Chapter 257 - Pier 22 Meeting

Somewhere in the shadier boroughs of New York, a group of powerful and dangerous individuals gathered in a remodelled warehouse by the docks. During the day, it was a regular warehouse that held the precious cargos of big companies. It was usually a bustling location full of shouts, yells and even singing while employees shifted boxes and containers after boxes and containers of goods onto sh.i.p.s or trucks. However, after nightfall, the area was desolated with only some security on patrol or drunken thugs who chose this as a place for their petty fights.

For Lucian Anastasia, this was his kingdom. After nightfall, the entire pier 22 turned into a mafia turf where million-dollar transactions took place. From drug peddlers to illegal fight rings and casino managers, pier 22 was the place that everyone within the network knew about. The poor who were desperate would come flocking to pier 22 after hearing it from hoodlums about money-laundering services. The hookers who wanted to make fast bucks offered themselves to pimps. The addicts who could no longer afford regular rates came to pier 22 for handouts and acted as mules. Here, Lucian Anastasia ruled and there was absolutely nothing the regular police could do. After all, the highest authority in the city was a man who belonged to Anastasia.

"Good evening gentleman," the aged first don of the Anastasia family smiled. He was an elderly gentleman who looked like a kind grandpa who would often feed pigeons at Times Square and read a daily paper to pass his retirement days. The mafia boss had a chubby stature with a receding hairline full of grey strands. He had the same hooked nose that his son had and would have been handsome in his younger days with a square chiselled jawline. Yet, nobody dared to offend this kind-looking gentleman.

Across the table were three other men. They were his long-time business partners who had only seen Lucian Anastasia a handful of times.

"Why have you gathered us here today?" a bald man in his late fifties asked. The man was severely thin and only had a grey well-trimmed moustache that gave his face a personality. He was a sun-weathered elderly man with wrinkles everywhere, a proof that he spent most of his days working underneath the sun. Still, he looked perfectly fit for a man in his late fifties, a huge contrast to the other men in the room.

Lucian smiled and poured them tea. "Relax, Adrian. It's been a while since everyone gathered, let's start with some good news, shall we?"

Adrian humphed and crossed his arms. As the warehousing manager and sole distributor for EZ Express, he preferred talking to Julian instead of Lucian. The younger man showed more respect to him and he hated Lucian's unfazed calmness to everything as if he was looking at the world with a condescending attitude. To Lucian, all his allies were nothing more than ants in an ant farm jar within his hands. Those who agreed and did as told by Anastasia lived a life of luxury paved by Anastasia and those who disagreed or showed doubts would be killed and dumped at the bottom for pier 22. Still, after being long-time business partners, Adrian decided to give Lucian some respect despite the last-minute invitations.

"Would you like some sugar with your tea?" Lucian asked the man to his right. The man looked every inch like a law-abiding citizen and was the face of New York City's justice posters that children worshipped, a complete opposite of what he actually did.

Judas had humble beginnings and was a small lieutenant two decades ago. He was a young boy with an ambition that Lucian picked up and groomed under his tutelage. Now, Judas was the Commissioner of New York City and the Anastasia Family's go-to guy for any hiccups.

"No thank you," Judas said and Lucian smiled, pouring him a cup that the man offered. He was the youngest man in tonight's secret meeting, only in his forties.

The man to the left of Anastasia was also another prominent figure in New York City. He was the main reason why Lucian's plans never fell apart for the last two decades.

"Mayor Underhill, it's been a while since I last saw you. How's your wife?" Lucian asked and offered the man a cup.

Underhill looked slightly tired and Lucian couldn't blame him. It wasn't easy to become the mayor of America's most important city. Even with Lucian's support and rigging the political elections, it was still a difficult job.

"She's feeling a lot better now thanks to you," the mayor admitted. After his wife was diagnosed with cancer, the medical expenses had been burdening him. However, thanks to the many years of being friends with Lucian, the mafia boss decided to give the mayor a hand and took care of his wife's needs, including treatment and upgraded her to a VIP ward in the best hospital within the city.

Now that the small talk was over, Lucian decided to bring up the subject about why he called these three men to his personal warehouse tonight.

"As you've all probably heard from here and there, the Wilde family are at it again and the Interpol are stepping up their game."

Lucian sighed with an Oscar-winning act of looking like the most maligned old man who had been bullied by the world. None of his associates blinked, too used to the man's dramatic sense of humour.

Getting serious, Lucian's eyes hardened. "Do you know what I heard lately? Leah told me that my son wasn't cooperating with our plans because of a certain someone."

With a harsh toss, the magazine was tossed onto the table. It was the magazine that had been a trending hot topic ever since it was released. On the front, the tagline of 'exclusive interview with the Wildes' screamed at them and taunted them with the beautiful picture of two daughters. Nobody spoke and Lucian growled. The friendly old man was nowhere to be seen and this was the mafia boss' true personality that these men knew.

"Wilmer and his wife had decided to refuse a deal proposed by my son. They stole Kiwi Cat Studio and now they try to buy influence using the media with this exclusive interview. Did you know what the interview said?"

Underhill who read about it sighed. "Whatever relationship they had with Kiwi Cat Studio's young director and the CEO of Pineapple Group shouldn't affect our business. Nothing changes."

