The men forcefully shoved me into the back of a van with tinted windows. These goons could not be any more cliched. The man who seemed like the leader sat in the back with one of the other men and the third sat in the passenger's seat as the fourth man drove away.
"This is kidnapping, you know," I said to him, more angry than worried.
The man smirked at me, looked over at the man next to him and nodded. The second man, obeying orders, leaned forward and tied a black cloth against my head, like a blindfold. I thought it would be best not to fight back because these people obviously needed me alive and well if they wanted to use me as a bargaining chip to get whatever they wanted from Parker.
They had strapped me to the seat and I'm sure they were keeping a close watch on everything I did.
"Where's your phone?" the man asked me.
"In my bag," I told him.
I heard him fumbling around my bag and pulling out my phone. I assumed he turned it off when I heard him zip it back up.
"What's your name?" I asked him.
"Excuse me?" he said in an incredulous tone.
"You seem to know a lot more about me than my name, the least you could do is tell me your name," I shrugged, "What am I going to do? Tell someone?"
He was silent for a moment, probably considering it.
"Rick," he said, after a while.
"Is that short for Patrick or something?" I questioned.
He snorted. "Rick is enough."
I was quiet for a while, trying to map out in my head where I was being taken. From the turns that were taken and the speed at which the man was driving, I was almost completely sure that I was being taken out of the city into the Lake Town.
We drove for what seemed to be hours and the men spoke very little. They seemed unwilling to let me hear any part of their plans. When we finally stopped, I was almost sure we were inside someone's premises because of the sounds of a gate I heard.
Rick said, "Come on," and gruffly pulled me out of the van by the arm. My footsteps crunched the gravel as I was led away from the van. I figured I was inside after I was pushed up a few stairs and the sunlight disappeared. I heard a door close and the blindfold was removed.
I blinked my eyes repeatedly as they faded out from black, adjusting to the sudden change in light. When they finally focused, I stifled a gasp as I looked around the house in which I was standing.
It was obviously a grand mansion and it was absolutely breathtaking. I was standing in the entrance lobby, which had two grand semi-circular stairways leading to one landing and then up to the first floor of the house. Beyond the crevice created by the two stairways, I could see an ornately decorated grand living room beyond which I could see sprawling gardens outside the glass doors. A beautiful crystal chandelier hung from a dome in the ceiling, illuminating the whole area. The whole house was beautiful and white with gold designs and edging woven into aspect. It was the most beautiful house I had been in. I wondered who owned it how they ever made so much money as to build and maintain such a grand home.
I had barely had two minutes to take it all in, when I was pulled roughly by the arm and pulled up one of the staircases and on to the first-floor landing. I looked out the glass-paned windows at the trees and flower bushes in the garden. Rick turned to the left and walked past many rooms to get to the end of the hallway, opened the door, shoved me inside, told one of his lackeys to stay with me, left the room and locked both of us in the room.
The guy was wearing a thick coat, a dark shirt, dark pants and boots. He had dark blond hair and seemed a little shorter than Parker. He stood near the door and looked over at me. Then, nodded to a chair for me to sit down.
"What? Rick didn't give you permission to talk to me?" I asked, slightly amused, sitting down in a leather arm chair.
His eyes narrowed at me slightly as he regarded me. He probably thought I was idiotic for being so chipper when I was kidnapped. He probably thought I had a really bad case of Stockholm syndrome. After a few seconds, he chuckled. "Just shut up."
I sighed heavily and looked around the room. It was clearly someone's study. There was a big mahogany desk and a tall leather chair. The walls that were occupied had shelves and shelves of books that looked thick and important; the kinds of books I assumed would be about fact, rather than fiction and wouldn't really appeal to me, until I actually read them.
There was a grandfather clock in the room that didn't tell the correct time, but was still running. I watched the hands as five, ten, fifteen minutes passed in utter silence. The man in the room didn't sit down, move or try to make conversation.
"You can sit down, you know," I said to him, "I don't know what they told you, but I don't bite."
He looked at me with his head skewed to one side, watching curiously. I looked back as he stayed quiet.
"What time is it?" I asked, even though I didn't know if he had a watch because his hands were stuffed into the pockets of his jackets.
