Success, Opulence and Power by Hebru Young (best novel books to read .TXT) 📗

nothing major enough to land him years in prison. Eddie, Alex, and Chris saved the majority of their money. Eddie was becoming a money-making machine. He was earning money from restaurant profits; he still had the money he found in his father’s stash; and there was the regular income from the cartel operations.

Eddie and Anna agreed it would be a good idea to carry out some major upgrades to the restaurant, so it was given a complete face-lift. Everything from floor to ceiling had either been replaced or refurbished. However, Eddie left instructions that the store room was not to be touched. With this, the restaurant started pulling in even more customers than it had before. Due to the increase in customers, Eddie and Anna agreed to hire a couple of people to help Anna with the workload. This made even more sense because Eddie was going to be enrolled in college after the summer break. Trying to juggle the restaurant business as well as the cartel business would be a stretch, to say the least. As far as Anna was concerned, Eddie no longer being able to help at the restaurant was a good thing. For her it felt great knowing her son was going to be enrolled in college, and the restaurant was gaining its first employees. Eddie had managed to attain a level of financial success his father hadn’t reached. As much as Anna hated being involved with the cartel, she couldn’t deny that if it wasn’t for their involvement, they wouldn’t have been able to achieve everything they had.

Eddie felt a sense of accomplishment: At his young age he was basically in charge of his family’s income and safety; he was an outstanding student; and a businessman well on his way to becoming a millionaire. He was always cautious about how he spent his money. He made sure he wasn’t flashy, didn’t draw attention to himself and have law enforcement poking around.

Eddie and his Assembly, Alex and Chris, all purchased outfits for the graduation party. The boys were draped in Italian suits, shoes, and accessories. Their pact to refrain from making extravagant purchases was broken for this special occasion. The boys were comfortable with making a splash, because other parents would be spending extra to make sure their children looked great for the graduation ceremony and party. The party would be held in the school’s gym later that evening, and the boys had hired a limousine to take them to the party and drop them home afterwards. The minimal-spending pact would be reinstated after graduation until they were able to prove that the purchase of any luxurious goods was done using legitimate funds.

“Good morning, Mom,” Eddie said.

“There he is, look at you. You have grown so much,” Anna said.

“Awww, come on, Mom, don’t get emotional on me.”

“Don’t get emotional! Boy, it’s my job to get emotional. Listen, I need to give you something.”

“Oh. What is it, Mom?”

“Here, open the box.”

“Oh Mom, you didn’t have to do this.”

“Edwardo, just open the box.”

“Okay, okay…oh, is it, it’s Dad’s watch. Wow!”

“He would have loved for you to have it. Look at the inscription underneath.”

“To Edwardo, a good son.”

“You look upset, don’t be. Your father is looking down from heaven, and I know he is smiling at you right now. He was proud of you, Edwardo, he really was.”

“Thank you, Mom, this is the best gift ever.”

“Just be careful, an expensive watch like that is eye-catching. I’m even having second thoughts about you wearing it today.”

“Don’t worry, Mom, you know I’m protected. We all are. I’ll see you later, okay?”

When Eddie stepped out of the house, there were three SUVs parked out front. A man from the SUV in the middle emerged from the front passenger side and opened the back door. Eddie saw Hector Gallegos in the back seat, so walked over and hopped in.

“Good morning, Mr. Gallegos,” Eddie said.

“Hey, young Soap, my man. Congratulations on your graduation,” Hector said.

“How did you know?” Eddie asked.

“Come on, I have kids too. Us parents have to be aware of the things happening in school,” replied Hector.

“That makes sense,” Eddie said.

“I got you a little graduation present,” said Hector.

“Wow, there’s about twenty thousand dollars in here!” Eddie said.

“We look after our own,” said Hector.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Gallegos,” Eddie said.

“I think it’s time you knew my real name. It’s Manuel Guzman.”

“Huh, but you look more like a ‘Hector Gallegos,” said Eddie.

“Ha-ha-ha, I like that. Most people don’t know the names of senior cartel members, street-level guys don’t even know who we are. That’s how we’re able to stay under the radar and operate the way we do. I told your mother my name was Hector Gallegos, because I wasn’t sure what kind of encounter I was going to have, with your family. Now that you are a my protégé, it’s only fair that you know my name. I am taking you places, Edwardo, you just have to follow my instructions, and I promise that you will thrive in this business,” Manuel said.

“I am ready to do whatever you tell me to do,” Eddie replied.

“Good. Listen, we have some serious business to discuss. Have you ever heard of the Carlsdale family?” Manuel said.

“Yes, before my dad died, he told me they might cause trouble for Sin Nombre,” Eddie replied.

“That’s right, we’ve had full control of our territories for the last fifteen years. Other families have been trying to get our territories, but we’ve not allowed them. The Carlsdales were close, but we’ve been able to fend them off. As you probably know, the head of that family, Devin, recently escaped custody, and word on the street is he is planning a strike to try to take over a number of territories. Since his incarceration, his business has