Ruthless Empire | A Dark Adult Romance

Arlo: Dad needs to talk to us ASAP. Meet me at his place.

That's the fucking message I received from my brother right before I left Evelyn's place.

What the fuck could he need to talk to us about now? This whole fuckin' family business bullshit is pissing me off. Who knew selling drugs could be this stressful?

As much as I tried to convince myself, or more so, my father did, that studying law was a front, I actually got accepted into one of the best defence firms in the fucking state. Their program starts next year right after Christmas break.

I'm still yet to tell my father about it and about how I actually want to be a lawyer so I can't be selling drugs on the side like I'm his fucking minion.

My foot's heavy on the pedal as I speed down the familiar street that I drove down earlier today, pulling into the driveway only to be greeted with this stupid fuckin' gate.

"Welcome back, Hunter." A man's voice sounds from the intercom beside my car.

I smack my lips in annoyance, gripping the steering wheel tighter as I await for him to unlock the gates.

"Yeah, yeah." I respond, annoyed. "Can you fuckin' let me in?"

"Certainly." He quickly says, followed by the sound of the gates whirring open.

I shake my head in frustration, driving on through and down the extended driveway.

This place fucking sucks.

Arlo's yellow Mazda is parked to the side of the massive fountain that takes up majority of the front yard, leaving me to park directly behind him, otherwise neither of us are getting out of here tonight.

To my surprise, Arlo is still sitting in the driver's seat with his head in his phone. I wonder why he hasn't gone inside yet.

Shutting off the car and opening the door before I exit the vehicle, striding over towards Arlo's car. He catches sight of me in his rearview mirror, quickly opening his door and stepping out to greet me.

"Why are you sitting out here?" I ask cautiously, sliding my hands into the front pockets of my pants.

"Didn't want to deal with dad's shit on my own." He shrugs.

"Ah." I nod, jutting my head in the direction of the double doors. "Ready to go inside?"

"I guess so." He sighs, tucking his phone into his back pocket and turning on his heel to head up the stairs.

Arlo doesn't sound like his normal self and that's quite concerning. I wonder what the fuck is going on.

I follow Arlo closely behind, the double doors opening once we reach the entrance. Yvonne greets us, stepping to the side as we brush past her.

"In his office?" Arlo asks, looking above him at the second level where Zander's office is located.

"Yes, sir." Yvonne smiles, holding her hands together in front of her.

Arlo returns his attention to Yvonne, giving her a gentle smile before he starts his ascent up the stairs, a look of dread replacing his smile.

"Thanks." I quickly say to Yvonne, following Arlo up the stairs and down towards our dad's office.

"What do you think he wants to talk to us about?" I ask, matching my steps with his, falling by his side.

"Who the fuck knows." He scoffs. "Obviously nothing good."

I nod in agreement, both of us stopping outside Zander's office.

"You're supposed to be fuckin' dead!" Zander shouts aggressively, his voice booming through the door.