The Beach Hut on Plum Island

12. CHAPTER 12

Finn paced the clinic waiting room. It had been almost four hours, and Harriet was still asleep, her slumber induced by a mysterious sleeping powder. Daniella and Drake had assured Finn that her vitals were fine. They were now in the process of unraveling the enigma of the powder, consulting with the chemists on Joyce Isles.

He turned to see his sister, friends, and Harriet’s family, including King Titus, sitting and quietly talking among themselves as they waited for Harriet to wake up. Finn turned and wandered down the hallway that led to the overnight rooms, stopping at the door to the one where Harriet was.

One of King Titus’s security detail stood at the door. He nodded when he saw Finn, who he allowed to quietly slip into the room. Finn walked over to the bed. Machines that were monitoring Harriet’s vital signs blipped and beeped softly in the dimly lit room. Finn took Harriet’s hand and looked down at her. Her long dark hair was pulled back off her face, showing off her high, delicate cheekbones and perfectly straight, cute aristocrat nose. Her pale eyelids shuttered her beautiful green eyes with a fan of long, thick, dark lashes.

“I love you so much, Harriet,” Finn whispered to her, his hand brushing her cheek. “When I saw you in Gray’s arms…” He swallowed and pushed back the sting, burning the back of his eyes as a lump formed in his throat. “You looked so lifeless. I thought my heart was going to stop beating when just for a moment I thought…” He swallowed again and dropped his head back, taking a breath before looking at her again. “After this, I’m not letting you out of my sight.” He warned. “Not until all this craziness is over.”

Finn leaned down and gently kissed her lips. As he lifted his head, Harriet started to stir. Finn’s eyes widened as his heart jolted, and he sucked in a breath.

“Harriet?” Finn said, staring at her as relief flooded him.

“Finn?” Harriet’s eyes opened and shone with confusion as she coughed. Her hand went to the oxygen tubes by her nose. “What…”

“No, no,” Finn said, grabbing her hand. “Wait for the doctor.” He looked toward the door. “Sam.” He yelled for the security guard, who instantly popped into the room, his eyes widening with relief when he saw Harriet awake. “Call Doctor Thornton.”

The man nodded and disappeared out of the room.

“Where am I?” Harriet tried to sit up, but Finn stopped her.

“Please, Harriet, stay still until Daniella gets here,” Finn told her, feeling weak from relief.

“Why am I in the hospital?” Harriet frowned in confusion. “Was I in an accident?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Finn asked her.

“Going to bed with some ginger tea,” Harriet told him, her frown deepening. “Although I had this crazy dream about a fire in the hotel.” Her eyes widened, and they found Finn’s. “Was there a fire at the hotel? Is that why I’m in hospital?”

“No,” Finn said, shaking his head. “Someone pulled the fire alarm at the hotel. When you got to the car park, you collapsed.”

“No.” Harriet shook her head. “I don’t. It’s all fuzzy.” She rubbed her head.

“Are you okay?” Finn frowned as she winced.

“I’m fine,” Harriet said with a weak smile. “Just a bit of a headache.”

“It’s one of the side effects of the sleeping powder,” Daniella told them as she entered the room, smiling at Harriet. “Hello, sleeping beauty.”

“Sleeping powder?” Harriet looked at Daniella, even more confused. “I don’t use that stuff.”

“I know,” Daniella nodded and looked at Finn. “Didn’t you tell her?”

“No, I haven’t had the chance to,” Finn said and looked at Harriet. “We believe you were drugged. Someone must’ve put sleeping powder on your pillow as your hair was covered with it.”

“Sorry, we had to wash it with the shampoo we use here,” Daniella apologized. “We got rid of your pajamas as well.”

“Are you talking about the sleeping powder that was designed for my family?” Harriet asked Daniella in disbelief. “That stuff was banned.” Her eyes widened. “Who would’ve drugged me?”

“Harley and your uncle’s security team found a tin of the powder and have a suspect they’re questioning,” Finn told Harriet. “We don’t want to alarm you, but we think whoever pulled the fire alarm last night did so as a distraction to kidnap you.”

“Mr. Shaw,” Sam, the bodyguard, stepped back into the room, “Mr. Gains is in the waiting room. He needs to talk to you urgently.”

“Go,” Harriet said.

“I need to check Harriet anyway,” Daniella told him.

Finn kissed Harriet on the forehead. “I’ll be back.”

“I know,” Harriet said, smiling at him.

Finn reluctantly left the room and went to the waiting area, where Liam ushered him into the library through the door only Daniella and other staff members had access to. They went into Daniella’s office in the library where Liam closed them in.

“What is going on?” Finn asked Liam. “Why are we in a library?”

“Because no one comes to a library anymore,” Liam told him, putting the folder he was carrying on the table. “I need your signature on some documents, please.”

