Chapter 5 Signatures and Secrets

Adrian's Point of View

I'm getting hitched tomorrow. The words float like fog. Seraphina's in her room, seeming spooky and lost.

"Tomorrow?" Her voice is quite small. "We just inked the deal yesterday."

"I said time was a foe." I peek at my watch. "We've got twenty-eight days. No time to lose now."

She plops down on the bed. It's big and barely dips. "This is really for real."

"This is actually real." I go to the glass and peek at the town. "My lawyer's in the hall at ten sharp. We ink papers, take photos, then finish."

"What do I wear now? My clothes are quite drab."

I spin back to her now. She stares at her hands, and tears begin now. I feel a pang for what I ask.

"There's a dress in that closet," I say now. "My helper got it this morning."

Seraphina goes to the closet and opens the doors. She sighs at the clothes inside. Clothes with tags that might scare her.

"Adrian, it's too much."

"It's a thing that's needed." I sit by the glass. "Folks want my wife to look right."

"Your fake type of wife."

"My wife. Fake or true, no one minds."

She grabs a white dress that's plain and nice. The type for hall if hitched for love.

"It's very pretty," she whispers.

"Give it a whirl. See if it is right."

"Right?"

"Right."

She slips into the bath with the cloth. I hear drips falling and boxes sliding. When she steps out fifteen minutes later, my breath goes missing.

The cloth hugs her just right. Her brown eyes pop, and her hair seems to burn bright. She seems lovely, youthful, unlike that worn girl from Tony's Place.

"What do you think?" she says, spinning slowly.

"Like some rich guy's dear bride."

She smiles, a first since she came here. "Is that bad, or is that good?"

"That's ideal."

My phone makes a small buzz with words. Marcus' name pops on the screen, and my joy fades out.

I hear wedding bells will ring. Congrats, dear brother. Eager to greet.

I stare hard at those words. How does Marcus know this now? Only my lawyer heard the tale.

"Adrian? What is wrong?"

I stare back. Seraphina eyes me, filled with fear. "Nothing. Just work woes."

But this is not a small thing. Marcus knows a thing, a bad omen. My brother lurks, eyes on me, for my fall. He finds out this deed is false, we're both doomed.

"Go get some rest," I tell Seraphina. "Tomorrow's a big day."

She nods, heading towards the bath spot. "Adrian?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. Helping my kin. I know this is work, just a deal, but it counts."

After the bath door shuts tight, I call up my lawyer.

"Richard, a flaw now."

"Say what?"

"Someone spilled out the deed's details. My brother knows it all."

Richard pauses, not a peep. "How did he hear? Only my aide did."

"So, a soul spilled the beans." I roam around my lair. "This stays secret, Richard. If they deem this love unreal, I'm ruined."

"Perhaps Marcus just thinks so. Perhaps his facts are wrong."

"Marcus thinks not. He knows why he does things."

"What's my task, then?"

"Make tomorrow flawless. No mess, no fuss. Find the blabbermouth."

I end the call and drink hard. The dark sky has bright buildings. Marcus plots, I just know it.

My phone buzzes twice. A number unknown, how strange.

"Adrian Kane here."

"Hello there, Adrian." The voice sounds smoky. "I am Vincent Ashford."

My phone nearly slips. Vincent Ashford ruined my folks long ago. He made dad kill himself. I've yearned to hurt him since.

"What do you seek now?" My voice feels icy hard.

"I want to meet my new kin."

"What is your point?"

"Seraphina Wells. The girl you wed soon." Vincent laughs, a sad sound. "She is my own girl, Adrian. Did she not say this?"

The room seems to sway. My drink spills and shatters down. "That cannot be true."

"DNA is real, boy. I've eyed her for years, for contact to form."

"You speak lies, man."

"Do I know? Ask her 'bout her kin. Ask why her mom lied." Vincent lowers his tone. "Ask why she seems like her dad."

The line goes still. I eye the phone, scared of its blast.

Seraphina is Vincent Ashford's kid. The lady I am marrying the next day is my worst foe's kid. I'm paying two million to a lady from a family that wrecked mine.

I move to her room's door and eavesdrop. I hear water running in her restroom. She's bathing, preparing to sleep and get married to me.

Does she have any idea about this? Did she know who I am and what her dad did? Is it a plan to end what Vincent started fifteen years ago?

My hands vibrate as I return to study. On the desk sits a picture of my dad from my young age. He smiles and holds me. Six months later, Vincent Ashford wrecked our firm, and my dad killed himself.

I lift the picture and stare at my dad. "What do I do now, Dad? How do I trust her when she's his kid?"

But my dad can't speak. He's been dead fifteen years because of Vincent Ashford.

I am marrying Vincent's kid tomorrow.

I hear Seraphina's door open. Her feet are soft as she readies for sleep. She has no clue that things just changed.

My phone vibrates with text from Marcus.

Sleep well, man. The next day is very interesting.

I stare at the text, knowing Marcus knows who Seraphina is. He planned this, waiting for me to fall for his trap.

However, I am way too far to quit this thing now. The big day is coming up on the next day. All papers have my signature on it. And somewhere in the town, Vincent Ashford may be giggling about how great things are going.

I have another drink and sit in dim light, seeing city lights mix as one. On the next day I wed my foe's kid. What I wonder is, does she have any clue she may destroy the man who is trying to save her mom's life?