Chapter 24

From the Tales of Flynnagan Rider

Now That We Found Love, What Are We Gonna Do With It

And so, I was finally accepted by the King family and free to marry. We planned for a wedding in early May. Danielle was excited and couldn't wait until the marriage.

Meanwhile, I learned my father's business. It was then that Geoffrey King came to me and asked if there was a way to merge our businesses. The Carvers wanted to pull out from the original deal because Danielle was no longer engaged to marry Ethan, but Geoff managed to convince Jonas to have a meeting with me. Perhaps we could set up some sort of partnership. I had the properties after all and Jonas and Geoff had the business. If the three of us could merge our holdings, then we would all come out on top.

We all met at the Painted Pony Tavern, where the three of us had dinner. Jonas was angry at first, especially since it was I who had been responsible for what happened with Ethan, who had been beaten so severely in prison that he died of his wounds. It was Geoff who had convinced him that it had nothing to do with me, that if Ethan had continued to follow the path he was following, that he would come to no good eventually. He explained to Jonas and myself, that this would be a great beginning to a bright future and that all of us could split our profits three ways. If anyone else wanted to become a partner, then we would expand our holdings.

After much deliberation, it was decided that the name that would attract the most attention was mine. It had flamboyance and charm and so we decided, by mutual consent, to call the firm Flynn Rider and Associates in honor of my father, Richard Flynn Rider.

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Rapunzel stared at the Trending Now columns on her Yahoo search engine. Eric's name was at the top. She clicked on it and read the details.

"Eric Carver, head of Carver's Management, has been arrested for tax evasion and fraud. It seems that he had conned millions of people into believing that they could become another Rapunzel Gothel, whom he had lost as recently as two days ago."

Rapunzel shook her head and closed the laptop. She'd get back to it later, the plane was landing. She had quickly Googled Danielle King Rider and she found that she did indeed marry the love of her life and hero, Thomas Flynn Rider and that they shared a few years of a very happy marriage.

That is until Danielle died giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, who was left unnamed.

Thomas named his daughter, Danielle, after her mother.

She married into the prestigious Fitzherbert family, who had become partners a small time after Flynn Rider and Associates became successful. The Fitzherberts were an offshoot of another family, an orphan boy by the name of Eugene Fitzherbert, who had become Prince Consort when he saved the Lost Princess Rapunzel.

But now was not the time to think about this. All she wanted was to go back to her small flat, relax and forget any of this.

There were screams, autograph seekers and paparazzi waiting at she exited the plane. She forgot to put on her hat and sunglasses, but then again, she didn't expect any of this.

A limousine with the plates "FLINAGN2" drove up and stopped in front of Rapunzel. A window rolled down and a door opened. A hand appeared through the window, gesturing her inside.

Rapunzel, desperate to escape the crowd, got into the car and it sped off.

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Eugene boarded the private plane and sat in the window seat. He looked around and couldn't get over the fact that he was the only passenger. The plane was beautiful, red velvet seating and wood paneling with red carpeting throughout.

Then the engines started and Eugene's thoughts turned to his destination and his true love.

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"Hello Danielle," a voice called from inside the limo.

"My name is Rapunzel Gothel," she told the voice.

"Yes, I know. I recognize you. You're the rock singer. My daughter loves you. She would love it if she could get your autograph and hear you sing.

Rapunzel smiled. "I would love to give her my autograph. Do you have some paper?"

"As soon as we reach the cottage," the chauffeur replied as they drove up a winding path to the largest house she'd ever seen.

It was an exact duplicate of the house that Eugene brought her to in Corona. It was the one with the rock and the pretty waterfall? What was the name again? The Kings? Is that where she was going?

And why would they refer to her as Danielle? Wasn't she the ghost that was in her dream? The woman called Danielle King Rider?

The car stopped and the chauffeur walked to the back of the car, opened the door and guided her toward the front the door.

It opened and Rapunzel stepped inside. There waiting for her were faces that she had seen before, faces she recognized from the picture she saw only two days ago.

They were Barbara and James King and they were staring at her as if she was a ghost.

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"Hello Rapunzel," Barbara said, coming out to take her hand. "How nice it is to meet you."

She stared at them. "Don't you mean Danielle? I've been called that since I came here. Why do you keep calling me her name?"

"Haven't you noticed the resemblance, my daughter? She's right up there."

And Rapunzel stared turned to the portrait in the parlor. The same face that she saw in her dream.

And she was dressed exactly the same.

Rapunzel turned to face her new found parents.

"She's real, isn't she?"

"Was," Barbara answered. "She died in childbirth bearing her husband's third child."

"And her husband was Thomas Flynn Rider. I looked it up."

Rapunzel scanned their faces. "Why am I here?" she demanded, "and what do you want?"

"We have a proposition for you," James said. "Now if you just sit down, we'll tell you everything from the past to the present."