When Lazaro arrived at the mansion, he looked sweaty and angry. He had already undone the top buttons of his white shirt. Some of his wet greyish tufts were stuck on his forehead. His day was awful, and there wasn't a lot of free time in his program.

Lazaro was the kind of man that would get irritated quickly by small things. Such a short temper wasn't good for a person with such colossal power. There were times that Lazaro would order whole executions because something wasn't going his way. No one ever disobeyed him or his words. Maybe Damon was going against him sometimes, but he would do nothing to stop him except yell for a bit. In his mind, Damon was family, and Lazaro would do anything to protect his loved ones.

The moment Damon opened the door to welcome his uncle, he had already rushed in, panting with his teeth showing. Damon turned his chin and raised his eyebrow before closing the door.

"Welcome, uncle. Is everything alright?"

"I've been running around all day to get some shit done, and I HATE it when people don't cooperate with me, Damon."

He closed his eyes and sighed before pinching the bridge of his nose. Damon focused on him and crossed his arms. Lazaro started walking, and the drug baron followed him closely. He pointed at the fancy couch with his index finger and glared at Damon.

"Can I have a seat?"

"Of course."

Damon looked back at him, confused as Lazaro sat down and sighed, lifting his head staring at the ceiling for a couple of seconds. He knew that his uncle had seen some better days and was currently trying to find a way to start a conversation about his age and how he couldn't go around running the business like he used to.

"Where's Deetra? Is she okay? She didn't sound good in the call...."

"She's fine; she just wants the truth, Lazaro...."

Lazaro sighed and groaned, rubbing his eyes. His terrible headache didn't hold him back from visiting the twins. He knew how important this information was for his niece, so he couldn't leave the country without talking to her.

"Bring her and also some whiskey. I should have said a lot of things long ago...."

Deetra rushed down the stairs; she had heard his voice here and some minutes but didn't know how to approach him. There was a smile on her lips as she got to him with quick steps and sat beside him. Lazaro's angriness was nowhere to be found now as a grin was plastered on his face glaring at Deetra.

"Uncle Lazaro! Lord, you look awful!"

"I've seen better days, but I am doing just fine...."

Damon chuckled and brought to his uncle a glass of whiskey. He chugged his drink quickly and wiped his lips with the outside of his hand, still panting.

"Have you thought about bringing Domenico with you, uncle? He would be a great help, plus he'd learn how things work around."

"Domenico? HA! All he knows is staying in front of that phone on social media or playing that god damn electric thingy!"

By "electric thingy", Lazaro meant an electric guitar. Damon rolled his eyes and just filled the glass again with more whiskey. Domenico was an adult now, but he was still sitting at the comfort of his house enjoying daddy's money. How much Damon disliked that prick, especially after learning that he tried to hit on his sister with stupid lines that he probably found on the internet.

"We're not here to talk about your son, nor for his hobbies, uncle! I need to know about my mother, please!"

Deetra pleaded with her hands against each other and fingers intertwined; a stupid smile was on her mouth. Lazaro drank some more whiskey and looked down, sighing. He cleared his neck and left the glass on the coffee table.

"So, um... I promised something to Selena, and well, it wasn't something too... important, Deetra...."

"Then tell me! I don't care if it's not important to you; maybe it is to me, uncle!"

"Does she know about...."

Lazaro glared at Damon, who sighed and nodded with closed eyes. Lazaro gulped and stared back at Deetra, who looked nervous and half-ready for his answers.

"I know about those men, uncle. Just tell me the truth already...."

"Oh, uh... So... Selena made me make a promise about those... Italians. She knew that Damon couldn't kill so many powerful men as sooner or later they would hunt for his head... All Selena wanted was me to... take care of some of them."

Deetra's eyes were on him; her face was full of confusion. Damon was lying back on the armchair with crossed arms. He was tapping his foot, impatient, wanting Lazaro to talk more. All he did was having another sip of his alcohol.

"What do you mean "take care of"!? Explain!"

Deetra growled and ground her teeth. Lazaro moved a bit, not wanting to be really close to her in fear of her reactions.

"There were some men, Deetra, who would burn down the whole London just to have some of your money. Those men were a hazard to both your brother and you. So, I did what had to be done. I took them out of the way."

Lazaro turned his head while Deetra gulped. She glared down, playing with her fingers awkwardly. There were times like this where her feelings were too complicated to be handled. They wanted to hurt her on the one side, so they dug their graves as they messed up with her family. On the other side, everybody would fancy a piece of their luxury, and she could see why. Did they deserve death, though? Deetra couldn't answer that question just yet.

"Of course, I informed Damon about everything, but we couldn't tell you anything. It was for your safety, don't take it personally, Deetra."

