Merciless Union by Faith Summers

35

Lucca

It’s just gone midnight when I get home.

I didn’t see anything at Mendes’ house to catch my attention, so I plan to go back tomorrow night.

I’m not surprised when I find Aria asleep when I walk into the bedroom. She looks exhausted. I spoke with Dr. Belmont twice today. The first time was to book Aria’s appointment and talk about yesterday.

Leaving Damien’s name out, I’d told him what she told me yesterday and let him know I was looking into it. It felt right that I let him know what was going on.

The next time we spoke was to follow up after her appointment. That was just me checking to see if she was okay. I’m aware there are many things she’ll tell him and not me. It makes me jealous as fuck, but once again, this is the way it has to be, and I trust that Dr. Belmont will alert me if there’s anything I need to know.

I stare at her asleep in the bed and take in how small she is. It’s her birthday in five days.

There are things that need to be done for the company transfer. The message from her mother’s lawyer earlier today kick-started the process.

It was Marcus who called me because the lawyer contacted the garage. It was too late to call her back, so that’s going to be tomorrow’s problem. I’ll deal with it first thing so I can free up the day for everything else.

There are bigger fish to fry. The devils will come out to play in a few days, trying harder than ever before to take Aria from me. And kill me all over again.

That’s the only way Raphael can get to us. Kill me, and he can do whatever the fuck he wants to get back his legal guardianship and take the company.

Then he’ll kill my girl.

I look at her now, and I realize how foolish I was.

All I ever wanted was her. I loved her at first sight, and I was the one who forgot, not her.

If I didn’t forget, we wouldn’t be in this mess now. I wouldn’t have been so blinded with rage after Timothy’s death.

I shower and change, deciding to get a few hours’ sleep next to her.

I rest my head on the pillow, and it seems like I drifted off only for a few seconds before I fall into a nightmare—my own nightmare of a memory that will forever weaken me.

In my mind’s eye, I see my family dead in the living room, then me huddled in the corner, helpless.

I look at my mother and sister and see Damien covering their bodies with the cloth.

Why didn’t I try to do that?

Was I that helpless that I couldn’t have tried?

Damien thought to do it.

Damien. What’s really going on with you?

He fades from me, becoming a blur, and when I look up to where my father hangs, there’s someone else hanging from the beam next to him. Slowly I walk up to them. When I see it’s Aria, I bolt up out of the horror.

I only calm myself when I see her next to me, alive and unharmed, with her

dainty hand on my arm.

It’s morning, so I must have slept longer than I thought.

“You were mumbling my name,” she says, pressing her lips together.

I stare back at her, noting the concern in her eyes. “Bad dream. I hope I didn’t

wake you.”

She shakes her head. “I was reading.”

I look at the novel she holds up and see it’s an Agatha Christie mystery. Another of my mother’s favorites. She would have gotten that from the library downstairs, where the ghosts live.

“I hope you don’t mind me reading this. I woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I went walking, then I got this.”

“Where did you go?”

“I checked on the birds. Then I just looked around the other side of the house.”

“You should have woken me up.”

“No, it was okay. Maybe I’m just worried. Worried about stuff.” She gives me an uneasy look, and I get the feeling she either wants to ask me or tell me something.

“You’re worried about your father?” I surmise.

She hesitates for a moment then nods. “Yeah, it’s that.” When she tilts her head, I get the impression there’s more she’s not telling me. “My birthday is soon, and he’ll be planning on how to kill us both. I’ll be kept alive just long enough for him to get the company, then I’m dead.”

“You're assuming he’s going to kill me.” I raise a confident brow, showing bravado I’m wary about.

“He tried before and nearly succeeded. Besides, there are other things he can do. As long as he’s alive, he’ll keep trying. Even if I survive this birthday, the rest of my life will feel like one big countdown.” She raises her shoulders. “It’s fine; the last two birthdays weren’t particularly great either because I had to relearn who people were. It was awful. To me, I’ve only known everyone for a little over two and a half years. I’m still the same, and for all that I’ve remembered, I still don’t know who I am.”

She’s talking to me again, actually opening up without the angst.

I reach for her hand, and she gives it to me willingly. I bring it up to my lips to kiss over the soft, sweet skin, and she bites back a smile.

“Don’t worry. I don’t have the answers to fix things yet, but I’ll find them. So, don’t worry. I don’t know what your father or Pasha will be planning, but I’m going to be ready for it. I promise you that.”

“Thank you.”

I glance at the clock. It’s eight. I can’t remember the last time I slept for so long. For me, this is oversleeping, even if I did get back late.

“I have to meet with your mother’s lawyer in a little while.” I’m going to see if I can meet her in the next hour or so.

“My mother’s lawyer?”

“It will be about the company.”

“Oh.” She pulls in a steady breath. “What are you going to do about that? Did you see Damien yesterday?”

This is one of those conversations where things start out great then they flip around before I can blink.

“I saw him.”

“Did you ask him about my mother?” Her face hardens.

“I did, and he said he didn’t kill her.”

Now her face goes red, and she balls her hands into tight fists. “He did it, Lucca. You have to believe me.”

I slide off the bed and stare at her. “I do.”

Her lips part, and the redness in her face fades. “You believe me?”

“Yes. Now let’s talk about the company some other time. The only thing I can be sure about right now is he’s not getting it.”

That’s what she wanted to hear me say. It’s all she’s probably wanted to hear, and while this is the first right thing I’ve done by her, it was also one of the hardest things for me to say.

I leave her with that thought.

* * *

I’ve just arrived at the lawyer’s office to collect the company transfer paperwork.

What I’m about to possess are the highly coveted documents that will decide the fate of Cervantes.

