AUTHORS NOTE: I just wanted to thank everyone for their continued positive feedback. I have been astounded at how well this story has been received and the ideas and comments left, have fuelled my imagination and helped me move forward with it for about the first time in five years! A massive thank you to you all.
CHAPTER 14
The Next Day…
(GIDEON)
I take a look around the private jet I am currently sitting in. I own a fleet of five similar jets which tend to be used mainly for my larger leisure industry ventures such as my casinos and hotels. I also use them for my business trips and since I met Eva I use them for whisking my wife away or to facilitate visits for Eva with her father.
I can't help but notice that Christian's jet is very similar to mine and once again I am surprised by how similar our tastes are. He only has the one plane which appears to be solely for his personal and business usage. He also has his helicopter though and he has promised me a ride in Charlie Tango at some point and I have to say I am looking forward to that.
I look around the cabin and my eyes fall on my wife, who at this moment is chatting with Ana. I will be eternally grateful to Ana for what she did last night. I was impressed with how she managed to talk Monica around and effortlessly heal the rift between her and Eva. I will always support Eva wholeheartedly; I totally understand her behaviour, not wanting to talk to her mother as the revelation that Victor isn't her father was a life changing moment and she naturally and quite understandably focussed her hurt and anger on her mother for lying to her all her life. However, I do believe my wife's stubbornness was partly to blame for the growing rift between her and Monica. In my opinion she should've been the bigger person and called Monica and given her the same heads up she gave Victor, but at the same time I can understand why she didn't. I think unconsciously she wanted to hurt her mother as much as she had hurt her. I remember when she did the same thing to me when she was unhappy with me for seeing Corrine and she made a point of reconnecting with her old flame Brett. I look at Christian who has moved and is now sitting whispering something in Ana's ear, she is smiling at him and the love being displayed between them is almost tangible. The way Christian is with Ana is exactly how I am with Eva and it gives me an insight as to what I must look like to the wider world.
I am unnerved at how alike we are and how much our lives have mirrored each other. We both went through traumatic experiences when we were young children. His mother died of an overdose when he was only four years old. I was five when my father committed suicide. He was abused as a teenager by a family friend, I was molested by my therapist. We have both made a massive impact on the world with our companies which we both built from the ground up and we both became ridiculously wealthy at a young age. He found his soul mate accidentally and so did I and we are both totally devoted to our wives and would move heaven and earth to make them happy.
After Christian and I had shared the details of our pasts I had taken the opportunity to research some of the things he had told me. In particular Elena Lincoln, what I found on her made for uncomfortable reading, knowing what she did to Christian and a number of other underage boys. I had looked her up because I wondered why I hadn't heard of the case where she was convicted and jailed. After all, Christian had told me that his evidence had been instrumental in getting her convicted. The stories of her arrest and the trial were there in the media but the names of her victims were not given and realisation hits me that Christian must have made some deal in exchange for his anonymity, and in doing so he had also protected the identities of her other victims who were brave enough to come forward and speak out.
I am drawn from my thoughts by Ray who is sitting beside me.
"You look deep in thought" he says and I turn towards him and smile.
"I'm just thinking about everything that has happened – not only everything that Eva has gone through which has been a massive rollercoaster... but I was also thinking how similar Christian and I are, not only our wealth and business success at such a young age but personally as well. I was also thinking how lucky we both are to have found our soul mates". I unconsciously look towards Eva as I say this and I feel my heart lurch slightly.
I take a deep breath, "What did you think, when Christian first took an interest in Ana?" I ask.
Ray lets out a small snort, "To be totally honest with you I wasn't impressed. He struck me as arrogant and somewhat cold and detached. I was worried what Annie was getting herself involved with, but she obviously saw something in him which was oblivious to me so I kept my mouth shut and gave him the benefit of the doubt. Keeping my concerns to myself with Annie didn't stop me voicing them to Christian though and I made it clear to him that his wealth didn't impress me, and it didn't intimidate me either and I told him upfront right from the start that if he ever hurt my baby I would find him and I would hurt him and no amount of wealth and influence he had would stop me". He pauses and smiles ruefully, "I pointed out to him that I knew how to kill people and make it look like an accident".
