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7. SCHEME

~ Violet ~

“Dylan, can I talk to you for a second?” Violet gave Adrian a polite smile before pulling Dylan to the side. She walked far enough to make sure Adrian couldn’t hear her before she said, “What the hell is going on here?”

“I don’t know, Vi. The man just came out of nowhere,” Dylan shrugged.

“Did you do something? Or say something?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Of course, not,” he said. “If this was about last week’s thing, they wouldn’t wait a whole week before finding me,”

“Then what’s this about?” she asked. “And you know I don’t like you hanging around these people,”

“I don’t like it either, but these people pay us well,” Dylan clapped back. “And I don’t know if you know, but we really could use some extra cash right now,”

Violet let out a sigh. That was a good point.

“What are you planning to do?” she asked him.

“I’ll go and meet him,” Dylan paused for a beat before adding, “And maybe I’ll ask to borrow some money,”

“You can’t do that,” Violet shook her head violently. “You remember what happened the last time dad borrowed money from these people?”

“Dad went to the wrong guy, he was involved with the Italians,” Dylan sighed. “Damon Van Zandt is different,”

“How is he different?”

“Well, he’s not Italian,”

“Dylan!” Violet glared at her brother. “He’s still leading the freaking mafia!”

“Shush, keep it down, Vi. We’re in a hospital,” Dylan chuckled and looked around to make sure no one was listening.

“Dylan, I need to know that you’re gonna go out there and not do anything stupid,” Violet demanded.

“Fine, I won’t, sheez,” Dylan raised his hands up as an act of surrender. “But I’m still gonna go and see him. I have to, he’s called for me and these people don’t like being turned down,”

Violet nodded her head and bit her lip.

“Are you gonna be okay though?” she asked.

“I think so. I mean if he wants me dead and I’d be dead already,” he shrugged again.

“Dylan!”

“I’ll be fine, Vi,” Dylan smiled reassuringly. “I’ll just go see him and maybe I’ll offer him some of my goods or services,”

“Your goods or services?” she narrowed her eyes.

“Well, yeah. You know, things that I got a connection for,” Dylan covered his mouth as he spoke, making sure no one was hearing them.

“You mean like…?” Violet couldn’t bring herself to continue the words, but she knew what he meant. Dylan’s nickname at The Union was the ‘magician’ because he was known as the guy that could pull anything out of thin air. Yes, that included drugs, weapons, and girls.

“But I doubt that he’ll want anything from me though,” Dylan said again, muttering under his breath, “I’m sure he can get any drug he wants or any girl he wants just by existing,”

So what would Damon want with Dylan? Violet thought.

“Hey, Dylan, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“How much are they willing to pay for the, um, girls that you bring them?” Violet couldn’t even look at Dylan in the eyes as she spoke.

“Uh, it depends,”

“Depends on?”

“The request. Sometimes they want different things, you know?” he said as he rubbed his head. “Like a virgin could be sold for like, twenty grand at least,”

Violet’s eyes shot up as she heard the number. And she fell silent instantly, lost in her thoughts. Dylan noticed it and he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Why? Why are you asking me this?” he asked.

“Well, I don’t know,” she shrugged. “I was just thinking, maybe… I could…”

“Oh, hell no!” Dylan almost shouted, and the nurses walking past turned their heads. Dylan cleared his throat and quickly fixed his volume. “Don’t even think about it, Vi!” he hissed under his breath.

“Why not? Twenty grand could go a long way right now,” she argued.

“No, Vi. Stop being so ridiculous,” Dylan glared at her. He was still in shock that she would even think of something like this. “Look, I gotta go, the man’s waiting. You stay here with mom. I’ll be right back,”

“Okay,” Violet nodded her head. Dylan let out another deep breath before he turned to his heels.

“Hey Dylan,” Violet called out to him before he got too far. Dylan turned around and waited for her to continue.

Violet glanced at Adrian who was smiling at her, and she turned her eyes back to Dylan again, muttering, “Be safe,”

Dylan gave her a small smile and he replied, “I will,”

And with that, Dylan disappeared out of the hospital with the man in black. They got into a dark SUV parked outside and the car drove away, leaving Violet alone with her thoughts.


~ Damon ~

It had been another long day of work for Damon Van Zandt. There was always more to do and work was never-ending. Damon arrived back at the estate at around dinnertime, but he didn't even stop to have dinner. Elena, the head maid, had prepared a full three-course meal for nothing. Damon passed by the dining room and went straight to his office to continue working.

  • Knock * Knock *

Damon didn’t realize how long he was working until he heard a knock on the door. He checked the clock and it was almost 9 PM, but Damon had no intentions of stopping.

