The Lost Heiress

Breakfast Without Riddles

Maria-May woke because something was touching her nose.

She opened one eye.

A wooden boat was approximately two centimetres from her face.

"Ivan."

"Boat."

"I can see that."

"Boat wake Mummy."

"Apparently."

Ivan grinned.

On her other side, Emmett was still asleep, completely sideways across the bed.

Maria-May checked the time.

7:12 a.m.

She groaned.

"I've had approximately twelve minutes of sleep."

Ivan pushed the boat towards her again.

"Boat hungry."

Maria-May stared at him.

"Boats don't eat."

Ivan's expression suggested she knew absolutely nothing.

"Boat toast."

"Of course it does."

Emmett opened his eyes.

"Morning."

"Morning, sweetheart."

"Great Mister got pancakes?"

Maria-May narrowed her eyes.

"Why would Great Mister have pancakes?"

Emmett shrugged.

"Big house."

Maria-May laughed.

"Fair reasoning."

Her phone sat untouched on the bedside table.

Several notifications waited.

Three from Donte.

Two from the unknown number.

One from Norman.

And fourteen from Jonathan.

Maria-May stared.

"For God's sake."

Emmett looked at her.

"Great Mister?"

"Obviously."

Twenty minutes later, Maria-May walked downstairs with Ivan on one hip and Emmett holding her hand.

Her arm still ached beneath the dressing, but it was manageable.

The smell of breakfast led them towards the kitchen.

She stopped in the doorway.

Jonathan.

Donna Maria-May.

Bree.

Alessandro.

Noreen.

Norman.

Noah.

Penelope.

All sitting around the table.

Maria-May stared.

"Why does breakfast look like a board meeting?"

Norman lifted his coffee.

"Because we're dysfunctional."

"Fair."

Jonathan stood.

"Morning, grandbaby."

"Morning, Great Mister."

Ivan immediately pointed.

"Great Mister!"

Jonathan's face lit up.

"Good morning!"

Maria-May narrowed her eyes.

"No presents."

"I haven't bought anything."

"Why did you answer that suspiciously quickly?"

Donna calmly sipped her tea.

"Because I confiscated a catalogue."

Maria-May stared at Jonathan.

"What catalogue?"

"Nothing."

"Jonathan."

Norman muttered, "There was a boat-shaped bed."

Ivan's head snapped around.

"BOAT BED!"

Maria-May closed her eyes.

"No."

Jonathan smiled.

"He likes it."

"No."

"Grandbaby—"

"Eleven boats."

Jonathan sat down.

Maria-May nodded.

"Excellent."

Alessandro took Ivan while Bree helped Emmett into his chair.

Maria-May was about to sit when she noticed the large sheet of paper covering one end of the table.

Names.

Dates.

Arrows.

Notes.

Her smile disappeared.

"You made the timeline."

Norman nodded.

"You told me to."

Maria-May stepped closer.

Rob's supposed death.

Moses's payment.

Her disappearance.

The country road.

Antonio Royalsun disappearing.

Alessandro withdrawing from succession.

Gabriel finding her years later.

She stared at it.

Then looked at Emmett.

He was asking Bree whether dinosaurs liked pancakes.

Ivan was trying to put a piece of toast into his wooden boat.

Maria-May immediately pulled the timeline towards herself and folded the top half over.

"No."

Jonathan frowned.

"What?"

"We're not doing this now."

Norman looked confused.

"I thought you wanted everything this morning."

"I do."

Maria-May nodded towards the boys.

"But maybe we wait until Emmett and Ivan are distracted."

Everyone looked towards them.

Emmett had now decided his dinosaur needed its own chair.

Ivan announced, "Boat eat toast!"

Maria-May lowered her voice.

"They don't need adult drama."

Bree immediately nodded.

"You're right."

Maria-May sat.

"They've already had enough changes."

She looked at Emmett.

"New family."

Then Ivan.

"New apartment soon."

She glanced at Alessandro.

"Suddenly discovering Papa Car Mister is actually Grandad."

Alessandro smiled.

Ivan pointed at him.

"Papa Car Mister!"

Maria-May laughed.

"Apparently we're still working on that one."

Alessandro sighed dramatically.

"I had Grandad for approximately twelve hours."

"You got promoted and demoted very quickly."

Emmett looked up.

"Grandad."

Alessandro smiled immediately.

"Thank you, Emmett."

Ivan shook his head.

"Papa Car Mister."

Norman laughed.

Maria-May looked around the table.

"So we're having breakfast."

Jonathan nodded.

"Breakfast."

"No Rob."

"Fine."

"No Moses."

"Fine."

"No missing Mafia relatives."

Jonathan nodded.

"No missing Mafia relatives."

"No twenty-two-year-old conspiracies."

Norman sighed.

"You're really limiting breakfast conversation."

Maria-May pointed at him.

"Talk about the weather."

Norman looked towards the window.

"It's cloudy."

"Fantastic."

He looked back.

"Now what?"

Maria-May laughed.

For the next twenty minutes, they managed something almost normal.

Emmett told Jonathan an extremely complicated story about a dinosaur that lived on a boat.

Ivan repeatedly shouted "BOAT!" whenever anyone mentioned water.

Donna convinced Ivan that toast belonged in his mouth rather than inside his toy.

Bree cut Emmett another pancake.

Noreen laughed when Emmett asked whether Great Mister owned the house.

"Yes," Jonathan said proudly.

Maria-May immediately added, "And eleven boats."

Jonathan groaned.

"Can we please move on?"

"No."

Eventually Emmett climbed down.

"Can play?"

"Yes," Maria-May said.

Ivan immediately copied him.

"Play!"

Bree stood.

"I'll take them into the family room. There are toys in there."

Maria-May narrowed her eyes.