I let out a loud bark of a laugh, which draws everyone's attention to me, but they soon return to what they were doing.
"I have to say that sounds very similar to my own experiences with Victor. Let's just say he wasn't impressed either, and to be honest he still isn't and I am certain he barely tolerates me for Eva's sake. But then again, I gave him very good reason to be hostile towards me… I hurt Eva, unintentionally but I hurt her all the same". I feel the sting of shame as I remember my behaviour and my stupidity at that time.
"Why what did you do?" Ray asks, clearly curious and he is wondering what I possibly could've done.
I sigh deeply and shuffle in my seat slightly. "We weren't married at that point but we were engaged. I had an ex-fiancée who I hadn't seen for a number of years. We had met at college and we had decided to get engaged as that seemed like the natural progression, but we both realised very quickly we were both too young and it would never work between us. We drifted apart and she met someone else, broke off our engagement and married him. He was a Frenchman so she went to live in Europe".
"That must've hurt" Ray says kindly, but I shake my head.
"No, not really. You see I had feelings for her, but I didn't love her enough to marry her and spend the rest of my life with her. So it was more a feeling of relief when she broke it off and met someone else. I held no animosity towards her, in fact I was glad she'd found someone who would love her as she deserved to be loved".
Ray looks at me in surprise but it is the truth, I don't tell him that I was looking for a way out from the moment Corrine had asked me to marry her, and I now believe she only took up with Jean Francois to try and make me jealous and fight for her.
"Sadly, her marriage broke down, she returned to the States and got in touch with me. I was delighted to see her again, purely as an old friend. I had moved on with Eva and was totally in love with her, I made that clear to Corrine and I naively didn't see the harm in being friends with someone who once meant something to me. I will say I never loved her as I love Eva, that was partly the reason our relationship didn't survive. I assumed she wanted the same thing as I did, just a friend. I told Eva she had nothing to worry about, that Corrine meant nothing to me. However, Corrine started scheming to get me back, and I didn't see it. Eva tried to tell me but I thought she was just being jealous. It caused a lot of arguments and it hurt her".
"How was it resolved?" Ray asks.
"When I discovered the truth about Corrine and the games she was playing and messing with Eva's head and also when Eva gave me a taste of my own medicine". I pause as Ray's eyes widen at that.
"She cheated on you?" he asks.
I quickly shake my head, "No, neither of us cheated we both stayed faithful to each other. I own controlling interest in my step fathers record label and a band we recently signed turned out to be from California. The lead singer was an old flame of Eva's. I didn't know this at first but when the band were in New York she met up with him. I asked her what he was to her and she told me that they'd had a physical relationship, years previously when his band was still unknown and when she told me that I wasn't pleased about it. I was jealous and I made it clear to her that I wasn't happy. That was when she pointed out the double standard and it made me realise just how much my behaviour with Corrine had hurt her. Nothing happened between Eva and Brett… that's the singers name. Just as nothing happened between Corrine and myself. I like to think the experience made our relationship stronger as a result and we both learnt from it. However, Victor was in New York visiting Eva during the period I was seeing Corrine and he saw just how much it hurt Eva and naturally his paternal instincts kicked in and he gave me an ass kicking for cheating on her. I got angry with him and told him I wasn't cheating, that I was allowed to have female friends and I assured him that is all Corrine was. I don't think he has ever really forgotten that time and then the fact it was shortly after that and the incident with Brett that I took Eva away and married her".
Ray's eyes widen, "When you say that, you mean you eloped?" he asks and I nod.
"It put everything into perspective for me and made me realise I never wanted to lose Eva so I just did it. I arranged it all and flew her out to one of my hotels in the Caribbean, and told her that we were getting married that day, she told me I was crazy but she still agreed. When we got back and she told her dad what she had done he was furious" I say.
Ray looks at me incredulously, "I wonder why?" he says sarcastically and I let out another laugh.
