Page 3 of Scarlet Embrace

This mole was trying to cause irreparable damage, but I couldn’t help but wonder if their actions were actually to influence the succession process, to give Daniel, my half-brother, a chance to compete with me. At the moment, my father wasn’t saying anything, but it was only a matter of time before he made a choice of choosing someone to stand in his place, and I intend to be that person when that time comes.

I already had an idea of what to do when I finally got the reins of the organization. Rebranding our image to the whole city was the top item on the list. At the moment, we weren’t considered in a good light, but my family’s influence and the people on my father’s payroll were the only things keeping us from being hauled to jail. It was the reason why I had decided to obtain those cars. With the recent crash in real estate, we needed a new source of income, and the cars were meant to be a test run of a new venture.

“Do you want me to park in front?” Thomas asked me.

“No. Just drop me in front of the building while you find somewhere to park,” I told him as I slowly massaged my temple. A headache was starting to build up, and it was only a matter of time before it turned into a migraine. My meeting with Sonto should explain exactly what went wrong with the transportation.

Stepping out of the car, I took a good look around the street. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, which was to be expected since this meeting wasn’t on my schedule. Sonto and I were not due to meet until later, after the cars had gotten safely to the garage.

I walked up to the guard at the door, who informed me that Sonto had been waiting for me. I did not need anyone to lead me to Sonto, who I found Sonto pacing in his office. He was wearing a pink T-shirt and faded jeans. His gesture and fright on seeing me pointed to the fact that things weren’t good. Most likely, he was hoping to get the cars back before I knew what had happened.

“Weren’t you supposed to be in court?” He asked me the second he spotted me.

“The case was adjourned. The prosecution plans to bring in their witness or something like that,” I waved my hand as I looked around the room. “Any updates on the transport?”

“About that,” Sonto trailed off as he looked away from me. The fact that he was evading my guess was all that I needed to know.

“Tell me you have some sort of explanation for what happened,” I said as I sat down.

“I can explain, Lucas,” Sonto said to me.

“Good. I want to hear your explanation.”

He explained to me that the cars were heading to the garage, but they were diverted because of some construction work. “We had no idea that the thieves planned it, and before you knew it, we had guns pointing at us.”

“If I heard right, which I am sure I did, what you are basically telling me is that I was robbed?” I asked calmly.

“No. We’ll find the cars. I already have people working on it.”

I knew Sonto through Logan, who was a college friend of mine. Sonto had been part of a racing gang and dealt in luxurious cars. When it came to racing, Sonto knew everything to be known, and if there was anyone who could find my missing cars, he was the one.

“Sonto,” I said as I placed my hands together. “The cars are very important to me. I need those cars.”

My father didn’t seem that much interested in what I was doing, but I knew him. By now, he was already aware of the theft and would most likely be looking forward to how I would react. My father was a very difficult man to read, and I can only guess how he would react to this news.

“Yes, I know Lucas. I swear I’m going to get them back,” Sonto told me.

His phone rang, and Sonto picked it up almost immediately. He spoke to the caller in Chinese, and I hoped he was talking with some of his friends about my car. Marcus would definitely know where my cars were, and maybe I should pay him a visit to make it clear that I really don’t appreciate my things being touched.

“We have a lead, Lucas,” Sonto said after ending the call.

“Good,” I said as I rose to my feet. “See to it that you get my cars back.” I placed my hand on Sonto’s shoulder and told him that we needed to find the cars as soon as possible. Leaving Sonto’s place, I took Thomas to Marcus’s restaurant. Speaking to him might help clear up this entire mess.

“Are you sure you want to meet with him?” Thomas asked me.

“Need to send a clear message to him,” I said as I traced my fingertips against the window. “He’s been trying to make a name for himself, but he needs to know he messed with the wrong person.”

Things were a bit tense between both organizations, and this might be someone’s plan to further complicate the relationship we had, but I needed to meet with Marcus to tell him what had happened. If his men had truly stolen my cars, then I would give him the chance to remedy things and return them back to their intended destination.

If not, I guess we’ll finally have a war on our hands.

My thoughts were interrupted by the phone, and I realized that Rufus was calling. He was most likely concerned about the ruling in Alex’s case, and I realized I should have called him after I left the court.

“Hello, Uncle.”

“A little bird told me that you ran out of the courtroom,” Rufus said.

Unlike my father, Rufus wasn’t interested in running the cartel or being involved with the cartel’s business. Originally, my father’s position was meant to go to him, but he had simply turned down the offer to live with his wife. Aunt Madeline was the love of his life, and her death had almost destroyed him.