Chapter 10

"Aiden, we need to talk to you."

Aiden looked up from the schematics she had been reading. It was mid February and they had only two weeks to finish the work. The first team consisting of Jesse, Klark, Jordan, Clint, Cole, and Wyatt were putting the finishing touches on the roof and the eastern hall.

They had the entirety of the western hall up and finished. All they needed was to have the insides done. They had hired a friend of Jordan's to do the plumbing and electrical work and were working alongside them to get it all finished.

It was odd for Tyler and Austin to come to her together. Well, odder now since they weren't partners anymore. For them to come forward as a united front meant they had some serious news.

"Okay. I know those looks." She rolled up the schematics and set them on the table. "What is it?"

"We've been doing some digging when we haven't been helping with the build and we've found some things you need to see," Tyler said.

He handed over the manila folder he had been compiling for a month. Aiden opened it and started reading through it. As she did so, her eyes widened then she frowned. Austin and Tyler felt their power over the wind and thunder tugging at their body.

The angrier the woman got, the more they felt the need to unleash their power to give her something to throw around. But they knew they couldn't because it was make it too easy for her to tap into their powers. Once that thread was open, it was hard to close it again.

"So it's Igor, Pauline, Ethan and Stanton?" she asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. Igor's put extra money in an offshore account. I was tracking his networking and computer dealings when he checked his accounts. I got his passwords –don't ask me how I did it- and I looked into the accounts. It's a significant sum,' Tyler explained.

"How much?"

Austin and Tyler looked at each other. "Twenty-five million."

Aiden looked up from the folder and stared at them. "He only makes half a million a year. That would have taken him twenty-five years to collect if he didn't spend it. I know for a fact he spends it before he gets it. How did he get that money?"

"He's been siphoning a little from each of your brothers', cousins' and your trust funds that your grandfather set up for you. He's embezzling money to fill his pocket."

"If he has the money and we don't get this built in time, he'll be able to take over the throne from your brother by pure wealth," Austin added.

"How do we stop him?" She caught the look they shared. "What is it?"

"They're pooling their money. If they can be the wealthiest four and Igor gets the throne, they get the positions because they've bought him off."

"Does Mikey know?" They shook their heads. She had an idea. "Can you put a wire tap on our trust funds?"

Tyler shrugged. "Yeah, it's not that hard to do. Why?"

"Good. Put one on each of our trusts. I want when and how much he squanders. Once you have a tally of how much he's taken in the last four years, take that from his offshore accounts and place into a charity. By the time he figures out what hit him, we'll have the east hall built."

"What if he comes after us?" Austin asked. "We'll have to defend ourselves then."

Aiden smiled. "I'm going to work day and night to make sure we get our Kingdom running. He's not going to know what hit him. If he comes after me, I'll just use his power against him. No one besides us knows about it anyway."

Tyler shook his head. "I don't like you taking a risk. What if they target your husband and son?"

Her face darkened with the thought. "Then I'll kill him."

They knew it wasn't a threat. Not by a long shot. It was actually a promise that she would fulfill should anyone attack her family. She had already done it with Tallyn, Tyler's twin. She would do it with anyone else.

Her soul had barely recovered from that hit. Tallyn had been her friend and partner. When everything had happened, she hadn't thought twice. But the aftermath had taken its toll on her. Added to postpartum depression, it had taken a lot for them to keep her going during the days. Sometimes, they had to babysit her at night.

If they targeted her family - the one she had fought so hard to make - she would delve into that deep place again. There was no guarantee she would come back the same. Sometimes, all it took was the taste of blood and death to make someone take the darkest paths possible.

Money had never been an issue, but losing family was. They had to make sure no one stepped on that path that would force her to choose between protecting what was hers and her sanity.

They turned away as she turned back to her work, but between the two, they were going to have to keep extra vigil. Aiden was crazy enough to do the things they were hesitant to do.

***

Clint stared at the file before him. This explained why his wife was as mad as she was. It was all laid out in black and white. They were being robbed so the robber could take over the Golden throne and destroy the Silver Kingdom. It was a modern day robber baron.

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. It was gone instantly when he heard the bathroom door slam close. Aiden was mad enough that she was seeing colors. He knew she saw in color but she was seeing colors around everyone as their emotions made themselves present. He was beginning to understand why she kept that part of her power under control.

He watched her as she crossed the room. It was hard to catch her eyes, but he could see the opalescence swirling around them.

"What are you laughing at, Clint?" she asked as she tossed back the covers to their bed. She was clean from a hard day's work and tired enough to pass out but he was laughing at something.

"This crap I'm reading. Does he really think he can get away with it? I mean you are the most powerful woman in the society," he replied.

"Apparently he doesn't realize who he's dealing with." She flopped back on her pillows and tossed an arm over her eyes.

"Or he thinks he does." She looked up at him, peaking out from under her arm. "Think about it. He thinks you're simply a telepathic and a Shadow-Walker and nothing more. What if you went after him instead of waiting for him to come to you?"

"I have two weeks to get the rest of the eastern hall built, the plumbing and electrical installed and have a Council session. I don't have time to go visiting a man who's been stealing money from me." She had expected an immediate reply but received none. She craned her head up to look at him. "I know that look. What are you planning, Clint Miller?"

He tossed the folder down on the floor, shimmied down under the covers, and looked at her. "Finish up the construction like you plan. I have a plan of my own. I was reading from the tomes your grandfather brought over. Mikey has to be present for the first Council meeting to make it legal. Have him bring Igor, Pauline, Ethan and Stanton with him. We'll call them out during the Council meeting."

"That's very dangerous, Clint. You'll be in the room at the time and I can't take that chance."

"It's not your chance to take." She narrowed her eyes at him. "When we married, I took the vows we said seriously. 'For better or for worse' means what we're going through now. I'm here till the end."

"I thought you didn't believe in an end."

"I believe that everyone dies, including us. We just have to learn to deal with it. Now you need to sleep if you want to continue working your butt off to get this place finished."

Aiden didn't fully agree with him, but she settled in the bed next to him anyway.

As much as she didn't like admitting it, he made sense. Everyone had put in a lot of work, blood, sweat and tears to get their dreams built. The buildings they had been working on were proof of it. If someone was trying to take away their livelihood, they had the right to protect it.

She didn't want the people who had never fought for anything in this fight. Her parents had made careers for themselves after long years of college. Her biological brothers had gone into various branches of the military and still served. Jesse and Klark had finally figured out what they wanted to do when she had asked them to do this. Everyone had their own lives to live, but if Igor had his way, they would be denied even the basic human rights.

Aiden had fought to take down a tyrant once before, and she could do it again. Because this time it wasn't just the people around her in trouble. It was her entire family. Her husband and son. They were the ones who would be impacted the most. Whoever hurt them, she had no doubt she would kill.

She didn't like killing, but to keep those around her safe she would do it. That darkness couldn't be shared with anyone, and since she was already tainted, she would gladly take more of that stain.

She got up once she was certain Clint was sound asleep. She had neglected writing for the last several weeks. Not even on her birthday. She had been so busy she hadn't been able to put pen to paper to figure out how to deal with things.

As her brain fired on all pistons, Aiden sat down at her dressing table and started writing everything she knew and what she wanted to happen. It helped her think through things and make sure the next generation knew how hard they had worked. Even if this didn't work out and they were forced back into subjugation, hopefully these would be saved so someone would know what they had tried to do because they had believed in it.

She only stopped because she felt a massive migraine starting to come on, but she didn't go to bed immediately. She sat on the window sill and began to plot the demise of her enemies.