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Clink! Clink!

James taps on his glass.

I watch, baffled, as he stands up sluggishly - with his drink in hand of course. "Right everyone so- so... ehh-"

Many people in the room share uncertain looks.

"Sit down James." Marco orders, shooting threatening looks at him. This time I actually agree with him, I tap James on the shoulder. "Listen to him for once, you're making a scene." I inform, watching his face fill up with visual annoyance.

He stumbles a few times, but manages to successfully sit himself back down.

The noise level in the room soon inclines back to normal, we all continue eating and drinking for a little bit, waiting for the meeting to officially begin.

Fran taps me on the shoulder, "Marco keeps looking at you. Care to tell me what's going on between the two of you?" She asks, partly confused but even more suspicious.

I place my fork down. "I couldn't tell you. Heads fucked." My reply comes out sternly, which is reciprocated with Fran's jaded look. Her eyes narrow, scanning me for all secrets, however I give nothing away.

"Right." She rests her case, a little bit tipsy.

I laugh, raising my glass to my glossy lips.

For the next few minutes I sit like a watchdog, trying my absolute hardest to stop James from doing anything stupid. I'm surprised Marco hasn't kicked his ass out yet - especially since he too has been keeping a daring eye on him.

James attempts to stand up once again, but I force him back down, "Careful" I say, "Wouldn't want to make the Cortez' angry on a big night like this."

My threat clearly gets to him as he shuts up completely.

"He shouldn't be here, Lana." Fran begins. "Remember what happened on Mom's birthday last week? He drank his way through an entire bottle of whiskey and then trashed the place."

I laugh, before suppressing it. "I couldn't forget that."

Her face is fully serious, which makes me realise how different the two of us are.

"Look, I get what you're saying. But do you realise how bad our family will look if James isn't here alongside us?" I testify, lowering my voice ever so slightly.

She turns away from me, "Fine, but if anything happens its on you."

I nod my head, knowing full well I'm out of her view now.

The servants finish up collecting our dishes and tidying up the dining hall, all the while I'm sat carefully assessing Marco's drinking habits.

He's already 3 glasses of whisky down, and the meeting hasn't even started.

At least he can handle his drink, unlike James, who will probably cause some sort of drama in the next hour or so.

Finally, after the worst five minutes of my life, Mom stands up with a megaphone.

"Listen up, everybody-!"

I cant stop a laugh from escaping

The whole room looks at me, including Marco, who looks entertained.

"Sorry but she has a fucking megaphone, bit excessive don't ya think?" I say, attempting to resonate my apparently 'crude' behaviour.

"Language." Fran nudges me, looking shocked.

I scoff.

"So you're okay with guns and killing people, but not with my language. Make it make sense, Fran."

She goes silent as I roll my eyes and lean back in my chair.

"Right. Now... thats over, we can begin." Mom starts, shooing me a deadly look but lowering the megaphone anyways. "As we all should know by now, there is a new threat attempting to jeopardise our empires - a threat who seems to be loosely connected with Luca Martínez."

"Whoever it is, whatever it is, It's trying to take New York for itself." She adds, pausing for a little while as she scans the heavily packed room.

I do the same.

Marco looks unbothered, as he lays back in his seat with his whisky in one hand and phone in the other. I watch as he slams his fingers down on it, obviously texting someone.

I wonder who?

Fran still wont talk to me - after our 'bicker'. It was barely a bicker, she just needs to lighten up a bit. I almost forget about James, but the sound of his sluggish words clearly mixed with the smell of liquor make him stand out like a red light.

"James, stop. You're embarrassing yourself." I whisper, not inching in too close to the stench of rum and toxicity. "Fuck off." He replies, taking an angry swig of his rum.

Now I'm at full alert, and I'm pissed.

I'm never serious in life, but today is an exception. This meeting is detrimental to the future of our empires and I won't allow a shitty drunk man to stake that.

"James. You know you shouldn't talk to me like that. I have more power than you, and always will, so the least you can do is shut the fuck up." I say, tension rising and pulsing through my core.

His eyes freeze.

By now we've made a scene, as the room falls silent and isolates every word.

"You know what?" He says as he reaches deep into his pocket.

I wait for one of his lame threats, before he pulls out an object I am all too familiar with.

A gun.

He wraps his arm around my neck and presses the nozzle into my head. Fran stands up immediately, her chair shooting out behind her.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Fran yells.

James snorts, pressing the gun deeper into my head whilst I remain as sane as I can.

The room is silent, cautious not to provoke him.

Well almost silent.

"Put it down." Marco orders, the cold assets to his voice familiar and comforting.

James eyes scream deadly peril, as he squeezes my throat tighter and glares at Marco.

Suddenly, before anyone can say anything, guards come swarming into the room, grabbing James and securing his arms behind his back.

I look at him once more before he is dragged out, my eyes speaking a thousand words of betrayal.

I keep myself together as I throw my arms down and walk out of the room, trying not to get upset.

I rarely cry - like ever, but almost being shot by my own cousin hurts like a bitch. I get we argued, but I would never even imagine doing that to him.

"Fuck my life." I mumble, aggressively wiping away my tears. I pull out my emergency pack of cigarettes and place one between my lips before lighting it.

I take my first drag before I hear footsteps approaching me. I turn around to an outstretched hand.

I don't even have look at his face to know who it is. I hand Marco a cigarette and watch closely as he puts it in his mouth and waits for a light.

After I have lit his cigarette, he notices my tears.

He holds my face in one hand and uses his other to wipe my few tears away. "Don't cry over him, he's not worth it." He says as his eyes shroud.

"Yeah well, he's family at the end of the day so it really fucking stings." I reply, attempting to put up a front. He looks at me for a short moment, before kneeling down before me.

"I get that, and he shouldn't have done what he did." He begins, placing his hands in my lap. "I won't let that happen to you again."

I repeat his words over and over, and with my cigarette between my teeth, I smile ever so slightly.

"What's happening now then?" I ask, biting down on my bottom lip. He watches what I'm doing, paying close attention, "They're all still in there. I just came out to see if you're okay."

I look at him for a moment, "Thank you. Even my own family didn't care to do that."

I squeeze his hand before stands up, towering over me once again. "You'll be fine, you're a big girl." He reassures.

"I know." I reply, taking one final drag of the cigarette and exhaling into the air.

He loosens his tie and unbuttons his shirt a little bit, all the while maintaining eye contact. "You coming back in?" He asks.

"Yeah, but don't expect me to be vocal in the meeting. Everyone can fuck off." I say through gritted teeth.

I try and conceal my sorrows with my ever growing anger, however the pit in my stomach doesn't subside.

"Understood. I'll sit with you incase you try anything, I know you too well." He utters, half serious, half jokey.

I smile for a split second.

He tilts my head up and kisses me on the cheek before leading me back into the meeting.

Only one things for sure... This meeting is not going to go as smoothly as expected.

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