CHAPTER 39

While Jason finished his mean, he listened to an incredible tale he hadn't heard before. The Swiss filled him in about the five founding members and the wall that ensued between them. They had also mentioned their involvement in the war. He listened aptly as he did James. When they were done sharing, he asked his he could help.

"We will let you know when the time comes." Robert replied, "For now, we all should work on getting safe. I don't think the men will engage us now."

"Okay." Jason nodded.

"In terms of an ally, we are counting on connections and the law. We hope to do this the legal way." Mrs. Swiss added.

"Sounds fine by me." Jason moved his seat back. It had been a lovely night. As the couple bade him goodnight, he spoke to his security detail, "Did you get all that?"

"Yes, boss." James replied instantly. He had listened to everything and knew the Swiss were as honest in their account as the tale he had been told. He had called his father the moment all these started. Thomas had been quick to fill them all in about the founding members and the war.

"And?"

"They gave the same story my dad told me. He thinks we can help them."

"Alright. Where are you parked?"

"I'm right outside, boss." he said and chuckled when Jason hit his leg and started to swear, but he quickly covered his mouth his boss wouldn't hear him.

"I heard that."

"Sorry, boss." He apologized jokingly.

Standing outside the restaurant, he spotted his white Lexus immediately. The bouncer handed him his suit, and he stepped into the car. Once in, he said to his PI. "You have to get to work. You and your team, alright?" And as they drove off, something struck him as odd too. "And I want you to look into the death of my parents. I think they died right about the time this Miami war started. Something doesn't seem to add up."

"Sure, boss." James replied, his mind already on the task. Although the suggested sounded somewhat troubling. What if the Valdez had been murdered? It was going to be a catastrophic one. His father hadn't said anything to him about the war and the Valdez. Their names never came up in any of their talks involving the war and the old founding members. But Jason was right. His parents died about that time. It wouldn't hurt to be sure all was right. If there was anything, though, should Thomas his father know? As the security head and the Valdez' PI, he would have known if anything fishy happened. If he did, why didn't he say anything when he debriefed him while handing over?

"Make sure to get those men tailing me. We can't let them off so lightly because the Swiss think they won't engage." Jason added, bringing his PI back to the present. He tried to take off his mind away from what he just heard tonight. "By the way, where's Evangeline right now. I should speak with her."

"She's in LA." James replied immediately.

"Why?"

Well, she's been all by herself for some days now. And you totally ignored her for days, that was what he was going to say, but that wasn't for him to say. Let the boss figure that part out too. "She must have a meeting." He replied instead.

"Then get me there tomorrow afternoon. Is her security detail with her there?"

"Yes, boss."

"Good." He could easy knowing she had company. His mind wandered back to the last time they had been together. Something about his expression must have given him away. Evangeline had looked sad. He needed to correct that impression, and he could do it now, knowing her parents had finally agreed to let them be. Speaking with them tonight had lifted a burden off him. Though it sounded archaic, he was glad they approved. And now, he could face their daughter and sort out this thing they had going.

Noah sat limb on the bed, watching his wife cry out her eyes. This was the most challenging part, "I did what I thought was best for my family." He said, looking at her. She spared him only a glance, but it was a look that broke him. "I'm sorry."

"When you joined the company because I asked..." She was interrupted

"Yes. It was all part of the plan." He told her. "I was to get to the company through you."

"To siphon our funds?" He swallowed hard. This was getting deeper, but she had to know. She has to know this wasn't easy for him too. Gaby and the others would probably kill him for this, but he didn't care anymore.

"Yes." He swallowed. "We have been taking from you." She didn't say anything. It only meant she had at one time suspected. "But I stopped some years back."

Adriana scoffed. "Good of you to think you needed to stop." Sarcastically, she added. "You must have seen the money was running so low."

"No. It wasn't that. If that was it, the total money drain was the point of the whole plan." He reached out to her again. She pushed his hand away, "I changed." He said slowly.

