The First Heir

Theo quickly said, “I’ll be there right away, Mr. Clarke.”
Once he hung up, Theo took a sharp intake of breath. He was somewhat nervous and even a bit panicked.
Did Nino Gil get on Mr. Clarke’s bad side?
Well, he had it coming!
Over the years, Theo had long since gotten fed up with Nino. The latter was too meddlesome for his own good.
Besides, Nino had grown unhappy with his lot too. He was already pulling all sorts of strings in secret to mess with Theo’s
territory.
Theo just let it slide so far because both of them came from equally powerful backgrounds. Any wars between them should be
fought in secret, or so Theo thought.
Today, though, Nino had clearly poked the hornets’ nest.
In that case, Theo figured, why not give him an extra push for good measure? That way, he could put an end to Nino for good.
With that in mind, Theo immediately made a phone call.
In the blink of an eye, at least a dozen people leaped to action as a result of that call!
All of them were Theo’s closest aides!
It would be fair to say that right here and now, Theo had mobilized all of his underground forces in Riverdale.
All of his men received the same order, just the one. Surround Nino Gil’s territory and await the cue!
Theo’s crack troops had been waiting for this day for far too long.
They had always been butting heads with Gil’s El Ninos, but they never dreamed that Theo would suddenly declare war today!
Tiger walked into the manor and asked with a frown, “Theo, why are you launching an attack against Nino all of a sudden?”
Theo held his hands behind his back and chuckled coldly. “Nino ticked Mr. Clarke off, so Mr. Clarke asked me to send our guys
over. Today, we’re eliminating Nino from Riverdale.”

With that, he glanced at Tiger, who was looking quite solemn. “What’s the matter? Are you afraid?”
Tiger was not afraid. He was just worried.
“Theo, is Mr. Clarke really that unfathomable? I mean, that’s the great Nino Gil, Master Nino! If...”
“Hahaha! Oh, Tiger, never underestimate what Mr. Clarke is capable of.” Theo patted Tiger’s shoulder and burst out laughing
before he continued, “Come on, let’s go to Starlight Bar. Bring the best guys we got, cuz we mustn’t embarrass Mr. Clarke today.”
That day, the Riverdale underground scene was a flurry of nervous action.
As for Philip Clarke, he stood by perfectly calmly after he made that call, watching everything unravel without a word.
“What did you say? They want to eliminate our Master Nino?” Dick Jayson sneered, his expression brutal and bloodthirsty.
The punk must have lost his mind!
Who would dare to eliminate Master Nino from Riverdale?
Even Theo Zander would not dare to make such a bold claim!
Was this punk even more powerful than Theo, then?
“F*ck me, I can’t believe anyone has the balls to say something like that to Master Nino! He must have a death wish!”
They started to taunt him, their jeers and laughter filling the hall at the bar.
In the face of their boos and hisses, Philip just shook his head quietly.
These guys thought too highly of themselves. What they did not know was that there was always someone better out there.
Philip did not want to show off. He did not want to pick any fights, but they forced his hand.
“I admire your guts, kid, but guts ain’t bulletproof. I’ve been in this business for more than a decade now, and I’ve seen
everything. Riverdale is my territory, and yet you’re trying to take me down? Are you that baselessly confident? Or do you have
someone behind your back supporting you?”
Nino laughed coldly, his expression distant and cool as he looked at Philip.

He did not believe that this plain-looking fellow dared to speak to him, the great Nino Gil, like that.
That was why he was certain that the punk had a protector of some kind. That must be why he was so gutsy.
Even so, Nino was not the least bit worried. Could the punk’s support system overpower Nino’s own?
Never in a million years!
“Hmph.” Philip’s expression was calm. He figured it was almost time.
Just then, a black Audi A8L stopped outside the bar entrance.
The car door opened and a middle-aged man of about forty or fifty alighted from the back seat. He was immaculately dressed
and had the air of a gentleman.
Behind him, he was followed by a tall foreign woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.
Kyle and the others were hiding in a corner. When he saw the man get out of the car, he was instantly stunned into stammering,
“That’s... I saw him on TV before. He’s the secretary to the richest guy in town, George Thomas! What’s he doing here?”
The rest of them exchanged looks of utter confusion.
The secretary to the richest man in Riverdale naturally had plenty of clout to his name.
So why was he here at Starlight Bar, and looking like he was in such a hurry, too?
Lynn looked completely perplexed too. First there was Master Nino, and now there was the richest guy’s secretary.
What was going on in this bar?
“Lynn, are these guys all here for your useless cousin-in-law over there?” asked one of her girl friends suspiciously.
Lynn felt a moment of panic, and she hurriedly denied the possibility. “No way! You know what Philip Clarke is like, don’t you?”
Even as she said that, though, she felt inordinately anxious.
Could they really be after Philip?