The Royal Contract

She tried to convince her father to tell her about his identity, but he insisted that he never knew. And he never tried to find out after his two friends asked him to forget about them.

After years of being married to her mother, her father thought that it would be better for everyone not to unearth a past that would only cause grief to everyone involved.

“We will find him. But it would have been easier if Ethan could have given us a hint of who he was or even at least the mother’s name.” He stated, staring into his wife’s eyes, full of questions.

He could only guess what she might be feeling, discovering that she was unaware of an existing brother. Last night, as he held her while she slept, he could still feel her restlessness about this new information.

“You know how stubborn my father could be. But I never thought that they could keep a secret like this from me. My Dad, maybe, but not Mom.” Her heart slightly felt broken, hearing that her parents could keep something this big from her.

However, she also understood, in some way, why they had to do it. They had their reasons, although she slightly disagreed with their decision. But she also had to see from their point of view. They thought it was for the best of everyone, not just her.

.....

As soon as they walked into the office, Tim immediately greeted them warmly, especially her, since they barely saw each other after the incident.

“I am happy that you seem to be back in great shape.” She expressed her gladness to see the people who had risked their lives for them doing well.

Even Ben, who was now back at her side, protecting her as if he had not been in harm’s way fighting for his life. She would be forever thankful for all their sacrifices, especially hearing about their comrades who died trying to find and save them.

“I am also happy that we had saved you both just in time,” Tim said, while Ben nodded his head in agreement.

He quickly showed them into a conference room, where he had already prepared some of the documents they needed. Once he heard the new information, he worked overtime to find information that they might find relevant in this meeting.

“What did you find out?” Alex asked as he sat in the center of the table while Dani was on his other side.

On the other hand, Tim stood on the other side of the table, pointing at the screen at his back about his current investigation.

“We discovered that there are at least thirty women during those times that used the name. Marietta.” He pointed to the list on the board. “It seemed it was a popular name at the time.”

He continued to point to three names that they had managed to contact, but they did not fit the criteria of being the girlfriend of the mafia don and having an existing son at that age.

“What about the others?” Dani asked, not ready to give up on finding her brother.

She had no idea what she was trying to accomplish by looking for him. Maybe to say sorry for what their father had done to him.

She figured he might have an abandoned issue against their father. It was why he was venting his anger on her. He might have learned the truth about his identity.

Now, he wished for her to pay for their father’s sin. It was a perfect explanation of why he had her kidnapped. Alex was just collateral damage in the situation.

“At least six were confirmed dead, but we are still looking into their story,” Tim said as he showed them another list. “Most of the others had moved out of the city. We are still looking for them.”

His team was working hard, but it would take time to search for them all. But he was hopeful that they would have a lead soon enough.

“Don’t stop looking,” Alex instructed, putting his hand on top of his wife, assuring her that his team would do everything until they had found her brother.

He only hoped that finding him would lead to a solution to their problem and not cause more. If he had transcended as the new leader of the illegal syndicate, he might be more dangerous than Dani thought.

“What about Samson? How is he?” Dani changed the subject, seeing that there was nothing she could do about his brother for now.

On the other hand, she wished to see his friend, Samson. She still felt she owed him for saving their lives. She could feel she had not done enough to compensate for his sacrifice.

Since the authorities took Samson in custody, she still did not have a chance to visit him for security reasons. But she planned to do so soon as she could arrange it.

“He is doing well in the safehouse. Do not worry about him. We are monitoring him closely and his family too.” Tim assured her, knowing how important the big man was to the princess.

Since they had him in custody, the princess also asked to have his family placed protection with their security detail. She did not want anything to happen to them.

“What about our case with Nick?” Alex wanted his sentencing done at the soonest possible time.

He did not want that man to have an opportunity to get out of this case with a technicality or something else. The sooner they could have a verdict on his case, the better.

“About that.” Tim paused, gauging if he should talk about Nick in front of Dani. But when Dani nodded her head, he continued. “I think he is trying to reach us.”

It was a very unusual way of getting in touch with them. But it was usually done to avoid going through the system and being noticed. Inmates sent signals that they did not want their enemies to know.

“What do you mean?” Dani questioned, curious at the new information.

She could not think of why he would want to talk to them. His lawyers had not sent any transmission about such a request. She would know if there was one.

But based on Gerald, when she talked to him, he believed that Nick would soon confess and accept his crime. He had already met with Nick’s lawyers, and they did not have enough evidence to win the lawsuit.

“I think he is becoming frantic with his situation. Trusting lesser people, not even his lawyers. I believe he is about to spill his guts to save his skin.” Tim informed them.

He had seen many inmates who felt pressured to tell their secrets to save themselves and make a deal. He could not see Nick as any different.

From what he had heard in the grapevine, many of his men were turning against him. His lawyers were hardly doing anything to make his case. He was a desperate man, running out of options.