The sound of his ringtone forced Rome to raise his eyelids, and his gaze rested on Catherine, sleeping peacefully on his arm. Then he slowly pulled his hand from under her, picked his phone from the nightstand, and got out of bed. Afterward, he left the room, stood by the door, and answered the call. “Boss.” Brook’s voice echoed into his ear. “Speak,” Rome said, leaning against the wall. “It has happened.” “I will meet you guys at the casino.” After ending the call, Rome was about to go back into the room when he saw Jeff, hurrying down the hallway with his phone pressed against his ear. “What? Faulty wiring! I'm on my way.” Jeff said as he marched past Rome without looking his way. Taking in a deep breath, Rome pushed the door open and headed inside. By seven, he and Catherine came downstairs and met everyone seated in the living room. “What's going on?” Catherine mumbled, noticing the distress

For a moment, the leader of the Darklight gang maintained his silence as he tapped his fingers on the desk and coldly stared at Rome.  Then he sat up straight and said, “1.5 million.” “Fine,” Rome said with less patience in his tone. “Paper before info.” “I will wire the money to you, but if the information you give me isn't solid, you will pay me back with more than just cash.” “Is that a threat!” “See it as such because it is! Now give me an account number.” For a moment, there was a flicker of fear in the leader of the Darklight gang’s eyes. Then he pulled himself together and called out the account number. It took a few minutes, then his phone buzzed on the desk, and he picked it up, staring at the screen in disbelief. “1.5 million. Sender, ‘anonymous.” He read out loud before gazing at Rome and asking, “Who are you?” “Where's my information?” Rome coldly intoned, striving to hold on to the last

The first light of dawn met Rome already awake in bed. After blankly staring at the ceiling for a while, his ringtone drew his attention from the chandelier and onto his phone.  Then he threw the sheet off him and sat up, resting his feet on the cold tiles before picking up his phone from the nightstand. Afterward, he headed into the bathroom, drew his pattern, unlocked the screen, and answered the call. “Good morning, young Ford.” Derek's voice flowed from the speaker. “What is it, Mr. Brown?” Rome asked with his focus on his reflection in the mirror. “I just want you to know that a member of the Darklight gang has got released, and we will be visiting the Barlow mansion this morning.” “Thanks for the heads up.”  “My pleasure.” After canceling the call, he walked back into the room, stared at Catherine, sleeping peacefully, and thought, ‘Today is not going to be pretty. I hope you can handle it.’

 Finally, after preparing multiple dishes, Rome set the table and left the kitchen. When he arrived into the shop, he met Catherine and Mr. Miller, chatting happily, and the corners of his lips rose. At that moment, Catherine's gaze swayed towards him, and she bore worry in her eyes as she watched sweats dripping down his skin. “Are you okay?” Catherine asked, standing to her feet. “Yes, the table is set. You and dad should come and eat.” Rome said as his cheeks dimple. A few minutes later, they were all seated around the table in the kitchen, and Mr. Miller's eyes twinkled while he inhaled deeply and then mumbled, “I missed the smell of food cooked by you.” “Is his cooking that good?” Catherine asked, gazing at Mr. Miller. “Yeah. You should give it a try.” “Okay,” After a brief pause, Catherine picked up her fork, wrapped spaghetti around it, and took a bite. “This is really good!” Catherine mumble

Within a matter of second, the hall got busy with noise, and things were getting out of control.  The whispering got louder, and people kept mumbling or turning to the next person standing by them to gossip. In anger, Rome grabbed Catherine's hand and pulled her along as he headed for the door. “Rome, what are you doing? Grandma will be even more upset if we leave here in this manner.” Catherine whispered while obediently following him.  As Chloe stared at Rome and Catherine, her mouth curved into a smirk. Then she folded her arms and mumbled, “How pathetic.” “Grandma, your useless son-in-law has become daring and ignorant. Don't he know his place in our family?” Richard mockingly said out loud, intending to humiliate Rome. Following his brother's lead, Jeff laughed and rudely intoned, “What a bad dog! How dare him try to bite the hands that feeds him.” When Rome heard those words, he stopped for a second before l