Five years ago,
Inside an office sat Damian Tucker, a 28-year-old man with blue eyes, brown skin and jet-black hair. His hair was styled in an afro, and he had an eagle tattoo on his right arm and a cross symbol on his left.
A star-shaped symbol was tattooed on his right chest. Damian was a mafia boss, respected and feared in his territory. He ruled the secret mafia world and underground cartel in North-wind Town.
In his office, Damian wore a black suit and sat at his desk, reviewing coded business on his laptop.
The office walls were painted an off-white hue, and a knock on the door interrupted him.
"Boss, Mr. Max Dawson is here to see you," his assistant, Jeff Brody, informed him, and he sighed.
His father had recently handed over the leadership position to him. He looked at Jeff and replied, "Let him in."
Mr. Max Dawson, a businessman involved in illegal dealings, entered Damian's office. Damian made no attempt to stand or shake his hand.
"What do you want?" Damian asked, remaining seated and continuing to click on his laptop.
Mr. Max swallowed hard, knowing that doing business with Damian was more difficult than it had been with Damian's father, Mr. Mark Tucker. The name alone inspired fear in other groups.
"It's business, Damian. A deal worth ten billion dollars." Mr. Max was pleased when Damian looked away from his laptop and focused his gaze on him.
"Sit," Damian gestured to the middle-aged man. "Go on." He ordered, and Mr. Max went into detail about the business.
Damian listened with keen interest. "So, what do you need my assistance for?" Damian finally asked.
"As the *de facto* leader, I don't want other groups to interfere in this business, and I need your assistance to loan me money to proceed with it," Mr. Max explained.
Damian was interested in the business; however, he had ulterior motives. He would personally hijack deals like this instead of handing them over to his group.
"I will lend you the money, but you must promise to pay it back with interest. I don't care if the business works out or not. All I care about is my money," Damian told Mr. Max, who nodded.
"You have nothing to worry about, Damian. I will pay you back, but I will need your assistance with it," Mr. Max said, sitting across from Damian, who was looking at him intently.
"Don't worry, I will have Jeff assist you. First, sign the deal," Damian offered the document to Mr. Max to sign and secure the loan. His mind worked in mysterious ways as he focused his attention on the man who reached for a pen and signed the deal.
"Done," Mr. Max said with a broad smile as he rose to leave Damian's office.
"I will be looking forward to the date." Mr. Max left Damian's office after the deal was concluded, and Damian continued to think about the billion-dollar deal.
"I cannot allow Mr. Max to have that kind of money. It will bring us to the attention of higher authorities, so I have to take care of it." A smirk played across Damian's lips, and he called Jeff back into his office.
"Take care of Mr. Max's business and ensure that the money gets transferred to my offshore accounts."
"Okay, Boss," Jeff's eyes widened in surprise, but he dared not question Damian's orders. He looked up to him as his older brother and was only two years younger.
He went to do as he was told.
*****
A few months later, Mr. Max was heartbroken to see that the business had not gone as planned. After borrowing money from the ruthless mafia lord, he had only a year to pay back the ten million dollars he had loaned.
"Honey, what's the problem?" Mrs. Jennifer Dawson came into the room, a middle-aged woman of 45, and looked at her husband, who paced about worriedly.
"I am finished!" Max said, placing his hands on his head.
"You cannot be finished, honey. Talk to me," Lady Jennifer begged her husband, but he said, "I shouldn't have trusted Damian. Doing business with his father hadn't been this bad. Our dealings hadn't been hijacked by the government, and now, I have lost everything I worked hard for."
Mr. Max was on the brink of tears. He shouldn't have trusted Damian to handle the business for him. The man was still young and new as a mafia group leader.
"Calm down, honey. Talk to me," Lady Jennifer tried to talk her husband out of his misery, but he smacked her hand away and shouted at her, "Don't touch me! Where do I get ten million dollars to pay the T-Group?"
"The T-Group? Who are they? Calm down, honey. We can raise the money. Where did you borrow such money from? Why would you even borrow such a huge amount of money,? For gambling?" Mrs. Jennifer asked, shocked to hear the huge amount of money her husband was talking about. But he told her, "Get out of my room. I don't have time to explain anything to you. Just leave me alone. If I don't raise that money in a year, they will come for us. All of them, and you need to leave with our children. They shouldn't return back here. I am finished."
Mrs. Jennifer stubbornly shook her head and told her husband, "I cannot leave you to die alone, honey. You cannot turn me into a widow at this young age. You shouldn't have borrowed the money in the first place. Calm down, we can see how to raise the money."
Mr. Max went to his office, leaving his wife alone in their bedroom, and she paced around, wondering what was wrong with her husband.
It was nighttime. Mrs. Jennifer went out and saw her youngest daughter, Alicia, in the living room.
"What's going on, Mom? I heard you and Dad arguing?" Alicia, a 19-year-old nursing student who hadn't graduated yet, asked. Her skin was as fair as the sun, and she had long blonde locks, resembling her mother.
"It's your father. He loaned ten million dollars, and now, he has lost everything." Mrs. Jennifer cried, and Alicia collasped on the couch.
"What?! Ten million dollars? Where do we start paying off such a huge amount of money from? Oh no! We are doomed, if Dad cannot pay that off," Alicia joined her mother in crying in the living room. They were rich, so why would her father go to loan such a huge amount of money?
Meaning, they would sell off some of their properties. But would it be enough to pay off such a huge debt? Alicia cried.