Number 7

"Hey, keeping him on the wall like that is no good. He's an important person, you know. Let him sit down in front of me. I've got a lot to explain to him, after all."

As Alfonso heard these words from Donovan, the gun which was pressed to his head was released, and the men who were holding him against the wall immediately let go of him.

Turning around slowly, Alfonso bore witness to the scene - at which he immediately gagged, placing his hand to his mouth to stop him from hurling on the spot.

"Oh come now, Alfonso. Is this really your first time seeing a corpse? I suppose so. Well, that one in particular is quite messy, so I can understand."

Motioning to the seat in front of him, Donovan sat in Alfonso's chair, instead offering him the spot of a subordinate to sit.

Stumbling forward, Alfonso's vision was hazy as he eventually made his way to the seat, his entire body trembling.

'How could this happen?'

"I'll start from the beginning."

Yet Donovan seemed to have no intention of allowing Alfonso to recover his senses, instead forcing an explanation upon him even while he remained in such a shattered state.

"You refused my offer to take over this business. I was quite frustrated by that. But I did promise you that you would regret that decision. So I went home that day and found a few of my best men and women to send your way... as new recruits."

Suddenly, as if they had been cued, the doors to the office opened as four people entered the room, each of them walking past the body as they lined up in front of Donovan, bowing their heads respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Sir Donovan."

As Alfonso watched this display, he could do nothing more than allow his jaw to drop.

"You four... were under his orders?"

They were young.

Their ages were likely between 18 and 22, people who wouldn't have even graduated college at this point.

How could they be involved in a mafia organization at this young age?

"Of course, they were doing exactly as I ordered. They managed to infiltrate your office without any suspicion. After that, I had them use some of my connections to improve their work. I have a little brother who deals with children quite often, and they are an excellent source of labor."

"Child labor... so that was your doing!? Those accusations... were they all things that you had done?", Alfonso asked desperately.

"Precisely. Of course, you should see with your own eyes that the police are under my orders as well here. Otherwise they would have arrested me the moment I stepped in here."

"Then... the profits that these four reaped..."

"All through illegal means. Their work was done for free by some of our laborers. The money they earned was embezzled from some of our side businesses. The clients they pulled in were due to our connections. I'm sure your employees were baffled at how they could achieve such results with such minimal resources... but that's because I learned from you, Alfonso."

With a mocking smile, Donovan creepily mimicked a saying that Alfonso's daughter would utter so often.

"I learned that if you want your employees to succeed, that you need to provide them with the resources they need."

"That... you..."

"So now you're at a bypass. One of your men has died already. The police have shown up on your doorstep, and they have evidence that your company is directly associated with a brutal criminal organization, and that corruption is deeply implanted into your profits. If this were to get exposed, you'd be ruined."

Putting his hand to his chin as he spoke, the man didn't stop there.

"But you wouldn't be too concerned about your own reputation. Rather... you're concerned about what will happen to your employees. Which is exactly why I ensured that the corruption was associated with the entire company, and not just you yourself. You can't just take responsibility for this. And if you try to..."

Pointing to the man behind Alfonso, Donovan grinned as his arrogance pierced the heart of Alfonso.

"Then your remaining employees might end up just like that one on the floor over there."

Once more, the man reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a piece of paper as he placed it on the desk - however unlike before, this man was now sitting in the chair of the CEO.

And on the other side, a pathetic man who could barely even comprehend the evil before him.

Trembling in fear, he gazed upon the contract once more, then looked up as his eyes met with the mafioso who was so confident in his words.

"Therefore... I'll make you the same offer."

Picking up a pen as he clicked it, Donovan placed it into the hand of Alfonso, who was too weak to even resist.

"You grant me the ownership of this company. And in exchange... I'll give you nothing."

Then, sitting back with that horrible smile, the man placed his hands behind his head as he kicked up his feet on the desk.

"Quite a bargain, isn't it?"

----

"My employees... they won't be harmed?"

"Absolutely not. I said I would do nothing, did I not?"

With a gulp, the man considered his options.

He was trapped.

If he refused, then a bloodbath would likely ensue.

This man had control over everything. The police were on his side. The mafia he ruled over were likely on standby, perhaps even more had infiltrated this corporation already.