"Time for you to shut up," he said, curtly, not looking at me.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then, I heard a key being inserted into the keyhole. Soon, the door was unlocked. The man who was in the room with me stepped aside to give way to the people who were walking in.
First, in walked Rick, looking slightly vexed. Close behind him, Parker's mother walked in looking utterly harassed. I got up from my seat when I saw her. The colour in her face drained a little when she saw me, her eyebrows knitted together.
She pulled Rick by the arm, to a side and spoke to him in a rushed, but hushed tone. She kept looking over Rick's shoulder at me. Rick seemed to be brushing off everything she told him, asserting his correctness in the situation. I guessed that she wasn't too happy that Rick had decided to kidnap me.
"What were you thinking?" I finally heard, as Parker's mother stopped whispering.
Rick stared back at her. "She's leverage," he said in a voice that said he couldn't believe how Parker's mother couldn't understand his reasoning, "He'll do what we want" – he pointed at me – "to keep her safe."
I guessed right. I was their bargaining chip.
Parker's mother let out a frustrated noise and walked away from Rick towards the window. After a few moments, she snapped around, facing Rick. "You make sure he knows that I wasn't in any way part of this girl's kidnapping."
Rick just laughed. "Are you actually scared of him?"
Parker's mother, Claudia, shifted her weight between her two legs. Without answering Rick's question, she turned and leaned against the window, facing the direction in which I was seated. She was wearing a pair of expensive-looking pumps, as usual, and a Jackie Kennedy style dress. She didn't have her usual strand of pearls around her neck. Her hands were clasped, but her fingers were moving constantly.
Rick sat down at the mahogany desk, leaned back in the chair, completely at ease, like it was his house – which I doubted – and put his feet up on the table. He shifted his eyes from Claudia to me.
The room was so quiet that I could hear the footsteps thundering down the hallway outside. I looked towards the door, just as it was flung open and Parker charged in. He didn't turn to look at me. It didn't seem to me that he knew that I was here.
Claudia stood up straight, but Rick didn't move. He simply gazed at Parker, almost amused at the scene that was unfolding in front of him.
I watched Parker silently. His jaw was set and the jaw muscle was flexing, like he was gritting his teeth. He looked annoyed. He looked from Rick to Claudia, probably unsure of whom to address first.
Rick angled himself to look at Parker, a sneer crossing his face. I regarded him from a distance. He was a good-looking man; well-built and tall, dark brown hair and greyish eyes. I'm sure he would have been a charming man, if he weren't a kidnapper.
"God, Parker, I can almost see the hair standing up on your neck," Rick said, jovially, clasping his hands over his stomach, "Calm down, would ya?"
Parker looked incredulous. "Why are you so happy?" he snapped at Rick, "What's gotten into you?"
"What's not to be happy about?" Rick said, in a calm voice, "I'm about to get everything I want."
His eyes briefly shifted to me before fixating on Parker again. It was an instantaneous movement, but it was enough for Parker's sharp eyes to catch. No sooner had Rick looked back at Parker, than Parker snapped his neck in my direction, following Rick's eyes.
When Parker saw me and it registered in his head that it was me, his eyes widened and his breathing deepened, the anger slowly building inside him.
"Alex," he breathed, softly, barely remembering the other people in the room.
I gave him a small smile, trying to let him know that I wasn't harmed and that I was alright.
After I did, reality seemed to set in inside Parker's head. His eyes glossed over, looking towards me, but not at me. The muscle in his jaw tightened and his fists clenched as he turned away from me and faced Rick.
When he spoke, his words shook with anger, "You kidnapped her?"
Rick was unfazed, as his self-satisfied smile didn't leave his face. "I just assumed you would be a little more inclined to give me what I want with her here," he said, airily.
"You bastard," Parker spat, angrily, "If you don't let her go without a scratch, you will never get anything of mine."
"Excuse me?"
"If you don't let Alex go, I will not relent," Parker practically shouted at him.
Claudia took a step forward and softly said, "Parker, please. Don't get angry."
"Oh," Parker laughed mirthlessly, "I'm way past angry. Were you a part of this? Did you tell him to bring her here?"
