Novel Bin Chapter 453 - Cabin (3)
Twilight broke the skies, and a soft pink glowed at the horizon beyond the woods surrounding the modern cabin. The new party arrived and entered through the front door just as Gael and Angela came out of the bedroom.
William began introducing them to each other.
"Mr. De Luca—"
"Just Gael," Gael corrected with a nod.
William smiled. "This is Gael and Angela Su." Then he gestured towards the people next to him. "My cousin, Damien. His lovely fiancée, Katherine Young. And this is Amelia, Felix, and Markus."
They shook hands. Angela observed how the others looked at her and Gael. Damien, Katherine, and Amelia wore smiles, but they were all superficial, while the two other men had stoic expressions and stayed at the side.
Angela couldn\'t help looking at the engaged couple. Katherine was tall, and her height complemented her fiancé\'s even taller height. Damien was probably two inches taller than Gael and William. He resembled his cousin a lot in terms of physique, but Damien had something in his beauty that she could not point out. His cleanly-shaven jaw was so sharp it could cut paper. There was no hair out of place on his head—combed neatly—and he was dressed for work, though Angela was sure she heard he\'d just landed from a flight.
Katherine\'s eyes were piercing as she observed Gael and Angela too. She looked very keen towards them. She was so beautiful; Angela blushed when she genuinely smiled at her. Her slender fingers curled around Damien\'s bicep when she leaned into him and whispered something in his ear. The corner of his lips curled into a smirk, and he kissed her cheek. The gesture looked so intimate that Angela had to look away.
The sound of a vehicle parking outside caught everyone\'s attention. Damien and his party suddenly straightened up—as if suddenly on guard—as they peered through someone\'s arrival at the window.
"I hope you don\'t mind my uncle joining. He was already on his way to Mayne when I spoke to him earlier," announced Gael.
Katherine and Amelia exchanged looks, and then they both glanced at Damien, who kept his eyes trained at Giovanni walking towards the front door.
There was something curious about their stares that Angela couldn\'t decipher.
"Of course. He\'s very welcome," William answered.
"Good morning, friends." Giovanni grinned as he stepped through the threshold, and William began to introduce him to the others too. His smile broadened as he glanced between Katherine and Amelia. Then without shame, he walked closer, held both of their hands, and kissed the back of it. "It\'s so good to see you again, ladies."
Felix, the man on the side, shifted his weight and cleared his throat.
Katherine merely nodded as she retracted her hand while Amelia smiled as she said, "It\'s also good to see you again, Mr. De Luca."
"Please. Call me Giovanni." His thumb lingered across her wrist. "Nice bracelet."
"Thank you. My son gave it to me." Amelia brushed her fingers over the gold chain.
"You have a son?" he asked with eyes laced with curiosity.
William passed around cups of coffee as he interrupted, "Gentlemen… Shall we?"
Gael nodded at them and then told Angela, "Stay here." He kissed her at the temple and followed William and Damien towards an office at the corner of the cabin.
Giovanni passed by Angela and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek before disappearing with the other men.
"Come. Join us for breakfast," Katherine called Angela over to the kitchen where Amelia had already started cracking some eggs.
Angela wasn\'t expecting there would be women around. Though she thought Katherine and Amelia looked friendly, she couldn\'t shake the feeling that the two women had something dark in them.
***
"How do you know Daniel Cho?" was Damien\'s first question as they settled on their seats. The De Lucas took the couch while the Parks each sat on armchairs.
"We met a few years back and…finished a project together," said Gael.
A small smirk painted on Damien\'s lips as though he was amused at the subtlety of his answer, but if he knew that was a lie—sort of—he didn\'t question more.
Damien nodded once. "My apologies for not responding on time. I\'m usually on top of things, but we\'ve been quite occupied these past few days. I\'ve barely slept since…I don\'t even remember." He rubbed his forehead, looking exhausted yet at the same time still put together, what with the way he dressed, looking like the Billionaire CEO that he was in his custom-tailored suit and all.
"So I\'ve heard."
Giovanni took a sip of his coffee and casually said, "I have to say… I was expecting to see Frederick for this meeting. As far as I know, you haven\'t been involved in your family affairs since you left your family\'s care to venture on your own."
Damien softly chuckled. "I\'m just as surprised as you are. I certainly wasn\'t expecting to meet with the De Lucas today…or anyone from the council."
Gael leaned forward. "We need to speak to someone with authority. Should we assume that Frederick is no longer the head of your family and you\'re in charge now?"
The two Parks exchanged glances. Then Damien rested his arms on the rest, crossing one leg over the other as he spoke. "Whatever it is you want to discuss with our family, feel free to do so. It is known that whoever holds the family\'s seal has the authority." He gestured for his cousin with his palm out. William placed a small velvet pouch onto it, and then Damien took out an ancient gold coin, showing it to the De Lucas. The Park family\'s crest was imprinted on the coin—a lion standing on its hind legs with a crown on its head.
Gael remembered a story from his father before that a long time ago, the Parks were once merchants who sailed across the seas. They were one of the Asian settlers who claimed Esmea and made it their home. He hadn\'t seen the seal before, but Giovanni nodded at once. Gael trusted his uncle\'s judgment.
"Very well." Gael leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
Giovanni began, "We want to know if you\'re aware of the drug cartels in your cities? As far as we know, you don\'t deal with drugs… Unless you\'ve ventured out in that field too?"
"That\'s right. We don\'t," Damien steepled his hands. "But we are familiar with a couple of Mexican cartels nearby."
Giovanni\'s lip twitched. There was bad blood between the Italians and the Parks many years ago which led to the treaty. But the Parks were certainly friends with the Mexican crime families.
"I\'ll go straight to the point." Gael\'s jaw ticked. "The Leos from Mayne City are working with the Morellis. They\'re supplying drugs under your noses. Did you know about that?"
Damien and William looked at each other for a moment, their lips unmoving, but their eyes seemed to understand a silent conversation between them—much like Gael and Giovanni did. "The Morellis from Chicago? Are you certain?"
"About 99% percent sure." Gael smiled. "I just need to hear it for myself. But we have proof of their meetings." He gave them an envelope of pictures, taken a couple of days ago while his men were on surveillance.
William and Damien looked at the pictures together—of Evan and Filippo. Then William muttered, "This could be just a casual meeting. It\'s in a public restaurant. Doesn\'t prove anything."
Gael heaved out a sigh and reached inside his pocket, retrieving a small black flash drive and giving it to them. "Then this might convince you."
"What is this?" Damien asked.
"It\'s a…footage from about four years ago." Gael\'s jaw clicked as they stared at the drive that he got from Oliver the other day.. All along, Angela\'s brother had kept it in his safe in the mansion.