'If they create a bloodbath here, it will go down in the news as a gang related attack. They will broadcast the relationship between the company and a criminal organization, and cover the deaths up by labeling all my employees as criminals themselves.'

Alfonso wasn't dumb enough not to have figured this much out.

All of his employees would be killed if he refused.

'Then... I don't have a choice.'

It was the last thing he wanted to do.

Giving up this company, and to this man at that, would lead his employees to ruin - but if he guaranteed that he wouldn't do anything to them, then they could at least quit and find another job.

Perhaps it wouldn't be as honorable as this place, but it would be better for them to all leave and let this man have what he wanted with the company.

"I understand."

Choking up, the man reached forward, the pen in hand.

"I just have to sign here, right?"

"That's right."

Watching him closely, Donovan kept one eye closed as his open eye followed the hand of Alfonso.

"Please... just leave my employees out of this."

Finishing his stroke, the man bowed his head as he handed over the contract.

"Thank you very much."

With a smile, Donovan took the contract, pocketing it in his coat.

Looking up, Alfonso met the gaze of the man who had taken everything from him, his eyes filled with exhaustion.

Yet it was at that moment that he saw it.

Slipping out of his coat, one of the rookies held a glock.

"Now that I've obtained your signature, you're no longer useful. Please give my regards to Herbert."

Bang!

Pain shot through the head of Alfonso, his ears ringing as a bullet went straight through his brain.

He fell forward, his head slamming onto the desk as his sight went dark, his body becoming cold within an instant.

'Why?'

Barely even able to have any last thoughts, it was over before he could even think.

"Well... I suppose it's time to pay the daughter a visit."

----

'Father... he is always preaching about giving his employees reasonable hours, and not forcing them to work overtime... yet how often does he arrive home late because he himself was working extra?'

Melissa sat in the living room, sipping a cup of tea as the fireplace crackled in front of her.

With a book in one hand and her drink in the other, she gave off the aura of a prestigious noble - though in reality she was the daughter of the owner of a major corporation.

While the level of responsibility and education was similar, she was no noble in any political sense. She would one day have control over her father's company, but that was all. There would be no domain or political realm for her to rule.

Even so, she had been raised like a noble.

'I do wonder... are his methods truly correct? Is it truly the best option to prioritize one's employees above all? After all, they are his subordinates. They should be absolutely obedient to him, should they not?'

Turning the page as she had such thoughts, the girl seemed to grimace.

'Why should a leader need to appease his subjects?'

Those who were incompetent should simply follow those who were competent. If one who was competent was unsatisfied with their leader, they should just become a leader of their own.

This way, the incompetent would all gain some use, following people who were competent - and in the end everyone would be working towards the ends of a competent person.

Or at least, this was the opinion of Melissa Touchette.

She did not exactly agree with the methods her father had taught her, though she had been his student from a young age. When he passed away or retired, she would take things into her own hands and do things her way.

However, that was neither here nor now.

'Kindness has no place in a world based on deception. Which is exactly why... father will lose to someone.'

There were numerous CEOs who were willing to use more dramatic and underhanded means of defeating their enemies. The very reason why her father was so worried day in and day out was because he was under threat from some mafia organization.

'Perhaps if he had used more brutal methods in the first place, he would not have been their prey - but rather someone that they would have to approach with caution.'

The fact of the matter was that if these mafia organizations had approached someone with more corrupt methods, such as the CEO of Marcel Incorporated, the two might have been able to stand on equal grounds and negotiate with one another.

This had not happened because her father was soft or naive.

It was a one sided threat with little to no room for negotiation - all because her father held his employees too dear to him.

Perhaps she herself would have been used as a tool for negotiation, had he not cared so much about his employees, but that only furthered the notion.

'In order to win, one must first throw away any sense of value.'

If one held nothing of value, then nobody could use such a thing against them.

If one only held a few things of value, they could focus all their efforts on protecting those things, while allowing other things to fall prey to their enemies.

Her father had made the mistake of valuing far too many things, and being unable to cast a wide net around them. They had slipped through the holes, all falling into the hands of the enemy.

'Which is why that man will end up winning... if he truly has decided to fight.'

