WADE'S POV Pacing up and down the office, I cursed. Vaughn had been compromised in this war that I had started when I returned to Valletta. The panic in Elaine's voice when she called me to say she couldn't reach Vaughn and that he had a meeting with Vera made my skin crawl.My mind raced back to Gideon's call demanding I rush up to the penthouse suite and when I walked into the room and saw Vaughn lying on the bed, I felt fear for the first time in ten years. My body trembled all the way to the hospital. The test results came, and I heaved a sigh of relief. But something kept nagging me at the back of my head.What was Vera's goal? I could not put a finger on it, but I knew that she would reveal it sooner or later. Auden walked into the office and immediately advised, "You need to calm down, Wade. Only then can you be rational and think of a plan to counteract this." "How? They drugged him, carried him to the hotel, and God knows what they did to him. Cleaned him up and then l
The house was bursting with food by the time we got there as Pa was setting the dinner table with the maids. Vaughn, Mayor Everette, and Gideon had already arrived. When we entered the house, Pa rushed over to Damien as usual and pulled him to the dining room. He had been hovering over Damien since the adoption papers were validated and Damien was now a Malkiel. "Pa, sorry, but I have to take a shower. The smell of the Valletta jail cell is still on my clothes," Damien stated as he pulled away.There was pin-drop silence in the dining room. "What? Jail?" Pa asked.Damien turned to look at me and I shook my head. We had not told Pa that Damien had been arrested. Pa turned to stare at me and asked, "Wade, why was my little son arrested? What is going on?" Vaughn, Gideon, and Mayor Everrete all stared at us. Auden fidgeted. I closed my eyes while Elaine looked away. "Two of your paintings were stolen last night. Damien was accused since his fingerprints were at the scene at
With it being a weekend, we all slept in. My phone rang and there was a text message from Uncle that made my body freeze. 'Wade, urgently come to my room.'Getting slowly out of bed so as not to wake Vaughn up, I rushed to the shower and a few minutes later I was strolling through the villa, headed to the west part of Uncle Malkiel's room.When I approached the wing, he was pacing up and down outside his door. I increased my steps and when he saw me, pulled me into the room and locked it. He paced by the couch and then said, "Wade, we have a huge problem. One of my friends from the congress party called me. Yesterday Sam met with some members, and he discredited the Malkiels. He said he had evidence to bring us down and that we should not be trusted. I suspect that is why Gideon left immediately after dinner because he accused the Secretary of State of supporting Beth Everette. The way his tone sounded in the accusation led to everyone believing that Mayor Beth and the Secretary of
We all sat in the vast living room waiting for Mayor Everette and Elaine to join us. The way Auden paced up and down by the large windows, I knew that Uncle Malkiel had already briefed him. After leaving Pa's room, I went to get Vaughn and told him everything that happened. We sat next to each other and I could feel the tension in the room. Damien walked in and went to sit next to Pa while Gideon walked to where Auden was. His face was masked with anger and his fists were clenched, ready for battle. Auden put an arm on his shoulder and mouthed, "You need to be calm, for now." Gideon nodded and then after a short while Mayor Everette and Elaine joined us. "Let us all sit down. I have some news to share," Uncle Malkiel said. After everyone was seated he said, "This morning, I received news from the congress party that Sam Bexley met with almost ninety percent of the party members. They plan to support him in the senatorial seat in the coming election. Beth, they unanimously agree
Sam Bexley succeeded in releasing the picture to the media. A few media houses co-operated and pulled the article down. Only the bloggers remained adamant, and the articles were still online.Uncle Malkiel, Elaine, and Auden worked to quiet the story by releasing news of the art theft at the museum was a suspected inside job. We left Valletta the next day for Milan. Vaughn seemed to be in a better mood when we got to the house in Silo. He beamed with happiness. "You lived here for the past ten years?" he asked in wonder."Yes. Godfather bought this house when we settled here," I responded. Damien walked in and looked like a zombie as he toured the house. Vaughn scolded Gideon. "Don't leave him alone. You know that he will be sentimental since this was Morrice's house." "What the f*ck do you take me for? I am already threatened by the fact they were each other's first love. Who will understand me?" Gideon huffed. "Sorry." Vaughn put his arm across Gideon's shoulder. He nodde
Pa was so happy when we returned to Valletta that he threw a big feast for dinner. We settled in the living room after dinner and Pa was the first to speak."I am glad you are home. Vaughn, you look much better. The trip was good for you. I missed you all, especially my son, Damien," he jested. We all laughed because we knew how much he hovered over him. "You do realize that Auden, Vaughn, and I are here, right?" I drawled."Shush, your father missed his baby son!" Mayor Everette responded."Ma, you can't be supporting him on this. What happened when we were away?" Vaughn drawled.The whole room erupted in laughter. It was good to be home. "I have some wonderful news to share," Damien said. "We managed to secure five investors and the documents will be signed next week. While we were in Milan, we met with the CEO of the Crown Jewel Plaza Hotel, Mr. Tommisso. He was a friend of Chairman Morrice.""Your Pa and I know Mr. Tommisso. He is an old friend. How is he doing?" Uncle M
*Three months later*We were all busy with preparations. Elaine and Auden had already come up with the campaign strategy while Damien, Secretary Gavino, and Uncle Malkiel created the five-year plan for the party. Pa hosted ministers and the Malta Elite Society dignitaries at the museum or at the Everette hotels as the party chairman.As we planned to work on the merger with the Milan Crown Jewel Plaza Hotel, Elaine embarked on a branding plan. Gideon joined Vaughn in the hotel as the vice president. We were all busy during the week, but never failed to have time for the family on Sunday with lunch and dinner. It was on Thursday afternoon when the police called Vaughn Everett to inform him that Vera Bexley was at the police station. She voluntarily surrendered herself when she arrived in the country. Uncle Malkiel and I joined Vaughn as we headed to the police precinct. We arrived and the commissioner's smirk was enough to make Uncle Malkiel murmur, "I have a bad feeling about thi
VAUGHN'S POVI grinned as Wade went into the bathroom to shower. I walked into the closet and placed his clothes by the seat and then picked up his dirty ones and put them in the laundry basket. His temper had simmered, and it comforted me that he would not let anything come between us. It was the assurance that I needed after I lay on the bed calmly, deep in thought. I was glad when he walked into the bedroom. "What are you smiling about?" Wade walked into the room shirtless rubbing a towel on his hair to dry it. I blushed. "I remember placing a clean shirt on the seat."He winked at me. "Share your thoughts." He sat down on the bed."Part of my worry and concerns are you. I don't want anything to come between us," I confessed to Wade.He nodded and placed the towel on the bed beside him. "And the other part?" "Ma and Secretary Gavino's campaign. I know that Sam is using this tactic to delay us. And it seems he knows how much I value family. Which is why he played with my