CHAPTER 71
(CHRISTIAN)
We are all gathered around the table and I am watching Gideon closely. I saw for myself in the Skype call just how much this information had rocked him and as well as feeling the need to return to New York I also felt duty bound to bring our therapist with us to try and help him make sense of this unbelievable situation. Had I known beforehand what Welch was going to divulge I would've made sure it was done in person rather than over a video call.
It has rendered me speechless so I dread to think the emotions currently flowing through Gideon's mind. On the surface he appears to be handling everything well but the signs are there that all isn't right with him. I remember how I dealt with the information about my birth family – not one of my proudest moments and he helped and supported me, talking me down off the ledge when I had my spectacular meltdown, and he barely knew me then as it was right back when Ana and Eva first met. Admittedly that is relatively a very short time ago but so much has happened since then and now I do view Gideon as family. He is my wife's brother-in-law ergo he is my brother-in-law it is as simple as that, and as family I will do all I possibly can to support him.
As I think through all the unbelievable information that Welch has uncovered my first thoughts are of unbridled anger towards Gideon's mother. The levels of betrayal are breath-taking. Ana commented on it, she was shocked after what Welch told us and after the Skype call had ended, she had shaken her head sadly and simply said 'hasn't she hurt him enough?' and that comment summed up perfectly the damage that woman has done.
I know the woman is delusional, she denies anything which she believes will have a detrimental effect on her little world and how she is perceived but as she is now discovering, all the dirty secrets she has tried to erase are now fighting back and her past decisions are coming back to haunt her. Chris has left her and… my mind comes to a juddering halt as I think of Christopher and Ireland. Christopher got shot by Landon at the gala, he seems to be making a full recovery but he was essentially shot by his brother as Landon is not only Gideon's brother but he also shares a mother with Christopher and Ireland.
I am pulled from my thoughts by Ana who is discussing a potential plan, they are talking about confronting Elizabeth with this information and getting the truth out of her. Eva and Ana are naturally pledging to stand beside Gideon when he does this and I clear my throat. All eyes move to me and Ana stops speaking.
"It goes without saying I will be there to support you when you confront your mother" I begin. I pause as I think about what I want to say next. "Are Christopher and Ireland aware of this latest development?" I add carefully.
I watch as Gideon's eyes widen at that and he sucks in a sharp breath and rubs his hand over his face.
"Shit, I never even considered…" he mutters as he quickly joins the dots and realises what I am saying.
"Do you want to invite them over? It seems sensible to do so while we have everyone here to offer them the support which they and you will undoubtedly need?" Ana asks carefully.
Gideon thinks about it and slowly nods his head. I watch as he pulls his phone out with a trembling hand and hesitates a moment before taking a deep breath and hitting a speed dial number. He glances up and meets my gaze and I give him a reassuring smile.
The room falls totally silent as Gideon makes the call; you could hear a pin drop. Eva has shuffled closer to Gideon and is gripping his free hand tightly. Ana has moved from my side and has gone to sit on Gideon's other side and she has wrapped her arm around him. If he was unclear about the level of support he has, this moment should spell it out for him.
"Christopher" he says a moment later and he pauses as Christopher is obviously speaking to him.
"I'm fine, listen are you and Ireland free to come over? Some interesting information has come to light about our mother… well interesting is an understatement… mind-blowing would be a more accurate description and I feel it is only fair that you and Ireland are made aware of it as it affects you as much as it does me". Gideon waits as Christopher is obviously replying to that.
Suddenly he shakes his head, "No, it's nothing to do with my father or the fraud… but it does involve Ryan Landon… it's not something I can discuss over the phone… no trust me you need to hear this in person… ok… that's fine… yes… alright I'll see you both in a short while then… thank you… yes goodbye". He ends the call and looks up, "Christopher and Ireland are on their way" he says simply.
oooOOOooo
A short while later Christopher and Ireland arrive and they seem surprised by the number of people waiting for them as they enter the penthouse.
Ana walks over to Ireland and gives her a warm hug and as she turns to Christopher he leans down and presses a friendly kiss to her cheek.
"This is clearly something big" Ireland says as she looks around at everyone.
"Yeah, either that or it's some welcoming committee" Christopher adds with a grin, which fades as he takes in everyone's grim expressions.
"Let's sit down" Gideon says calmly and we all move towards the sofas. Christopher frowns at Gideon and grasping Ireland's hand moves to sit down.
"What's all this about?" Christopher asks after we have all sat down. His eyes move around the different people and it appears everyone has an uncomfortable look on their faces. His gaze rests on Caroline and he looks at her questioningly.
"Who are you?" he asks her and Caroline smiles at him and extends her hand.
"My name is Caroline Maguire and I am a qualified therapist. Your brother and Mr Grey are my clients" she says, "I have flown in from Seattle as Mr Grey asked me to be present today to offer support and assistance should it be required. Please let me assure you that anything said in this room is in total confidence" she adds confidently.
Christopher nods satisfied at her response and then after glancing at Welch and Angus he looks at me. "So, can someone explain why you asked Ireland and I to come over? I am guessing this has to be life changing information you have found by the fact you felt the need to bring a therapist with you" he says.
Gideon glances towards Welch and wordlessly holds out his hand. Welch immediately hands Gideon the folder and after a moment's hesitation he pulls out the birth certificate and simply hands it to Christopher.
"What's this?" Christopher says as he accepts it, he looks down and his eyes widen as he takes in what he is reading.
"Chris?" Ireland says as she sees his reaction and she tries to look at the paper.
