Wealth (free and completed)

Chapter 7 - Half-Hearted Pursuits

Val

My mind was a mess, and I had a class in about a few minutes. Everyone had gone on to their jobs or other preoccupations, and I was left alone on the second floor. The servants were busy downstairs with their usual tasks. Even with dad gone, they knew just what to do and never faltered. Of course, I was pretty sure Joseph had met with each of them to clarify their roles.

Joseph had to go oversee the factories and the shops, of course. It was a good thing that he had always been competent with his management role, even when dad was still alive. Emilie would have been lining up for auditions. Though the two of us never really liked each other, I felt sorry for her. She had not gotten much of a break, other than her last modeling gig with a famous French-sounding designer. That was eight months ago. She might party hard, but I could feel her deep disappointment. Being pretty and rich was never enough.

Rafael said he was going to a rehearsal. I did not know if he was part of a corps de ballet again, but I guessed he found one that could tolerate his diva attitude. Oh, he was good. I had seen him at his best. His trophies shone inside his enormous glass case. Most promising male dancer. Best choreography. More of them lined up, each statuette easing his internal pain but only for that little while – the first two days after the award itself was given. Lately, though, his sunken eyes and pale lips worried me. What was going on with my favorite sibling?

Joseph was the most stable among the three. True to their blood connections, Janus seemed to be the same. He was off to his engineering job this morning, already dressed before seven. Both looked dashing in their dress shirts, ties, and pants. When the two of them almost bumped each other in the hallway, they almost looked like twins.

There were differences, of course. Joseph was handsome in a boy-next-door kind of way, the type you’d bring home to your mom – except he had not been serious with women. His last long-term girlfriend had left in a huff a year ago. I did not know why, and I was afraid to ask. The people I lived with had so many secrets, and even I had some of mine. I shared some secrets with them, and some I kept as my own.

Then, there was Janus. He was intense. Taller than even Joseph, he posed a commanding figure. His eyes seemed older, boring through your soul. At first glance, he was the type your mother would warn you against. However, whenever he started talking, his eyes would soften, and he could turn out to be the kindest person out there and in here in Briar Hill.

Emilie and Rafael also shared something – half-hearted pursuits, much like the investigators poring through dad’s supposed murder were engaged in.

My siblings were all free to go to their jobs and other responsibilities. However, they were not allowed out of Raven Ville until the mystery was solved.

But when would the mystery be solved?

A few minutes ago, I received a peculiar call. At first, it was just heavy breathing. So, I first thought of it as a pervert finding someone to bother. It was unsettling to know that someone might know that I was alone in the house – at least, I was the only Sangster ward at home. The caller might not be able to enter the grounds but he could enter my psyche by making me believe that the call was intended for me.

“Do you know?” the voice rasped. It sounded male, but I could not be sure.

The landline was right on my bedside table so that I could easily reach it. We still had landlines all over the house, and some were connected parallelly. You could hear the conversations on the other phone. Mr. Sangster – dad – was pretty old school that way. He was also very protective. My room landline was connected to his study. He said that despite the fact we all had mobile phones, a backup means of communication was always important. I wondered if he only thought of that because of me.

“Do I know what?” I asked, annoyed, knowing it was stupid to engage with weirdos.

“Who killed Sangster?”

The way the caller phrased it was almost like he asked the question back at me. Suddenly, I was unsure if he was there to whisper a name or accuse someone.

“Well, who did? That is if you know?”

There was a chuckle. Then, the chuckle became a raspy laugh, which chilled me to my very bones.

“You don’t fool me, damsel. You know more than you let on, don’t you?” the voice now openly accused, making me whimper. I held my breath, unwilling to give the caller the satisfaction of knowing that they had gotten to me. However, I also wanted to hear what else they had to say.

“Do you know, though? Do you? I need to know. We need to know who killed my dad,” I insisted.

“Your dad? Who is the real heir or heiress to the billions? Do you know?” the person taunted. Then, the call ended. There was an audible click as if the person had used a landline. A payphone.

The call continued to haunt me. Someone knew or was pretending to know my father’s murderer. Was there even? It could have been an accident. Whatever the case may be, the caller knew that I was most likely the only one upstairs during the day. I would more likely receive the call.

I clicked on the Skype to start my class, although my hands were still trembling. Thankfully, I did not feel so alone after the virtual meeting began. My college students, not that much younger than I was, greeted me boisterously.

For a time, I forgot about the caller.

My last class ended at 5 pm. Usually, Hannah would just bring me lunch at around noon in my room. So, I was not starving, then. Teachers who could walk could just run down the stairs and grab something from the fridge. They could eat their lunch in twenty minutes tops, without having to depend on anyone. I did not have that luxury, but I did have the proper care of loyal staff.

Hannah had been the closest thing to a mother to me. It was not a matter of her feeling pity for me. If ever she harbored those feelings, she never showed them. She had been stern to me, as well, when needed.

