“This is will be my final meeting in this office. I believe everybody is here and if so let the meeting begin.”

It seemed like an ordinary day, at least it was for such an elderly man to deliver his final speech before the committee and the family. Felix Easton Sr was finally stepping down and with that finally retiring to let his son Felix Easton Jr step in and run the family business. At first glance Sir Felix looked like a kind ageing man, but those who were familiar with him knew about the countless deaths that were ordered under him. He was finally retiring after postponing it for quite a some time.

“It’s been 40 years since I was first sworn in. I still remember the exact words my father told me. 40 years I have spent dedicating myself to this family. We have grown to not only be respected by our enemies but also the general public. It was not an easy feat but now it’s time for me to finally dedicate the remaining years I have left to retire peacefully at my home in Saint John. As you all already know I’m only a phone call away and will still be monitoring the situation as a shareholder.” The elderly man began.

This goodbye meeting was one of the most important, one in which all 10 executives, shareholders, and family members were present. There was no noise as the elder man spoke. Everybody remained silent as he continued.

The main office was located in downtown chicago. The high tech building was owned personally by the elderly Easton, this 30 story building boasted with a high end pool and indoor activities. Although the family had offices across the city and sorounding areas this served as the main location. It was here that all the important matters were handled.

The Easton family was composed 5 generations who followed their ancestors foot steps. Known as one of the oldest Mafia families with only one other competing house: The Bruni Italian Mafia house. Originating in 1920 when the first generation Eastons settled in the poorest neighborhood in NY. Originally the Rossi family, Seeing no future in NY the Rossi family moved to Illinois and turned to crime as a means to survive and in the process changing their last name to Easton. They separated themselves from their Italian blood. Their crimes extending to many areas across Chicago. In present time the Eastons were known for their extended businesses. It was hard to miss them when they had businesses scattered around. You couldn’t tell what business they were in because of how much their influence spread.

“Now that we have settled everything related to the businesses I would like to officially present my son Felix Easton Jr. the new head of the family.” The elder stood up, followed by the rest of the execs and family.

Across on the other side of the office, Felix Jr stood. He didn’t smile but remained composed as everybody eyes remained on him.

“First I’d like to direct myself to my father.” He spoke.

“There is nothing to worry about father. I have always known that I would be putting my life into this family and making sure it remains as strong as ever.” The young Felix continued as he made his way to the front where his father stood.

You could feel the room was suffocating. The atmosphere was tense.

“As many already know I have many goals for this family. This isn’t just a company. This is a family spanning generations. Each and every one of you that stand here today are either direct family members or long standing friends of ours. My goal is to grow this company even further.”

The elder Easton stood by as his son explained further his plans. Their was no doubt coming from the elder that he had made the right choice.

The meeting lasted 2 hours in which case the young Easton spoke about the plans he had for the company. After the first hour tension began to settle down and you could feel a more relax setting.

“The meeting has officially ended.” The elder proclaimed.

The outpouring of claps soon began. Many spoke amongst each other.

Some of the family members came around to the elder Felix and his son to congratulate them. Most of the shareholders and family members were happy with the outcome. Something Felix Easton Jr was hoping for. While this was expected for a while, many had no clue when exactly he would be taking over until today.

As one by one people left only the elder and younger Easton remained.

“You have never once disappointed me. You have been everything I wanted you to be. Although I can’t say the same for your brother. Someone as free spirited and too good hearted— but let’s leave that talk for another day. I’m glad that I can leave here today with a peace mind. Please let Demetrius know I’ll come by to tell him my goodbyes.” The elderly Felix spoke softly.

“Dom will miss you. Do you know how much you’ve spoiled him? More than any one I know.” The young Felix spoke, keeping his head towards the window that extended all the way to the ceiling. He kept his gaze away from his father. He spoke firmly as he continued.

“Who would have thought that the strict man I grew up with could have such a soft side.” Easton Jr spoke. You could hear a little bit of resentment in the way he expressed his words.

The elderly man stood silently. As though he needed time to respond correctly.

“The times have changed. 50 years ago we were constantly at war with other families especially with the Bruni house but today things have become peaceful. Our family has evolved into a bigger business involving more legal means. Demetrius would have surely benefit from a stricter upbringing but that is not my ultimate goal. He shouldn’t worry about the hardships... at least not right now.” He softly spoke, he slowly stood up from the chair in which he was sitting in and headed for the door with one last message to his son.

“Please take care.”

2 miles from the main headquarters layed a beautiful newly built building. Right in the heart of Chicago.

The elderly Felix arrived making his way to the top loft. He made a stop as he waited for the head maid to appear.

“Sir Felix, nice to see you today!” The maid spoke as she extended her hand.

