Chapter 2 - Baron of the Conglomerate

The lines were linked. He was indeed pronounced dead twice in the prison. The earliest was the month before he was released.

 

"Were you waiting for my demise? After all we built? You dare say that to my face?" Caspian asked.

 

Now, the man walked to the bed and sat. 

Layla folded her hands and now, the remorse that was on her face before got replaced by some callous looks.

“What is this man doing in our house?”

 

"Your house?" Layla said and walked back to the bed as she took hold of a towel. "You must have forgotten, all we had was a gift from my father. You have nothing, Caspian, we had nothing of ours before you went to jail."

 

"What are you talking about? My daughter, Sonya, is there in the living room, and you are here…"

 

"Shut the fuck up, Cass! You don't know her. She doesn't know you. She's not yours and…"

 

"Layla!" Caspian shouted. 

 

Layla's voice trembled as she started to recount the events that had transpired in Caspian's absence. Her face tightened in a frown and she spoke, "Caspian, I... I thought you would be successful. I believed in you, but things were hard, and amid it all, you made a terrible mistake. Don Razor, he... he filled the void. Caspian, I am not sorry..."

 

Caspian's eyes darkened, his voice raw with pain as he interrupted, "How could you, Layla? After all we've been through? Wasn't our love enough? Do you know what cause I went to prison for? Do you know… Okay, I made a mistake and I paid for it in the prison…”

 

Don Razor's smug expression twisted into a smirk as he sneered, "Paid for it, huh? You should have died when you had the chance. Look at you, you were nothing before, and you're nothing now."

 

After the tone, Caspian stepped close to him. 

 

"If you listen to the news or had newspapers stand in the yard, I am the one and only Don Razor. I own this town. I evolved with it. The smallest outpost in my merchandise could swallow you whole and your existence whole. You're just a pathetic fool who thought he could rise above his station," he stated. 

 

Anger ignited within Caspian and his voice trembled with restrained fury. "You dare speak to me like that? I've paid for a crime I didn't commit while you continue to hide behind your power and influence."

 

"I am not hiding, I am basking," Don Razor hinted. 

 

"Layla may have allowed you into her life, but mark my words, Don Razor, in my judgement, you'll suffer for being here," Caspian blurted. 

 

"Don't you dare, Cass. He is a mob boss," Layla explained.

 

Now, Caspian fully understood why he was called Don, why there were guards outside, and why they referred to Layla as a Miss. She was a mistress for their boss. 

 

"You thought you could threaten me? You're nothing but a mere shadow," Don Razor began in a cold tone. 

 

As he began to speak, Caspian started walking close to the bed. 

 

"Caspian, don't!" Layla warned. 

 

"I have resources and connections that you can't even comprehend. If you try to cross me, Caspian, I promise you, your fate will be worse than that prison cell you just crawled out of. I will send you out of earth," Don Razor threatened. 

 

Caspian could feel the blood pounding in his ears, his anger consuming him as he shook his head and lunged towards Don Razor who was still naked.

 

He could see the fear in his enemy's eyes and it only fueled him further.

 

"You think you can come into my territory and try to take everything I've built?" Caspian snarled as he held him by the neck and threw the first punch, the sound of his knuckles slamming into Don Razor's jaw echoed through the room.

 

Don Razor stumbled back, clutching his face in pain as Caspian continued to rain down blow after blow. But as he was about to deliver the final strike, he heard the sound of a buzzer.

 

He turned towards Don Razor, his eyes flashing with rage, "What did you do?"

 

Don Razor smirked, "You didn't think I'd waste a sweat on you, did you?"

 

Caspian's heart palpitated as he saw the four men enter the room and surrounded him. He knew he was outnumbered, but he wasn't about to go down without a fight.

 

He weaved and dodged as the men came at him, punching and kicking furiously. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to gain the upper hand.

One held his hand and another kicked him in the gut, causing him to fold and be down on his knee. Then, they hit him hard with their leather shoe.

 

Through the blur of pain and chaos, he could see Layla standing off to the side, watching with a cold detachment. Her words stung him more than any of the blows.

"You should have left when you had the chance."

 

Don Razor's voice cut through the chaos, "Looks like our little friend has finally met his match."

 

Caspian spat out blood and tried to get to his feet, but he was forced back to the floor. When the target shifted to his head, he shouted as the men continued to pummel him into submission.

 

The world around him began to fade as Caspian felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. 

 

"He is meant to die in the first place isn't he?" Don Razor asked, turning to Layla who nodded. 

"Kill him," he said to the head of his mobs. 

 

At the moment, Caspian recounted his life, his experiences, his losses and aspirations – all were able to wear away. 

 

He sniffed up some candour and awaited the final blow which was halted. 

 

"Wait!" Don Razor said. 

 

Caspian lifted his head and saw them all; Don Razor, Layla, the mob chief, all turned to the door. 

 

Caspian turned his head too and there was the girl that sat in the living room, there was Sonya. 

 

"Mummy?" the little girl called. "What did…" she stuttered. "What did he do?"

 

Caspian could feel that the little girl knew who he was. He could feel she was holding back some words, the word ‘Daddy’. Did she know me? He wondered. 

 

"Sonya, my love. We are just playing," Don Razor answered. "We are through here. He'll stop playing now, but pick him up outside."

 

Caspian was let out. He knew that he would soon be retaken, that he would soon be picked up and killed as Don Razor had ordered. But he had no choice but to walk away at the moment.

 

As he went, he looked back at Sonya who was on the verge of tears. Oh my God, she knows! His mind confirmed.

 

As he stepped out, battered and bruised, he fixed his eyes on the other men from Don Razor's gang, then he looked back at the mobs who followed him, waiting for him to be out of the gate so they'd pick him up and finish him. 

 

He looked back at Layla and Don Razor at the door mouth. Don Razor smirked evilly at him while Layla stared endlessly. Then, he looked at Sonya who waved to him. 

 

Caspian wanted to die, but at the moment, he wished he'd live, at least to hold Sonya. "If I live, you'll regret it. All of you," he said to himself. 

 

Immediately he stepped out of the gate, the mobs were yet to be outside when a black van packed by his side. 

 

Three men rushed outside, they were dressed in dark long coats that had a wolf inscription on the back. 

 

They held Caspian and pushed him into the van. As the van drove away, Caspian tugged himself from their grip and asked… "Who are you?" 

 

"Caspian DiMarco, grandson of Matheus DiMarco, son of Sean DiMarco, you are to come to resume your place as head of the DiMarco Conglomerate!"

 

"What!?"