"You changed me." He stood up again but stayed close to the bed. "You changed me." Sighing heavily. He began the story of how he had started to suck at the revenge plans, and now Gaby was getting pissed off.

"When we couldn't have kids, which by the way, wasn't totally planned. I was somehow relieved. Didn't want any kid getting mixed up in a mess." He shook his head, "But you were so miserable. I watched you became a shadow of yourself. I couldn't stop caring." He paused again.

"I cannot say when exactly I fell for you. It was shocking. I don't know how but I love you, Adriana Swiss. One day, I came home, and you were in bed, sad and without the glow. I wanted to do everything to get you to be your old lively self. The woman who showered me kisses every morning and made me excited always to be home. I could do anything for you then. That day was when I found out I couldn't hurt you or your family this way anymore. So, I stopped the plan."

"We were childless for almost six years. You're saying in all those years I was only the pun in the plan" she laughed weirdly, tears falling down her eyes. "My kids and I meant nothing to you."

"I love those kids."

"And now, you stand there to tell me this trash of love stopping your plan."

"I... love you, Adriana."

"Yet you continued to steal from us."

"No. I stopped. It's why my brothers are angry with me. I haven't touched or hurt as much as a fly in your company. Not since the twins came along."

"Then how come just a couple of weeks back, we lost over a couple of thousand dollars?"

"I didn't do it. You have to believe me. I didn't."

She shook her head vigorously. "You need to be out of this place tomorrow." She said sadly and turned off the light. "We can start working out the divorce papers too." She added before covering herself with the duvet. She listened as he took his things and left the room probably to sleep in the other room. And the tears began to fall again.

CHAPTER 40

"I didn't know." Thomas told his son when faced with the outrageous challenge." He was certain there had been no mischief in his late bosses' death. "It was a plane crash." He added, "The pilot also died in the crash. How would he know about anything and still let himself be killed in the crash?" It didn't add up. "Stop troubling the still water looking for pebbles. Nothing is there."

"It's so frustrating not getting any solid info." James sat down angrily in the chair beside his father. His gaze fell on the picture of his mother on the frame, and it seemed to calm him down. Then he looked back at his old man, who was also staring at the frame, smiling. "You never did get over her." He murmured

"Neither did you." He smiled. "She was a remarkable woman. Not someone I could ever forget." he turned away from the picture and looked at his son, remembering something. "There are so many things you should understand about the Monterey and Smith's war. Back then, the war had been going on silently. The Smiths were already into their business and holding key posts. Your mother tried to warn me about it."

"Did she know something?"

"She was a friend to a distant cousin of the Smith." He said. "They were already planning a takeover because according to this cousin, the Monterey murdered a Smith. It was all vendetta." He paused, then went on. "And you know how those gangs operate; kill one, they take what's dear to you. The Swiss only landed them a golden opportunity when Robert sent them to jail. That was a terrible call."

"He was only upholding the law." James said, trying to picture how the judge must have felt, losing a witness and all the chaos right outside his courtroom.

"Not to the crowd. To everyone, the judge picked a side."

James laughed. "Surely, you don't believe that. As you said, the war hadn't even started. It was just a Monterey case killing a witness in court."

"Haven't you being listening to anything I said?" He looked at his son sternly. "The war had been going on inwardly. The Swiss may not have known about the Smiths' move. But I'm sure they must have caught wind of it." Sighing, he added, "It's why I wouldn't have allowed this surrogacy thing your boss has going on with the Swiss lady. It could be disastrous for him."

And for all their sakes, he hopes there wasn't anything catastrophic about the Valdez getting involved with the Swiss. They were too closely knitted now to back down. "He seems to like her."

"Who?"

"Evangeline Swiss, the surrogate." He explained, "Jason likes her. He won't walk away from this."

"Then we can only hope this doesn't go south."

"And you don't think the Valdez were murdered? They died right about the time of the ongoing war. And from the information I got now, something fishy happened. I haven't verified it, but it would appear that the pilot or someone among the crew was on the Smith's payroll."

"What? I didn't know that." Thomas said standing up. "You sure about this?"