Madeline McKinney was the second generation maid of the Eastons. Just like how the Eastons spun generations they made sure the people under them remained within the same lineage. Only half of the personnel was 2nd and 3rd generation.

“Madeline. I came to see Demetrius just before I depart—“

“GRANPAPA! YOU CAME TO PLAY WITH ME!” The young boy jumped as he interrupted the conversation. The young boy had taken the elevator down all by himself just to meet his beloved grandfather.

Demetrius Felix Easton Jr: the future and sole heir of the Easton Mafia Family. For every generation the oldest within the direct lineage would hold the main seat. While the family’s company had shareholders and individual executives, it was to be expected that one day Demetrius Easton would take over as CEO and sole heir to the Easton company. It was tradition within the family to have the first born be named by the head of the family.

Demetrius smiled as he held onto his grandfather’s hip. His eyes looked at his grandfather as tho he was a lost puppy. He had unique and one of kind eyes. Eyes so green they could be mistaken for emeralds.

The Easton family was known for their emerald colored eyes. Almost all men within the immediate family were known to be playboys or extremely popular with women. But many women had gone crazy after being dropped. It was said it could be either a curse or a blessing to meet their gazes. There was even rumors within the elites and social circle that the Easton men were not only remarkable business men but also behind close doors they were amazing in bed. Socialites made it their missions to seduce them at any cost.

The Easton men were extremely popular within the social scene. The most popular were Felix Easton jr and his brother, Jonathan Easton. They were every woman’s wet dream. It was said that if you invited an Easton to your event you were sure to have a packed event. You could only imagine the shock when it was announced that Felix would be marrying Elizabeth Jeong, a runaway model.

Elizabeth Jeong a Korean elite with connection to the Korean underworld. Her father had made much of his wealth thru illegal means. Hoping for a different future she ran away to study and to continue to model abroad. Ironically she came to meet Felix at a party. You could say they were a match made in heaven. The marriage was broadcasted everywhere. They were the It couple of the business and fashion world. You couldnt go a day without seeing them in the local news. 2 years later Demetrius was born.

Demetrius had the greenest eyes out of all of them. Tho he was half Korean and half white he resembled his father the most. They shined brightly under the sun and they only shined brighter when he got excited. He was the older Easton’s pride and joy. He was the only grandson he had as Jonathan Easton hadn’t settled down yet.

“What a nice day to go out isn’t it?” The elder spoke up as he smiled.

“Madeline make sure to let Elizabeth know I’ll be taking Demetrius out for the day.” He directed the maid. He held onto to Demetrius and as their made their exit.

“Will do sir.” Madeline spoke as she stood back.

The older Easton had always driven around in a black Roll Royce phantom. For many years the elder drove it around himself. He pride himself over his accomplishments and driving his car was one of them. Over the years and as he got older a driver and body guard was placed. Tho today was a special occasion, he opted to take his grandson alone.

There was a special place both grandfather and granchild would go to. It was a garden located within a private garden owned by the family. Very few had access to the garden even for some of the family members.

The duo strolled the garden every weekend. It was a place the elder Easton loved. Before the passing of Elda, his wife. They would stroll that very garden on days when the elder Easton had time.

“Grandpa is it true that you’ll be leaving Chicago?” The young boy spoke up as he held onto the older man.

“It’s true. You see I’m getting older and it’s time someone else takes up the responsibility as the family head.” The elder Easton softly spoke as they reached a bench.

“But I don’t want you to leave. Does that mean I can’t come here anymore?” The young boy spoke as his voice sorrowed.

“My boy. This has been our favorite spot and so it will continue to be a place you can come to whenever you need it. Think of this place as your sanity.”

“Can I come visit you.” Demetrius sulked as he sat next to his grandfather, just overlooking the pond. It was quiet for a moment. You could hear the movement of the fish.

Suddenly the elder Easton burst into a chuckle.

“Of course. That has all been taken care of. Tho I was going to keep it quiet. You’ll come to stay with me every summer until you decide you don’t want to come.”

“Is that so!” The boy broke out in a smile as he turned to his grandfather. His green eyes brightened.

Location: Saint John, Mansion (the same day)

“LETICIA TAKE THIS CHILD OUT.” The young maid shouted. She had begun to sweep where the young child was sitting.

“Sorry! MARIA! MARIA! Come over here!” Leticia ran out to the hallway. She grabbed the young girl by the arm as quickly as she could.

“Ugh having this brat here makes everything 10x harder.” The young maid whispered as she swept.

Leticia Loe was one of the older maids working for the Easton family. She took over her mother’s job after her passing. She had no other immediate family after her and she didn’t know her father. She first came to work for the family as a teen with her mother and that is where she meet the love of her life. They only had one daughter before her husband passed away of cancer that very year. Working for this family had helped her a lot. The pay was the best among any other.

