called in confusion. She felt it was all a trance. Maybe her fear of Big Ceaza was making her have a nightmare about the person she saw last.But he didn't answer. He simply stretched his hand and a case was handed him. He opened it and retrieved a necklace. The necklace had a crafted cross pendant on it. Her necklace. He held the necklace up for her to see as he walked gently towards the bars between them. "Do you recognise this?" He asked calmly, his face void of expressions. "Dylan, what is this?" she asked, clearly oblivious to how serious the situation was. "Will you answer the damn question!" Dylan thundered calmly. Chelsea was shocked. This wasn't the Dylan she knew, definitely not the Dylan from the previous night either. She didn't know whether to nod or answer verbally. She was getting scared.She finally chose to speak. "Yes" she said softly, dejection lacing her tone."Now, we both know I won't buy that bullshit of you buying it in Atlanta" he continu
Dylan rushed in and saw Chelsea lying on the ground inside the cage. Two suited men squatted beside her, trying to revive her but their efforts proved to be futile. "What's going on?" He asked as he barged into the cage."She still hasn't responded, Boss" one of the suited men said, looking up at him.He stood for some seconds, staring at her body before finally speaking."Call the Doc" he said calmly. "Boss?" one of the men sought confirmation."You heard me, Hugo" Dylan bellowed.The man rushed out immediately. "Out" Dylan said to the second man and the latter exited the perimeter hurriedly. As soon as he was alone, he squatted beside Chelsea and ran his fingers along her hair, parting the strands that had covered her face."I really wish it didn't have to be this way" he said calmly as he took in her facial features."Me too" he heard Chelsea mutter and the next second found a pin heading for Dylan's neck. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he caught her hand in midair and restrained
"You can't be serious" Dylan refuted."Trust me, Pope. I verified this severally. I had my men do background checks on any and every one who was involved in selling or buying drugs. I even had to interrogate club owners and strippers but no one knew her" The Vicar explained. "What about Bishop?" Dylan asked."He scouted the east side and verified that she arrived Miami the same day you opened the second free mall. He was able to get the ticket that bore her name, from Atlanta" The Vicar replied. "The necklace?" Dylan asked."Yes, there were lots of receipts of jewelry at her lounge in Golden Petals. I think she must have really bought it. Maybe someone stole it from Ceaza and it made its way to the market" Dylan exhaled. "Meet me at the mansion" he said and dropped the call."Turn around, Hill"¤¤¤¤¤Chelsea cursed herself as she sat in the lonely craze-driving darkness. Why did she have to swindle again? The amount of money she had gotten from her last scam was enough to lay low a
Chelsea sat in front of the mirror, observing herself. Joyce stood behind her, smiling at their reflection. Chelsea turned her head from side to side, acknowledging the diamond earrings that hung on her ear lobes. Her hair had been neatly styled into a ponytail. She was equally made up elegantly. Hugo popped his head in from a door. "The Boss is waiting" he announced. Chelsea stood up and checked her outline. Clad in a black straight-cut gown, her features were mildly pronounced. She heaved in satisfaction and turned to Joyce. "Thanks" she muttered and Joyce nodded with a smile. She turned and exited the room. She walked gently, as elegantly as she could, across the hallway. She could see the stationed suited guards feeding their eyes off her body through her peripheral vision. She simply smirked and walked onwards. She got to the living room and saw Dylan sitting majestically on an armchair. A smirk curved at the corner of his lips and she saw a hint of desire flash across his ey
Chelsea finally let out a chuckle. She took the files and walked back to Dylan's office. She opened the door and saw Selina leaning on Dylan's desk. Immediately she heard the door open, Selina stood up straight. She turned to Chelsea, rolled her eyes and walked out.Chelsea put two and two together and immediately understood that Selina craved Dylan's attention and affection and now saw her as an obstacle on her path of getting it.Tsk. Poor girl. If only she knew my intentions were far more diabolical, Chelsea thought. She simply walked towards Dylan with a plain expression. "Where's my office?" she asked him.Dylan nodded towards a door by the side. "Great. This is another prison" Chelsea exhaled and walked to the door. She entered the enclosure behind the door and was partially impressed. The office was quite spacious and well equipped. There were no visitor chairs however, just her personal chair behind her desk. Her name was printed on a desk tag with her position underneath. S
Time passed by with Chelsea getting better acquainted with the company and the staff. She never acted too lofty or superior and this endeared her to most of them. More often, she visited the ground floor, interacting with visiting clients and conducting questionnaire-guided surveys with existing patrons. She got to resolve many complaints and administered major corporate changes. Customer database increased significantly and the company received more positive feedbacks. Orders were shipped out nonstop from the company daily. Dylan walked leisurely to the balcony and leaned over it, resting his arms on the parapet. "Look at what you've accomplished in just a few days" he smiled as he said to Chelsea who stood not too far from him.She walked closer to him and equally looked down. She took in the orderliness of the operations on the ground floor and the satisfaction that glowed off the faces of several clients."It wasn't just me. It was the whole team" she replied, trying to sound a
Dylan and Chelsea rode silently back home. Chelsea clasped her hands together, her gaze fixed on the sky through the windshield. "That's why there was a decline in the fashion section" Dylan suddenly said."What?" Chelsea asked, unsure of the context of his words."You noticed a decline in sales from the fashion section right?" "Yes""That's why. The drugs" Dylan replied. "How?" Chelsea asked."Below every fashion outlet under the Cross Enterprises' name is a base of production, packaging and distribution of fentanyl. It's worth more than its brother-business above but not so public and legal" Dylan chuckled. "There was a hit on one of these joints. They exploded the whole premises. Both the fashion store above and the fentanyl joint below all blew to rubbles. I lost roughly a hundred million in that hit, both businesses combined" he concluded. "Oh, I get it now. Why are you telling me this? Why did you take me to the meeting?" Chelsea asked."I'm feeding you with more informatio