CLAIMED // 18+

Chapter One - Sebastian

When my dad passed away, on his deathbed, he carried down the most important duty I'd ever be given all my life. To run the family. To become Don Miguel upon his passing. Those were really his last words, and his last breath. I've been preparing for it my whole life, but I never wanted it to actually happen. I couldn't imagine my father dying, and at the same time, take over the throne of my father's organisation. Setting the rules. Taking the steering wheel. I had to match up to the heavy expectations he set on me as a kid, and even though he's no longer alive, I can still feel his eyes on me— watching my every move. Watching how I run the family he and his father brought up their whole lives.

"The mafia needs an heir," Grayson, the consigliere, interrupts my thoughts. I take a swig off the thick cigar propped between my fingers, registering Grayson's statement. He's right.

I'm not married. My father, the late Don Miguel, married my mom when he was only 26. Although Teresa, my mom, left him for another guy, my dad still kept me as his only son and raised me to become an idealistic man, feeding me on facts of how my mother was the sort of woman I should never make the mistake of getting involved with. She was apparently selfish, cunning, and only wanted money out of my dad— and she was the worst kind of woman my father ever told me about. He was seriously hurt from what she did to him, and his jealousy and anger led to him murdering the man she ran away with. He firmly laid out the reminder to my mom that messing with him, and the family, never have empty consequences.

I'm currently 35 years old. I'm nearly a decade older than at the age my dad had me. As the Don, at this age, anything could happen to me. Anything could go wrong with me at any time. Sleeping with women without any strings attached is not going to give me a fitting heir. I could knock up a chick, but that's not how it works.

The woman has to be a good mother to my baby, unlike how mine was. Most importantly, she must be willing to be a mafia's woman for the rest of her life, birthing my worthy children who could potentially be the perfect heirs to the family business. And whoring around isn't going to get me that. I need to take things a bit more seriously now.

I need to find a woman who can love me despite of everything and anything. A woman I can love. A woman, who will make me feel the warmth of her love when I return home after a hectic day.

"You're right," I tell Grayson, leaning back into my chair and flicking the ash off the cigar into an ashtray "I have to think straight. I need a woman, fast."

"And where will you find such a woman, sir? A woman, who will not be anything like your disobeying mother, and is willing to be at your side for as long as you live? Because time is running shorter by the day, Don Miguel. The family needs to know its future."

I purse my lips. Grayson's words are like small stabs at my chest. This guy is just the family's lawyer, but he can really be brutally honest sometimes. He likes to say whatever is on his mind. He's never walking on eggshells around me, neither did he do so around my dad.

"I know that. And, I'm trying."

Later on the same day, I come along with my right hand man Leon to get due debt repayments from clients. I don't usually tag along for this stuff. Well, there's a particular someone I'd like to pay a visit to. That's mainly the reason. Collecting loan repayments is an everyday thing for my men. It's really the basic stuff, and every new recruit is given the job on first day. But today, I bring Leon along to drive the car. "I could use some fresh air" is the excuse I go with.

"Are you sure about this, Don?" Leon shows concern, shifting his eyes back on the road as he's steering the wheel.

I don't look up from my phone "Have I ever doubted myself, Leon?"