"BECAUSE she’s my daughter. The next heir of the company and the mafia. If I can't trust her with something like this, how can I pass all of this to her?" 
"But Vivianne wasn’t interested in those things, and this is too dangerous. If I wasn’t able to go there in time, she might have died," Beckett's voice choked as he said that. 
He can’t imagine what he would do if Vivianne died. Hell, he couldn’t even imagine a life without her. If that happened, it would be like he died too. 
"If she died, it would mean she's not worthy to be called my daughter," Alfred responded without hesitation. "This is her fate, and not her dream to be a dress stylist. That's not the world meant for her." 
"And who are you to decide what she should do?" Beckett asked before showing a sly smile. "By the way, I can train her. I know that you did a background check about me. You know who I really am." 
Alfred grinned. He knew Beckett was Ylona's child, but he wouldn't say it. It's better if Beckett didn't know everything yet so he could execute his plans smoothly. 
"Yeah. You’re the fucking scammer who took millions of money from me back then," that's all he said. 
"That’s one. But that's not the only reason." Beckett leaned forward, narrowing the distance between him and Alfred. "I should also have a share in the mafia... as you're not the sole owner of it." 
Alfred froze upon hearing that. He seemed to turn into a statue in his seat, especially when he saw the fire in Beckett's eyes. He wasn’t expecting Beckett to say that. 
He thought Beckett had no knowledge of his true identity all this time... but he was wrong. 
"I don't know what you're talking about," Alfred replied before leaning back in his seat. He tried to calm himself down, which he managed to do quickly. "You have mistaken me for someone else."
"Really? But that's not what the information I gathered against you says." Beckett straightened up again. He went to a nearby chair—beside Alfred. "Ylona Hernandez, my mother, was one of the founders here, the same as Dyrus Hechanova. I know about that."
Alfred lowered the tablet he was holding onto his thigh. "Then... Does Vivianne also know about this?"
"She does." Beckett nodded before leaning back. "I know that you’re hiding more secrets from me, from us. But I'll find out all of them." He grinned.
Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me all of this now?"
"I'm telling you all of this now so you can prepare."
Beckett's expression darkened and his voice deepened as he said that.
"I have the rights to the Allamino mafia as well, and I can take that from you before you know it. I'm not interested in this, but if you continue what you're doing now, what do you think... What can I do?"
Alfred's ears seemed to perk up upon hearing those words. He grinned, but anger was also evident in his eyes. His eyes were burning as he gave Beckett a deadly glare. "Are you threatening me now?"
"Threatening? I haven't even started yet." Beckett sat properly, his elbows resting on his lap. "Don’t do something that might put you in danger, and stop using your wife and daughter in vain."
Beckett didn't wait for Alfred to respond. Instead, he stood up and went to the room where Vivianne was resting, leaving Alfred alone.
Beckett knocked three times before opening the door. He found Vivianne lying on the bed, scrolling through her phone.
"How are you? What did Alfred say?" Vivianne asked when she saw Beckett approaching her.
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, Beckett first checked if Vivianne's arm was okay before helping her up.
"Let’s get out of here," Beckett said, about to pull Vivianne out.
But Vivianne noticed something, so she didn't move immediately. "Wait—Did something happen?"
Beckett didn't respond. He just looked away, his jaw tensing. Several seconds of silence passed between them. Vivianne already knew what that meant.
"Alright. I won't ask anymore." Vivianne sighed. After being with Beckett for so long, she knew what his actions meant.
Beckett sighed in relief internally before they went out of the room. Vivianne followed him quietly until they reached the living room. There, she saw Alfred sitting on the couch, watching them intently.
"Wait—"
"Let’s go." Beckett didn't let Vivianne stop walking and they went straight out of the Allamino mansion without even saying goodbye to Alfred.
Vivianne knew her father. Alfred wouldn't like that because she felt disrespected when they did that. But she was surprised when Alfred just let them leave the house without even standing up from his seat.
Outside, a car was waiting for them. Both of them went to the back seat, and the driver started the car. Vivianne didn't know where they were going, but she didn't ask about it anymore.
"I saw anger in Alfred's expression for the first time. He's usually calm..." Vivianne whispered as she pondered. "What did you tell him?"
"I just told him what he needed to hear." Beckett turned around and looked his wife in the eye. "That he can’t control everything despite thinking that everything is working according to his plan."
Meanwhile, Alfred couldn't control his emotions when Vivianne and Beckett left the mansion. He grabbed the vases on the table and smashed them. All of them were expensive, but Alfred needed to release his anger.
The household staff, who were about to go to the living room to clean, immediately backed off when they saw how angry Alfred was. They didn't want his anger to be directed at them, so they left their employer alone for the moment.
"Fucking bastard," Alfred muttered as he remembered Beckett's words earlier. "Not the sole owner, huh?" He grinned.
And there, he remembered what happened in the past... when he was still with his friends Ylona and Dyrus.
ALFRED, Ylona, and Dyrus are schoolmates in one university. Even though they were taking different courses, they made an effort to bond, so their friendship grew stronger until they graduated and started working.
None of them wanted to stay in a nine-to-five work routine. Fortunately, they were all business-minded, so they thought of opening a small business. The three of them formed a small team.
Their business was legal, but they weren't making any profit. Ylona didn't lose hope and wanted to continue even though they were having a hard time finding funding, but Alfred and Dyrus didn't feel the same way.
"It's easy for you to continue this because you don't have families to support, but it's different for me. I have a family, and I can't just stop my life like this," Dyrus explained to them during a meeting. "I need to go back to work. I'm sorry—"
"Work with our company," Alfred interrupted Dyrus. "We'll close down this small business of ours, and Ylona and I will open a new one. It'll be bigger. Join us, and we won't let you down."
"Alfred... What are you saying?" Ylona asked him in confusion. "I know that when starting a business, we really need to take risks. But... a bigger company than this? I don't think it's a good idea."
"I know... But both of you trust me, don’t you?" Alfred asked, and his two friends nodded. "Then, let’s do this. I'll take care of the financial aspects. I'll find a way, as long as the three of us work together and nobody gets left behind."