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It\'s the 30th of December, and they had little progress in putting the Morellis down. As for Gael and Giovanni\'s trip to Chicago three days ago and finding out the Morellis were delivering trucks of drugs to cities, including Esmea, they had yet to find out the best plan there was to screw them over. But it would take money, time, and workforce to do so, and it wasn\'t an easy feat.

At The Manor, the whole third floor was made exclusive where only the De Lucas and their men were allowed to go up and a few entertainers in their skimpy dresses. Loud music and smoke filled the entire place. On the first and second floor, the patrons were partying to their hearts\' content without knowing that dangerous and powerful men were celebrating above them.

Gael, Giovanni, and Alessandro stood in a corner with drinks in their hands. While discussing options for their current situation, Giovanni suggested, "Why don\'t we just go down to Esmea and confront the Parks about it? The Morellis delivering drugs to their territory breaks the agreement."

"And what good will that do?" Alessandro questioned.

"Nothing," Gael chimed in.

Giovanni\'s brows knitted. "What do you mean nothing? The Morellis are breaking the agreement. And that\'s everything that all of the families have agreed on."

"I\'m saying…if we tell them, it\'s not only the Morellis who will be in trouble. We\'re going to be implicated because of the marriage order that we have with them. We may not have signed any marriage contracts yet, but this connection is enough to drag us down."

"Goddamnit."

"Moreover, who\'s to say the Parks aren\'t the ones dealing with the Morellis?"

"Who\'s stupid enough from the Parks to break the agreement that\'s made among six families? So far, I\'ve only met that obnoxious billionaire and his womanizing cousin, and I don\'t see either of them wanting to swim in coke."

Gael agreed with his uncle. Damien and William Park, despite their reputation, didn\'t seem like the kind of men who\'d want to be associated with drugs despite one of their feet dipped into the underworld. Of course, this was just Gael\'s opinion as he didn\'t know the two personally. However, he also didn\'t want to believe that if Marino had been supplying drugs into Esmea, there was no way the Parks wouldn\'t know about it. "Well, Marino is already breaking it. He only needs to convince the Parks to be in bed with them. And if they\'re conspiring, we need to have something better to offer to the Parks to get the upper hand."

Giovanni tossed back his drink and sighed. "So tell me, what do you offer someone who already has everything?"

Gael\'s jaw tightened. That was the problem. They couldn\'t be reckless about how they should deal with it—especially because the woman he cared so much about was from Esmea. And if they make one wrong move, he might not be able to take another step on their soil.

One of Giovanni\'s men came to them and whispered something to him. When the man left, Giovanni told his brother and nephew, "It\'s time."

The three of them walked to the middle of the area and faced their men. The entertainers were made to exit the third level, leaving only the capos and soldiers. Every one of them gathered around, giving their undivided attention to their leaders. Alessandro stood confidently with Giovanni to his right and Gael to his left. And it was Giovanni who opened the assembly. 

"Thank you for coming tonight. I\'m sure you all want to be with our families at this time of the year. But I believe we all are one family. Through the test of time, we are one, and we always have been despite everything that happened as of late. I know the shift in ranks shook us all, and I know some of you blame me until now and that no matter what I say, it won\'t bring back the past and undo everything. But I want you to know that I didn\'t, and I wouldn\'t ever do anything to hurt this family. I don\'t like promises. And I rarely make them. But what I can promise is that I am trying to be the better leader you all deserve. This family means everything to me."

Gael felt bad for Giovanni. The latter still hadn\'t forgiven himself for what their family had to suffer because of a mistake he did in the past. To top it off, his uncle was reminded of what this family went through because of the Morellis when he met Lia again recently. 

"Fratello mio. I hope you stop blaming yourself for the things that were out of your control." Alessandro clamped his brother\'s shoulder and squeezed as he spoke his thoughts. Then he faced the rest. "The year is about to end, but we are only just beginning. We are finally moving forward, and I trust that we will continue to receive your support. Giovanni and Gael have been doing their absolute best to make everything possible for this family."

Scanning the faces of the men around him, he continued, "I apologize I had to step away to take care of my brother, and things had gone under while I was away. I was afraid I failed all of you when we lost several lives of our brothers this year. I wish there was something I could do to bring everyone back. I can only hope that they\'re in a better place. Despite facing threats and problems after another, our time has come to finally move things forward." He looked at his son.

Gael nodded and addressed their people. "A few years ago, when I asked all of you if you were willing to give up this…dirty world for a stable and more fulfilling life where you no longer have to hide and be proud of the kind of job you have, I gave you a way out. I\'ll let you choose… You could walk away and never look back, or you could stay. And you made your choice. This…battle we\'re facing isn\'t merely a family feud that can be settled with a contract. It\'s about justice for what they\'ve done to my grandfather and our family. Your loyalty is our strength. And with this strength, we\'ll make sure \'De Luca\' is the last thing that leaves their mouths when they take their last breath."

"Cin cin." Giovanni raised his glass. (Cheers)

Alessandro raised his. "Alla vostra salute." (As to your health.)

And Gael smiled as he raised his own. "Beviamo alla nostra." (Let\'s drink to us.)

Glasses clinked—smiles, hugs, and handshakes were exchanged. Tonight might have been an end-of-the-year celebration for the family, but it was definitely not the end for them. For a long time, Gael thought that the success of turning their businesses legit would be impossible—and though it was still far from completion, he could already see the light ahead of him. It was yet small and faint, but it was enough for him to see the rocky mountain ahead that he had to climb to get out of this vicious world. 

Gael caught his father\'s gaze from across the room, and they exchanged hopeful smiles as they tilted their glasses forward before taking a swig. The new phase had begun, and he was ready for it.