Page 68 of Lord of Debauchery

I knew exactly what he was doing. He was pushing me to question everything I believed mattered to me.

“I ate fucking cotton candy, chocolate-covered peanuts, and devoured a hot dog smothered in chili sauce followed by an ice cream cone prior to going on a rollercoaster.” Now my father’s eyes were wide open with admiration for the woman he’d begged to marry him and also from the fondness the memory had brought. He wagged his finger at me, his booming laughter so rare it caught me off guard. “I can tell you the end result wasn’t pretty. I was sick as a freaking dog, but I had more fun than I’d had in as long as I could remember. Moral to the story, son, she brought me down from the rafters. I told Mitchell the next day I wanted nothing to do with his scheme. That started the horrible spiral.”

The drink in my hand had gone untouched up to this point but I suddenly had the need to toss it back like Kool-Aid. “The rift was life altering.”

The tone of his laughter changed. “Yes, our relationship didn’t just change. It was obliterated. At first, he did everything to convince me otherwise, but I held firm. If I hadn’t, your mother would have kicked my butt. After that he became incensed, possessive, as if I was planning on stealing his idea. He even broke into the corporate office, ransacking the place. Shit. I almost had my own brother arrested. I took time assuring him I truly wanting nothing to do with Utopia. I also tried to convince him that it wasn’t his place to act as God.”

“But he refused to listen.”

“Exactly,” he huffed, staring down at his drink before polishing it off. “For almost two years, I wasn’t forced to hear about the shit. I don’t know what happened but one day he sold his estate and moved his family closer to New York, where I guess he remains. I’m not really sure. It’s been a long time since I talked to him. Nothing came to light until about five years ago. I suspected he was fully entrenched in the new corporation it took me months to find.”

I bristled since I’d been completely right about the man knowing much more. “What is this corporation called, Pops?”

“The Prism Group. And yes, they call their burgeoning new world Utopia of all things.” He returned to the bar, refilling once again. I’d never seen him this way. However, I was more than pissed he’d kept this from me for all these years. Why? How could he?

The only answer I could figure out was that he was embarrassed by being lured into the idea.

“And the Death Squad?”

He hung his head. “They exist. When I started hearing about various odd attacks, clues surfacing about the branding, I began to keep a close eye while doing additional research. These men are more highly trained than you believe and one day, they will be unleashed on the world, taking out a number of enemies while the main group collapses every world market possible. They are a special group of people with nothing to lose, the worst of humanity. But they are good at what they do. When the world’s greatest populations have crumbled, a new king will arise. Like the phoenix rising in the ashes.”

There was a brief moment I honestly believed he wished he’d remained entrenched in the organization. Enough that I had my hand wrapped around the man’s throat within five seconds, breaking several glasses in the process. “Why did you do this? Why did you keep it from me? From your entire family.”

Instead of being angry, he was saddened. At that moment, it appeared he’d aged by fifteen years. “Because I didn’t want to believe it was true. Because I knew exactly what you’d do if you found out. You’d go after them without thinking and Mitchell and his group are far too powerful.”

“And they’re killing people, murdering anyone who they believe might stand in their way. Who’s next, Pops? Their families? Every decent politician? Are they planning on exterminating entire populations? How about our family?” Goddamn, I was this close to allowing my anger to get the best of me.

“I would not have believed my own brother capable of hurting my children, his nephews but I know better now.”

I took a deep breath, slowly removing my hand. He wasn’t to blame. My father was another victim like the rest of us. Only if this had been stopped years before, two decades or more, we wouldn’t be in the position.

“How did you come to know the Brotherhood?”

“I met Gabriel Giordano’s father a long time ago. He’d invited me to join an alliance back then. It was like having the Five Families all over again only stronger and working more tightly together. I declined at the time because business was thriving. He contacted me later and said his son was being placed in charge. Unfortunately, his firstborn son died and he fell into a state of depression. Anyway, I chatted with the man from time to time, privy to some information about the Brotherhood. When he mentioned whispers on the dark web fifteen years ago, I started paying closer attention. I put security flags on anyone searching for the Death Squad or the Prism Group to try and determine just how many people were involved.”

“Which is why when James began an in-depth search, he knew he was hitting a strong security system. That’s why you finally confided in me. Isn’t it?”

“Not entirely, son. I was trying to build the courage to tell you over the last few years since I felt his plan was coming to fruition. I contacted Gabriel and Constantine, giving them the heads up about what happened to you. I made a strong suggestion that you were perfect for the group and without hesitation, they agreed.”

“Did you tell them what you just told me?”

He shook his head. “You had the right to know your uncle is a monster first.”

“We figured it out, Pops, on our own.”

“I knew you would. You’re a smart boy.”

“You have no idea where Uncle Mitchell is now? He needs to be stopped. It’s the Brotherhood’s belief the beginning of Utopia is right around the corner.”

Pops sighed. “That’s my belief as well. I do not know where Mitchell is and believe me, I’ve tried to hunt him down, even enlisting the help of friends of mine. As you noted, he completely disappeared off the grid. They’re lying in wait like predators. I think they’re waiting until the beginning of Utopia.”

This was like some fucking horror flick. “Unbelievable.”

“I assure you, son, it’s not something I wanted to believe in either. The number of people Mitchell reeled in utterly floored me. I’m certain there are hundreds, thousands more.”

“The upper echelon of this Prism Group is supposedly buying private islands that they’ll likely make into their kingdoms. That’s according to a source, something who worked as an account for them before he was let go.”

“I had a feeling Mitchell would proceed with my idea.” He had a faraway look in his eyes.

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