“Oh, Andy is doing fantastic ooo. You know, he and Princess have four kids now—four in just three years!”

“Bruh, seriously?? Four kids in 3 years! Damn! He’s really making up for lost time, isn’t he?”

“Big time oo! It’s not easy…”

It was a Sunday evening, and in a corner of the Green Lantern restaurant, a restaurant often deemed off-limits to the proletariat, three gentlemen were seated, laughing over empty plates and a bottle of expensive red wine sitting partially consumed in the middle of the table.

Darlow, the head of the Duplex, an underground crime group. Kofi, his able and loyal second-in-command. And Mr. Philip Graham, the financier of the group.

That evening, Darlow and Kofi were meeting up with Mr. Graham, following his recent trip to Curacao, where he had secured some investments for their operations, as well as visiting their former boss, Andy, who had started a family with his previously estranged girlfriend, Princess. The duo were more than eager to hear how their ex-leader was doing.

“So Princess is doing fine?” Kofi asked.

Mr. Graham nodded. “Looks extremely happy. She said she’s living the life of her dreams right now. And it’s so clear. She’s really glowing.”

Darlow nodded in approval. “That’s good, really good. She’s really moved on from that nightmare of a dickhead husband.”

“Yeah. I’m happy for her,” Kofi agreed. “Chale, that fool really fucked her up. I’m so glad we dealt with him.”

“Oh yeah, we really destroyed him. And so did Princess. Remember how she shot his dick right off? That took me by surprise, but chale, iconic shit right there!”

“Walahi, I didn’t see that coming. The girl gave it to him ankasa. Not that you can blame her. The nigga was beating her, fucking his side bitch and sending her recordings of it. He deserved that shit.”

“Easy kraaa,” Darlow concurred. “And that loud ass bitch he was fucking… damn, them titties were nice! Super annoying, though. It was nice offing her too.”

“Oh yeah. In any case, she was shit compared to the bitches we got on deck.”

Mr. Graham smirked. “Taken you boys down memory lane a bit, I can see.”

The two turned to him and nodded. “Oh yeah,” Darlow responded. “That mission was one helluva memorable one. Andy’s final one, remember. But hey, it’s all good. I’m glad he and Princess are doing fine and are happy together.”

Kofi nodded as a sly grin crossed his face while Mr. Graham took a sip of his wine. “Absolutely. All’s well that ends well. By the way, speaking of the bitches we have on deck… how’s Brianna treating you?”

Mr. Graham’s face lit up instantly. He laughed gently as he set down his glass. “Brianna? Oh, dear gentlemen, Brianna is a dream come true, to be honest. A fresh injection of energy into my life. She’s been doing me good.”

Kofi snickered. “An upgrade on the old hag, eh?”

“Total upgrade, my man, total upgrade! You know Lizzy’s become boring as fuck. Dry and uninteresting,” Mr. Graham scoffed. “Trust me, lying next to her alone is exhausting. With Brianna, though… Ha! I feel so damn alive, it’s unbelievable!”

Darlow and Kofi burst into laughter. “You feel alive when she dangles those sizable titties before you, eh?” the former joked.

“Oh lawd, you have no idea! Those sweet double Ds are something else. Never enjoyed such sweetness in my life. I really owe you guys one.”
 

Darlow lifted his glass. “Hey, don’t mention. It’s the least we can do for our dear financier. Besides, Brianna wanted you from day one. She begged us to let you have her.”

Kofi nodded in agreement. “That girl’s got a lust for silver foxes. Rich silver foxes, I should say. And chale, we thought, hey, nobody better to play with those breasts than our dear Mr. Graham.”

“Oh, I’ve been playing with them all right. And I’ve been having the time of my life. Going back on Wednesday for more. Since I had to move to Curacao on short notice, I’ve been pretty deprived…”

***

The sleek, black Mercedes-Benz saloon car pulled up to the entrance of the Green Lantern Restaurant. The left back door opened, and he stepped out.

Dressed in a sharp and perfectly-tailored black suit which accentuated his shiny bald head and his grey beard, Rex Bruschi stood before the entrance, his cold, calculating eyes scanning the area with the air of a self-appointed member of royalty.

Behind him emerged Denny and V.A. His two faithful bodyguards. Larger than life, their suits appeared to struggle to contain their bulging muscles. This was not an error from their tailor, but a warning sign to anyone who dared to cross their boss. With their dark sunglasses on, they had the ultimate professional look.

A few seconds later, the door of the restaurant swung open, and a young waiter, barely out of his teens, nearly tripped over his own feet in his rush to greet the dangerous figure. His face was pale, his smile forced as he greeted Rex.

“Mr. Bruschi, welcome, welcome! Please, come inside!”

He stepped aside, holding the door wide open, his hands trembling slightly.

Rex barely acknowledged the waiter, mild disdain on his face as he walked past the waiter without a word, his bodyguards following closely behind as they shoved the young waiter aside, their presence making the narrow entrance feel like a tight corridor.

***

“Oh really? Good for you!” Kofi laughed.