It had been almost half a year since that event, yet her father had never stopped worrying.

Would something happen? Would it not? Was this the man's entire goal, to make him paranoid and then disappear like it was nothing? Or would he truly return someday and take everything?

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Suddenly, a voice called out from down the hallway as the sound of a door opening entered the ears of Melissa.

Closing her book, the girl stood up with suspicion, heading towards the source of the noise.

'Just who could possibly be entering my home without permission? And at this time of night... this goes beyond rudeness. This is trespassing.', Melissa thought.

Should she run? Should she confront the person? Melissa stopped in thought as she wondered which option she should take - however that was quickly decided for her.

"Ah. There you are."

A man turned the corner, meeting her eyes within the hallway.

The man wore a suit, and was both young and good looking. He didn't appear to be someone suspicious in any way, if one were to throw aside the fact that he was invading her home.

"Who are you? Why are you in my home? Are you here for my father? He isn't here right now, so-"

"Ahem... I think the correct question would be why are you in my home? But I can understand your confusion. After all, there were some negotiations which occurred today that you were not aware of. Can we go sit somewhere to talk?"

The man's words were enough to freeze Melissa, who had no idea how to respond to such a thing.

"What do you mean... your home?"

"As I said, we should sit somewhere first before we speak. But yes. Your father signed off today, granting me ownership of all his assets as a part of our agreement. I have the contract for proof, so if you'll please prepare to move out of this place-"

"Move out?"

Unable to handle the sudden news, Melissa held up a hand as she stopped the man from moving any faster.

"Wait just a minute. I need to process this. You're saying that my father signed some contract to grant you his assets? This..."

"As I said. Let's find someplace to sit. This is no conversation to have in a hallway."

With these words, Melissa looked back.

Motioning for the man to follow her, she headed towards the living room.

"Please come this way."

----

"So you're telling me that... my father..."

"Yes. I killed him."

"And before you did that... he signed a contract... which made all of his assets yours - including his company?"

"Exactly."

With a gulp, Melissa found her throat constricted.

She could barely even speak upon hearing the horrific results of the day.

How could she even process such events?

"So I have to leave?"

"That's correct."

"And even if I tried to take legal action, you have both the police and the government on your side - so it would be pointless to do so. I would only end up hurting myself."

"You are far more reasonable than I could ever have expected you to be. Would you like to work under me?"

As the man known as Donovan made this offer to Melissa, she was filled with a torrent of emotion.

One part of her - the logical part - told her to accept this offer with everything she had.

If she were to become a subordinate of this man, she would not only be able to improve her standing despite the actions of her now dead father, but she would be able to do things in her own way.

However the other part of her said to reject this offer.

Her emotional side raged within her, repudiated by the fact that she would even consider accepting such a thing - and by the very man who had killed her father and stolen her business, no less.

Would she overcome her hatred and accept the offer? Or would she hold onto it and reject it?

'No.'

'I can't do it.'

'Even if it means running away...'

'Even if it means leaving this mansion and finding somewhere else...'

'I absolutely cannot accept it.'

Melissa understood how truly reckless this decision was.

She understood well that it was, logically speaking, the wrong decision.

The immature decision of a child who couldn't accept any bad things in life, clinging onto some false sense of morality or sense of duty towards her father.

Yet even so, she chose this.

For perhaps, even greater than she had ever imagined, she held the desire to do as her father would have wanted for her.

It was cruel, was it not?

Her father would likely have been proud of her to reject such an offer - even though it would hurt her so.

How unfair.

He gave his all to protect his employees, but when it came to his own daughter - he would expect her to sacrifice in order to do the same.

'Why would you be disappointed in me for simply protecting myself?'

She did not know.

But she knew for certain that accepting would not have been his will.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to refuse that offer."

"Are you too angry with me for killing your father? That much is understandable, but you seem very calm despite that. Perhaps I should give you a little time to think it over. How about this? I'll be here as long as you wish. If you ever decide to change your mind, then just come back to this place, and I'll be waiting to accept you."

Choking up with emotion as the man spoke these words, Melissa merely nodded.

"I won't be returning. But thank you... for the offer."

And with every bit of professionalism, the girl stood up as she prepared to pack her things.