None of the Sangster siblings had returned yet, and the sun was beginning to set. I did not really know what I was expecting. Joseph was a workaholic. I was not just saying what I had been told. I had seen him in action. Emilie and Rafael? I sighed. Those two could be anywhere at this point. There was no text from Raf. Not one. I did not know what to expect about Janus and his work habits. He had just started on a new position, it seemed, after the break he got after the funeral. After the shock of his life.

There was something about Janus. He seemed to have gotten himself busy after the little meeting in the living room. I barely saw him. Our new brother had become occupied with the new study he inherited from his dad. Our dad. He seemed bent on finding its secrets. I understood him well enough because I could not abide secrets. After all, we already had too many of those.

A knock on my half-open door startled me from my thoughts.

Speak of the devil. It was Janus standing by my doorway, his tie partly loosened as if he could not wait to relax after a long day.

“Oh, hey!” I greeted him with a smile. “It seems I have not seen you around for the past week.”

“Been busy,” he answered vaguely. His smile was almost shy, I thought, for someone who had just become a billionaire and an in-house product design engineer within the same month.

“Ah,” I said, looking back at my laptop screen, typing in responses to my students’ queries.

“I see you’re still busy.”

“It’s the way it is, but I mean, I get to do it at home. Nobody has to see me,” I said a little bitterly.

His eyes seemed to darken at that, or perhaps it was because it was past twilight and shadows had invaded my room. I only needed to clap to turn on my lights, but I had not yet. Janus did not make a move to turn on the lights, either. Instead, he took a chair and sat next to my bed, where I did my best work. Teaching, I mean.

“What do you mean by that? You’re a beautiful woman, Valerie,” he said sincerely. He did it so matter-of-factly that it made me wonder if he was always this serious and so direct.

“Thank you, Janus,” I murmured.

“Well, you’re welcome. You’re my youngest sister, and I will take you out sometimes. I want people to see you.”

“I can’t. I mostly get pity or,” I took a deep breath. “ curiosity.”

I lowered my eyes so that he would not see how confused I was about what he said – about him seeing me as his youngest sister. I should be grateful. He could have ended up pervy or an asshole. However, our past interactions seemed to suggest otherwise - that he saw me as something else. Perhaps it was just my wild imagination.

“I’ll bring you along to the firm I’m working in,” he said, a smile brightening his face.

“But didn’t you just get hired?” I gasped.

“There are things that being a Sangster can do apparently. The firm wants to know if we can provide product designs for SangRia.”

SangRia was the luxury end of Sangster Leathers. It had always been the main product line, but dad had decided to change with the times. He also started a product line for younger people, SangRise, and for those who want to find inexpensive but not cheap products, SangFord. He was brilliant. Now, his son was following in his footsteps in his own way. I was happy that Janus seemed eager to prove himself. He did not seem to mind Joseph heading Sangster Leathers as CEO.

“It means they are afraid to lose you! They would rather have you work for them while collaborating with Sangster Leathers. Oh, they’re a bunch of greedy bastards,” I said, shaking my head in admiration.

Janus laughed. It was a curiosity – a blend of masculinity and childlike glee.

“Oh, they’re a pretty smart bunch. Most of them are nice, too. So, I feel like you will like it there,” he assured me.

He was so focused on being my big brother that it was hard to say no to that.

“I don’t know, Janus -” a protest rose from my throat.

“Okay, it’s up to you, Val. Don’t feel pressured just because I thought of it.”

“Do you really -? Did you tell them I’m your sister?” I asked, my voice a little squeaky for my taste.

“Well, I didn’t have to explain much. Your lives are pretty much public.”

Not all of it, I thought. They did not know the half of it.

“I still told them that you’re like a cute little sister to me so that one of those guys would think twice before hitting on you,” he grinned. This time, the smile only reached his eyes for a split second, but something else had taken over.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, a guy at work has a crush on you. I had not even settled in my office yet, but he just had to tell me.”

“Is he handsome?” I asked with a crooked grin.

Janus looked me in the eyes and started nodding. He blinked several times, and then he straightened himself. I did not even notice that he had leaned forward to me. So close. Yet non-threatening.

“He is, I guess. He is normally not my type,” he said, brows furrowed.

“Oh.”

He looked at me as if trying to gauge my reaction.

“I’m straight, Valerie. Broke up with my girlfriend, Gabriella, about half a year ago. Oh, sorry. We did not break up. She left me for another man.”

His face became broody again.

“I – I’m so sorry. I don’t mind it if you’re not straight, either, you know. Rafael is bi.”

“It’s not your fault. You want to meet this guy?”

“I don’t know. I have not had a date in years,” I confessed.

Suddenly, I remembered my face being pressed on a leather cushion. There was a disembodied voice shouting obscenities. Then, there was a hard slap on my face. I started panting. Panicking. Janus must have noticed. Of course, he would notice.

“What’s wrong, Val?” he asked, concern all over his face.

“Nothing,” I said, trembling.

He did not believe me, and I was glad that he didn’t. He hugged me tight to his chest until the shaking stopped.