"I know, with hindsight I realise it wasn't one of my cleverest moments. The way I saw it was I'd already asked for his blessing when we got engaged and he'd agreed, albeit reluctantly so I didn't see what I was doing was wrong. It didn't bother me that my family weren't present… we're not close, but afterwards I realised that maybe I should've done things differently. Especially considering that the last time we had spoken we'd had a massive argument. So, we had a vow renewal at one of my hotels in New York and invited all our family to attend. That seemed to smooth things over a little but I still feel he holds some animosity towards me".
"Did you ever sit down with him and apologise to him for what you did – everything you did?" Ray asks and I shake my head.
"Did you involve him in the planning of the vow renewal?" Ray asks and I shake my head again.
He lets out a small snort "For a clever man you really are a bit dense aren't you? No wonder he feels animosity towards you. Look at it from his point of view; Can you not see that you basically flipped him off and took his daughter away and then just rubbed his nose in it by giving him a consolation of a vow renewal, but disrespected him by just announcing it as a done deal rather than involving him in the planning. He is her father Gideon and as such he had a role to play, and should've been involved. Then there is the fact you never sat down with him and apologised to him for what you did, and you never explained to him why you did it. So, all he saw was this rich entitled arrogant son of a bitch taking over his daughter and stealing her away from him and not respecting him enough to involve him in the process, and don't forget you paid for everything… that would incense any father". Ray pauses and looks across at Christian and Ana.
"Christian paid for their wedding, but I was involved at every step of the way and I knew that I couldn't offer much financially but he respected me enough to involve me and didn't make me feel like the poor relation and I made a contribution, it wasn't much but I paid for Annie's wedding dress". Ray pauses again and it dawns on me what a complete shit I have been and how Victor has every right to hate me.
I realise Ray is still speaking and return my attention to him, "…and don't forget he wasn't entirely sure you loved her enough, he didn't trust you to be faithful to her after your stupidity with your ex".
I suck in a sharp breath at his words that I didn't love Eva enough, and that seals it for me and suddenly I see everything from Victors point of view. How it must've looked to him when he confronted me about Corrine and I just arrogantly brushed him off… just as I'd dismissed Eva.
"Shit" I mutter as it all becomes clear.
"I think you have a lot of apologising to do son, and this is the perfect opportunity to do it. I can see you are a good man, just as now I can see Christian is also a good man but to Victor you are the asshole who disrespected him and took his daughter away, you are also the asshole who hurt his daughter by messing about with your ex". I open my mouth to protest that I didn't do anything, but Ray holds up his hand and I close my mouth again.
"He only has what he saw and what he saw was you seeing your ex; Eva upset about it and you disregarding and dismissing her fears as irrelevant, you basically did the same to him when he asked you about it and believe me as a father that would piss me off so I can see where he is coming from".
I lean back in my seat, I have never really looked at everything that happened from this perspective and I am grateful for Ray being so candid and pointing it out to me.
"Would you vouch for me? Would you tell Victor that you think I'm a good person?" I ask quietly.
Ray laughs, "If he asks my opinion then I will give it, and yes I will tell him that I think you are a good person, but it's you who has to convince him of that fact and I won't lie to you, you have an uphill battle on your hands as you've really not endeared yourself to him. My advice to you is go with the flow. Let him meet Annie, let him spend quality time with Eva and then you'll know when the moment is right to say what you have to and make your peace with him. Don't try and force the issue as that will only antagonise him even more… and don't be surprised if he is slow to accept your apology or, he may even throw it back in your face".
"Thanks Ray" I say gratefully.
"You're welcome son" he replies and with that I know our conversation has come to an end as Ray closes his eyes effectively dismissing me.
It's not a long flight from Seattle to San Diego and we are soon landing. As the plane taxis to a halt I receive a text from Angus who has flown out from New York to meet us here as he has all the information, he has gathered on Lambert to share with us and with Victor. As the doors open Eva looks out and she takes in a sharp breath and starts waving wildly at the figure waiting on the tarmac. I look out and see the unmistakable form of Victor Reyes standing leaning against his car with his arms folded.
Angus is waiting nearby beside a Mercedes and I watch as Raul leaves the plane accompanied by Taylor and quickly joins Angus on the tarmac. He pauses to nod a greeting at Victor and I see Victor return it with one of his own. I watch as he introduces Taylor and Taylor steps forward offering his hand to Victor which he accepts and the two men exchange a few words.
