Fourteen

I made plans to meet Amber Sunday morning, before meeting with my mother on Monday. I ask her to meet me at a small diner around the corner from my house, since hers is under constant watch right now. I spot her out in the crowd, the red-head in the corner, shifting her eyes around nervously, wearing a agitated and tired expression. She clutches a steaming cup of tea in her hands, blowing on the steam lightly.

"Where have you been?" I immediately ask her when I sit down.

She looks slightly startled, but relaxes when she sees it's me. "I've been hiding, and you'll understand exactly why when I tell you what is really going on inside your mother's head. There is a lot you don't know about."

"It seems that way," I mutter, causing her to give me a funny look. "Ava shared with me last night that my mother tried to bribe her into never seeing me or letting me know about Emily, but it didn't work, so she had threatened her to stay away. This happened over a year ago, my mother has kept it under tight wraps ever since."

"That was one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Your mother has been keeping tabs on Ava and Emily since that day, watching them to see if she would ever approach you. She has known about you and Ava since the day of the carnival, and has been plotting a back-up plan, in case her plan fails."

"What plan is this?" I ask.

"The arranged marriage, she is only doing it so she can stay on the company payroll, but that isn't her only motive. How much of your father do you remember? More specifically, around the time he fell ill?"

I'm thrown off by her question. What could she possibly know that I don't, about my father? I stare at her silently, not understanding where this conversation is going.

She lets out a breath. "When your father died, he knew you were going to be the sole heir to the company, even I know that. You were the most capable and seemed to be the most willing, until a few years ago. What you don't know, is that because of this, your father did more than try and prep your future in the company, he made you apart of it completely. You hold a large portion of shares and stocks in the company, that to this day are worth a lot of money."

"You can't be serious? This was never mentioned to me before."

Amber frowns. "Of course, there's a reason for that. You only hold those shares, if the company is in your family name. When the company is turned over to a new owner, all previous family holdings and shares will be equally distributed throughout the payroll list. Since this is a family run business, you and your mother both of shares and stocks in your name."

It is slowly piecing together, the more she explains. When Amber's father takes over the company, I will lose my shares and all the money attached to it. It will then be given to my mother, since her name will still be on the payroll, and she will be the mother-in-law to the current owner; Amber.

But if Amber runs off, and the marriage fails, not only will I still lose all my shares – my mother won't ever see a cent of it.

She knows I won't bat an eye to the fact of losing money, so she needs to make sure she gets her share.

"How do you know all of this?" I ask her. "This is information not even I have ever obtained."

"I have many ways and many people who can help me get my way. As selfish as that sounds, I have dealt with people like your mother, and so has my father. He won't be blinded for long, and I don't plan on being here when it all comes to light. I'm here to also tell you I will be leaving town tomorrow night, and I have all the documents, the proof of what your mother has been up to." She dugs around in her purse and hands me a card.

"This is where I am staying, you can phone that number, tell them who you are and ask for me. If you want to go after your mother, I'm more than willing to hand over everything I have, but only once I have left the country. I don't want to be involved in any legal battles or revenge wars, I just want to move on with my life, and I want you to be able to do the same," she says and genuinely smiles at me, something I have never witnessed.

"Why are you helping me like this? You could be gone and never hear anything about this ever again. Why go to these lengths?"

She gives me a hard look, an unknown emotion behind her eyes.

"Like I said, I have dealt with people like your mother before, and although I don't care much for their life, I don't approve of people like her ruining and controlling others, to get their way. Especially, their own flesh and blood. My mother was the kindest woman alive, she was my ray of sunshine. But my father cheated on her with some bimbo, who was clearly only after his money, but she was younger and prettier. They married for a year, before she started twisting him to bend to her will, giving her whatever she wanted, while still remaining pure and innocent. She manipulated my mother into giving my father grievance money for made up things, but never told him what she was doing and that she was receiving money from my mother, threatening her."

Amber's face begins to turn red, her cheeks puffing out as she inhales agitated breaths.

"I can't sit by and watch someone else go through the same thing I did, when there is something I can do about it. My step-mother left my father and tried taking everything he had, but he was stronger than that, and he had the right tools to fight back. So, now I want to give you the tools to fight back as well, and hopefully win. Your mother deserves to rot in hell."

I give her an astonished look, but chuckle lightly, agreeing with her.

She finishes her coffee and heads off, leaving me to mull over all the new information I have received, wondering if I should still speak with my mother as planned, or go through with what Amber mentioned; fighting back. In order to fight back against my mother, especially in a court battle, I am going to need a lot of evidence, money and brainpower.

And another family member I need to consult.

***

I end up calling my mother, and asking to post-pone our meeting until Tuesday, making up a lie that I have heard from Amber, and that she is attending a weekend spa get-a-away with a friend, and won't be reachable by phone until Monday. She surprisingly bought it and agreed to meeting later, giving me at least one more day to put some sort of plan into action, before I face her.

I wait outside in the driveway of my manor, until I hear the roar of a Land Rover engine tear up the street, pulling into the driveway. I wave at Charles as he walks out, and immediately engulf him in a hug.