She sighed and stood up, rubbing her head with her palms. The woman looked at Lazaro and then at her brother before taking some steps towards the stairs. She glared back, lost in thoughts, with a low glare.

"I just want to lie down for a bit; I am doing okay... Thanks for the truth, uncle Lazaro... I hope you two have a lovely day...."

She walked upstairs and returned to her bedroom, wanting to enjoy the calmness and her bed's excellent mattress. All she craved was a hug and some good sleep; this day was already too exhausted for her.

Deetra knew the smell of fear and death as she'd been around them more than once. Lazaro's words weren't tragic or something out of this world, but they meant a lot for her. Her mother knew that things would go downhills when she lets her last breath. She made sure everything will be taken care of so her kids, and especially her daughter, would be safe. The only person she could trust was Lazaro.

"She didn't look okay... Was it something I said? Did I upset her?"

"She'll be fine; it's just all this information messed up with her head. Deetra always wanted to be an independent woman... She just found out that there was always protection around her without her knowledge so give her some time...."

Lazaro raised his shoulders and chugged the rest of his whiskey. He breathed heavily and turned to Damon with a low smirk. Damon glared at him, confused as he spun the glass around gently, the ice cubes hitting against the glass with a noise.

"You never told me where you buried that arsehole's son...."

Damon gulped and laughed awkwardly before checking the stairs. He wanted to make sure that his sister wasn't around.

"In a field outside London. I wanted to make sure no one will ever find his pathetic skeleton."

Damon spoke lowly. Lazaro laughed back and let the glass on the coffee table with a soft groan.

"After murdering his father, I hid his body in a field outside London, too. Do you think it's the same?"

There was a broad smile on Lazaro's lips; now Damon knew how that arsehole was nowhere to be found a few days later. He had told his uncle about that gangster's son, so he made sure to take care of him.

"That would be funny... At least they would be together after death!"

Lazaro laughed and rubbed his cheek. There was silence in the room for a few minutes until Lazaro checked his phone and sighed.

"I should be going; I promised to Isabella that I'd be home by nine...."

"And by when you follow your wife's sayings, uncle? I thought you don't listen to women."

Damon giggled as Lazaro rolled his eyes, standing up with difficulty. Maybe he should start getting Domenico with him.

"As you said, I don't listen to women; I listen to my wife, though. Well, I promised I'll take her out for dinner. It's been a while since we had some time to ourselves...."

Lazaro buttoned the buttons of his shirt back and fixed it. He couldn't wait to return home already.

"How's aunt Isabella?"

"Oh, she's fine! Domenico has shown her how to send messages, and she keeps sending me heart emojis."

A small idiotic smile took over his lips as Damon rolled his eyes. He never understood how Isabella stayed with him after what had happened with his mother. Maybe she never found out the truth; who knew. Damon stood up to take his uncle outside.

"How's Luca? The last time I saw him, he was a baby!"

"Oh, he had grown up so much! Thankfully, he is way calmer than Domenico when he was a child. You should visit us sometime, Damon, along with Deetra, of course."

"I will see what I can do, uncle."

When Lazaro arrived at the entrance, he turned around and looked at his nephew. He pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Damon glared back with a severe face.

"Is Deetra still with that handsome guy? I keep forgetting his name."

"Do you mean James?"

"Mhm...."

Damon laughed, hearing his uncle call his buddy "handsome". Lazaro chuckled and looked outside, seeing his car waiting for him.

"The Italians won't be really happy to see her marry someone outside the Italian mafia."

"The mafia was never a happy place, to begin with."

Lazaro laughed softly at his comment and smirked for a couple of seconds. He only kept good relationships with every man in the mafia because he had to. Deeply inside, he hated most of those bastards.

"Ya know, Damon, they never "forgave" me for being that close to Selena. It was funny seeing them being rejected one by one by her."

Damon looked down at the marble floor. His mother had every right to begin her life from the start and marry a new man. She never did it, though, and he never understood her reasons. She could be happy with someone new by her side, but she chose the single life instead. Both Damon and Deetra would be pleased with a nice stepfather by their sides.

"I should be going, Damon. I hope your sister is okay."

"Everything's alright, don't worry. Have a nice trip, uncle."

Lazaro mumbled "thanks" as he walked towards his car with his right arm in the air. The driver stepped out and opened the door for his boss as Lazaro nodded and got in. Soon, the car was nowhere to be found as it was directing towards Lazaro's private aeroplane.

Damon decided not to speak to his sister but let her rest for a while. She deserved it as the last days were tiring.

That person named "Hoplite" was rising again in the black market slowly and steadily. They weren't a significant danger for Damon yet. Damon was just waiting, focusing on every of their move. If they turned out to be more potent than he expected, he would invite them for a meeting. It would be his way to have some deals with them and share some of their profits.

He would do anything to keep thriving at the black market.