His mother's eyes were worried. "No, Parker, I didn't tell him," she said, helplessly, trying to stop Parker from advancing on Rick.
Rick pushed himself away from the table and stood up. Parker squared up to him. He was a few inches taller than Rick, but that didn't seem to deter Rick.
"You let her go home immediately," Parker demanded.
"Give me what I want," Rick said, simply.
Parker made a motion to push Rick, but Claudia stopped him. "Patrick," she said, in a low voice to Rick, "Please just – let's leave them for a moment and discuss this, shall we?"
Rick was glaring at Parker, who was returning the favour. "Patrick, please," Claudia tugged at his arm.
Rick took a step back, relenting. He turned to face me and Parker, with a grim smile. "Don't think you can go anywhere. The door will be locked and bolted. The windows are nailed down and they're shatterproof glass. And don't worry, there aren't people around for miles even if you think to scream for help."
He began to walk towards the door and Parker grabbed him by the arm. "If you've touched a single hair on her head," he hissed.
Rick laughed. "Don't worry, Parker," he looked over at me, "Your little girlfriend is fine. Now give me your phone."
Parker shook his head.
"If you don't give me your phone, I'm staying right here," Rick stated, in a bored voice.
Parker reached into his pocket and handed Rick his phone, begrudgingly.
Claudia and the other man followed Rick out of the room and there was the sound of the key turning in the lock and Parker and I were alone in the room.
Parker immediately rushed over to me and knelt by my chair and took my hands in his. "Oh, Alex, I'm so sorry they brought you here," he said in the most hurt voice I had ever heard him speak in, "Did they hurt you? I swear if Rick hurt you..."
"Parker, Parker, I'm fine," I assured him, "They didn't do anything to me."
"What happened, Alex?" he asked, "How did they get you?"
"Well, after school I was walking to Ruthie's. You know the place down Hart Avenue? That street is pretty quiet all the time and these three guys, Rick and two others followed me, I guess and pretty much told me to come with them or you'll get hurt."
Parker buried his head into my knee, letting out a muffled groan.
"It's alright," I told him, lifting his head so that he looks at me, "They didn't do anything to me."
"No, but you're here, Alex," Parker said, with a pained expression, "You're here where you shouldn't be."
"Is this the Lake Town?" I asked him.
He nodded. "Not the downtown area, but the place where people build their summer homes. Overlooking the lake. It's not too far from the cabin we have."
We were quiet for a while and Parker just looked at me. He seemed to be thinking; thinking of a way out of this; thinking of a way to get me away from all of this.
"Parker," I said, drawing his attention. He looked up at me, expectantly. "Enough is enough, Parker. You didn't tell me anything in fear of putting me in danger. I'm in the thick of it, Parker. You have to tell me everything now."
Parker sighed long and deep, watching my eyes. He pushed himself to his feet and dragged a stool over to himself before sitting down in front of me. He took my hands in his and sighed again.
I rubbed my thumbs over his hands, trying to soothe him.
"Where to start, Lexi," he said with a soft, sad chuckle. From that I understood how convoluted this story must be.
"Just start from where you remember," I told him, softly.
"Remember my grandfather? My Mom's Dad?"
"Sure," I told him, nodding, "You two were really close. He loved you."
Parker smiled for two seconds. "Yeah, we were. He was amazing. Well, he owned this company called Crown."
I gasped. "I know that name! You have files with that name. There was one on your kitchen counter the day you went missing and there's even one stuffed behind your socks."
Parker exhaled, with a smile. "Yeah, that. He was really rich, Alex. This is his house. He practically owned the entirety of the Lake Town. All of these places, all of this land belonged to him. And obviously anyone so rich has a will, and before he died, he wrote his will. See, he wasn't really on good terms with my Mom and she was his only child. You know his wife died before he did and he didn't really have any next of kin other than me and my Mom. So, in his will, he only had two major clauses. He put it down that the money in his savings accounts go to the various charities he supported. And the second clause specifically said that all the money in his fixed deposits and his trust fund, and his lands, estates, fixed assets, permanent staff and the ownership of his company, Crown, go to Claudia's first son, Parker Wesley."