"Glad you could make it, brother," I say and lead him into the house.

"So, this is where you've been all these years," he says and looks mildly around the house. "I haven't spoken to anyone much, heard Lucien is still in jail and Lucas works for the C.I.A now, I figured you were off either sulking in a corner, or doing something productive as well." He shoots me a teasing grin. I just glare at him, not wanting to remember the first few months after Ava had disappeared, where I sulked in my room, and he made constant fun of me for it.

At the same time, he had been there for me. Brought me food, listened to me bitch and moan about my problems and how much I missed her. He was the one to encourage me the most to never stop loving her, to never give up hope that I will see her again one day. As much as he pushed me to move on, he knew how special Ava was to me.

He sets his bag down in the living room and looks around, as if specifically looking for something.

"Is it just you here?" he finally asks.

I lift a curious eyebrow. "Give or take a few house staff, but yes. Why?"

Charles frowns and casts his eyes downward. "Am I to believe than, that you still haven't found her?" he asks quietly.

I can't stop the grin that spreads across my face at the instant thought of Ava, and now Emily. He sees my grin, and gives me a cautious look. "Why are you grinning like a mad-man?"

"Because I found her, brother, without even looking. She appeared in front of me, as if sent to me directly by fate."

Charles looks at me with wide eyes.

"When did this happen? How did this happen?"

I shake my head and gesture for him to stop. "That isn't all, she wasn't alone when I found her."

"What the hell does that mean? She moved on?" he cries out, and I can see the rage building in his eyes. I quickly calm him down and grasp his shoulders, still grinning.

"No, it means you are an uncle, brother. To a beautiful 3-year-old girl, named Emily."

I see it takes him a second to register what I've said, and he soon snaps into it, a grin equal to mine breaking out on his face. He brings me in for another bear hug, laughing and rejoicing loudly in my ear.

"You have a daughter? Are you kidding me? That's amazing!"

"We have much to catch up on, but there is another more serious matter I called you here for."

I walk Charles over to the couch and ask one of the kitchen staff to bring out some scotch. I go over what I want to say to him, and how I want to say it, while he continues to admire the scenery around him. I badly want to catch up with him, ask him where he has been and what he has been up too, but there is no time.

"So, what sort of mess have you got yourself into now?" he finally turns to me and asks.

"A big one, and as always, our mother is right at the center of it."

Charles gives me an astonished, confused look. "Mother? What does she have to do with this?"

"She has everything to do with this," I say, and launch into a big explanation of what's been going on, starting with the arranged marriage.

***

At the end of my long explanation, Charles is left speechless. He is staring out the window, looking like he is still digesting everything, but his face is emotionless. I call for another serving of drinks and hand him one, after he downs the rest of his other in a single gulp.

"Well, that really is something," he mutters, letting out a large huff of air. "I knew mother was a bitch, but I didn't think she would go that far to try and screw you over, so she can say wealthy."

"You and me both," I say, and down the rest of my own drink.

"But, wait. You said this girl Amber mentioned something about a 'back-up' plan, what is that?"

I never found out. "I was so preoccupied with discovering about mother's real motives, and what she has been hiding from me since birth practically, I completely forgot about the mention of a back-up plan. She says if I want the evidence to try and fight her in court over this, she is leaving tomorrow night, and gave me the address and number for the place she is staying at."

"Well, then what the bloody hell are we waiting for? Let's go to this girl's place, get this evidence, and find out what our psycho mother's back-up plan is. We can both guess it isn't a pleasant one, and you called me for help, so I'm in on this regardless what you say," he says and give me a stern look, leaving no room for argument.

I roll my eyes. It was never my intention not to include him, but he jumps the gun like always, wanting to be in the center of the action, so he can call the shots.

I dial the number Amber gave me, and a gruff sounding man answers the phone in a rude tone.

"Who is this?"

"Uh- this is Ashton, calling for Amber?" I say, trying to sound confident, but it comes out more as a hesitant question. There is a pause and a bit of static, before she answers.

"Hey, have you thought about what I told you?" she asks. "I have my bags packed and my plane ticket for tomorrow night already booked. You know the moment she finds out I broke the contract, she's going to try and take this to court, or fight dirty."

"We want neither option, but it looks like we have no choice but to get her in court first, so we need that evidence. Can I come by now? I will have my brother accompany me."

She pauses and I can tell she is hesitant about him coming.

"He is the only person I can really trust, and who can be here at the moment, I promise he is alright," I reassure her.

She sighs, but caves and gives me the time for us to stop by later on. I give Charles the run down, and he hops up from the couch, ready for action. I roll my eyes at him, knowing this is going to be a headache, like every other job I have ran with him in the past, even something as simple as stealing candy from the corner store.

We have a few more drinks and catch up. I finally ask him what he has been up to these last few years, and he says he has been living large, running off the money we received from Lucien, before the kidnap job had failed with Ava. He still paid us a hefty amount when we had delivered her, and it was enough for him to travel around most of the world so far. He said he doesn't even have a permanent place of residence, he just lives off hotels and resorts for most of his time.