“What documents?” Finn looked at the top page; Property Valuation. “That’s a rather thick file.”

“It has everything I need to buy Gladstone Acres for you,” Liam told him, pulling out a fancy gold pen.

“You’ve even brought the fancy pen.” Finn looked at Liam suspiciously.

“I love this pen.” Liam looked at the gold pen with his name engraved on it. “Your father gave it to me when I graduated college.”

“And you tell me that every time you bring out the pen for me to sign something,” Finn pointed out. “I think the last time I used it was to take full custody of my kids.”

“No, you used it to transfer the deeds to my house to me,” Liam reminded him.

“No.” Finn shook his head. “You used the platinum pen my father gave you when you graduated college again.”

“Well, I didn’t know if I wanted to be an attorney or an investment banker,” Liam defended his choices.

“No, you just wanted degrees from Harvard and MIT,” Finn stated.

“Should we not have this conversation again?” Liam looked pained and handed Finn the gold pen. “I need you to sign the following documents for me.”

“First, you need to tell me what the heck is going on and why I’m signing…” Finn moved the top page. “Power of Attorney?” His brow crinkled as he looked at Liam curiously.

“Oh!” Liam said. “You haven’t been told. Understandable, I guess, because of everything that happened.” He looked at Finn. Liam was only an inch shorter than Finn, but he was leaner and faster when it came to running or ducking. “King Titus called me to his house right after the dinner. He wanted to discuss an alternative plan: Harriet’s mother.” He raised his eyebrows. “Who seems like a nice, sweet lady, but there’s a Harriet on steroids underneath that exterior.” He let out a breath and shook his head. “You think it’s hard to say no to Harriet…”

“Liam!” Finn folded his arms and looked at his friend impatiently. “You were scared by a sweet lady from an older generation, is what you’re trying to say. So just say that.” He shrugged.

“I wasn’t scared!” Liam said indignantly. “I was a bit intimidated, is all.”

“That’s still scared,” Finn pointed out. “So what did Harriet’s sweet, gentle mother have to say?”

“You know, I hope I’m there when you find out who sweet Lady Julie Joyce really is.” Liam raised his eyebrows. “I’m really going to enjoy that.”

“Okay!” Finn snorted and glanced at the pile of documents. “I’d like to get back to Harriet before she’s released tomorrow.”

“Right,” Liam said. “Julie, who got wind of our plans—I think she must’ve tortured them out of King Titus—picked so many holes in them that they seemed like bad Swiss cheese.”

“Oh?” Finn said in surprise. “I take it she’s taken over the mission?”

“Correct,” Liam confirmed. “In fact, we now answer to Lady Julie Joyce for all things about Gladstone properties and her daughter, apparently.” He looked at Finn. “Well, you have to answer to her on that front.”

“Liam, why am I signing all these documents?” Finn rifled through them.

“Because you’re not going to Greece,” Julie Joyce made them jump.

“Didn’t you close the door?” Finn asked Liam accusingly.

“I did.” Liam nodded, lowering his voice. “I warned you. She’s like a ninja Harriet on steroids.”

“You left out the ninja part,” Julie told Liam with a grin, and Finn was struck at just how alike mother and daughter were.

“How long have you been standing there?” Liam asked her.

“Long enough,” Julie told him, walking into the office and closing the door as silently as she’d opened it.

“What Liam was trying to tell you is that Titus’s plan wouldn’t work.” Julie walked around Daniella’s desk, taking the lead. “The bank manager is one of Gloria Gladstone’s admirers, shall we say. While he’s been as good as he can by holding off sales and keeping the Joyce’s at bay, he’s being put under pressure to take Gladstone Acres.”

“So he’d know who you were, especially if they could trace the money back to the Joyce family,” Liam added. “Lady Julie…”

“Liam, I’ve told you already, unless we’re around Titus or Gloria, I’m Julie,” Julie reminded him and turned to Finn. “I’ve used funds from my mother’s estate, which were to go to Harriet when she married.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Please don’t tell her. Harriet gets rather prickly about these things. I’m getting too old to face the consequences my daughter likes to dish out.”

“The funds will be transferred to you as soon as you sign the form.” Liam rifled through the pages. “And the legal document between yourself and Julie is about the title of Gladstone Property and the olive trees. Once you’ve acquired them, you will hold them for three months after the property sale has gone through and then sign them over to Harriet.”

Finn’s eyes narrowed suspiciously on Julie. He had a feeling he was about to become a pawn in a scheme. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to be the one on the edges of a nuclear fallout?” he asked her. “And why do you think your plan will work over the original one?”

“The money can’t be traced back to a Joyce as it’s in my mother’s family name,” Julie pointed out. “As my mother was a famous actress, no one ever knew her real name, not even the press. She had it legally changed and then married my father, taking his name.”

“Julie’s grandfather started acting when silent movies were still around,” Liam told Finn. “How cool is that?”