I gawked at him. Parker's family had never been on the poverty line and I knew his Mom came from money. I had met Parker's grandfather. He was one of the sweetest people I had known, but he was also very intelligent and knew how to read people very well. This, however, was an unimaginable amount of wealth that had been passed down to Parker.
"Parker, are you telling me that all of this and most of the Lake Town is yours?" I gasped.
He smiled a little and shook his head. "I didn't know about any of this till about a year ago. My grandfather's lawyer was given instructions only to give the reigns over to me after I became 21 and only if I was educated enough for it and he was to run the show till then. The lawyer, Michael Rosenbaum, told my Mom about the will and what my grandfather had told him and she never told me. I should have known about it all these years, but she kept it from me. I think she was trying to control it, herself, but Michael didn't let her. He is so loyal to my grandfather."
"Does she want it?" I asked him.
He shook his head again. "I don't think so, no. After she remarried and took on a role at her new husband's company, I guess she gave up because she would lose this battle. Michael Rosenbaum would only give it over to me. He never knew that I didn't know anything about this, until last year. Somehow, my Mom had let slip to him that I didn't know and he immediately, without her knowledge, posted over a copy of the will to me with a letter saying who he was and the whole situation. When I asked my Mom about it, she finally told me the whole story and the fact that I would get it all when I turned 21, provided I had a good education."
"That's great," I said, "But who's Rick?"
"Rick?" Parker questioned.
"Yeah, Patrick," I said, nodding to the door.
"Did he tell you to call him Rick?"
"I asked him his name and he said he was Rick. I asked if it was short for Patrick, but he didn't answer me," I shrugged.
Parker chuckled at that, thinking for a moment.
"What about him?" I asked.
Gloom clouded Parker's face again. He took a deep breath.
"So, you know I told you the will said that I everything went to Claudia's first son, Parker?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Well, apparently, my mother had a little secret that she never told anyone. Not even my Dad, apparently. Before she got married; way before, like when she was in college, she had a boyfriend and she got pregnant. Her Mom, my grandma, had made her have the baby and the baby had been brought up by the father's grandparents. That baby is Patrick."
I was aware of the fact that my mouth was hanging open, but I couldn't get myself to close my mouth. I just stared at Parker.
"How -" I rubbed my forehead with my left hand, processing everything Parker told me, "How long have you been sitting on all this information?"
Parker shrugged, squeezing his eyes closed and shaking his head. "Too long, Alex. It's been coming on over the past few months."
"How come you never told me?" I asked, softly.
He raised his head to look at me. His eyes were glossy with the tears that seemed to be welling up. "How can I, Alex? I never wanted you to be in the middle of this. I wanted to sort this mess out. And it's so messed up, Alex. I wasn't even sure if it made any sense."
"Parker, you were so angry the past few months. You were getting drunk. This messed with you so much, baby. You should have told me," I said, pulling his head closer and resting my forehead against his.
Parker was quiet for a while and then he cleared his throat.
"That still doesn't explain why Rick acts like the boss," I said.
Parker leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, burying his head in his hands before he spoke. "My Mom kept in touch with Patrick without telling anyone. When this happened, she had met him and told him the story. When she told him about the second clause in the will, he had gotten mad. He said that I wasn't her first son and that he was and the will clearly stated that everything goes to Claudia's first son."
"But it also says your name, right?" I asked.
"Yeah, so he wanted to contest the will. He was so angry apparently. See, Patrick hadn't grown up rich. His Dad's grandparents are dead now and he lives alone doing random jobs to pay the bills because apparently, he didn't really like school too much, no matter how hard his Dad tried to get him to work hard. He's a gambler and he's in debt. He goes to great lengths to get the money he wants."
"So, he wants all of this even though it's obviously for you because your grandfather has never even met him?" I said.
"Apparently they met when Patrick was small. He's using it. Patrick pretty much kidnapped me, too, last year and tried to get me to give it over to him, but I refused. No way am I letting everything grandad worked for go to some lowlife. He didn't even have a copy of the will, let alone the original. He was acting on Mom's words. Michael met me and gave me an original months ago and I hid it really well, actually. Somewhere they would never find. Only Michael and I have originals of the will. They ransacked my house to find it. You remember, right? About two months ago when we found it completely trashed? They had people looking everywhere. Patrick sent someone to check in my house and that man accidentally went to your house, remember?"
