It had been a week. A week since Sergio was last seen by anyone and no matter how much they looked, there hadn't been a sign of him since that night. The baseball thudded against the brick wall as Carl caught it in his hand, only to bounce it off the wall again. He knew that Sergio was dead and he knew who was responsible, he just needed proof. Carl and CJ were the two tasked with tracking down Sergio's remains although he had his upper family members breathing down his neck due to him focusing the search on such a small area. He loved his family but as of late, his frustrations with them had been growing. In his opinion, they were too focused on expansion and increase of product than a member of the family going missing. Sure, Sergio was the lowest of them but still, the fact someone had killed him meant that fear wasn't working as well as it used to.

"Carl!" CJ's voice rang out from behind. "Yes, CJ?" Carl turned to face his older brother, dropping the baseball to the floor. "Dad wants to see you." Great. Another chewing out and smack to the face from his father is exactly what he wanted. "..Got it. Thanks, CJ." Carl muttered as he headed toward the entrance of the apartment building though before he could step through the doors, CJ stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck, Carl." Despite the fear of having to face his father, Carl broke out into a small smile. "Thanks, CJ. I'll see you soon." No matter the problems he had with his family members, CJ was the one he could never remember fighting or disagreeing with. They looked after each other even when one of them had their backs against the wall like Carl did these days.

Stepping into the building, Carl walked to the first apartment room on the first floor, pulling the key out of his pocket and unlocking it before entering the seemingly normal room. He locked the door behind him and quickly went over to a bookcase, pushing it aside to reveal the false wall hidden behind it. "Stupid thing..." Carl grumbled and rubbed his arms, the bookcase being a pain for him to move. Deep breaths, Carl mentally told himself before pushing against the wall and beginning his descent down the staircase.

Carl hated coming down here but it was pretty much his father's new living quarters since he never seemed to leave this place anymore. He looked around the massive warehouse, eyeing the hundreds of people working down there. People in lab coats, hazmat suits, and construction workers helped keep this place running. It was in this warehouse and 15 others across The United States and Mexico that the Casagrande Empire was created. Here, all manner of drugs were produced, delivered, and shipped out. Countless millions were made in just one day alone, plus the dealings with government figures only added more to that number. To the day he dies, Carl will never forget seeing former President Bush face down in a pile of coke in one of the apartment rooms upstairs...

"There you are." Carl whipped his head around, his expression immediately souring. "Ronnie.. What're you doing down here?" If you asked Carl directly, he would deny it but the truth was that Carl was jealous of Ronnie Anne. Originally, Carl, CJ, and Ronnie Anne were considered the lowest of the Casagrande family due to their age. They handled simple trades with dealers who worked for them and were tasked with controlling things on the city streets. Things had changed however a few months back during a few incidents with a street gang that had begun robbing and murdering dealers of the Casagrandes. The attacks had gotten so bad that Bobby and Carlota were forced to get involved. It didn't take long for them and their small army of paid guns to start tracking down members of the gang and removing them, quickly and quietly putting an end to this war. Or so the Casagrandes had thought. While the gang had been neutralized, what they hadn't yet realized was that its leader had managed to escape and had been lying in wait to take revenge. As Bobby Santiago was getting back into his car, shots began to ring out, as T-Bone, the leader of the now destroyed group hit Bobby in the arm and shoulder, causing Bobby to fall to the ground. Before T-Bone could finish off Bobby, he failed to notice that Ronnie Anne was already sitting in Bobby's car and had pulled a gun out of the glove box. Quickly kicking open the passenger door, Ronnie shot two bullets into T-Bone's head, killing him instantly. Bobby would take a few weeks to recover but ultimately would be fine. It was for this that Ronnie had been promoted to a higher standing. Carl hated it.

Ronnie Anne let out a yawn and leaned against a nearby wall. "I was helping out with some stuff." She shrugged. "Your dad wants to know how the search for Sergio is going." Carl rolled his eyes. "We would've found him already if we got Lincoln to confess-" He was cut off by a groan from Ronnie. "You're still on that? We've checked the surrounding area for signs of Sergio and there's been nothing. There's nothing to link Lincoln and Sergio's disappearance-" Carl stomped his foot in frustration. "I KNOW IT WAS HIM!" his outburst caused various workers to look in his direction for a moment before continuing with their work. "He did it because of what I did! Or because we changed his cut! Or-"

"Carl." A monotone voice spoke from behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know that it belonged to his father, Carlos. "Y-Yes, Dad." Slowly, Carl turned around to face him, looking up into his eyes. "You're disrupting everybody. Follow me." Carl felt like his heart had jumped into his throat. Following his father in silence, he gave one last look to Ronnie Anne who gave him a small smile. While Carl was jealous of Ronnie Anne, he didn't hate her. He'd much rather be stuck talking to her than having to follow his father to the chewing out and beating he knew was coming.

The pair stepped into Carlos' office, his father immediately heading to his chair and sitting down. "Explain." Carl swallowed and took a deep breath. "We've been looking Dad but so far, nothing's turned up. But I'm sure that it was Lincoln-" Carl's words died in his mouth when he saw how his father was glaring at him with those piercing eyes. "You've been focused on one person, one area. You've allowed these theories of yours to dictate your actions and as a result, wasted time and money. Ronnie Anne will be taking over the search along with CJ." Carl's eyes widened slightly, the anger rising within him. "You're removing me?! Dad, please, I'll widen the search, just-" Carlos rose out of his seat, slowly walking around his desk. "No. It's already been decided, Carl. Don't expect to be returning to your old job of delivering the product to our employees on the streets, either."

Carl raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Then... What am I going to be doing?" He asked meekly, shrinking down in the presence of his father. "As of now, there is nothing we need you for." He couldn't help himself. Carl looked into his dad's eyes, rage taking over him. "WHAT? YOU'RE FUCKING FIRING ME-" The next thing Carl knew, he was laying on the floor, the left side of his face throbbing in agony. "Your anger and carelessness lead to this Carl. You are to handle the Mercado and nothing more for the foreseeable future." Carl struggled to his feet, holding his face. "Dad... Please-"

"Get out, Carl. Now." Carlos ordered, sitting back down behind his desk. Feeling dejected and overruled, Carl stepped out of the office, wiping his eyes. This... All of this... It was Lincoln's fault. Everything was going fine until he started messing things up. It didn't matter if he had his family's approval or not, he would expose Lincoln's crime and then remove him, personally.

To Be Continued