Fortune Favors The Bold

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE: MIRROR MIRROR

Adonis mused over Alaya’s words long after she was gone. There might be a ring of truth in what she’d said. He had been trying to manipulate the case his way, but it had been out of desperation. He was too frantic about the fact that the murderer could be a family member that he’d run in every direction blindly to stop a situation beyond his control.

He took a gulp of his whisky swirling the golden liquid and staring in the dark room without seeing anything. Being shown the mirror wasn’t such a nice thing after all. Staying amongst the crocodile had finally turned him onto one as well.

How had he turned into someone he loathed? How many times had he hated the way his mother or grandmother had manipulated him to get their own means? And now he was doing the same thing to Alaya.

Another guzzle of the scorching liquid burnt his throat, and he didn’t even flinch as he faced the reality of what he was becoming. What the mirror showed him wasn’t too pleasant. He had been transformed into a true Fortune.

“Boss?” a familiar voice called out from the doorway, and he watched Benjamin Foster hovering on the doorstep. His secretary was dearer to him than a normal employee, but he still hesitated to intrude his privacy.

“Ben, come on in!” he urged in slurry tones. “Don’t be so formal.”

“Is everything alright?” Ben asked with a worried frown, switching on the light and Adonis flinched at the sudden brightness. Ben started at him for a moment before taking a seat opposite him as he watched over him. That was the man who watched his dirty linen whenever he clicked his finger, and Adonis couldn’t even recall the last time he’d had a drink with his friend.

“I’m not so sure,” Adonis replied in a husky voice, and he had to clear his throat to ward off the ruggedness. He took another gulp of his whisky. “Would you like a glass?” he offered and without waiting for an answer, he poured another glass and pushed it in Ben’s direction.

Frowning, he took the glass but sipped hesitantly. “It’s not like you to drink in the middle of the day. Has something happened? I made sure that Uncle Elijah is carefully stashed in the beach house without Wi-Fi connection or mobile. I will check on him tomorrow. I thought two disappearances might raise a suspicion.”

Adonis waved a dismissive hand to his explanations. “I know you’re going to do a fantastic job in executing what is expected of you, Ben. You’ve never failed me so far. In fact, you’re the only one who’d stayed loyal to me.”

Ben shifted uncomfortably in the couch. “Boss, you’re making me uncomfortable. I have no idea what’s wrong with you today.”

Adonis stared at the ceiling, weighing his words carefully before voicing them out. Impulsiveness was a luxury he couldn’t afford in his position. “Tell me, Ben. What do you think of me? Honestly?”

It clearly wasn’t a question Ben would have expected because if anything the latter grew more awkward. “Adonis….”

“Just tell me the truth Ben. Do you think that I’m turning into one of them?” he allowed the words loud, the alcohol losing his tongue. He hated the way Alaya made him question himself, he’d always prided in the fact that he was someone with a sense of justice at least.

Ben c****d a surprised eyebrow at him. “Where does this come from?”

Adonis shrugged trying to be nonchalant, but he knew he failed pathetically. “I don’t know. Somebody might have said something,” he replied evasively not wanting to go into the details. That was precisely the problem with him. He was never willing to open himself up to anyone.

The elusiveness made Ben’s hairy eyebrows almost shot to his hairline as his shock intensified. “You mean you actually took someone’s words to heart? That’s new even for you Adonis. Who was it? Don’t tell me? The persky detective?”

Adonis only sighed tellingly without a word. “Is it that obvious?”

Ben laughed gleefully. “Is it that bad? God, Adonis, I didn’t think I would live to see the day when a female would get the better of you. Of course, you’re nothing like the rest of your family. Why do you think I’m still on your side after so many years? Why do you think I stay loyal to you despite everything?”

“You’re biased. Ben. You’ve always admired me for the wrong reasons. I am not that much of a role model as you make me. She said that I am manipulating her in very much the same way that the others control me. And the worst part is that she’s right. I am trying to corner her or orchestrate everything like I want it.”

“That’s only because you’re clutching at straws. Listen Ad, I know you well enough to understand why you’re behaving so paranoid. Deep down you’re afraid that it’s actually a Fortune who has committed the murder, and your heart doesn’t want to deal with that sordid truth.”

Adonis scoffed with a self-deprecatory smile – Benjamin had seen right through him, and he wasn’t even spooked. He’d somehow known that he would be the right person to understand his plight.

“What will I do if someone from the family committed the crime?” he confessed with a hard lump settling at the base of his throat at the mere prospect. His chest felt the familiar constrictions which he struggled to appease by positive thoughts once again. Maybe he needed to consult a therapist.

“You’re looking at things in the wrong perspective. See, if you’re grasping at a handful of sand, do you know that the tighter you hold on to it, the faster il will slip through your grip? That is exactly what you’re doing, Adonis. You’re trying to keep control over a situation which you wouldn’t be able to eventually manage.”

