Chapter 151

Chapter 151
One evening, after Mila had left and Liam was asleep, Dimitri came into my studio. I was cleaning my brushes, the smell of paint filling the air.
"She seems wonderful," he said, watching me. "Mila. Carlo is very lucky."
"He is," I agreed, smiling. "And she's lucky too. He's a good man, Dimitri. He just needed to find his way."

He nodded, leaning against the doorframe. "It's good to see him happy. Truly happy."
He looked tired, though, and I could feel the tension in him again. "Is everything alright?" I asked gently, setting my brushes down. "You've seemed a bit... stressed lately. Is it work?"

He hesitated, then sighed. "Just some old problems trying to make new trouble. Nothing I can't handle. Just... annoying."
"Annoying?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. For Dimitri, "annoying" usually meant something serious.
He gave a small, humorless chuckle. "Think of it as gnats. You swat one, and another appears. Not dangerous, just a nuisance." He didn't say more, and I knew better than to push. His world was full of those "gnats," things I couldn't fully understand, things he had to deal with on his own.

But his eyes told me it was more than just gnats. It was something from his past, something stubborn. I wondered if it had anything to do with his father, Antonio. That name still held a cold weight for me, even though he was in jail. Antonio had always been a master of making trouble from the shadows.

Despite that worry, the thought of Carlo and Mila's wedding brought me back to a feeling of hope. This wedding was a symbol. A new beginning, built on genuine connection and simple happiness, away from the dark history of the Andreas name. It was a step forward, a sign that we could, as a family, build a future that was strong and good, no matter what old ghosts tried to cause problems from the shadows. I would throw myself into planning this wedding because it felt like a way to fight back against those shadows, to fill our lives with light and joy.

Dimitri

The joy from Carlo's engagement to Mila was a good shield against the new problems brewing in Axton City. For a few days, the excitement filled the air in our home. Ava was already making lists and talking about flowers and dresses. It was a pleasant distraction, a bright spot that made the coming fight feel even more unwelcome.

But the "gnats" my father, Antonio, was sending from jail were not going away. Lena had been working tirelessly, cutting off the small lines of power my father still tried to pull. But Antonio was like a stubborn weed; you cut one part, and another sprouted somewhere else.
A few days after Carlo's news, Lena brought me another report in my office. This time, it wasn't just about supply chain delays.

"Mr. Andreas," Lena began, her voice calm, but I could hear the slight edge of annoyance. "Our new city project has a new problem. A sudden, very loud group of protesters. They're not the same ones from before, not the ones we handled."

I looked at the photos Lena placed on my desk. Signs with slogans like "Save Our City's History" and "No Corporate Takeover." They were small, well-dressed, and seemed very organized. Too organized for a random protest.

"They're not truly against the project," Lena explained. "Their arguments are weak and vague. They just seem to be there to cause noise, to make headlines. To stir up trouble, slowly."
"And the source?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Lena nodded, her jaw tight. "The same subtle money flow. Small payments to a low-level community organizer. Someone with loose connections to old family ties, Antonio's old contacts. He's using them to create this... 'grassroots' movement."

My father. It was infuriating. From a jail cell, he was using small coins and old favors to chip away at my plans. He wasn't aiming to destroy, just to annoy, to slow things down, to prove he still had influence. He wanted me to know he was still there, still a threat, still a father who could cause problems.

"This man, the organizer," I said, pointing to a face in the photos. "His family has a few city contracts, correct?"
Lena checked her tablet. "Yes. Small ones. Waste management, park maintenance."

"Cut them," I ordered. "Immediately. Find every single business connection he has, directly or indirectly tied to any city funds. Freeze them. Make sure his family knows why. Make it clear that helping Antonio Andreas, even in the smallest way, comes with a very high cost. A personal cost."
"Understood, Mr. Andreas," Lena replied. She knew my methods. This wasn't about a violent threat but about making it very painful to be on Antonio's side.

"And find out how he's making these calls from jail," I added. "Who is allowing him this access? That chain needs to be broken. From the inside."
Lena gave a sharp nod and left. I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes for a moment. This was the difference between fighting external enemies and fighting a ghost from your past. The Rossi family was a clear opponent, easily broken. Antonio was like a venom that had seeped into the ground, slowly rising up in unexpected places.

It was a constant battle, keeping my world clean and safe for Ava and Liam. My hands were always in the dirt, dealing with the dark parts so they didn't have to. Carlo's happiness, his quiet joy with Mila, made this even clearer. He was building something pure, something good. And I had to make sure Antonio's bitterness didn't touch it.

I thought about Carlo's excitement. His simple, happy proposal to Mila. It was so far removed from the calculating, dark decisions I had to make every day. He was finding real peace, a normal life. And I was back to playing a chess game with a man locked in a cage, a man who still tried to control me, even from afar.
The protest would be handled. The organizer would learn his lesson. Antonio's contacts in the jail would be dealt with. Piece by piece, I would dismantle his remaining influence. It was exhausting but necessary. My father believed that power was about control, even when you had none. And he would try to remind me of that power until his last breath.

But my power was different now. It wasn't just about ruling an empire. It was about protecting the fragile peace, the real happiness, that Mila and Carlo were building. It was about making sure that the shadows from my past, from Antonio's long reach, never touched the light of my family's future. And that was a fight I would win, no matter how many "gnats" he sent my way.