Rise Of The Disgraced Heir

The room was silent as everyone stared at Seth. It was clear that they had not expected him to be so highly ranked in the Mafia.

Those that were born into powerful positions rarely ever stepped out into the real world, preferring the hidden society of the mafia and gangs.

Being a secret also helped them avoid the law, something that was incredibly crucial, especially for the family heads.

"Wait, what? Why?" Hank asked as he looked at Seth. "If you are the eldest son, then you are the next head of the Dean Family Mafia." 

"Traditionally, yes." Seth said with a nod as he acknowledged what Hank said.

"Not just traditionally, from what I heard, your father already named you his successor." John scoffed as he looked at Seth.. "I've never seen you, but I've heard of you."

"Why?" Seth asked.

"What do you mean why?" John asked as he looked Seth in the eyes.

"You must be involved with the underworld then." Seth concluded. "Only people that belong to that shady world would have heard of the rumors. It also means you are quite well connected to know about me."

"John used to race." Marco pointed out. "He was one of the best before the boss took him into his employment through the King of the Underworld."

Seth grinned at the new bit of information he had learned.

"I'm not surprised, they are good friends." Seth said with a nod.

"So you know?" Marco asked.

"Yes, I had to know. Plus the current king was with me when I was learning about the way the mafia and the gangs worked." Seth told Marco with a grin. "He is intimidating though, the new king, much more than his father."

"More dangerous too." John said with a nod.

"I guess you learn something new about everyone all the time." Ian said with a laugh, referring to John and his connections to the underworld.

"I thought you were just one of Mike's lackeys." Ash said in an apologetic tone.

Seth couldn't help but laugh. He knew it was true, he did seem to be one of Mike's followers since they were always together. 

"I didn't want to be friends with him, I still don't." Seth said as he shook his head. "The hard part was that people had already associated me with Mike. For some reason they thought we were best friends when we clearly weren't."

"Why are you working in the Reyes Group?" Hank asked. "You should be helping your dad."

"Because I don't want to be like him." Seth told Hank as he shook his head. "I don't want to take a role that's forced on me, that's something Ian and Camilla helped me realize."

"So you'd rather live a normal life?" Jake asked with a smile. It was the exact same thing he wanted. A life that wasn't chosen for him, a path that wasn't forced on him, one that he made and found on his own.

"I'd rather live my life, not one that my family dictates." Seth said. "Right now, I don't really know what I want. I know I love the members of the Dean Family Mafia and I can't stand to watch them walk blindly into a war they cannot win."

"So you might still return?" Marco asked.

"Yes." Seth said with a nod. "But I have time, my dad is young and no one would dare go up against him."

"That's the same thing the Rocci family thought." Marco pointed out.

"The Rocci family made the mistake of trusting the wrong people and pushing their own daughter too far away, my family would never do that." Seth argued.

"And yet you are here." Marco said with a sly smile as Seth frowned. 

"Did you just ask me to come up here so that you can mock my choices?" Seth asked. "Or is there something else you need?"

"Something else." Ian said as he fought to keep his friend to stay.

"Right, yes, back to business." John pointed out with a laugh.

"Seth, we need to know, will the Dean Family protect Manuel Juan and his family and their businesses?" Marco asked.

"That's a difficult one to answer." Seth said with a frown.

"Why?" Hank asked. "It's either a yes or a no."

"Not really." Seth said as he shook his head. "They are not allies of our family, they aren't our people either." 

"Then why are there rumors that you will protect them?" Jake asked.

"They pay some of our men pretty well to do their dirty work." Seth explained. "They also pay some for protection. Just last night we got a call from them asking us for the Dean Family support."

"Did you give it?" Jake asked.

"I advised against it." Seth said. "I told my dad that the Juan family had taken on an enemy that we could never defeat. That helping them would not only cost us, but it could also ruin us."

"Who is this enemy?" Ash asked.

"The Reyes Family, of course." Seth said with a smile as he glanced at Ian. "Manuel Juan and his sister had offended Ian. I've known about him since I had to save him from my own men."

"Did your father listen?" Marco asked.

"He did, but there was a complication." Seth said with a frown. "My brother sent some of his own people and used some of his personal connections to help the Juan family making it seem like they were sent by us."

"Then that means they won't ask for our protection." Marco said as he thought carefully of the situation. "If they already think that the Dean Family is behind them they will probably only ask for money."

"That's possible, yes. But I was asking my father to have those men pull out of supporting the Juan family by talking some sense into my brother." Seth explained.

"No need, this is the opportunity we are waiting for. It's the best situation for us." Marco told Seth.

"Best situation for what?" Seth asked as he looked at Ian and Camilla. 

"The best situation for us to get Mike and Armand to slip up." Ian said with a grin.