Fifteen

"Absolutely not, out of the question." Ava crosses her arms and narrows her eyes.

"It will only be for a few days, maybe a week, love."

"I'm not going anywhere, New York is too far for me and Emily. I have my cake store, and she has daycare, that is all here in Manhattan."

"Say you're doing renovation in the back, and close the store for a week, that way you won't need to send Emily to daycare," I try and beg her, but she throws her hands up in frustration and starts pacing the living room.

"Ashton, why are you doing this? I just got comfortable, and Emily just got into a routine with daycare, I don't want to mess that up." I can tell she is starting to panic, making me panic in return. I don't want to upset her and drive her away with more of the bullshit that seems to follow me.

But I need to make sure she and Emily are safe.

I won't take no for an answer.

"Ava, I hate this just as much as you do, and after that, I want to finally rid myself of my mother and the terror she drags with her. I want to once and for all take her down, and I want you right there beside me, but I need to make sure you and Emily are safe from her, until this is all over, and we finally face her in court."

She looks at me with an unreadable expression, making my chest tight with angst.

"With everything your mother now knows about your past, do you really think a legal courtroom is the best place to fight her?" she asks.

"It's the perfect place. I was never charge for anything, Lucien took all the blame so the three of us never had too, and we could still walk away free. That is why he is serving such a high sentence, though he was never charged for your hit and run accident, the only time where you were ever injured under his watch. My mother has always fought dirty, much like Lucien and my father, it runs in the family. I'm going to put a stop to that, and bring her into unfamiliar territory, so we can try and have the upper hand," I explain, hoping it is enough to convince her to stay with me.

She bites her lip and turns away again, looking towards Emily in the kitchen, having a snack. She has been watching us carefully and silently from the side. I'm not sure how much of what we're saying, she can understand.

I don't want her to understand any of it. I don't want her to know the danger she is in, because of her own blood.

I don't ever want her to know about the dark side. My family.

"Give me time to think about it, there are things I need to sort out if you really want this to happen," she finally says. I grasp her cheeks and give her a chaste kiss, thanking her for trying to understand. It's late at night now, and I still have to think of what I'm saying when I speak to my mother, and read over the documents more. The file is so big, I left Charles with Amber at my place to continue going through them.

I have a bad feeling about leaving the two of them alone, he seemed pretty infatuated with her when they first met.

But, at the same time, it almost seems like a good thing. Charles is a good guy, maybe not responsible, but Amber didn't seem like that type either. They almost seem perfect for each other.

I leave Ava and Emily for the night, wanting to return and help Charles and Amber as much as I can. When I return, they have papers scattered all over the living room floor, dining room table, and vacant couches. They seem hard at work, and I can't help but notice, rather close together. I don't bother to point it out and clear my throat to make my presence known.

They snap away from each other, looking guilty, although nothing was going on.

I lift a curious eyebrow, but remain silent, taking my coat off and throwing it on the arm of the couch.

"So, what have you discovered?" I ask, taking a seat on the couch behind them, with less clutter on it than the others.

"There is a lot here, but most of it is empty threats or money bribes, but nothing from anyone like government officials, just other businesses and smaller, privately owned companies. It's enough to maybe charge her, but not enough to really throw her in jail. We need something more solid, more dirty, if you will," Amber says, like she has done this a few times before.

Over the past few days, she has made me question her past, and who she really is. Through all of this, although we were fake engaged, I never got the chance to really get to know her, and now I might not get the chance.

Unless, of course, her and my brother do end up hooking up, and things work out.

I don't have the time to think about the possibly happy future we all might have, unless these matters are taken care of first. If we fail, there won't be a happy future for all of us. It's going to be another battle, except against my family, instead of Ava's. But like always, my family is the one to bring the drama.

I can't wait for the day where all of this will finally be a thing of the past, and I can sit with Ava in our home, and laugh about all of it, free to live our lives happily.

I walk to the kitchen and grab a bottle of scotch and a few glasses for us, foreseeing a long night ahead. Charles gladly fills his glass to the rim and gulps half of it down in one sip, while Amber fills her glass half-way and sips it gingerly, like a true alcohol lover should. Charles loves alcohol for all the wrong reason, he never savors the taste of the rather expensive scotch, or even brandy, like I have offered in the past. He just gulps it down and wastes for it to kick in.

By the time were almost half way through the stack, and have a handful of pages, covered in chicken scratch notes, Amber is almost passed out on the couch, and Charles is swaying from side to side, barely able to read. I roll my eyes at him, wondering how he really goes through life, if this is how he acts the moment there is free alcohol in front of him, regardless of the situation he is in.

Which, as of now, if rather dire.

Just as I'm about to give up and call it a night, Charles jumps up from the couch, nearly knocking the coffee table over. Amber shoots up from the couch and we both turn to him in shock. He has one hand in the air, while the other holds a piece of document.

"What the hell, Charles?" I ask.

"Brother, I think I may have found something, but it might require a little digging," he finally says, a broad smile on his face, but a grim look in his eyes. He hands me the paper and I scan it quickly. It is a bank transfer from my mother to some unknown male name, for 100,000$. That isn't what's shocking, however.

The transfer was made the day after Ava was in her hit and run accident.

***

My brother is right; this requires a lot more digging around.

After we made this small discovery, we decide to call it a night. I stop Amber just before she leaves.

"So, I guess this is good-bye?" she says, a sad smile on her face.

I grasp her hand and pull her in for a hug. "Please, take care of yourself. If you ever need anything, I'm a phone call away," I say, pulling away and giving her a confident smile. She smiles brightly back at me this time, squeezing my hand and shocking me by placing a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Good luck, I hope you finally get the happy ending you deserve." With that, she gets in a car and takes off. I watch until the car disappears before turning back inside. Charles has taken a break from working and is still sipping scotch, the bottle practically empty now. I roll my eyes and start to gather the scattered papers that we threw to the side, no longer important, so I can organize the important papers in another stack.

"So, what's our next move? We need to find out more on this 'Owen Masterson', whoever he is, and why our mother him a very large sum of money," he says.

"I'm not sure, I have a lot going on at the moment," I mutter, not meaning to sound as frustrated as I do.

Charles raises a questioning eyebrow at me. "You alright, mate?"

I let out a tired breath and drop the papers in my hand on the table.

"To be honest, this is all too much. When I first saw Ava again, I thought it was the end to all my bad luck. I thought, 'finally, shit is going my way. My prayers have been answered, and my life is going to get better'. If anything, my life has spiraled straight into the damn gutter, and I feel like I'm drowning in sewer water, trying to get out," I ramble out, taking a deep, calming breath after.

Charles stares at me with wide eyes.

"What's going on?" he asks slowly. "I feel there is something else going on, other than taking your mother to court, that's pressuring you right now," he adds, and I'm not sure if he is trying to be funny or not.

"Indeed there is. Ever since Amber told us of the serious threat our mother now poses to Ava and Emily, I've been trying to convince her to stay a few days here, until everything blows over and mother is behind bars, or at least as far away from us as possible, and we are free to live our life.

"Why is she fighting you on it?" he asks.

"–Who is fighting you?" a loud, commanding voice rips through the room. Charles and I whip our heads around to the living room entrance, where I had left the doors open after I arrived, only to now see our mother standing in the doorway.

"Hello my dear sons, isn't this a pleasure."