There was a moment of silence during which Adonis weighed the words of his friend with great consideration.

“Okay, tell me this. Do you really think that if the murderer turns out to be a stranger will make it better?”

Adonis had to acknowledge that he did have a point. He’d reached a point where he would like the murderer to be someone he knew, at least there would be an explanation about the reason why his father had been so brutally assassinated.

Nobody deserved to have a member of his close family suffer such a tragic death.

“Your dad’s dead. An ugly death which you’re not going to outlive, and the faster you come to terms with that truth, the better it will be for you. His abrupt departure will always torment you, and discovering the killer is going to inadvertently give rise to more questions and speculations. Things you’re not ready. Things you’re never going to be ready. So, why don’t you just go with the flow?”

“You think it will be easier for me?” Adonis asked in a dead voice, not sure whether he could swallow the bitter pill anymore.

“I think you don’t have a choice. You have stalled this long enough by being in two boats at the same time. You have to choose. What you haven’t figured out is that if it’s not your Uncle Elijah, it could be another member, and you cannot go out on a limb for everybody.”

Adonis groaned in pure frustration despite the wise advice being given to him. “Imagine the scandal if the truth is found out? I have lived my whole life trying to conceal the fact that my mother is having an affair with my own uncle. I think I can live the rest trying to protect the killer.”

“You can’t. Your father’s murder is more important to you. Not because you loved him…,” Benjamin intervened quickly when Adonis opened his mouth to protest. “But because at some point, you would want to move on from this situation.”

Adonis swallowed back his objection by blowing out a deep breath. “What am I supposed to do Ben? I feel like the earth will shift under my feet if it turns out that my father’s killer is one of my own. I would not be able to bear the fact.”

Ben grimaced with sympathy and Adonis braced himself for he was sure he was not going to appreciate his friend’s next sentence. “Like I said. You’ve got no choice until the truth is out. If you think you can live without discovering who your father’s killer is, then you’re merely fooling yourself. You need to get over this steppingstone first before jumping to the next level.”

“Aaaaahhhh,” he sighed heavily, bending his head back to deal with the intricate situation he’d put himself into. “So, I hand over Uncle Elijah to the detective. Is that what you’re saying?”

“For how long can you think we can hide him? I mean make no mistake about my loyalty – if you ask me total discretion, I will never question your decision. But I still think you’re dealing with this the wrong way. You really need to focus on finding your father’s killer to decide your next step. Until you find out the killer, you cannot protect anyone.”

Adonis lifted his glass in acknowledgement to his comment but refrained from any comment. Of course his friend was right. No matter how he tried to control the situation, things would always get out of his hand. It had been his mistake, playing the defensive.

“You know how Uncle Elijah is. He would blurt everything to the police.”

“Then don’t hand him over. I will prepare him tomorrow to deal with the questions for him being in custody is inevitable. I will hire a panel of lawyers to prep him. But you cannot risk yourself for the case. You’re too important for the family. Remember what your father always asked of you? Of us? We’re the ones who need to keep them bonded together. No matter the cost.”

Benjamin was right, he would have to collaborate with the detective to find out the killer, then decide on his next course of action. But there was no way he was going to leave his family in the lurch, murderer or not.

“Thank you Ben. You’re right of course. I will have to play my cards well, especially in the next hour. Anything can happen now.”

“You’re welcome, boss,” Benjamin winked to him, finally moving the glass to his lips to drink in silence. The matter was closed.

The next morning, Adonis drove to the precinct with new resolutions in mind. He would have to change his approach with Alaya. Working on opposite sides was not ideal for him at all. For the moment he would pretend on being her ally until the killer was unmasked. Solving the murder case was only a matter of time for Alaya.

What he felt for her would have to take a backseat now. There was no place for romance in their already complicated and forbidden relationship. There was too much at stake. His lack of control over his libido could cost his family’s future.

Imagine his surprise when he got to the precinct to be faced with a wall of a man who asked him to deal with him instead.

“Who are you?” he snapped bad-humoredly. He was already having trouble focusing because of his hangover, and now he was being blocked.

What was going on? Where the hell was Alaya? Why had she sent one of her cronies to deal with him instead of coming herself?

“Detective Bosco at your service, Mr. Fortune. I am the one designated to help you through the case now. If you have any questions for me, please don’t hesitate. It will be my pleasure to…”

In utter outrage, Adonis clenched his fists into tight balls to restrain his anger. He didn’t need another brown-nose. He wanted Alaya. He was already finding all his carefully lain resolves being smashed to pieces.

“I want Alaya Petrov on the case. I am not dealing with anyone else,” he announced in a no-nonsense voice that nobody dared contradict.