I nodded.
"He tried to alter my birth certificate to change my name, I think. And to change his name, but nothing really fell in his favour. He and his goons roughed me up a lot." Parker cracked a smile. "And you were there to pick up the pieces and patch me up."
I smiled at him.
"I never told my Dad any of it. My Mom wants to be kept out of it because of her new husband, but she's the reason it's all happening so she's here, trying to make sure we don't kill each other. She didn't really try to help me at all because I think she feels bad for abandoning Patrick."
"She was so young and come on, Parker, even you know your mother. She was never one to have a very maternal instinct," I reasoned.
"Yeah, I know, but Patrick doesn't really care. He's really good at manipulating her and making it seem like he really needs this and if she helps him, all will be forgiven."
"Parker, this is all so messed up," I said, puffing out a breath.
"I know," he nodded.
"So, you have a half-brother who's basically blackmailing you and trying to kill you so that he can get the land and money of a man he barely knows because he doesn't know how to handle his money and somehow thinks he's entitled to it?"
Parker's beautiful green eyes sparkled as he smiled at me, a chuckle escaping his lips. "I guess that's a good way to put it," he said.
We lapsed into silence and I thought over everything Parker had told me. This boy, this wonderful boy of mine had gone through everything without anyone by his side, and yet, he still smiled and laughed and loved like he didn't have a care in the world. Parker was the best person I knew, even with all his faults. Suddenly, his anger at me, the bullying and why he was angry that I was gone from his life made so much of sense. I hadn't been there for him when he needed me the most and it made my heart ache now, looking at him, the scars on his forearms visible because he had folded his sleeves up to his elbow, how much physical and emotional pain he had gone through and he refused to give up. I wanted to burst out in tears, but I heard the key turn in the lock and once again, Parker and I were not alone.
Parker stood up immediately, putting himself between me and everyone else in the room. I stood up behind me. Rick walked over to the desk and leaned on the edge. Parker's mother stood beside him. Rick's lackeys crowded near the window. Outside, it looked dark and I wondered whether my Dad was worried.
"So, I hope you two wonderful children have come to the conclusion that you're going to give me my way. If you want your girl there to be unharmed, you'll give me what I want, Parker," Rick said, crossing his arm over his torso.
Parker seemed to consider this.
"No!" I cried, pushing myself forward, "It's Parker's, you have absolutely no right. Everything goes to Parker. I'm sure you can barely even remember your grandfather. He was one of the best people I knew and I won't let you take away his final wish."
Rick raised an eyebrow at me, slightly taken aback, but amused, nonetheless. "She's got spunk, eh, Parker?" he stated, jovially, "I see you filled her in on everything." He turned to look at me. "Oh, it's all very touching, but open your eyes sweetheart, the old man is dead. There's nothing he can do about it. I'm the first-born son."
"But your name sure as hell isn't Parker Wesley," I spat.
Parker put his hand out and stopped me from moving forward.
Rick stared at us for a few moments and then seemed to lose his patience. "Parker, you imbecile, will you just give it up? You can go back to your life. Just sign it over to me."
When Parker spoke, it was in a calculated tone. "My grandfather worked his entire life to build his company and put in his blood, sweat and tears to see it rise from the ground up. He used to tell me that I could be even better than him and I've grown up my entire life aspiring to be him and I'll be damned if I let you take that away from me. I won't let you destroy everything he built."
"That's all very touching," Rick said, in a bored voice, "But I don't really care."
Parker was about to say something, when we all stopped to listen. There was a thundering sound coming down the hallway. Rick stood up straight and turned to look at his lackeys with an alarmed look on his face.
Before any of them could do anything, the door burst open and two men tumbled into the room. They looked absolutely livid as they surveyed the room.
Parker and I both spoke at the same time. "Dad?"
My Dad and Parker's Dad looked at us.
Claudia took a step forward, a shocked expression on her face. "Fredrick?"
Parker's Dad glowered at her. "Your game ends today, Claudia."
*I hope you guys enjoyed that. I spent a lot of time building that back story and plot so I hope you enjoy it.*
*Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.*
*Much love.*