"Shall we?" Christian says and with that Eva has gone, pulling Ana along with her. I wait as Ray slowly walks down the steps next, and then I let out a long breath and follow him out of the plane.
"I heard some of your conversation with Ray earlier, so I can understand your reticence" Christian says.
I nod, "I didn't realise that I'd been such a complete asshole" I say.
"I have to say Gideon, from what I heard… complete asshole is a bit of an understatement" Christian says with a grin.
I can't help the smile that pulls at my lips. I realise that he is trying to make me feel better about this and it works.
"Good to know" I retort and he lets out a sharp loud laugh.
We make our way steadily down the steps and I see Eva is in Victors arms and he is holding her tightly. She pulls away and quickly introduces Ana and Victor greets her warmly with a hug and a small kiss. Eva turns and then introduces Christian and I watch as he leans forward his hand outstretched.
"It's good to meet you sir, I've heard a lot about you" he says politely and Victor greets him politely.
"Likewise, Eva has told me a lot about you and Ana" he says.
Eva gestures to Ray who is standing back out of the way, and Ana immediately grasps his hand and pulls him forward.
"Dad, this is Ray Steele. He is Ana's step dad. Ana and I thought it might be good for you to have him to chat to… I mean he raised Ana as his own and he also knew Frank Lambert personally and knew what kind of man he was and still is. He is a very wise man and I think you two will get on really well".
Victor nods and holds his hand out to Ray, which Ray immediately accepts.
"Pleased to meet you, this has all been a bit of a mess. I was shocked when Annie came to me and told me how everything came about" Ray says kindly.
Victor nods, "You can say that again, but as far as I'm concerned nothing has changed, Eva is still my daughter. She always has been and always will be" he says firmly.
"As it should be" Ray agrees, to which Victor gives him a wide smile.
I watch as that smile fades as he turns towards me. "Gideon" he says stiffly and holds his hand out towards me.
"Hello Victor, how are you?" I ask.
"Improving daily thank you" he says abruptly. I know I have my work cut out with him but I am determined not to screw this up.
"So, what are the plans?" Eva asks looking from me to her father and then to Ana.
"I'd like to spend some time with Eva and get to know Ray and Ana" Victor says almost challenging me to disagree with him.
Christian shoots me a look and waits for me to respond.
I nod in agreement, "That sounds perfect," I look at my watch and see it is nearly lunchtime. "How about we all grab some lunch, we can talk over lunch and then afterwards we can take it from there?" I say.
Victor nods and leads Eva and Ana towards his car. I step closer to Christian. "I don't think we are invited" I murmur and Christian snorts.
"Well it's a good job Angus and Raul are here then isn't it?" he retorts.
Ana pauses and turns towards us, "Christian, Ray and I are travelling with Victor and Eva".
"That's fine baby" he calls back.
Angus steps forward and after greeting Ray asks where he is planning on going. I watch as Victor and Eva discuss destinations for lunch and then Ana and Ray are consulted and they nod their heads.
Eva turns towards me, "We are going to The Lighthouse" and I nod.
"Ok Angel" I call.
"The Lighthouse?" Christian asks.
"A spit and sawdust Steak House near the beach. I'm not surprised, Eva loves it there. To be fair their food is very good, it's nice but very basic. Victor always chooses either The Lighthouse or Barney's. I'm not sure if he thinks he is getting one over on me by doing that but I am happy to eat at either place" I say with a shrug.
Christian nods, "It is certainly very frosty between you two. I'm just glad I have a better relationship with my father in law".
oooOOOooo
When we arrive I see Christian's eyes are everywhere. I wonder if he has ever been in a place like this.
"I see what you mean about basic" he murmurs which makes me smile.
We are shown to a private booth and we all pile in. Angus, Raul and Taylor take a nearby table and I see they are aware of everything that is going on.
"So, tell me Ana how are you adjusting to having a new sister?" Victor asks her politely.
Ana smiles brightly at him, "I'm loving it. Growing up I was an only child and I always dreamed of having a sister and now it seems my dream has come true. Eva and I have so much in common. As soon as we met we felt like we'd known each other forever and the bond between us formed very quickly".