“Oh!” Finn looked at Julie. “So you come from a long line of movie stars?”

“I do,” Julie confirmed. “But I’m afraid the legacy stopped with my mother.” She gave a smile. “As much as I’d like to play getting to know each other, we don’t have much time.”

“Right!” Liam nodded and turned to Finn. “You need to sign all these forms. They basically give me power of attorney for the inheritance from a long-lost relative.”

“What?” Finn frowned.

“Oh!” Liam said. “We forgot to mention you’re the only living relative of Magdaline Kline.”

“Who?” Finn was feeling more and more confused.

“My mother,” Julie told him. “Now you know why she legally changed her name.” She shuddered. “Liam will be making the trip to Greece as the representative of his wealthy client.”

“My firm is still registered in Boston,” Liam explained to Finn, “so there are no immediate ties to the Gladstone family.” He looked at Julie. “The Joyces and Sam Donovan are monitoring all the Gladstone’s calls to ensure that they don’t contact the bank for any reason.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Finn asked and looked at Julie. “How long does it take to get the jet ready?’

“Oh, you’re not going,” Julie told him. “For a number of reasons.” She took a seat in the office chair. “Titus has decided no one attached to the royal family is to leave Plum Island.”

“Gloria may already have alerted her friend at the bank about you.“ Liam shrugged. “I’m not sure why, but you never know. Crazier stuff has happened around here lately.”

“Liam will be going on his own,” Julie told Finn. “We’ve chartered a jet for him hired in Liam’s firm’s name so nothing gets traced back to us.”

“This incident with Harriet, and Estelle being detained, may have played to our benefit,” Liam added. “Titus has put a stop to anyone connected to Harriet going anywhere until whoever tried to kidnap Harriet is found.”

“While the police have Estelle in for questioning,” Julie told them. “I doubt she was the one to try and kidnap Harriet. Well, not on her own anyway.” She shook her head. “The Gladstones are either involved in this scheme or being framed for it.”

“I see what Harriet means when she said the Gladstones tend to ruin everything,” Finn said with a sigh. “This is supposed to be Alex and Daniella’s week. Their wedding guests are arriving today and tomorrow.” He looked at Liam. “Who’s going to run the hotel while you’re in Greece?”

“That’s why I have a manager,” Liam reminded him. “Besides, I’m the only one that won’t be noticed if I’m missing from any of the functions.” He sighed. “Alex and Harriet just won’t get their parties in the UK now that Titus has put a halt on traveling.”

“Liam is also the only one who has a valid reason to go to Boston for business,“ Julie pointed out. “Unfortunately, if you go missing Finn, it will look suspicious. This way will not draw any suspicion while Liam buys back the Joyce family’s property.”

“It makes sense,” Finn admitted and looked at Liam. “Are you okay with this?”

“Hey, I haven’t had this much fun since we were surfing pros,” Liam assured him.

“This is your idea of fun?” Finn gaped at his lifelong best friend.

“I love buying and selling things, you know that,” Liam reminded him. “This, to me, is fun.”

“Yeah, your sister is right,” Finn teased. “You are totally weird.”

“She said that about both of us,” Liam pointed out. “Now get signing.” He looked at his gold pen in Finn’s hand. “And don’t forget to give me my pen back.”

“Fine, but explain each contract in normal language as I do,” Finn told him.

Liam gave him a brief overview of the documents Finn was signing. Finn couldn’t help feeling he’d literally just signed his life away, and his hand ached.

“I still think I should find a way to go with you,” Finn told him.

“Don’t worry about me,” Liam assured Finn. “I’m going to be fine. I have one of Julie’s personal assistants accompanying me because the man can speak Greek.”

“He is also one of my security details who doubles as an assistant when I need a translator,” Julie told Finn. “The man is ex-military intelligence and speaks seven different languages.” She looked at Finn. “I believe you met him outside Harriet’s room; Sam?”

“Oh yes. That’s good,” Finn said, feeling a little better about sending his friend on a potentially dangerous mission to a country where he couldn’t speak the language.

“Besides, we need you here to play another role, Finn.” Julie smiled, lifting an eyebrow. “I’ve waited a long time to say this.” She drew in a breath. “It’s payback time.”

“What do you mean?” Finn’s eyes widened, and his heart jolted. Does she know about me and Harriet? No! How could she? His mother’s voice echoed through his head. A mother always knows Finn. He shook the feeling off.

“Before you get stuck into that, I’m going to get my life organized and drop Lila off with my aunt.” Liam gathered the documents and left.

Finn stood staring at Harriet’s mother. Tiny waves of warning washed over him.

“Please, sit, Finn. My neck is getting stiff staring up at you,” Julie said, pointing to a chair in front of the desk. “You and I have some work to do.”

Finn sat. “What payback are you after?”

