Laura's Secret

Chapter 17 - Same night

3rd person POV

The only words spoken in the car were the directions that Laura gave to Alfie. It was obvious that Laura was still upset but was trying her best to look strong. It's safe to say that the Shelby brothers felt pretty awkward.

When they pulled up to the location, Tommy looked around sceptically. Something didn't quite feel right about this place. For some reason he felt like he recognised it. All 5 of them get out the car and walk towards the large wooden doors. Just as they are about to open them, Laura stops and turns to face them. "Right. Please don't draw attention to yourselves in here. If things are going the way I expect them to, there shouldn't be a problem. But just in case, stay quiet please." She says with a face like ice.

As they walk through the doors, they are met with 2 large men blocking the rest of the corridor. "Stephen, Michael. Let us through" Laura says in a bored tone. "They're not allowed to be here, Miss Alexander. Your father's rules were very specific." Michael says in reply. Laura huffs in annoyance. "Fine. Let me through. They can stay here. I assume I can trust you to look after them? I don't want to have to treat you both like I did Billy." Laura says, almost sounding like she is threatening him. Tommy and his brothers all share a look of confusion. "Yes, ma'am. You can trust us." Stephen gulps.

Laura turns to face her brother, lover, and friends. "Right. I won't be too long. Be safe." She says before walking through the gap between the guards, leaving them all to be just as confused as each other.

Laura's POV

As I walk into the room I know my father's body is being kept in, my heart begins to race. I look around and see his most trusted men and his lawyer. I walk over to the desk and sit opposite Mr Simmonds, the only lawyer my father fully trusted. "Welcome, Miss Alexander. It's good to see you again, even in such tragic circumstances." He says to me. "I'm so sorry for your loss." He adds. "Thank you, Mr Simmonds." Is all I can manage to say as a lump fills my throat. I still can't get over the fact that my father's dead body is a few meters away from me.

"I guess we will get straight to your father's will, shall we?" he says as he pulls out various documents from his briefcase. "So, I will read you your father's will. Then you can read it over to make sure it's all correct. And then you can sign, and everyone will get what has been left to them. Are you ready?" he asks, noticing how quiet I have been since entering the room. "Yes. We can do that. Please proceed." I reply, somehow finding some composure.

"So, it appears that you father, Richard Grant Alexander, has left you his entire business and 82% of his wealth. The other 18% has been left to an Alfie Solomons. There is also a note for his most trusted men, who I assume are in this room?" he says, earning nods from all of us. "The note says; Men, I leave you in the very capable hands of my daughter. Treat her as well as you did me, maybe even better. I'd like to thank you for all of the hard work you did for me. You're all wonderful men. Thank you." He reads. I can't help but notice that all of them that were addressed in the note have bowed their heads.

My eyes begin to fill with tears again. He kept his promise. He included Alfie. "Oh, there is one final thing your father wished," Simmonds says, pulling me out of my thoughts, "Make sure you have the life you want, not the life you think he wanted for you." He says. "That's everything. Now, please take your time reading this over and sign the dotted line at the bottom." He says to me, handing me the file.

"Can I bring my brother in here? Please?" I ask shakily, my tears beginning to fall. It's all getting a little too much for me. The last few days have been hard enough, but watching my father die on top that? I don't know if I can spend the rest of today alone. Two of the men leave the room and come back a few minutes later with Alfie in tow. "Take a seat. Mr Solomons." Mr Simmonds says. Alfie follows his instruction straight away after noticing the state I am currently in. I can't muster any words so all I do is hand Alfie the will.

I watch him as he reads it all over, smiling at the end. He looks up at me with a small smile, noticing how my tears are still flowing. I turn to Simmonds, wiping away the tears that are stuck to my face. "We will both be signing the document. After all, my father wanted Alfie to stay involved with all of this." I say, taking the document back from my brother. "If that's what you want, Miss Alexander." He replies, taking another pen out of his pocket and handing it to Alfie. We both sign our names and shake hands with the Lawyer. He then stands and heads to the door. "Keep each other safe. You know where I am if you need me." He says before leaving.

I take a deep breath of relief once he has gone. "Ma'am. Is there anything we can do?" one of the men asks me, taking me by surprise. "You can have the night off, gents. I know how much my father meant to all of you so take this time for yourselves. Tomorrow, we will begin his funeral arrangements. Thank you." I say to them, allowing them to go and see their families. Before they all leave, they all tap my father on the shoulder. This is their own version of goodbye.

Once it's just me and Alfie, I can feel his eyes burning into me. "What is it Alf?" I ask as I stand to file my father's will somewhere safe. "You're in love with Tommy Shelby aren't you?" he asks abruptly. Shit. I freeze in my place, trying to keep my breathing normal. "Would it be a problem if I was?" I ask as calmly as possible, even though my heart is in my mouth. "You can live whatever life you want, Laus. Your dad even told you to. I'm happy you've found someone, baby sister. But I will kill him if he does even the slightest thing wrong." He says, trying to sound funny but we both know he is deadly serious. "Thanks, big brother. I love you." I say as I pull him into a hug.