Victor smiles kindly at her and I see it is the same sort of fond smile he gives to Eva and I'm glad he has taken to Ana as she really is a sweetheart. He turns to Christian and the smile fades slightly. I frown at that, Christian doesn't deserve any animosity from Victor, he doesn't know him.
"I bet it was a bit of a shock?" he asks Christian stiffly.
Christian takes a gulp of his drink and nods, "It was, at first when the initial email arrived, I was convinced it was some sort of scam. To be fair, I think Ana was of the same opinion. But when it became apparent it wasn't and my wife was being faced with life changing news, I did what any decent husband does, I supported her. I cannot fault Finding Family as they handled the whole situation with discretion and professionalism. In fact, the way they dealt with it has made me consider using them to try and discover more about my own ancestry". He pauses and takes another drink and as he does this Ana reaches for him and wraps her arm around his shoulder and squeezes gently.
Victor's eyes widen at Christian's comments and he leans forward, "Forgive me, but I don't understand?" he says warily.
Christian smiles, but it is a sad smile. "It's all a matter of public record - I was adopted. I was found in a slum in Detroit by my dead mothers' side. Now, I know exactly who my mother was in so far as I know her name and I know that she died of a drugs overdose, but I have no idea where she came from or her wider family and why she was allowed to die in squalor in a slum. I have no idea who my father was, although I have a pretty fair idea that he was probably one of her clients who came to use her body. Ana put the idea into my head and has encouraged me to try and find out more about where I came from. I was reluctant at first but since everything seemed to work out so well for Ana and Eva and how well it was all dealt with by Finding Family I have made the decision to look into it. I don't have anything to lose, as Ana said if nothing comes of it I am in the same position I was in before, if it turns out my suspicions were correct I have proved a point and if there is a more positive outcome then that's a bonus".
Victor looks at Christian with compassion, "Well, if I can be of any assistance please don't hesitate to ask. I have a few contacts in the Detroit police department, so if I can be of any assistance to you I would only be too happy to help".
"Thank you Victor that's very kind of you" Christian replies gratefully.
Victor turns his attention to Ray, "Eva tells me that you like to fish Ray?" he begins and I watch as Ray's eyes light up at the mention of fishing and Ana rolls her eyes.
"Oh yes, one of my passions. Nothing beats it in my opinion" he gushes.
Victor laughs, "I'm more of a hunter" at this Ana joins the conversation.
"Dad, took me hunting when I was younger, he taught me to shoot and we used to go a lot. To be honest with you I prefer hunting to fishing… fishing is too wet" she says.
Ray lets out a loud laugh, "Only when you fall in the river" he says and I see Ana blush furiously.
"That happened once" she argues but everyone is laughing. "Thanks for that dad" she adds sarcastically.
"Any time Annie, any time" Ray replies.
The lunch is a resounding success and while I have mainly sat quietly observing, I have seen Victor relax, he is chatting with Ana as if she is an old friend, he has become much more personable towards Christian and as predicted he is getting along with Ray like a house on fire. It's just me he can't stand and I only have myself to blame for that.
As the lunch comes to an end it is decided that we are all going back to Victor's home, where everything that we have discovered about Frank will be laid out for Victor and Ray will share with him his memories of the man. As we are leaving, Christian comes up beside me and touches my shoulder.
"You were very quiet during lunch" he says.
I shake my head, "If you hadn't noticed my father in law isn't overly keen on making conversation with me" I reply.
Christian shakes his head, "Then make the first move" he says with a shrug.
I think about what he said and as we arrive at Victors house he disappears into the kitchen to organise some drinks. Christian gives me a meaningful look and I respond with a nod.
I rise to my feet and reluctantly follow Victor out to the small kitchen. Victor starts to speak but stops as he turns and sees it is me standing there.
"Oh it's you" he says coldly.
I nod, "Yes, it is. I came to see if you needed a hand?" I say by way of opening the conversation.
Victors eyebrows rise and he shakes his head, "No thank you I can manage" he says.
I take another deep breath, "I need to talk to you Victor" I begin and he pauses before putting down the mug he is holding. He folds his arms and leans against the work surface.
"Alright, I'm listening" he says.
