At the insistence of Kate and her father, Charlotte let herself be convinced to go somewhere private to discuss their family issues. The crowd that had gathered to watch the drama dispersed with disappointment written on their faces when Charlotte stopped pressuring her father to answer and asked Carlos to drive them to a new location. “Talk,” Charlotte said once they were sitting, making it clear she didn’t want them to change the subject. “Gee, where do I start?” Her father said, clearing his throat. “What did mom do?” Charlotte filled in for him. “Hold up,” her mother interrupted. “Don’t try to rope me into this. I didn’t do anything. Your father was the one who tried to dupe Mr Roman.” Kate gasped. “You tried to dupe Charlotte’s husband?”“Not Charlotte’s husband,” he corrected. “Her husband’s father. It was your mother who convinced me to do it.” The older woman laughed drily. “Really? I, who couldn’t get you to expand the company or let my family buy shares for years m
Xavier sat up, now more interested in the interrogation at the name he had begun to hear more frequently these days. Mr Don, Laura’s brother. The owner of the most successful tech company in the country, who owed his success to the startup money given to him by Laura who had gotten so much from frustrating Xavier’s life. Xavier already felt disgusted by this man who was shameless enough to accept that kind of money, whoever he was. He was thankful he never got to see him or any of Laura’s family for that matter, throughout the time they had been together. “You said you work for Mr Don,” Private continued. “Can you tell me more about that? How it started, perhaps.” “Mr Don found me in Venezuela. I was running from the law after what I had done. He told me he admired my quick thinking, and asked me if I wanted to come here and work for him. Of course I said yes.” Private nodded. “I see, so what was the work description exactly? Did working for him mean being his sister’s
Xavier smiled when Private called to give the news that Mr Don was already on his way to meet him. He had been wise enough not to take his implied threats lightly. His contentment dampened slightly when Charlotte didn’t respond to his many calls. His nose crinkled in worry as he wondered what she would have been doing. He couldn’t afford to go back to the main house because he wanted the meeting to end as soon as possible, and considering the fact that Mr Don was already on his way coming with his private jet, and a nurse was checking up on him, going to the main house would only waste his time and possibly distract him. When Charlotte still didn’t answer an hour later, Xavier dialed Carlos’ number. It was his first day back, but he had told Xavier he had driven Charlotte and her sister somewhere, and given the fact that neither his wife nor her sister was responding, he was beginning to get worried. “Where is my wife?” Xavier asked after pleasantries had been exchanged. “She
Don sighed. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I think my sister has lost her mind.” Xavier let out a dry laugh. “You’re only realizing that now?” Don stared at him. “I’m being serious. I believe she has gone insane. It will only keep getting worse if I don’t do anything about it, but each time I try to talk some sense into her, she just shuns me and reminds me she’s responsible for my success and goes ahead to do whatever the heck she wants to do. I managed to convince her to go to therapy once and the therapist gave me a written note telling me I had to admit her in a psychiatry ward.” Xavier pressed his lips into a tight line. Sure, he had always made remarks about his ex wife’s mental health, but he never actually thought she had lost it to that point. It was scary to even think about it. “Okay, she’s going crazy. What did Private have to do with the whole thing?” He asked. “Private and her assistant were just there to prevent her from going too far, but unf
“Laura,” Don said in a small comforting voice as he walked to his sister’s side. “How are you?” Xavier stood by the door, watching everything unfold. Laura’s eyes never left his. It was almost as if she couldn’t see anyone else but him. “Xav,” she called out to him in a strained voice. “Laura,” he said simply. “You came,” she said with a smile. Xavier forced a smile on his face. Although he believed she deserved what she was getting, he couldn’t help but feel bad for her. It had been less than a week, yet she had slimmed down to an almost unrecognizable size. She looked terrible, and from what the doctor had told them before they entered the ward, she would have to spend the next several years in and out of the hospital because of the damage the mixture of the drugs had caused her. “Can we have the room please?” She asked Don without even looking at him. “You just woke up, Laura. You need to…” Don argued. “I’m not a child, Don. I want to talk to Xavier and I’ll appreci
“Mommy!” Caleb squealed when he saw Charlotte and ran up to her. She carried him up and enveloped him in a tight hug. She was still not used to him calling her ‘mommy’, but hearing it was so natural and calming. Whenever she was with him, she secretly hoped something would happen to Laura or that she would say she didn’t want him again. She didn’t think she would be able to move on if he had to leave to go back to his real mother. “Did you miss me?” She asked, tickling his tummy. “Uh huh,” he replied, laughing and trying to get her hand away from him. Charlotte kissed him on the forehead and carefully set him back on his feet. She held his small hand and allowed him to lead her into the house. She had been in a sour mood after the meeting with her parents, but just a few minutes with Caleb had softened her up. Kate looked at her and smiled. With a playful frown, she nudged Caleb and asked him why he didn’t notice her. He started to laugh. “What did you do today while we were g
“My daddy used to beat my mommy before that woman took me and told she’s my real mommy,” Caleb explained the best way he could. “He told me he’s not my real daddy and that my mommy sold me to him.” “Wait, wait,” Charlotte told him. She had no idea what he was talking about and the more he spoke, the more confused she became. None of what he was saying made any sense. At this point, he was just throwing the words ‘mommy’ and ‘daddy’ around. “Laura, the woman that brought you to us, she’s your mommy, isn’t she?” She asked him slowly, hoping his answers would make sense to her this time. He shook his head. “That’s what she told me and then she brought me here after,” he said. “So you had other parents before she came?” She asked and he nodded. When Charlotte realized he wouldn’t give her an understandable answer, she decided to stop asking him so that he wouldn’t confuse her more. Since Xavier had gone out to find answers, this one might be one of them. She would ask him wh
“When will you come back, daddy?” Caleb’s little voice came over the phone and Xavier smiled. He could picture his son standing next to Charlotte and holding the phone to his ear with both his hands. “I’ll be there this night, I promise,” he replied. From the corner of his eye, he saw Private trying to get his attention. “Take care of mom for me, okay? I’ll see you soon.” “Bye daddy,” Caleb said and Xavier nodded before he ended the call. “What’s up?” He asked Private. “She’s causing a scene, boss. She’s yelling at everyone and she even pushed her brother and broke a glass on the doctor’s head when he tried to sedate her,” Private told him. There was an urgency in his private investigator’s voice as he reported to him, but there was also a hint of amusement in his tone. Xavier rolled his eyes and walked past him toward the ward he had left to answer his wife’s call. “Why was there glass next to her in the first place?” He asked no one in particular when he enterrés t