Christopher wordlessly hands it to Ireland and she reads it, her head whips up and she stares at Gideon. "So…" she begins pointing at the birth certificate.
"I mean… Ryan Landon is… is this for real?" she asks.
Gideon nods sadly, "I'm afraid so, it appears our mother has more skeletons in her cupboard than even we were originally made aware of".
Christopher looks to be deep in thought, "So let's get this straight" he begins and then pauses, "Our mother had us with our dad – Chris Vidal" he says gesturing between himself and Ireland, "Then before that she had you with Geoffrey Cross. But before that she had Ryan Landon with Eric Landon but she didn't bother about him and just handed him over to his dad and cut all ties with him?"
Gideon nods, "That is a fair assessment of what happened, although we are unaware of the circumstances surrounding her giving up her parental rights. All we know is, is that she did it" he says.
Christopher leans back and lets out a long breath, "So I was shot by my fucking brother" he says.
Gideon nods again, "Pretty much" he says simply.
"Are you going to speak to mom about this?" Ireland asks her voice trembling slightly and I can see tears starting to well up in her eyes.
Gideon nods, "I am, you are both welcome to join me when I go as it affects you as well. I am also planning to make a visit to Ryan Landon. I was planning on doing that anyway because I need to discuss the other information I have regarding his father being more involved with my parents and the crooked investment scheme than was originally suspected".
"Oh god yes! The money Eric Landon squirreled away and which Ryan used to start LanCorp" Ireland exclaims, "Do you think that was mom's way of providing something for her eldest son? Do you think that is why she was involved?" she adds.
All eyes widen at that question and I look at Welch who immediately starts tapping on his phone.
"That is a very good question Ireland and not something I had thought of" Gideon replies and then turns to look at Angus, "It would be negligent not to consider that possibility" he says simply and Angus nods.
"Ay lad it would, I'll liaise with Welch and we will see what we can dig up" he replies glancing at Welch who simply smiles in return.
"Or" I say as I consider another possibility, and everyone turns their attention towards me. "Or, another possibility could be that Elizabeth was being blackmailed by Eric Landon into keeping quiet about the existence of Ryan. He could've seen how Geoffrey Cross was a wealthy man and his investment schemes were making people rich and he wanted a part of it and he used his link with Elizabeth and her secret to his advantage".
Gideon thinks about that, "It's possible, in fact anything could be possible as you really couldn't make this up" he says wryly.
"So, when are you going to see mom?" Christopher asks, "Because I am coming too and I'm sure Ireland will want to join us as well" he adds looking at his sister affectionately.
"Gideon pulls out his phone once more, "There is no time like the present as I am as anxious for answers as you are" he says, but pauses in his actions as Eva lays her hand on his arm.
"But you have to be aware that you may not get them, as Elizabeth is known for just denying everything. You confront her with this and there is a very real possibility that she will just clam up and deny all knowledge of it," she says gently.
Gideon acknowledges that with a tip of his head, "I know, and I agree but the fact we have a copy of the contract she signed to wash her hands of Ryan makes it incredibly difficult for her to continue to deny it".
"It probably won't stop her though and you need to be ready for that" Ana adds.
"Why don't you make arrangements to see Ryan Landon first lad, and see what he knows?" Angus suggests.
"But" Gideon argues, but stops as Angus holds up his hand.
"Hear me out lad, if you do this right there is a very good chance you could end up in a far better situation than you could imagine. If Ryan Landon has no idea that he shares a mother with you, that information along with what we discovered about the money his father gave him to start LanCorp puts an entirely different take on his bitterness all these years as his father was essentially no better than yours. It could have a positive outcome as it could make him rethink his past behaviour. Even if it doesn't result in him looking on you more favourably it could have the outcome of him wanting to protect his fathers name and reputation and therefore behaving in a more acceptable manner towards you, and look towards you to make some sort of deal. So, either way it would be a win-win situation for you. However, if he was aware of his parentage and he did know where the money came from that is something he will not be wanting to come to light under any circumstances as it would look very bad for him at his trial. If that should come out it shows that he has known all his life the real truth whilst still aggravating you, and that shows a hell of a lot of premeditation for his actions". Gideon considers this and nods, before opening his mouth to speak again.
"But what about what Christian and I did to him? We ruined him and took his company from under him" he says.
Angus waves his hand dismissively, "We already have your part and Mr Grey's participation covered in this. You were reacting to a mole, a mole which Landon placed in your company you discovered that fact and actively fed the mole false information. If that resulted in Landon going insolvent that is down to his mismanagement of his company. As for Mr Grey's participation, we have documentation to prove that Mr Grey started acquiring shares in LanCorp before the relationship between Mrs Grey and Mrs Cross was known about. Admittedly, those shares were small and he didn't aggressively start buying them up until afterwards but the fact he had some before it became known that he was related by marriage to you is significant.
Gideon looks at me questioningly and I nod in agreement. I can see what Angus is saying and agree that a visit with Ryan Landon before Elizabeth would be advantageous.
"I agree with Angus, plus if Landon is aware that Elizabeth is his mother that gives you further ammunition when you tackle your mom if she tries to deny it" I say.
Gideon listens and accepts what has been said with a nod, and after a further momentary thought he turns to Angus again. "Alright, we do it your way Angus. I trust your instincts on this, can you arrange a visit with Ryan Landon as soon as possible please" Gideon says.
We watch as Angus rises gracefully to his feet, "Consider it done lad" he replies before leaving the room.