"Not confirmed yet." He pointed out. "I'll have more facts before tomorrow. I've put Sam on it."

"Keep me appraised, okay? I'm really interested in where this goes. And if you need my help in any way." He winked. "We old men still have our deep-rooted relationships that opens doors faster."

Standing up to take his leave, James teased his father. "That or you're bored and want back in the game." He wanted to ask what his father did with his time. Hopefully, it wasn't spent staring at his mother's old picture.

"I just want to know what happens. I feel responsible for the Valdez. I was their security detail. I should know." Although, he did feel bored most of the time, he couldn't say that to his son. Still, he said, "I have nothing doing now. I could help"

"Okay. I'll let you know if I need any help." He started to leave. His father stood up to walk him out, "Don't beat yourself up over any of these. You were the best at your job."

"Until they got murdered right under my nose, and I knew nothing about it." He said as he bottled up his anger with a wicked grin.

James shook his head. "Only way I'm telling you shit is if you get off that impression. The Last thing I want is you going off on a guilty rampage as you did with mother." And as the man walked into his car and drive off, he couldn't help but remember how his dad had been when he lost his mother. He blamed her death all on himself. The result wasn't a palatable one. Even the doctors were not spared. Thomas had made a list of possible suspects who could have played a role in the 'natural' death of his wife. He then went on to stalk every one of them. It was creepy watching him tail everyone. Once, he had almost shot a DSS agent who he worked with.

The agent had been an old friend of the family and was the one who had rushed his laboring wife to the hospital. Thomas had been on official assignment and wasn't in the county. When he got back to be told of his wife's demise, Thomas immediately lost it. He started to ask if his wife had been brought in early enough. He asked who the doctor that attended to her was and what delayed he had encountered. Finally, neighbors were questioned go know what went wrong. After investigating the hospital and the staff thoroughly, Thomas decided to check on his old friend. It must have been him who delayed, he figured.

Thomas, who didn't know what was going on, was sleeping peacefully in his house that evening after an exhausted state. As a trained officer, he heard a stir and grabbed his gun. He was kicked off, and his gun taken from him. In the struggle, the gun had been fired, nearly shooting off his left leg. Thankfully, the bullet hit the bed instead. Shocked, the agent watched his friend, who looked so different. He still had no clue what was wrong.

But to his surprise, his friend sat down, questioning him with a gun pointed at him. "Did you get in time to get my wife?" He asked, "Reply promptly, or I'll blow your fucking head off." He swore and the agent knew he was dead serious and not himself. He replied to his questions as pathetically as he could. It was the only way to get through to him. He did his best to calm him down. When finally he could get through to the scarred man hiding behind the gun, he told him as best as he could that his wife's death was a natural one. Thomas wailed in pain. His cries could be heard three houses away.

CHAPTER 41

"I'm sorry." Jason said when Evan opened the door. He had left Miami as soon as he rounded off his meetings with the developers and some investors and rushed down to see her. Since speaking with her parents, he felt eager to work out the chemistry between them. He either had to quench it or see where it goes. But it had to be done. His child was involved, and he didn't want any tension between them.

"Can I come in?" He asked, looking at Evangeline, whose stomach seemed a little rounder. She also had this glow about her.

Stepping aside, she showed him in and locked the door firmly after him. "Water? Wine?" She asked without any enthusiasm.

"I brought groceries. I was hoping to cook." That got her attention. He turned away then smiled so she wouldn't see him smiling.

"Cook? You cook?"

"Better than most ladies." He announced proudly. "You don't look like you believe me." He laughed as she shrugged and went to the kitchen. Jason followed her. Then dropping the bags on the kitchen table, he looked at her bulging stomach again. She definitely was beginning to show. "You look... hasn't it just been two days ago that we saw?" He wondered out loud.

The words hung in the air. It was two days ago when they hadn't completed a path they started. After which, he had looked at her with sorrowful eyes like he regretted treading that path with her. Evangeline shrugged and replied to his comment about her bulging stomach. Not that she noticed any difference yet, "It's expected." Changing the topic, she asked, "What are you making?"