She made her way towards the kitchen with the child behind.

“Maria. My love. Please sit right here by me.” Leticia spoke softly as she grabbed a small stool from behind the kitchen table. Luckly for her she was on kitchen duty so she was able to keep a closer eye on Maria, her daughter. She still hasn’t figured out what she was going to do with her tho.

“Mommy. I wanna go home.” The young girl sat down timidly. She played with her hands as she spoke.

Leticia kneeled down and took a look at her daughter knowing faintly well that there was no home but here now.

“We spoke about this already. We have to stay here from now on.”

“I don’t want to! I don’t like it here. They don’t like me.” Maria spoke as she began to tear up. It was as tho she was letting out the pent of tears she had indured during her fathers passing.

“I wanna see daddy. I wanna be with daddy.”

“How long do we have to be here mommy.”

“We’ll be here for a little bit until we can find an apartment. Don’t worry okay mommy will fix it.” Leticia hugged her daughter taughtly as she began to cry more.

After calming her she made her way to finish kitchen duties. The day had finally passed without any issues and before Leticia could blink she was already home.

She continued her daily ritual. She made food and bathed her daughter. Just a regular day for her. As the hours went by it was finally time to sleep.

She began to undo the blankets and getting ready to tuck Maria as they headed to bed. They both lived within the mansions grounds. Thankfully they didn’t have to share a room with the rest of the maids thanks in part to the head maid. Very few maids opted to live within the mansion grounds but of the few who did, they were allowed to dorm in a cottage like building a mile away from the mansion. The building looked quite similar to a small 1 family house but currently housed about 5 maids including the head maid.

“Maria. My love come here.” Leticia layed in bed as she extended her arms out for Maria.

Maria had been playing with a small teddy bear her father had gifted her on her birthday. It was one of the few toys that she could bring with her. She wanted to continue playing but she listened and made her way to her mother.

“Mommy. I don’t like this place. I’m the only little girl here and I’m always getting told to move.” Maria explained as she hugged her mother tightly.

“My poor baby girl. It’s only for a little bit more. You’ll be starting school soon and you won’t have to worry about feeling like that anymore.” Leticia held onto her.

Life right now could be hard but she knew that all she needed was Maria to feel fulfilled.

Chicago ( 10 months later: June)

“Meeting’s over. Thank you for everything. We’ll keep talk about the new building we’re opening up in the next meeting.” Felix quickly stood up as he made his way out. It was customary for the head to leave first.

As he walked his secretary made his way from behind. The hallway felt like an eternity. His sworning in went as smoothly as possible. So far he was considered an amazing successor. The company growth had gone up by 20% something that made the elder Easton very proud of.

“What’s next on the schedule.” Felix spoke as the secretary pressed the button of the elevator. He seemed tired as though he hadn’t been sleeping very well. It was true that being the head of a company as well as the head of the Easton family was not easy but he managed well.

“We have a meeting with the Japanese faction. They are having issues with that family, according to the head of the Kiyama family. Seems like they are overstepping onto their territory.” The secretary spoke.

“Heh. Even at this age we have to deal with territory problems.” Felix Jr spoke unamused.

Secretary J had been working with the family for many years and had been the older Easton’s right hand man for many years. Although he was only a couple years older that Felix Easton jr, he had worked within the family for 20+ years. Taking after his grandfather who worked with the older Easton. He was allowed to step down once the older Easton retired but was asked by the previous head to stay by the new heads side. He knew every part of the history surrounding the Easton Family.

“The Bruni family have quite a couple sticky fingers in that family. Every family and faction knows we have a couple of businesses with the Kiyama faction. Seems like that’s their way of starting things up again. Is that everything for today?” Felix Jr continued.

“That should be everything. Also Demetrius is leaving today and departing for Saint John.”

Felix remained silent. By all means he was not a neglecting father but he was incapable of showing affection to his son. Of course after all he had never received love from his father. Yet he wanted what was best for the young Demetrius. Part of him knew that to built his character he couldn’t dote on him like his father did. He believed in Demetrius as the next heir and so he created a schedule for him to encompass everything he needed for when he would be the next head.

“Good. Now shall we head the Japanese district. let’s go pay a visit to the Kiyama faction.”

Saint John, Mansion Easton (Same Day)

“Today is a super busy day. Make sure that everything is spotless. The young sir is going to be making his way here today and according to Sir Felix everything needs to be perfect. Got it!”

“YES!” “Yeah!” “Yup” “Correct” the maids shouted in unison.