----

'You idiot.'

She didn't even know what to pack.

'You absolute idiot...'

As she rummaged through her room, the girl had no idea what she would do from this point out.

'I knew I was right...'

Shoving one thing after another into a bag, the girl realized that she would only be able to take the things that she was capable of carrying.

'I knew you shouldn't have held them in such high esteem...'

With tears forming in her eyes, the girl bit her lip as she gazed over the room, desperately trying to figure out some sort of plan.

'That's right... your precious employees... I'll...'

She would what?

Go begging?

Live underneath one of their roofs?

The moment the girl thought of such a thing, her pride was eaten away.

How could she lower herself like that?

'I'll... figure something out on my own.'

What would she figure out?

She had no job, no money, no assets - nothing.

'Money... that's right! The savings! I just have to...'

Pulling out her phone, the girl logged into her bank account - however on realizing it's contents she immediately went pale.

Facing her was a great big zero.

'Wha...'

As she gazed upon this number, she realized it.

All the assets of her father had been transferred to that man.

Her father was one of the owners of a shared account with Melissa which he had used to give her an allowance, but he also had his own account.

The man had almost certainly taken control of her father's bank accounts and switched over any money she had in there.

She was broke.

At that instant, the girl realized that she no longer had any option.

She had to humble herself.

'I'll... find one of his employees... but...'

Wouldn't that just be leeching off the very mafioso who had taken over the company?

'No... such thoughts... I can't allow myself to think them. I need a place to live. Otherwise...'

Getting a job herself?

At her age?

She was merely 15, but she had plenty of experience in business. Could she somehow manage to do something herself?

Thinking these things, the girl began to formulate a plan in her mind.

She continued to pack, painfully giving up luxury after luxury while only taking the bare minimum with her.

'Ahh... what do I do!?'

----

"Absolutely not."

"No way."

"I just got fired from my own job, and I have to worry about my own family. I might be kicked out of my own home if I don't figure something out."

"There's no way you can stay here."

"Look at yourself. Acting like your father actually did anything for us, shamelessly asking for a favor like this."

"Isn't it your father's fault this whole thing happened?"

Melissa had been thrown around, insulted and abused to no end.

She had gone to each of the workers underneath her father's company, only to realize that these people held no such sympathy for her.

Melissa was not quite sure just what Donovan had done, but without question he had fired anyone who went against him. While those people who had been fired were focused on taking care of themselves, the ones who had remained with the company instead were even more hostile.

No matter who she went to, she couldn't seem to get a single shred of sympathy.

'After father worked so hard and gave up so much for you ungrateful people...'

And with each encounter, the hatred only grew.

Hatred for the people below her.

'If I ever manage to take over another company... I'll never show the same kindness that he did.'

She had lowered herself.

She had begged.

She had done so many things that were so horribly degrading that she wanted to kill herself just thinking about them.

Yet even though she had lowered herself to such a point, there had been absolutely no results.

'People... are horrible, aren't they?'

And with all the hatred boiling up within her, the girl came to a single conclusion.

'Humans... truly are such self serving creatures.'

These people had taken advantage of the benefits provided to them, only for their tune to shift the moment another man took over.

Even those who had been fired had no intention of doing anything but protecting themselves.

It was all so horribly selfish.

'That man Herbert... his wife was the worst.'

One woman had driven her away just on seeing her, spouting horrible things, cursing and screaming as if a demon had appeared in front of her.

He was her father's best employee, and by far the most loyal as far as Melissa understood. If even that man had been converted over to Donovan's side, everything was hopeless.

What now?

She had exhausted all options to rely upon any of her father's employees. She had nobody else to rely upon.

Should she go back and beg that man?

The very man who had killed her father?

Absolutely not.

'I... I'll live on the streets if I have to.'

With determination, the girl came to a decision.

'I absolutely won't rely on that man.'

And with resolve, the girl headed deeper into the City, the moonlight shining above her.

'I'll figure out how to make money on my own... I'll quit school... I'll find a job and a place to stay... and I'll make my way to the top.'

Glancing up to the skies, the girl looked to that moon with a loathing gaze.

'And then I'll destroy that man with my own two hands.'

Truly, a reckless declaration.