"I was thinking something light. My special Korean barbecue with fried chicken rice. Just to thank you again for doing this."

"But you bought me a car already." She smiled

Finally! Her smile. He let himself bask in that joyful moment. She probably wouldn't forgive him for the long silence. "And this is just a Thank-you meal." He started bringing out the items he got, putting them gently on the table.

"You need anything?" She asked and began to clear away the table. She had been about cooking when he came in. "I was going to make dinner when you walked in." She told him. "Sure you need nothing?"

"I got everything I'll need here." Then, smiling at her, he added, "But your company would be appreciated. All you need is sit down and let the chef do his thing."

"Chef Jason sure has a nice ring to it." She pulled out a chair and sat down.

Jason got an apron hung on the wall and put it on. He turned around so she could help him secure the back with the ropes, "Thank you." He said, walking away to get started. "For the company too."

While he chopped the carrots, she helped him dice the lettuce. "Cube shapes, please." He told her.

"Sure, chef. By the way, what's a special Korean barbecue again? How did you come across that? Koreans and the food."

"Well, though my developers are Ukrainians. I have a few Korean friends that I work with. Some work for me, offshore, though. So, I go there every now and then. They are really good with their computers. They come up with amazing designs. When I visited for the first time, I was surprised that they have so many dishes too. Those people know how to eat, my dear." He poured the chopped carrots into a bowl and started to wash the meat. "Their love for meat is another story. Anyways, one of them noticed how fascinated with their food I was. He taught me how to make some. This barbecue with chicken fried rice is my favorite. And I'm sharing with you."

"How nice." She smiled. The way he washed the meat and began to dice the chicken with expertise made her ask, "Have you always loved cooking? Or it's just about the food?"

Turning on the gas, he sauced the meat, added onions and some other ingredients then covered the pot. "My parents weren't always around while I was growing up. I was always alone with plenty of time and nothing really to do other than surf the net. I stumbled on a cooking site one day and tried one of their menus. I sent our driver to get me the items which he did. When I got it right the second time, I went on to try others. It became something I do to pass off time anything my computer bores me. The chef could have gotten it right off course, but I wanted to do it then. But it's long I cooked. I have chefs and restaurants that would get any dish I want right. Where's the time anyways." He shrugged.

"Hmmmn. I can't wait to taste this then."

"Sure... There's a special way they grill using a hot plate. I'm not sure if you have that."

"I do." She said and pointed at the cabinet behind him. "Up." She directed.

"Good." He said, seeing the appliance. He brought it down and began chopping the meat. He was also washing the tiny sticks he would use for the stake. "For the grill." He replied to her straightforward question. She nodded. He washed and sauced the meat, poured the chopped items and covered it. While it boiled, he reached for the chicken.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" She asked him, watching him work his way around her kitchen. He looked so confident, like he was in his home.

"Yes. Nothing excites me yet, though. But the baby us as well yours. What would you name him or her?"

She had never thought about it. "I didn't think I was going to have a...."

"Of course, you should." He rebuked her for thinking he wouldn't let her name her child.

"What's your dad's name?" She asked, smiling.

Her intention wasn't lost on him, "There's no way I'm naming my son after my dad or even my mom. I barely knew them." He told her. "Forget it."

"I think you have it all wrong. Naming kids after your patents is like something dear you want to hold on to. How about we name her Ellen if she's a girl?" His face lights up immediately. She could see how much he loved his late wife. "See? You want to keep her memory. You remember her every time you see your child or use the name."

"This is different. I want to keep this memory because it's good. The other one, I don't." He checked the cooking meat. "I've always wanted to name my child Isle or Isabelle." He chuckled when she pouted. "Doesn't sound right?"

"No."

"I just want it special. How about we deliberate on it and come up with nice names?" He suggested as he scooped out the meat and drained the water out. Evan passed him the sticks and let him stick them out in fives per stick. He was so meticulous.

"Deal." She agreed.