The first thing the documents will do is officially change over ownership of the company to Aria. Once that’s done, all the company certifications will be revised, the board of directors and shareholders will be notified, and then the members of staff. At the moment, people still believe Raphael owns the company.

Most of the staff are Aria’s family. I’m assuming Aria must have told Sienna about her ownership of the company. I don’t know if Sienna kept that to herself, but even if she didn’t, that family is not the type to question me.

At the wedding, they looked scared as fuck of me. I understood why. Raphael did well looking like the good governor and masking his dark side, although I know they knew about it.

He just never really showed his true colors. I, on the other hand, am different. One look at me, and you would shit yourself before you ever thought of messing with me.

Today I’ll be able to sign all the preliminary documents to get the transfer process started. We’ll deal with everything else at a later date once our threats have been eliminated.

I park my bike and walk up the path to the quaint little office situated in the heart of Redondo Beach. It’s right near the beach and not what I expected. I was gearing for somewhere in the city. This is a private practice. The lawyer’s name is Patricia Carter, and she seems to be the only lawyer who works here.

I walk up to the glass door and go inside. I’m greeted by a receptionist who seems to be in her early twenties.

She looks thrown when she sees me, the way most people do, and wary.

“Hi, I have an appointment to see Ms. Carter,” I say.

“Oh sure, can I have your name, please?”

“Lucca Dyshekov.” I give my best smile.

“Okay, um… that’s fine. I’m just going to call her to let her know you’re here.” She does just that, but she trips over the pronunciation of my surname. Rather than asking me it again, she decides to describe me. I can’t help but smile at what she says—a big guy with gray eyes, brown shoulder-length hair, and a hint of a Russian accent.

“She says to go right in. That’s her office.” The receptionist points to the furthest door on our left.

I dip my head and leave her.

I want to make this a quick visit.

When I open the door and see Patricia, she’s exactly what I expected for someone who represented Theresa De Marchi.

I’d pegged her to be in her late sixties when she spoke to me on the phone. I think I was right. She has her salt and pepper hair cut in a neat bob and wears an expensive pants suit that makes her look like she’s ready to go to court.

Her eyes crinkle when she gives me a well-mannered smile, and she doesn’t appear fazed by my abrasive appearance.

“Mr. Dyshekov, nice to meet you,” she greets me, putting out her hand to shake mine.

“Likewise.” I don’t really come across many people who think it’s nice to meet me.

I shake her hand and sit in the chair she points to. It’s a sofa area across from her desk.

When I sit, she plants herself in the chair in front with the documents in her hands.

“Thanks for coming. I’ll try not to take up too much of your time.”

“That’s okay.”

“I just wanted to talk with you about the documents before we start the transfer process. We covered the basics on the phone, but Theresa was very adamant that her daughter understood certain things. Will you be speaking with Aria about this?”

“Yes. We’ve been through a tough time, but I am going to speak with her.”

“Okay. Theresa had certain wishes that don’t fall part of the contract, so it’s entirely up to you and Aria to decide what you do.”

“What are they?”

“The first thing is with regard to her husband, Raphael. Can I ask how much you know about their relationship?”

If I answered that question properly, she’d want me to go to the police with the information I know.

“Enough to know she should never have married him,” I decide to say.

“Good to see we’re on the same page. She allowed me permission to speak freely, so I will. Put simply, she didn’t want Raphael’s name attached to the company because she stumbled across some illegal information linked to him. Before she died, she tried to get him removed from the company. She came seeking advice about what she could do. It was my idea to add the company transfer to the irrevocable living trust to give it more weight. She agreed and also filed for a divorce in the same sitting.”

That doesn’t surprise me. It is good to get some context, though, to what happened.

“I’m very aware of the governor's negative association.”

She gives me an uneasy look. “Well, I’m sure it will be easier then for you to deal with Raphael. The only other thing is to do with the restructuring of the company hierarchy. With Raphael out of the way, she suggested the role of C.E.O be split between Aria and her cousin Sienna. Sienna does a lot of work with the suppliers and contractors worldwide, so she’ll be an asset.” She pulls in a breath and continues. “Theresa also didn’t want her brothers-in-law in charge or her sisters.”

That gives me pause because it answers a question that was already on my mind about the family.

“She said that?”

“Yes.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Of course. The request was made because she knew her brothers-in-law would have tried to sell the company, and her sisters would have supported their decision. It was her father’s wish that the company stays within the family, and she knew Aria would do that if she asked her to. Theresa’s father built that company from nothing and put his soul into it. I’m not sure if Aria remembers her grandfather, but Theresa felt that of his grandchildren, Aria would understand his desire to always keep the company in the family as their legacy.”

My jaw tenses. Hearing this now makes me see that if Damien were still in the picture to own the company, it really would have been the end of Aria and me.

“I see.”

She nods slowly.

“That’s basically it, unless if you have any questions.”

“No. I’m good.”

“Well, here are the documents to sign.” She hands me the folder. “And this.”

She walks back to her desk and picks up a letter along with a blue decorative box that’s a little bigger than a shoe box.

I take them when she returns to me. “This is a personal letter to Aria from her mother, and the box contains some stuff she wanted Aria to have.”

I’m sure both will mean a lot to Aria. Getting something like this from her mother might even stir her forgotten memories. It’s also something better to remember her mother by than seeing her death.

“Thank you. I’ll give it to her today.”

“Theresa wrote the letter here and told me she really hoped she could have spoken to her daughter herself. It was so weird. It was like she knew she was going to die.”

I think she did. I think she knew Raphael was going to kill her.

When I kill Raphael, it will be for everybody he ever wronged.