"What kind of toys?"

Bree smiled.

"Normal ones."

Jonathan suddenly became fascinated by his coffee.

Maria-May looked at him.

"Jonathan."

"I said nothing."

"Did you buy toys?"

"I may have already owned some."

"Why would you already own toddler toys?"

Jonathan looked towards Donna for help.

Donna smiled.

"He bought them after he found out about the boys."

Maria-May stared at him.

Jonathan shrugged.

"I was excited."

Maria-May tried to stay annoyed.

She failed.

"Nothing ridiculous?"

"No."

"No miniature cars?"

"No."

"Gold-plated dinosaurs?"

Jonathan looked offended.

"I have some restraint."

Norman coughed.

Maria-May ignored him.

"Fine."

Bree took both boys into the family room.

Maria-May waited.

She could still hear Emmett laughing.

Then Ivan shouted something about his boat.

Maria-May smiled.

"Give them five minutes."

Jonathan nodded.

Five minutes later, Bree returned.

"They're building something with blocks."

"Happy?"

"Very."

Maria-May finally unfolded Norman's timeline.

Her expression changed.

"Okay."

The humour disappeared from the table.

Maria-May looked around at everyone.

"Now we talk."

Jonathan nodded.

"Where do you want to start?"

Maria-May looked down at the timeline.

"Antonio."

Jonathan took a breath.

"Antonio Royalsun was the younger brother of Don Dominic Royalsun."

"Dominic was the one who called me little niece?"

"Yes."

"Antonio knew me too?"

"Yes."

"How well?"

Donna answered.

"Very well. You liked him."

Maria-May frowned.

"I did?"

"You were two. You liked anyone who brought you sweets."

Maria-May considered that.

"Reasonable."

Donna smiled.

"Antonio used to make you laugh."

Maria-May looked back at the timeline.

"And Antonio disappeared the same week I did."

"Yes."

Jonathan continued.

"Before that, Antonio became increasingly concerned about something happening between several families."

"Quinet."

"Yes."

"Royalsun."

"Yes."

"Knight."

"Yes."

"And Montenegro."

Jonathan nodded.

Maria-May rubbed her forehead.

"Everyone knows everyone."

"Unfortunately."

"What was Antonio worried about?"

"He wouldn't tell me directly."

Maria-May stared.

Jonathan raised his hands.

"His half-truth, not mine."

"Fine."

"He asked whether I trusted everyone inside my own family."

Maria-May went still.

"What did you say?"

"I said yes."

Norman muttered, "That aged badly."

Maria-May pointed at him.

"Still true."

Jonathan sighed.

"Yes."

"What else?"

"I asked whether Alessandro was in danger."

Maria-May looked at her father.

"And?"

"Antonio said, 'Not Alessandro.'"

Maria-May frowned.

"He meant me."

"I believe so now."

Before anyone could continue, Maria-May's phone buzzed.

She checked it.

Donte.

I owe you an apology.

Another message followed.

You asked for no half-truths. I gave you an answer I knew was incomplete. You were right to hang up.

Maria-May raised an eyebrow.

Norman noticed.

"Montenegro?"

"Yes."

Alessandro's face did something.

Maria-May pointed.

"Don't."

"I didn't say anything."

"Face."

He immediately looked away.

Another message appeared.

My grandfather agreed to meet you. But there's something I should have told you last night.

Maria-May typed:

Careful.

The answer came quickly.

The person who came with Antonio to see my grandfather wasn't Rob.

Maria-May sat straighter.

Who was it?

The reply appeared.

Maria-May's expression changed.

Jonathan noticed.

"What?"

She slowly looked towards Penelope.

Penelope went pale.

Maria-May put her phone down.

"Antonio went to Donte's grandfather shortly before everything happened."

Alessandro nodded.

"We know."

"He wasn't alone."

Jonathan leaned forward.

"Who?"

Maria-May looked at Penelope.

"Moses Knight."

Silence.

Penelope closed her eyes.

Noah stared at her.

Jonathan's expression hardened.

Maria-May immediately raised her hand.

"Nobody starts blaming Penelope."

Jonathan looked at her.

"Her father—"

"Is her father. Not her."

Penelope looked at Maria-May.

Maria-May continued.

"She was a child twenty-two years ago."

Noah sat back.

Maria-May tapped the timeline.

"But Moses being with Antonio matters."

Norman nodded.

"Because we've been assuming Moses and Antonio were on opposite sides."

"Exactly."

Maria-May frowned.

"What if they weren't?"

Nobody answered.

Her phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

Maria-May stared at it.

Jonathan asked, "Are you reading it?"

"Yes."

She opened the message.

One sentence.

If Antonio was protecting you from Rob and Moses, why was Moses the man standing beside him when he asked Montenegro for help?

Maria-May stared at it.

Then at the timeline.

Rob.

Antonio.

Moses.

She slowly tapped Moses's name.

"Maybe we've put Moses on the wrong side."

Penelope looked up sharply.

Maria-May met her eyes.

"I'm not saying he's innocent."

Penelope nodded.

"And I'm definitely not saying I trust him."

Another nod.

"But maybe the biggest mistake we've made is assuming everyone in this story stayed on the same side."

Jonathan frowned.

Maria-May looked at him.

"Rob wanted Alessandro's position."

"Yes."

"Antonio was worried about me."

"Apparently."

"Moses paid somebody connected to Rob."

"Yes."

"But Moses also went with Antonio to Montenegro asking for help."

Norman sat back.

"Which doesn't fit."

"No."

Maria-May stared at the timeline.

"Unless something changed."

Her phone buzzed again.

She looked down.

Another unknown message.

This time there were only six words.

Moses changed sides because of you.

Maria-May stared at it.

Then slowly looked towards Penelope.

Penelope had gone completely still.