“Come in,” he said without lifting his eyes from the desk.

Adrian pushed the door open and stood before him.

“Damon, Dylan Carvey’s here to see you,” he announced.

Damon found himself lifting his eyes.

“Bring him in,”

It’s about damn time, Damon thought to himself.

A small smile was playing on Damon’s face as Adrian moved aside and seconds later, Dylan Carvey stepped in.

“Mr. Van Zandt,” Dylan greeted him cautiously. He took a look around Dylan’s office before slowly walking in. Damon gestured to the chair in front of the desk and Dylan sat down.

“Please, call me Damon,” Damon cleared his desk and went to the bar behind him. “Anything to drink?”

“Um, sure,”

Damon came back with a bottle of scotch and two glasses. Damon was acting nice and friendly, but this only made Dylan even more anxious. Dylan was fidgeting and Damon took his time to pour the drinks.

“Thank you,” Dylan said once he received his glass. Damon watched him closely and Dylan swallowed the drink nervously.

Damon then opened the first drawer to his desk and pulled out a folder. Dylan couldn’t see what he was reading, but it was actually a file that Damon’s guys had gathered about the Carvey family. About Dylan and Violet Carvey to be exact.

“Damon, it’s a uh, quite a surprise that you want to see me,” Dylan chuckled nervously, breaking the silence in the room. “Is there something you want from me?”

Of course, there is. We’ll get there.

Damon only smiled. He flipped another page in his file and started reading out loud, “Dylan Anderson Carvery. Twenty one years old. Son of James and Barbara Carvey. You dropped out of Fordham last year before moving back with your family. Why is that?”

“Can’t really afford it,” Dylan said simply. His eyes were narrowed at the file in Damon’s hand.

“Yes, I saw that your father had passed away, leaving the family with a lump sum of debt,” Damon continued without taking his eyes off the paper. “It must be difficult for you, being the oldest son and all,”

“It’s alright, I get by,” Dylan shrugged.

“Is The Union’s paying you well?”

“Not as well as you,”

Damon let out a smile. He flipped another page in the file and read aloud.

“You have a younger sister, Violet Rose Carvey, eighteen years of age. She just graduated from McNair High School and was offered a scholarship at Harvard,”

“That is true,” Dylan nodded.

“She must be a very smart girl to get a full ride scholarship to Harvard,”

“She is,”

“Why didn’t she take it?”

“Because she’s far kinder than she’s smart,”

Damon let out another smile. It seemed like a fascinating answer to him. He put the file down and stared at Dylan in the eyes for the first time that night.

“How interesting,” he said. “Tell me more,”

“Um, well, I don’t know what to tell you,” Dylan shuffled uncomfortably in his seat. “Violet’s a good girl. She studies a lot, she loves to read. She loves her family. She goes to church on Sundays—“

“She’s religious?” Damon cut her off.

“I guess so,” Dylan replied.

“And you’re not?”

“I kinda gave up on the idea of God existing a long time ago,” Dylan shrugged.

“I see,” Damon stood up from his seat and walked to the window by the desk. He had his back turned to Dylan as he said, “Is your sister involved with any other guy at the moment?”

Dylan found the question rather odd, but Damon was an odd guy. This meeting in general was very odd. He was suddenly summoned into a mafia king’s private office, Damon had a file about him and his sister, and he was asking Dylan about their private matters. Dylan didn’t know where this was going and he didn’t know what else to do but continue answering.

“As far as I know, Violet has never been with any guy. She’s always too busy with work and stuff,” Dylan replied. “I think she never even had a boyfriend,”

Damon turned his head instinctively. His eyes met Dylan’s again and he paused for a moment before saying, “Are you saying she’s a virgin?”

Dylan didn’t know what to say. He knew the answer to that question, but he was too concerned with why Damon was asking for such things in the first place.

“Answer the question, Carvey,” Damon said again. His tone was deep and demanding, Dylan found himself swallowing hard.

“Yes, I believe so,”

“Good,” Damon let out a smile, a big one this time.

“And why is that a good thing?” Dylan asked. The air in the room was getting more and more uncomfortable for him.

Damon simply turned around and walked back to the desk. He sat on the edge of the desk, facing Dylan. Then he cócked his head to the side and said, “Because I have an offer for you and it might just help your family’s situation,”

Dylan kept his gaze straight at Damon and asked, “Which is?”

Damon’s smile grew wider, and he didn’t even flinch as he said, “I will give you one million dollars for your sister’s virginity,”

          • To Be Continued - - - - -
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