Page 4 of Legacy

Elias

A long, hot shower was all I wanted.

I never tolerated disloyalty. And if it meant covering my hands in blood as I disciplined an idiot who thought he could walk around sharing information not intended for the public, so be it.

The example I set today would make it clear that I tolerated no disrespect from anyone in my organization.

Elimination wasn’t my preferred method. However, I needed to soil my hands to clarify my point in cases like this one.

I hadn’t expectedthe time it had taken to delve into the discipline. Then again, allowing the fucker a quicker deathwouldn’t have the intended impact on others who thought to betray me.

Why the fuck my father had favored that moron, I’d never know. My father’s outrage at being deceived amused me. I’d seen it coming but kept quiet, knowing he thought of himself as a pristine judge of character.

Then again, assholes stuck together. And as long as my fatherthoughthe was the boss around here, the head of the Xenos enterprise and our family, I gave him the illusion of appeasing him when I could and cleaned up his messes.

A traitor was a traitor, after all, and I wasn’t called a ruthless killer for nothing.

I passed into the corridor leading to the residential area of the Xenos estate, eyeing the stairs leading to my section of the house.

“Eli? A word,” my father called out, forcing me to pause and curl my lip.

Asshole wanted a word after I cleaned up yet another of his messes.

Was he even aware that the majority of his men thought him weak?

To breathe the same air in a room with the asshole was a vile prospect, but that was the role of an obedient only son. As always, I pushed back the loathing, the hatred, the disgust for the man responsible for half of my DNA and turned to stride in the direction of the hallway leading to my father’s office.

The stench of blood covering my skin wafted up, adding to my annoyance.

I expected some complaints about my appearance and pungent scent. So if I ruined his expensive, plush carpet, it was his fault.

Facing him was my version of torture. I’d allow my disgusting smell to be his.

One guard outside my father’s office inclined his head as I approached and gestured to his pocket, indicating his phone. He was an informant of mine embedded with my father’s men, and it seemed he had some information to share.

Age and circumstance had made my father the head of the family, but everyone involved in our sphere understood who really ran things around here.

It wasn’t him. Ozias Xenos wasnotthe man making this family successful. Due to my blood and sweat, the family rolled in wealth and luxury. Because of my determination and hard work, everyone could live in opulence and with reverence.

Everyone, like the lazy asshole on the other side of that desk.

I entered my father’s office and kept my expression blank as he lifted his face toward me. He cared too much about the past and what everyone around him had. He only prioritized the territories he had no control over instead of developing the areas he ran.

Like a lousy leader.

He sat there expectant, dressed as if he were some elderly statesman ready for a night on the town and without a single care in the world. His office was more of a showpiece surrounded by the luxury of expensive art and antiquities. It was a display of his ego, not of his power, as he believed.

His lip curled as he took in my appearance.

“What is it?” I asked, not giving two shits about speaking to him with respect.

This man had long since lost it. The best I could muster was a somewhat civil conversation as I’d have with a soldier who annoyed the shit out of me, but I had to supervise and tolerate.

He grunted and smirked as he sat back in the ornate chair. Swiveling side to side, he sighed and regarded my disheveled appearance. “Rough day?”

“I took care of your misjudgment in character.” I shrugged. “It’s a messy business. You should try it sometime. Our men like it when the boss gets involved in the work and doesn’t lock himself away in the office.”

He narrowed his gaze as the barb of truth struck.

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