Chapter 149

Chapter 149
Dimitri

The past few weeks in Axton City had been good. A quiet I hadn't known for a long time. Ava was happy with her art, finding her own rhythm. Carlo was settling down, spending his time with Mila and her kind projects. Even Liam seemed to thrive in this calmer house, his laughter filling the rooms more often. I had built this peace, and I guarded it fiercely.

My world, the world of Andreas Industries, was also steady. The Rossi family was finished, their power gone. The new city project was moving forward without problems. Everything was running smoothly, almost too smoothly. I knew better than to trust a quiet that lasted too long. In my line of work, a sudden calm often meant a storm was gathering, just out of sight.

One morning, my head of security, Lena, came into my office. His face was unreadable, as always, but his eyes held a new flicker of concern.
"Mr. Andreas," he said, placing a slim file on my desk. "We have a small issue."
I looked at the file. It was about one of my smaller, older companies. A construction material supplier. Nothing major, just a steady earner. "What is it?"

"A series of sudden, very specific delays in our supply chain," Lena explained. "Key components are being held up at customs. Permits for certain deliveries are getting stuck. Small things, but enough to slow down projects."

I frowned. "Who's behind it? The city government is on our side. And the Rossi family is no longer a threat."
"Exactly," Lena said. "The delays are not widespread. They are targeted at this one company and only a few specific projects. And the reasons given are vague. 'Administrative review.' 'Paperwork errors.' Things that are hard to fight directly."

This smelled wrong. It wasn't a direct attack. It was like a thousand tiny needles trying to annoy and slow me down. It was almost... a distraction.
"Have you looked into who might benefit from these delays?" I asked.
"We have," Lena confirmed. "No clear competitors are gaining. It's more about causing inconvenience than stealing business. And that led us down a different path."

She pushed the file closer. On top was a report. And a name that made the calm in the room suddenly feel very cold. Antonio Andreas. My father.
"He's in jail," I said, my voice flat. "How can this fucking man still cause problems from there?"

"He has connections, sir," Lena replied. "Old ones. Loyalties that run deep. We found a small, untraceable flow of money from an offshore account, active again. It's moving through a series of shell companies, touching a few minor officials in city services and customs. All low-level. Nothing major. But enough to cause these 'administrative reviews.'"

My father. Even from behind bars, he was still trying to pull strings. Still trying to remind me of his power, his reach. He was imprisoned, but his mind, his influence, was still free. He wasn't attacking my main empire directly. He was testing me. Seeing if I was still strong, if I was still sharp enough to notice the small whispers.

"What does he want?" I asked, looking at the report, at the name that had once ruled my world, now reduced to pulling petty strings from a cell.
"It's unclear," Lena said. "Perhaps to cause a distraction. Or to simply annoy you. Or to show that he still has power, even from jail."

Annoyance. That sounded like him. Antonio had always been a master of the subtle game. He wouldn't risk a direct confrontation he couldn't win from jail. But he would send little jabs, little reminders that he was still a player.

"Stop it," I commanded, my voice firm. "Find every single person involved. Every link in that chain. Cut them off. Permanently. Make sure this money flow stops. Make sure anyone who takes his calls from jail or helps him faces the consequences. Bigger consequences than a 'paperwork error.'"

"Understood, Mr. Andreas," Lena said, her eyes now cold and hard. She knew what I meant.
She left, and I sat there, looking at the file. Antonio. My father. The man who had shaped my world, for good and for ill. He was still fighting, even from his cage. This wasn't a battle like the Rossi family. This was personal. This was family. This was a ghost trying to claw its way back into the living world.

The quiet calm I had been enjoying was now broken. It was a good reminder. There was no true peace in my life, not really. Only moments of calm that I had to fight to keep.

But this time, it was different. I wasn't fighting for power, not directly. I was fighting for the peace I had built for Ava and Liam. For the stability Carlo was finally finding. This isn't just about my empire. It was about my family's future, free from the shadows of the past. My father might be trying to cause problems, but I was no longer the boy who lived under his thumb. I was Dimitri Andreas. And I would protect what was mine, even from the man who gave me my name.

Carlo

My days had found a sweet rhythm in Axton City. Mornings often started with coffee and a quick chat with Mila before she went to the library. Afternoons were spent helping her with her quilts, or sometimes just reading quietly while she worked. It was a life I never knew I wanted, but now that I had it, it felt like the most real thing.

Mila made everything feel simpler, clearer. Her world was about books, kind words, and soft fabrics that brought comfort. It was so different from the complicated, often harsh world of my family, the Andreas empire.

I still saw Dimitri and Ava, of course. We had dinner together often, and I loved spending time with Liam. Ava seemed much lighter these days, truly happy in her art studio. Dimitri, though, I could see a subtle change in him. The calm that had settled over him after the Rossi family trouble seemed to be cracking, just a little. He was still quiet, still steady, but his eyes were sharper, more watchful.

I didn't ask him about it. I knew Dimitri well enough to know he'd tell me when he was ready or when he absolutely needed my help. But a part of me, the part that was finally finding peace, worried about what new shadow was appearing.

One afternoon, Mila and I were at the park, sitting on a bench while she sketched ideas for a new quilt. The sun was warm, and children were laughing nearby. It was a perfect moment. I looked at Mila, at the way the light caught in her hair, at the gentle curve of her smile as she drew.