Elena's POV

My eyes slowly opened as noise coming from outside my room entered my ears. I couldn't discern who exactly was talking due to the fact that I had just woken up from sleep, but I knew there was someone having a possibly enraging conversation with another.

It was pretty much obvious my father was part of the conversation, however, I was unable to determine who the other person was. A thought occurred to me that it could be Andrew who had come to gloat over properly carrying out his task last night and as usual was requesting for something outrageous that angered my father.

I sat up and stretched my arms as I let out a long yawn. I ran my hand through my scattered hair and looked at my phone which had come on, displaying the time of the day brightly.

Luckily, it was a weekend so I had no reason to show up in my office. I began to think of things I could do that day to help me avoid running into Andrew, and also have a great time. I could go painting or modelling, that was a very fun activity for me.....and Mark.

I remembered how calm he looked anytime he was in the art room working on a piece. He always had the expression of being carefree and joyful, like he had escaped the annoying world where he had various issues. He was the one person that got me interested in art.

Suddenly realizing what I was doing, I shook my head as if to throw away the thoughts of Mark out of my head. I have wasted several weeks crying over him and I wasn't going to do it again.

"I want him found and brought to me immediately!!"

My father's voice thundered throughout the entire house. His anger couldn't be denied anymore. I stood up from my bed and left my room to find him.

If he wasn't careful he could have a stroke because he wasn't as strong as he used to be, which was exactly why he had been trying to prepare me, and annoyingly, Andrew, to take over from him when he is unable to perform his duties as the Boss of the Morallis Family.

I passed through the hallway in seconds then made my way to his study. I met him brooding over something that was evidently bothering him. You could tell by the way he was resting his chin on his hands, with his elbows planted on the table, he was being disturbed by an issue.

"Father, what seems to be the matter?" I took a seat opposite him and prepared myself to listen as well as give suitable solutions to the problem.

His eyes remained on me for what seemed like forever. He was mentally contemplating if he should relate to me what had caused his anger level to spike up rapidly.

"It's nothing, pumpkin, I'm fine" He replied.

I knew he was lying; it was pretty much obvious. I stood up from the chair and began to make my way out of his study. I didn't understand why he did not have enough trust in me to tell me why he was disturbed.

When I had gotten to the door, I turned around to look at him.

"Is that you don't trust me anymore?" I asked.

My father was confused.

"I trust you" he answered.

"Or do you not think I'm capable anymore?" I asked again, leading him on to answer my questions by tricking him into feeling guilty, a ploy I have been using since I was ten.

"Pumpkin, I know you're capable."

"Then why don't you want to tell me what's bothering you? Do you think I'll be unable to solve it or just be a terrified little girl you always see me as?" I asked, my voice firm to carry the message I was trying to pass through to my stubborn father.

"You can't solve it" he said as he stood up.

I was angered at his words that carried a huge amount of hurt. He was underestimating me once again.

"How do you know that when you haven't told me what it is?"

He put his hands on the curtains while he looked out his window.

"The Santoros fucked up our deal with the cartels" he said. The anger in his voice was unmistakable.

I was shocked. Although I was aware of our family's enemity, I had never come across any circumstances where they actively caused harm to us with the aim to bring about our downfall.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The heir of the Santoro family, Noah, hijacked our shipment deal and ended up ruining it. By the time we got there, the place was surrounded by police officers and we heard what happened" my father replied.

An ugly frown appeared on my face. Those damn Santoros.

"Where is he now?" I moved a bit closer. My father's reluctance in trying to withhold the information of where Noah was currently, was evident in his pause. He let out a deep breath and tighten his grip on the curtain.

"I am not entirely sure. When he is found, I told my men to catch him and make him wait for me in the hidden conference room In our company" My father replied.

I smiled mildly. It was finally my chance to make father recognize my abilities to be a good head of the family after he has passed on.

"Leave it to my father, I'll solve this problem for you" I affirmed then exited the study.

As I walked away in the hallway, I had expected my father to come after me and try to persuade me to not do anything until he has given me permission, but there was no word from him, he did not even yell or scream after me.

This was his way of telling me that he has given me the go-ahead to do whatever I want regarding the situation Noah had put the Morallis family into. I was going to make sure I fulfilled my duty with all of my heart and earn my father's undying trust, thereby securing the position of the head of the family.