RISE OF EROS

For his part, Andrew returned to the office to review the accounts as usual. Everyone in the Heavenly Palace went about their duties as normal unaware of what was happening around them.

Going back to the night before when the Heavenly Palace was at its peak, a few blocks away a meeting was taking place between the remaining four thugs in the area.

With Debos's death, their numbers dwindled, but their strength remained the same. Debos was the newest member of this group and the weakest. Not to mention that everyone was taking advantage of his lack of intelligence.

Debos was a common thug who had risen to where he was as a barbarian. He lacked intelligence and believed that with strength he would solve everything, so he ignored the warning that Candice had given and that led to his end.

On the other hand, the other four were more cunning. They were businessmen and had experience dealing with these issues. Now that Debos was dead, they met to define what their next move would be.

Sitting around the same table as last time in the dark room, lit only by a small oil lamp, they began their meeting and the topic to be discussed was the Heavenly Palace.

Before they had backed down since Candice had issued a warning and Debos's death was a clear answer, however, they could not allow Andrew and his business to continue growing or they would be displaced, therefore they began to discuss countermeasures even knowing that Candice was endorsing him.

"We have to do something. That brothel is growing very fast and although Mrs. Candice supports it, we cannot allow it to displace us," said one of the young-sounding men in the room.

"In that, I agree. That Heavenly Palace will cause problems if we let it go on like this", complemented another of the men present and another of them added, "The problem is how to deal with Mrs. Candice's retaliation".

After that comment, the room fell silent and after several minutes the oldest of all spoke, "Before I told you that Mrs. Candice was watching that business and Debos did not listen and look how he finished, now I tell you again do not continue with this".

"So, do you want us to leave him alone and fuck us later?", one of them snapped a little angrily, but the old man didn't get upset and letting out a sigh said, "If you want to continue I won't stop you, but I won't be part of it. ".

The remaining three men were surprised at the old man's passivity. They didn't understand the carefree attitude he had. They knew him very well. He was similar to Debos in being decisive when it came to taking action, although he was more cunning, so they were surprised that this time he didn't want to act.

"Why are you being so passive old man?" asked the younger one and the old man replied, "I am already old, I have enough money, I don't want to speed up my journey to the afterlife."

Again the room fell silent. Every one of them was thinking about the old man's words. It was clear that none of them believed him because they knew how greedy and insidious the old man was.

They all firmly believed that the old man had a plan, but he didn't want to include them, however, they never thought that the old man was already associated with Candice and just didn't want to get on the dangerous lady's bad side.

Simply put, the old man was a spy implanted by Candice. Not because he was subservient to her, but out of fear. He knew that Candice was more powerful than she appeared and that's why he decided to betray his colleagues and hug Candice's leg.

Despite being a double agent, he threw a few words of reminder to his three companions, hoping they would take his advice. Although it was true that they were not sworn brothers, he had to admit that thanks to them he had managed to earn a large part of his fortune, so he decided to warn them one last time as compensation.

However, his words fell on deaf ears and although no plans to deal with the Heavenly Palace and Candice were discussed, the old man knew that the other three were not going to stop.

The meeting ended without reaching a concrete plan, but everyone was clear that the old man was not trustworthy, so they arranged to meet just the three of them again without telling him, to establish an action plan against their enemies.

The old man was an old fox and he knew that his companions no longer trusted him and that they would plot something behind his back, however, he paid no attention to it. In his mind he had done his duty to warn them, if they didn't listen it wasn't his problem.

After leaving, the old man mounted his carriage and went to the commercial area to meet Candice, while the other three members pretended to return to their businesses, when in fact they were going to meet in another place.

The old man arrived at Candice's store and quickly one of the managers led him to the office on the top floor. There, he saw Candice that was wearing one of the designs that Andrew had given her, it was a black bloused dress.

The old man was surprised to see the dress he had never seen before, but he soon lost interest and began his report, "Mrs. Candice, at today's meeting I stressed your warning again, but it seems the other members didn't take it into account and I think They don't trust me anymore."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me, I wouldn't either," Candice said with a smile on her face, but for the old man, it was like seeing the devil because those words also meant that she didn't trust him.

The old man wanted Candice as her ally, so he agreed to work with her, although fear of her power was mostly his motivation, he also knew that allying with her would bring him many benefits.

However, Candice did not trust him and the alliance was fragile. The only advantage the old man had was the information he could provide from the other three, but if they didn't trust him, he had nothing of value to Candice and he knew it.

Seeing the old man's bitter expression, Candice understood what he was thinking and smiling broadly said, "Don't worry, we can continue working together, you just have to find something else that favors me."

"And that would be?", Asked the old man seeing a ray of hope, to which Candice replied, "You four are the bosses of that area, but you are not the only threats, so find out who else can cause problems."

The old man just nodded his head showing that he understood, but he asked a question that was haunting him almost without thinking, "Is that brothel really that important?"

The old man's question annoyed Candice a bit, although she didn't allow this to show on her face. She didn't like the old man meddling in her affairs, so she decided to give him an ambiguous answer, "It caught my interest for now."

Those words could mean many things, but the old man didn't ask for more. Certainly, Candice was still smiling, but the tone of her voice gave her away a bit, and that warned the old man letting him know that Candice was upset with his question.

Rising from the sofa, the old man gave a little bow and left. When the old man had left, Candice said, "Keep an eye on the old man, he's an old fox I don't want him playing any tricks."

Candice was right to distrust the old man, because even though he wanted to ally with her and was afraid of her, learning that Candice did not see him as an ally but as a disposable pawn annoyed him and he had already begun to plot in his head how to counterattack.

Unfortunately for him, Candice was a very experienced woman and she knew men like him well and not taking the advice that he gave the other three for himself will cost him dearly later on, he just didn't know it yet.

On the other side of the city, the three men who had been with the old man earlier had reunited, only now they were in the office of one of them and their faces could be seen.

They were two middle-aged men and a young man a little older than Andrew. They all wore expensive and gaudy clothing, with jewelry adorning their hands, wrists, and necks.

If Andrew saw them, he would associate them with the rappers from his past world, for the number of necklaces, rings, and bracelets they wore. The youngest was lanky and ugly-faced, his nose like a parrot's beak, his eyes bulging like a toad's, and his skin white to the point of looking ghostly.

The middle-aged man who owned the office they were in, was fat as a beach ball. His cheeks hung down from his face like a bulldog and his eyes were so small that the fat on his face practically covered them.

The last man was also overweight, but not to the level of the previous one. He had a strange goatee beard and a mustache that he caressed as if it were the most precious thing in his possession, which was not strange since he didn't have any hair on his head.

The three men sat down in front of a small table and began to plot against the Heavenly Palace and the old man, as they believed that he had betrayed them and they were not wrong about that despite having no proof.