Sweet Downfall by Eve Montelibano

princess.
    Maybe it was time he threw back all the shit they’d dished him years ago.
    Yeah, it was time.

    The Yulo mansion was still as grand as he remembered, a colossal work of fine architecture located within a billionaires row.
    He’d been inside this house once, when he was still under Angie’s spell. To belong to her family was his fondest wish. What a sucker he was. He was still lucky it didn’t happen because this family was an evil bunch. Rotten to the core. They were prejudiced and greedy, no honor and definitely no respect for people below their social class.
    He jumped out of his truck and approached the massive gate embellished with intricate wrought iron works. He punched the buzzer. A uniformed guard opened the small gate and came out carrying an automatic rifle. It was casually slung on his shoulder but Jaq knew this guy would not hesitate to smoke him where he stood if he started acting up.
    “Good morning, sir. What can we do for you?”
    “I’m Jaq Montero. I want to talk to Manolo Yulo.”
    “Just a moment, sir.” The guard disappeared inside the little gate.
    He patiently waited, his temper simmering with the humid weather. The guard came out again. “Just leave your truck here, sir. You can come in.”
    He stepped inside the enemy territory, ready to draw blood.
    The Yulo residence was magnificent like those European manors and villas. The driveway leading to the main entrance was long and winding, lined by hardwood and palm trees. It was a slice of paradise in the city only the very rich can afford. There was no doubt as to how wealthy this family was, even more so now. He’d read about them in the papers over the years, inaugurating a new hotel, buying properties all over Asia. A bunch of money-hungry vultures.
    Some fifteen meters away, he saw three men come down the mansion’s portico.
    The one at the center was definitely Manolo Yulo. He was flanked by his twin sons, Rad and Ram. Man, did he miss this trio?
    He’d seen the twins sporadically over the years at his favorite hang-out, an exclusive gentleman’s club called Lothario owned by Alexis, a close friend of his from way back. Even Angie’s boyfriend was a member of that club. They never spoke to each other.
    He stopped a few meters in front of them. How was it possible that all his mortal enemies were gathered in one clan? Six mean-looking sons of bitches immediately surrounded him. Hired attack dogs. They all looked ready to tear him apart.
    “You have the balls to come in here, Montero,” Manolo greeted him with that imperious tone. “I don’t know what to call you, a hero or a fool.”
    The man looked old now, older than he remembered. But Manolo still looked invincible that even if Jaq hated him so much, he had also feared the old man’s power. But that was then, when he was still next to nothing. Now was a different ball game altogether.
    “I came here because you’re a coward, old man. You had to pay a fancy lawyer to deliver your bullshit to me? I don’t know what to call you, a yellow ass or a chicken full of shit.”
    Rad stepped forward like a vicious hound ready to defend its master. “Watch your filthy mouth, Montero!”
    But gone were the days when they could just bully him at whim. “You have the fucking gall to tell me to watch it after you trashed my house?”
    Rad smirked. “Are you accusing us? You have no proof.”
    There you go, the defensive words of the guilty. He nearly blurted out that he could send Rad to prison if he wanted to because he had concrete evidence, but he decided to save that ace for later encounters. The Yulos, as he had learned over the years were a thick, hard wall to crack, much less go through. He didn’t even get past a female Yulo, he thought with irony.
    “I will sue you,” Manolo declared.
    “On what grounds?” he scoffed.
    “Malicious intent to destroy my family’s reputation and profit from it.”
    He smiled in derision. “Really? And how will that even pan out?