Personal Narrative: The Montresor Family

There was a time, many years ago, when I was a budding young entrepreneur fighting the good fight. My father, Nerva, was a relatively young senator who adopted me out of the Roman Army when I was but a child. Grateful as I was, I worried for the health of my new father whose gray hair and tired face showed years of stress and many a sleepless night. The Montresor family was vast and powerful, and the name carried influence throughout the Empire was recognizable by friend and enemy alike across the globe. For the next year, I trained with generals and scholars alike – just about anyone my father could convince to prepare me for the Senate. Day after day, I sought to bring myself to a higher level than Nerva had ever achieved and bring change to the Empire. Yet, it

Having a prior engagement meeting with a Captain in the Roman Army, I arrived late into the discussion.
“…that cannot go ignored while we sit around here and do nothing!” exclaimed Titus
“My dear Titus, I’m not proposing that we leave this threat unchecked. There must be another way to deal with this that doesn’t resort to sending the Army after them.” replied Hadrian.
“There isn’t a way around it.” and unfamiliar voice called.
I spun my head to face the source of the noise and found it to be no other than Fortunato. Having inherited his seat and fortune from his father, he was used to having everything his way, and didn’t often receive criticism.
“Of course there is” I replied. “We managed to do the same thing for the southern pirates last winter. Now, they’re one of our greatest allies and defenses from attacks across the Mediterranean.”
“Paying pirates to serve as our defense, that’s definitely a new one” Fortunato retorted.
“It’s worked well so far. Profits have increased by nearly a third now that our ships are safe at sea, not to mention that everyone is protected from being attacked, especially the