What I wouldn't give to have that kind of freedom. To be able to go anywhere, with Ava and Emily by my side, no one to stop us, or chase us. See all the wonders of the world, explore every inch of the globe.

"One day, brother. You will have your dream soon," Charles says and pats me on the back. I get a text then from Amber, saying to go over. We get Richard to drive us to the address in New Jersey, already having had a few too many. We stop outside a shady looking motel, and walk up to the front desk, asking for Amber. The rugged looking man at the counter points to the last door at the end, and turns back to his small television in the corner.

We don't bother thanking him and rush out of the room. Amber answers the door as soon as we knock and ushers us inside. There are bags packed all over the room, and papers thrown all over the untouched double bed and table.

"Sorry, just trying to get everything organized for tomorrow," she says and rushes over to pick up the papers and bunch them together. I continue to look around the room, and suddenly remember my brother is here with me.

"Oh, Amber, this is my older brother, Charles Bradford," I say and turn to introduce him.

I notice then how much he is staring at Amber, though she can clearly see him right in front of her. He isn't trying to hide the fact that he is ogling her like a school boy, his throat moving nervously as he clenches his jaw. I try and hold back a snicker, and I can see Amber is doing the same as she reaches her hand out towards him.

"Nice to meet you, Charles."

My brother is completely dumbfounded by the beautiful woman in front of him, holding her polished hand towards him. I wonder what is going through his head, knowing whatever it is, it's hilarious.

I kick him in the leg lightly, snapping him out of it. He mutters out a 'hello' and finally shakes her hand. She turns away once that is settled, and pulls out her purse to take a large folder out.

"Everything you need and I have found, is in here. It's not exactly in any order, so you may have to go through it yourself, though regardless I recommend you do that anyway. There are a lot of things you would like to see in here," she says and hands me the folder. Charles turns to her, somehow finding his voice, as I flip through the pages.

"Ashton said you mentioned something about our mother having a 'back-up' plan, but you never said what that is. Do you know?" he asks.

"I'm glad you asked, it seems Ashton was a little shocked already by the other new information, that's another reason why I invited him back, so I could tell him the last key bit of information before I take off," she says, and looks directly at me, a frightened look in her eye. This isn't going to be good.

"This is more of a warning than ever, to attack your mother before she has a chance to strike first, because when I leave and this all falls apart," she pauses and takes a deep, shaky breath. "She has threatened to go after Ava, and I'm more than certain that includes Emily, as well."

Every sense in me stops. Except rage.

Pure rage.

I barely hear the next words Amber says.

"If you don't go through with the arranged marriage and sign over the company, she has plans to kidnap Ava and do god knows what, until you agree to the marriage and sign."

Charles looks between us, a shocked and slightly confused look. I explained everything too him, but it was a lot to comprehend in such a large dose, I'm sure he is still lost.

"When Amber leaves for Paris, there won't ever be a marriage, arranged or not. She won't be here anymore, which means mother won't have anything to fight for," I slowly explain, comprehending it all myself.

"That's a good thing, right? She won't have any reason to go after Ava, and it won't exactly look like your fault either," Charles says, a smile growing on his face. It instantly falls when he sees Amber and I aren't smiling back.

"You should know better than that, mother won't give up until she gets what she wants, which is a pampered life until the day she dies, which seems to be a long time from now," I mutter, and Amber shoots me a look, but I ignore her. At this point, I don't care if my mother drops dead tomorrow. I still wouldn't even throw her a funeral.

My hatred for her has grown to unknown levels, that I never knew my anger could grow.

It was one thing to hide a big family secret from me, especially one including my father.

It's something entirely different to threaten the mother of my child, and my child.

"Alright, we're doing this. No matter what, we're going to take her down first, before she has a chance to get near Ava or your daughter," Charles says, and slams his fist down on the table. Amber rolls her eyes, but I can see she has a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She finds him amusing, at the very least.

I perk up slightly at the little sign of attraction, but chose to ignore it for the moment, knowing we have much more important things to discuss. We get right down to business, looking over everything in the folder, with Amber there to help explain in greater detail. We need to know everything we can if we plan to take her down in a legal court battle.

My mother is the queen at playing it dirty, but that also means she has fought many court battles in the past, thanks to my father and uncle. She has the brains and the resources to fight back just as hard. This isn't going to be east, we had to come at them with everything we had. Which means good lawyers, a solid case, tons of evidence, and loads more.

We had to get this together in a day. I'm meeting my mother tomorrow, and I'm still not sure if I can act like there is nothing wrong, especially after hearing she has threatened my family. My rage might get the best of me, and spill everything before we can get anything together.

Charles tries to calm me down and assure me I can keep it together long enough to speak with her, and try to keep her off the trail, so we can continue working on the case, and so Amber can leave before anyone notices she isn't gone for the weekend.

It's going to be hard, but not impossible.

For now, I must think of a way to keep Ava and Emily safe, in case everything does go south. The only idea I can think of, I know she will more than likely oppose to.