Lucian glared at the mayor who clamped up at once.

"Won't affect our business, you say? Do you have any idea how many sales deals we had lost because of the confirmation of their relationship status? Our loyal clients from the legitimate business have been pulling out and not extending their business contracts with us once they heard that Scarlet Wilde was potentially dating CEO Zhu. Not to mention, Leah complained that Julian was seen with male hookers again. Without that china heiress' support, do you think EZ Express will be able to sustain itself? All the dirty money that we made is properly hidden in the legal account books because of the company. We still require legitimate sales to keep it from collapsing because of the size. How will you account for this?"

Judas sighed. "It's not easy for me to warrant arrests without a proper case. Besides, Leah and Julian's affairs are out of my reach unless someone files a police report. I cannot interfere with what the china lady wants because it was your idea for them to play family. I can only place men around Julian if you file for a restraining order."

Adrian shrank when Lucian glared at him. "What about you? How could you not have alternative vendors for our shipments? Are Diamond Containers and East-West China Airlines our only options?"

The warehouse manager swallowed. "Sir, you were the one who said not to give contracts to unreliable companies. We only used them because of Leah's influence so that the Chinese customs will not check the goods. They have a reputation that we needed, other freight forwarders do not have what they have."

Angered, the teacup was flung towards a wall, shattering into pieces as if mocking the hopes and dreams of the old mafia boss. For years, he plotted his way to the top starting as a small dealer to becoming a consigliere within five years. Then, he assassinated the Capo and started his own family in New York.

The fight between factions and gangs in New York City was a bloody one but Lucian didn't bow to the top dogs. He crawled the ranks, established his turf and wiped out enemies. Attacking weak businesses to expand his financial resources was something that most other families didn't do. They prefer to establish their own businesses but Lucian had a different vision. He didn't just want to be rich and powerful, he also wanted an extensive network.

Hence, the plan to take over one of the wealthiest New York families happened twenty years ago after his financial success became stagnant. His target back then was the Wilde Empire who had been owned by Orita's father.

Lucian didn't target the Wilde family for no reason. He was a careful man who did his research well. The Wilde Empire started off as a factory in Germany, building computers and radios. It thrived after the end of the second world war and built its riches on their superior technology selling it to the military. Then, the founder of the Wilde empire, Orita's grandfather left the family business to his son who decided to bring the business to America.

Once in America, Orita's father forgot all about their humble beginnings and started to invest heavily in other fields such as transportation, arts and property. He started to play actively in the stock market but he didn't always make a profit. Back then, Orita was still a young girl who didn't know any better. On some days, her father would spend lavishly and on other days, he would bed creditors to delay his payment for a few more weeks. Lucian saw that as an opportunity and approached Orita's father to strike a deal, pretending to be a well-known broker who would trade on the man's behalf in exchange for split profits.

Needless to say, this was how Lucian managed to secure a huge capital to expand his business. For years, he did this until the Y2K crisis hit all major companies. The Wilde Empire wasn't prepared and lost millions of dollars. Desperate for funds, Orita's father tried to withdraw the money he invested with Lucian but the mafia boss who was struggling to keep his position as a new top dog had no time to deal with it. With an order, he ordered for someone to put a hit on him.

The death of the Wilde CEO shocked the world and Orita was just a young lady reaching twenty-one. She had to shoulder the burden of the company on her own and dropped out of university because of it. Shareholders tried to covet her family's wealth and Lucian saw it as an opportunity. He instigated most of the shareholders to buy up shares and killed them to receive the rights. This way, the influence of the Wilde family fell drastically and they were close to bankruptcy when Wilmer appeared.

Wilmer was the man Lucian both respected and hated. Hailed as a business prodigy, he single-handedly rescued the dying giant and revived it even with the Great Depression in the late 2000s. After the company was stabilised, he married Orita and took over the responsibility of bringing Wilde Inc. back to its former glory. It was around this time that Lucian started to resort to underhand means and buy people over to his side, determined to bring the company down but Wilmer was having none of that. The man almost caused his ruin by collaborating with the Interpol who raided his drug manufacturing plants in California and crippled the Anastasia family for many years.

Lucian struggled hard to get back on his feet fighting both the Interpol and Wilmer until his son took over as Capo and had the brilliant idea of going legal to hide their dirty money. The plan worked but now, everything was going to fall apart again because of the new generation. Regardless of whether the girls meant harm intentionally or coincidentally, their connections to the subsidiaries and business that Julian wanted was making Lucian impatient.

"Julian won't be able to handle this and the Interpol are tightening their nooses. Seeing as we're all in this together with a harmonious working relationship for many years, I hope you gentlemen won't fail me now."

Pointing at the girls on the magazine cover, the mafia don declared. "I want these girls and Leah to sign over their company rights. As for their parents, kill them. Do whatever it takes, I don't want to delay this any longer. It will be too late if the Interpol steps in, neither you nor you will be able to cover it up."

Mayor Underhill and Judas nodded. As the two people in the highest places involved with the dirty deed, they knew they had no choice but to do as Lucian said. As for Adrian, the warehouse manager prepared to dirty his hands once more. Lucian wasn't a forgiving boss and with this seriousness, it would be his death if he failed. This time, he would have to act personally.