Rise Of The Disgraced Heir

Ian and Camilla drove as fast as they could towards Bamboo Room. They had agreed to meet up there with the Juans as well as Marco, Jake, Hank, and Ash.

John would follow once he got all the information he needed from following Mike and Armand.

Bamboo Room was owned by Raymund Laurence and was a safe place for them to meet. He had allowed them to stay at the boardroom which had a hidden entrance and parking lot at the back.

By the time Ian and Camilla arrived, everyone but John was gathered around the table.

"It's good of Mr. Laurence to let us use his restaurant to meet." Ian remarked as they entered the room.

"I told you to just call me Ray.." The tall man behind him said as he entered the room. 

Raymund Laurence looked the role of a serious future CEO and businessman. His hair was cut short in the popular style, while he wore a business suit that fit him like a glove.

Even the way he moved exuded confidence and wealth, you simply felt like you didn't deserve to stand in the same room as him.

Ian was used to meeting people like this, he had lived his life around future CEOs. 

"It just sounds disrespectful for me to call you Ray when I'm just an assistant." Ian said as he found his spot and sat down.

"We went to school together." Ray pointed out. "I'm sorry about not helping you out by the way, I didn't know people were bullying you."

"I'm sure you had your own things to deal with, plus it's not like we were friends." Ian truly was not mad at Ray for not defending him. The man didn't know him, his anger was reserved for those friends that abandoned him as soon as they confirmed that he was poor.

"Do we wait for the others?" Ray asked as he glanced at Marco.

"Yes, we're only waiting for John." Marco said with a nod as they patiently waited.

"Will you keep your end of the deal?" Manuel asked as glanced at Ian. "Will you promise not to go after me, my family, or any of our affiliated businesses?"

"We already said yes last time." Ian grumbled. "What more do you want?"

"I don't want confirmation from you." Manuel hissed as he glared at Ian. 

Ian knew Manuel was trying to be as careful as possible, Raymund Laurence had just shown that he and Ian were on a first name basis, meaning Ian was a friend.

"You don't need to be careful with your words around them, you know." Ian said with a chuckle. "Don't you think they know about our history?" Ian asked with a cocky grin.

"What's done is done, let's move on from the past and forget it." Manuel said as he brushed off Ian's words like they meant nothing.

Ian couldn't help but laugh at Manuel's statement, move on and forget the past. How could Ian forget the past when it had done irreparable damage to him?

At one point it almost killed him. Was that how little his life mattered to people like Manuel? Or were they just so insensitive and so evil that everything Ian went through was nothing to them.

Were the Juans really simply heartless creatures?

"What you did to Ian is not something you move on from, forget, or forgive." Marco suddenly said as he looked the father and son pair in the eyes.

"Will you break our agreement?" Manuel asked.

"Of course not!" Ian suddenly said as he leaned forward. He was not going to let his revenge get in the way of what would benefit more people. He knew that someday he would have his own resources to get the revenge he wanted from the Juan family.

"I said I wasn't asking you, idiot!" Manuel shouted.

"Calm down, we will stick to the agreement." Marco said in an eerily calm voice. I was so calm that it sent shivers down Ian's spine. 

"Good, that's all we want." Manuel said with a nod.

"That's all you want because you have the Dean family on your side, protecting you." Ray suddenly remarked with a laugh.

"How- how did you know?" Manuel's father asked as he stuttered. "The Dean family never 

reveal the people they work with."

"Is that why you chose them?" Ray asked with a raised eyebrow. 

The father and son duo refused to respond.

Ian gave Marco a curious look. Did Marco tell Ray about Seth's secret too? 

"Don't worry, the Dean family didn't rat you out." Ray said with a chuckle. "I have friends in many places, people who whisper things to my ears. I learn about who is on who's side and who is on whose payroll."

"They simply provide us with protection and we pay them." Manuel said as he defended his family.

"Relax, I know it's against the law, but I won't report you." Ray told them, shaking his head. "You should just be aware that if I know this, then the Reyes Group knows this as well. Not because I told them, but because they can sniff out more truths than I."

Manuel and his father were left speechless as they stared at the young businessman.

He had basically told them that the Reyes Group probably knew about every dark secret that they were trying to keep hidden.

"Wow, that was tiring." John said as he burst into the room, breaking the awkward silence.

"John." Ray greeted the driver with a nod.

"Ah, Ray, they managed to drag you into this mess too?" John asked as he found an empty seat next to Ian and sat in it.

"They didn't drag me. I chose to be a part of it." Ray said as he shook his head.

"So do you have news?" Ian eagerly asked.

"Yeah," John said with a nod. "I know which employee they plan to frame." 

"Who?" Ian asked.

John suddenly began to laugh like a mad man, confusing the other people in the room.

"The worst person they could possibly pick." John finally said. "You, Ian."