Mr. Graham sniggered and nodded. “Yep. Once I followed the formula, that’s it. Brianna’s been one hell of a lioness. I tell you, follow their directions when they order you, and watch the sex go to mind-blowing levels!”

The three men burst into laughter, enjoying the dirty route their conversation had taken.

As their laughter died down, Darlow’s eyes flicked to the entrance of the restaurant, where the door had been opened. As he took note of the figure that had just stepped into the doorway, his amusement vanished in an instant.

A bald-headed man with a thick, grey beard, stood there, looking sharp in a suit. Flanking him were two towering, muscular bodyguards, their expressions unreadable.

Kofi noticed Darlow’s change in demeanor and turned his head subtly, spotting the man and his bodyguards. His grin faded, replaced by a cautious look.

“Rex Bruschi,” Darlow muttered under his breath.

They watched silently as Rex and his men walked past their table without so much as a glance.

Mr. Graham stared at them, then at Rex as he walked on. “Mr. Rex Bruschi. He’s got that air of arrogance about him, doesn’t he?” he murmured. “As if he owns the place.”

Darlow gave a small nod, his eyes narrowing as he watched them settle at a distant table. “No shit,” he muttered. “He’s one dangerous motherfucker. More dangerous than most people could ever imagine.”

“Chale,” Kofi added, his voice low. “Super dangerous nigga. The Basilisk Garrison ankasa, they’re ruthless. We’re a sick group, but he and his men…”

Darlow’s fingers drummed lightly on the table as he nodded. “They’re a mad bunch.”

Mr. Graham frowned. “You guys don’t have any run-ins with them, do you?”

Darlow and Kofi shook their heads. “Never,” Darlow confirmed. “We made it a point to stay clear of them, and by the looks of it, they do same.”

“Good. Let it stay that way, as much as possible,” he warned. “We don’t need any trouble with him or his boys. Let’s just stay in our lane and he and his guys stay in theirs.”

Kofi nodded in agreement, his eyes on the hulking bodyguards for a moment before returning them to the table. “Yeah, crossing paths with those guys wouldn’t be a wise thing. I can’t see things ending well for anyone. I’d rather keep things where they are.”

“Yeah. Hopefully, they’ll also stay out of our way,” Darlow added. “Let everyone move in their own lane.”

“As simple as that,” Mr. Graham agreed, a mischievous glint returning to his eyes. “Now let’s get back to our convo…”

***

Back in the Graham household, Mrs. Elizabeth Graham stood in the master bedroom, her breath short and her throat aching as she scrolled through her husband’s iPad she had found tucked carelessly under a pile of silk ties in his wardrobe.

The screen was lit up with images and videos of a young Caucasian woman whose sultry poses in lacy, barely-there lingerie spoke volumes of intimacy and betrayal. All located in a WhatsApp chat with some ‘Brianna’ girl, that intimacy and betrayal was more than confirmed, with a plethora of racy messages between them, ranging from her husband’s love of this woman’s breasts to her messages waxing lyrical about the sweetness of his manstick.

If that wasn’t enough, the most recent messages between them indicated that he’d be going over to her place on Wednesday evening to ‘make it up to her’ for not taking her along on his trip to Curacao.

Her fingers trembled, not from fear but from a fury she had never known before. Here was her husband, the man she had stood by through years of struggle, bankruptcy and sickness, now unashamedly engaging in a tawdry affair with some white girl who looked more like an OnlyFans model than anything proper and decent in society.

“Philip, you bastard!” she hissed to the empty room, her voice low and venomous. “After everything, after all those nights I was there, holding your hand when you had nothing, when we had nothing. Now that you’ve made it as a big-time hedge fund manager, you’ve found some… some slut to satisfy you? Really? Now my love isn’t enough?”

Her eyes burned with unshed tears of anger as she scanned the room, absolutely stunned at how an innocent decision to open her husband’s tablet would lead to this heartbreaking discovery.

“You think you can just throw it all away, for what? Some… some stupid little pleasure?” Her voice rose as she slammed the iPad down on the bed and began pacing up and down the room. “I gave you everything, my entire life. And this is how you repay me?”

If there was anything Elizabeth Graham despised, it was being taken for a fool. The thought of being made to look stupid could drive her up a wall, and once she discovered such, it was nothing but hellfire for the person involved. And nobody was exempt.

Especially not her dear husband, who she had subtly warned on a number of occasions to never try this.

She stopped, her gaze fierce. “Oh, you won’t get away with this, Philip. I swear, you’ll regret the day you thought you could play me for a fool. You want to go and have sex with this useless girl, eh? Okay, we’ll see what happens afterward.”

She picked up her phone and dialled a number, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the friend to answer.

Three things in, and the person answered.

“Hello, Felicity. Are you busy… good. Please, do you remember you said you know a guy who deals with people who have fucked you over?… Yeah, I want his number. What did you say his name was again? Bruchi or Brussi?…”

Uh-oh! Just when they’re talking about staying out of each other’s way, this pops up. I wonder how this will pan out…

By the way, for those of us familiar with ‘Scorned’, ain’t it nice to see that Princess is happy now?