"I… I realise that I've been a complete asshole and I need to apologise to you for my actions" I begin.
Victors eyes widen in surprise and he is obviously taken aback by my words. While he is rendered speechless I take the opportunity to say more.
"First of all, it was never my intention to hurt Eva. Corrine was never important to me, which is why I didn't see the harm in meeting her when she returned to the States. I didn't realise how it looked from Eva's point of view. I failed to take into consideration her feelings and I deeply regret that. I also regret the words I spoke to you on the matter. You were just looking out for your daughter and I… I once again failed to take into consideration your opinion". I pause, I have looked him in the eye and not taken my gaze from him. I am watching his response and he does look more than surprised at everything I have said.
"I only realised how much I had hurt Eva when she met up with an old boyfriend and I felt feelings of insecurity and jealousy. She assured me he meant nothing to her and that I was guilty of double standards if I was allowed to see Corrine but she wasn't allowed to see Brett".
"Brett? Not Brett Kline?" Victor asks and I nod.
"For fucks sake" Victor mutters and he closes his eyes as if in pain, but I plough on with what I want to say.
"It bothered me so much that I had totally misread the situation and I realised there and then that I couldn't live without Eva. Hell, I find it hard to breathe without her. I needed the security of marriage and I felt I needed to make a big gesture to her to let her see exactly what she meant to me. So we eloped and once again that decision alienated you and while it was not my intention to steal Eva away from you, I understand now that is how it looked to you and for that I am deeply sorry and I sincerely regret my actions".
Victor opens his eyes and looks at me warily, I realise he is trying to figure out if he can believe me and so I continue with my grovelling.
"When we returned and it became apparent just how upset you were, and Monica for that matter. I thought I was doing the right thing by organising the vow renewal. I thought it would give Eva chance to celebrate our marriage with her family. Its no excuse, but throughout I have been in unchartered waters and I seem to have done the wrong thing time and time again. It never occurred to me that you and Monica would be upset as I was working on the knowledge that my own family wouldn't care that I had got married without them. I have very few social skills as I have spent the majority of my life alone and only having myself to consider. It has been a steep learning curve since I met Eva and I am trying my best but when I get things wrong, I tend to get them spectacularly wrong. I realise now I should've called you and I should've included you in the arrangements for the vow renewal and I can only apologise that I failed to do so".
I wait and Victor just stands staring at me, his shrewd cops eyes assessing me and working things out. I have never been this open with him before and never let my guard down as much as I have in the past few moments. The silence begins to unnerve me slightly and my hands ball into fists and I push them into my pockets.
"Look, I'm just fucking sorry for everything" I blurt out when I can't stand the silence any longer.
Eventually after what seems like a lifetime of waiting Victor slowly nods his head.
"Alright, I accept your apology and I accept your explanation for why you did what you did although you are quite correct it doesn't excuse your behaviour. I also acknowledge that what you have just done took a lot of guts as I'm also guessing you don't see the need to apologise very often, and I'm also thinking that this is the first time I have seen the real Gideon Cross. I've never seen past the corporate mask you always seem to wear and today I think I got a glimpse of the real man behind it. The man who Eva keeps telling me she loves".
I nod, and wait as I can see he has more to say and I will take whatever he throws at me.
Victor takes a deep breath, "It's going to take time as I still don't trust you and I still don't think you are good enough for my daughter, but I appreciate the effort you made today… thank you" he says.
I offer him a weak smile which seems to surprise him. "I'm not good enough for your daughter, that is something I have always known" I say ruefully. "If I wasn't such a selfish man I would've let her go and be with a man who deserved her, but I can't because I love her and I need her too much and I swear to you I will never dishonour her, I will never be unfaithful to her and I will never knowingly and deliberately hurt her".
Victor nods and after a moment he holds out his hand to me, "Alright, I accept that and I'll believe it for now. I accept your apology and while I'm still not sure about you and while I still don't trust you, I say we take this as a positive thing and a step forward. I'm willing to draw a line in the sand and start afresh and move forward from this point… agreed?" he says.
I accept the handshake and nod my head, "Agreed" I reply, feeling like I have just negotiated the biggest deal of my life.