Clearwater

Vanessa's POV(Contined)

"Listen love, I know this whole thing is absurd and hard to accept…" 

"No kidding!"

"But you have to do it." Mum began gently, twenty minutes after we've both been staring at the closed door with varying degrees of worry.

She worries about him, I think. To be honest, it's extremely hard to tell with my parents. Sometimes I even wonder why they are still together. 

"What? Have you lost your marbles?" I turned all of my anger and worry on her with a snarl.

"I haven't. Your father and I have had our issues, you now that. I would never support him, but this time, it's imperative that you do as he says. "

"Why?" 

"Anders and co is going underground."

I laughed in her face. There was nothing else to do. "Look for a better lie." I informed her when I regained control over my voice. "His company is publicly limited. He has tons of board directors and shareholders and the last time I checked your husband's company was doing very well in the stock market." Did she think me as clueless about business as she was? 

"Is that the lie he told you to make you go along with this crazy idea?" Mum might hate him, but he was solely responsible for her luxurious lifestyle. No job could keep her in the same lifestyle she's enjoyed since she was a child. It makes sense that she is willing to do anything to make certain the money keeps coming in. 

"It's not that. If you will stop being your father's daughter for a minute and let me explain things to you, then you will realize why I'm going against every grain of sanity and agreeing with him." Her fiery words shut me up. She continued while I was still frozen at the sight of this angry bear. 'Shane is a ruthless bastard. We sheltered you, but I'm certain you've worked it out that your father isn't the most scrupulous person in the world." How could I have forgotten? She kept harping on it each time she accused of tricking her into marrying him. That was just before dad would remind her she was nothing but a trophy and will always be. '…..now he wants revenge."

What now? "Sorry, wasn't listening." 

She glared at me balefully. Actually, I knew through the darkening of her eyes that she was pissed. The rest of her face was set in that weirdly stationery mode. I bit my tongue to stop from commenting on her botox addiction.

"What I am trying to say," she grits out, "is that your father has crossed some very powerful people in his quest for power. He conned Clearwater out of a lot of money and now he is back to take it all away from your father. He bought out all the other shareholders and now he is a majority shareholder with 55percent, and now he wants to be the CEO." Clearwater? That was the name of our mansion, and also the town we lived in. We owned not just the mansion but several other lands in the town, hence why the town was essentially named after the villa. So why was this dude named Clearwater?

"That's why I've been upset with him. I never wanted you to be involved in any of his messes, but this beyond me. If you don't marry him, your father and I will end up on the street before the month is over. Clearwater is not just taking over the shares, he is running everything into the ground. He has only one condition if he is to stop. He wants to marry you." She held her hand up. "Before you refuse, know this. When the board voted for Clearwater to become CEO and sacked your dad, he had a heart attack. If Clearwater makes good on his threat and takes the house, company and everything we own away from your dad, what do you think will happen to him?"

He'll die.

I gulped around the boulder in my throat, trying to find words to reply her, but I couldn't. I might not like Shane Anders on most days, but he was my dad. How could I let him die? But on the other hand, marry a man I have never met? How is-

A small commotion from the door that separated this hall from the next had me turning my head.

Two men in dark suits had just waltzed in. The frail man with salt and pepper hair toting large rimmed glasses on his face, I have never seen before. But the second man-

I lurched to my feet on a gasp.

"Mr Clearwater, you're here." Mum called in a cold but polite voice.

"Hello Mrs Anders." Callum Gray replied in a voice that could have frozen hell.

Shock did not even begin to describe me. I swung shocked eyes to him and stuttered. "Y-you are Clearwater?"

His eyes shuttered, his body going ramrod stiff as he finally took note of my existence. "And you are Shane Anders' daughter."