The maids had gathered to hear the notice that the head maid had posted. Normally Sir Felix was barely home. Though he was retired he had many friends who had retired at the same time and so he spent most of his time playing poker with them. Although he seemed rough around the edges, he always treated the maids with much respect. Although he lived by himself there was 2 reasons why there were so many maids: 1. He was lonely and 2. for protection. You could never truly retire without protection as the the previous head there were always going to be enemies ready to strike.

“Leticia wait!” The head maid spoke as she dismissed everybody.

“Yes.” Leticia stopped and looked over to Moe. She was rather nervous as this was the first time being called out.

“I know Maria is on summer break right now. But please make sure she’s out of sight of Sir Felix grandson. I don’t want any issues and I’ve heard the child is rather spoiled.” She softly spoked. She looked around almost as though she was scared Sir Easton would pop up.

“Don’t worry I made sure to let Maria know that she can’t go out to play today and I’ll let her know she can’t go out to play for a while until the summers over.” Leticia replied.

Thankfully everybody had received a warning from the head butler about the young Demetrius coming today. This was the first time he was coming over from Chicago. There was already rumors going around with the maids that the young child was very bratty. This made the maids extra worried and scared.

The day went by rather smoothly and soon the morning quickly turned to afternoon and so the sounds of a car pulling up could be heard from inside. A lovely Cadillac made its way to the mansion’s gate.

The mansion that was situated in a nice town was considered a vacation home for the rich. Every mansion was a couple miles away from each other. All were gated, there were rumors floating around that most of those families were also mafia families.

This was Saint John a community outside of chicago. Known for its nature and forestry, behind it was influence and elegance, many parties were thrown here in the summer.

“Is everybody ready to greet the young sir?!” Moe shouted as she hovered toward the front of the grand door.

“One last thing. Make sure everybody looks presentable.”

Moe quickly opened up the door and made her way down the stairs. The maids soon followed as they lined up by opposite sex. A total of 10 maids and the head maid and master butler stood nicely by the car. 5 maids stood on the right and 5 butlers stood in the left.

A black Cadillac pulled in and made a stop in front of them. The chauffeur quickly got out and opened the right side door and soon Madeline made her way out.

You could feel the nerves in the air. Madeline kindly stood by the door and greeted everybody. The chauffeur opened the back door and soon Demetrius came out.

“GOOD AFTERNOON SIR DEMETRIUS!” The maids and butlers spoke in unison.

The young Demetrius stood silent. Many of the maids were scared to make eye contact. Many had her heard rumors about the family and made sure not to meet Demetrius gaze. but of the few who did were completely stunned by his beauty. To think that he was only 7 years old.

Demetrius was not just another Easton family member. Elizabeth, his mother was a model whose beauty was the most renowned during her career. He was also taller for his age group. His hair was cut medium length, dark and wavy. His eyes were his main feature, they stood out the most. Deep green eyes that reminded you of a green eyed cat. He was extremely handsome even for such a young age. There no doubt that he would a lady’s man in the future.

It felt like an eternity of silence until Demetrius smiled.

“Good afternoon. Where’s my granpapa!” He moved his head at an angle trying to decipher where his grandfather might be.

This shocked the maids. They had a very different image of him. One of the spoiled bratty child.

“Sorry for the wait. Sir Easton had a small dinner meeting he had to attend.” Moe spoke rather shocked.

“I see. Can I go explore outside.” He spoke politely. He kept a smile as he looked over at Moe.

“Ah sure. According to master butler Adam, Sir Easton should be here by 8.” The head maid spoke as she wondered why he would ask for permission in the first place.

“Nice. Madeline is supervising me so no need to come look after me.” He grinned as he made his way to the field of grass. Some of the maids had begun to take out the luggage inside the Cadillac.

Leticia made her way back to the mansion. She seemed worried about Maria as it was time for her to come back from school. Today was her last day.

“Hopefully she’s inside like I told her.” She softly muttered as she went back to the kitchen.

Demetrius had made his way a couple of feet away from the mansion. Madeline had followed behind quickly as well.

It was true that Madeline was his personal maid and somewhat babysitter. She oversaw his schedule, made sure to pick him up from school and going to all his school meetings.

“I thought he would be here waiting for me.” Demetrius spoke making his way down the path of greenery. He spotted the maids main dormitory and made his way towards it.

“He had a final meeting with the heads before he fully retires. Also where do you think you’re going.” She spoke up as she tried stopping him. He normally wasn’t this handful.

“It’s my grandpas property. It’s not like I’m in danger.” He shouted.

That seem to help his case as Madeline made no further comment.

Madeline walked behind him making sure she wouldn’t take his eyes off of him. Suddenly he stopped.

“What happened?” She acted rather worried.

“Whose that? They were children here?” Demetrius spoke. He grinned and then smiled.

He ran as quickly as he could.

“Hey!”