“Oh, on Titus, but also, the Gladstone family who have been a thorn in my side for way too long,” Julie explained. “Gloria has done everything she can to undermine me and make me pay for marrying Pat.” She signed. “I fear everything that’s happening now all comes back to her hatred for me having rubbed off on her children.”

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think? Blaming Gloria for her kid’s actions,” Finn said. “How could she have possibly known what her son would do?” He shook his head. “From what Harriet told me, if Estelle did try to kidnap Harriet, Gloria knew nothing about it.”

“Explain,” Julie told him, sitting like a queen on a throne.

Uh-oh! Finn immediately realized his mistake. King Titus may not have told Julie about Estelle’s plot. Did we tell King Titus about Estelle’s plot? “Didn’t King Titus tell you about that?”

“Refresh my memory,” Julie said. “He may have. I’m old, you know. I may have forgotten.”

Finn stared at Julie for a few seconds in amazement. Wow! Harriet really was like her mother. “Even without having known your daughter for over a year, I know everything about what you just said is a trap.”

Julie smiled. “I can see why my daughter’s in love with you, Finn.” Something in her eyes let off warning bells that overrode the guilt of his and Harriet’s charade. “But now that you’ve started telling me, you may as well finish doing so, or I’ll just ask Harriet.”

“Nicely played,” Finn stated with a shake of his head.

He told Julie about Estelle’s visit to Harriet and how the woman was trying to blackmail Harriet to help her matchmake Titus and Gloria.

Julie listened aptly to him, and when he was finished, he was surprised to see sympathy in her eyes. “That poor girl.” She shook her head. “I know that we all have a choice to change things in our lives and not let the actions of our parents define who we are. But Estelle has been so mentally and emotionally scarred by that family.”

“What is wrong with you and Harriet?” Finn blew out a breath and shook his head. “Estelle is blackmailing your daughter in order to get your brother-in-law to marry Gloria and you both feel sorry for her?”

“That’s because we’ve known Estelle since her parents were killed, and she had no choice but to live with the Gladstones,” Julie told him. “She was a sweet kid up until then. Gloria always wanted a daughter.” She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “Yet another reason the woman hates me.” She sighed again. “When Estelle came to live with them, Gloria insisted they adopt her and give her the Gladstone name. Gloria said it was to ensure Estelle’s place in life and her future security.”

“Wasn’t Leon Senior from a wealthy family?” Finn asked.

“Generations ago, maybe,” Julie said. “But Leon Senior’s family loves to overindulge in the good life but they don’t like to work too hard for it.”

“So they’re social leeches,” Finn said, looking for a nice name for gold diggers.

“Gold diggers, yes!” Julie, like Harriet, did not have nice filters and told it like it was. “In a way, I feel sorry for Gloria, but even if I didn’t marry Pat, he was never going to marry her. He never liked her as she was a little intense, shall we say.” She gave a soft snort. “Pat may seem meek and soft-spoken, but trust me, he’s anything but. After all, he was raised to be a king.”

“I can believe that.” Finn nodded. “I’ve seen how your husband controls a room without even raising his voice, and he keeps King Titus in line.”

“It’s my husband’s superpower.” Julie laughed. “Gray, he’s a bright man and got the best of Pat and my qualities.” She rolled her eyes. “But our beautiful Harriet.” She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “I had to pay her to keep clean when she was a child. She got all Pat’s strength, integrity, and courage,” she sighed again, “but my lack of social filters.”

“I wouldn’t say you didn’t have social filters,” Finn said.

“Oh, dear boy, you think Harriet’s bad.” Julie snorted. “I was ten times worse. When Pat and I first met, we knocked heads all the time. But when we were married, while he loved my free spirit, I knew I had to learn social graces.”

“You remind me of Alex,” Finn told her. “He, too, changed for someone he loved.”

“That boy is like the male version of my Harriet.” Julie’s brows raised, and her eyes shone with despair. “Those two together were a complete nightmare. Alone, their intelligence level is usually way above most people around them. Together…” She harrumphed. “They ruled their little kid’s empire. Trust me, they will tell you that there were no alpha’s in their little pack, but they’re lying. Every bit of mischief that gang got up to…”

Finn laughed, picturing a young Harriet and Alex thinking of bundles of mischief to get into.

“Pat, myself, the Blackwells, Danes, and Vanderbilts learned early who to keep an eye on and how to give Harriet and Alex invisible boundaries,” Julie told him.

“I have a Maggie,” Finn told Julie. “She’s the brainy one of our family and rules our household, and she’s only eleven.”

“Well, Finn, if you can get my daughter to marry you,” something flashed in Julie’s eyes that made the warning bells that had been ringing in his head start resounding as alarms, “I’d say you’ve found the perfect mother for you little girl in my daughter.” She grinned and shrugged. “And we all get to watch a little payback where my daughter is concerned.”

“Sorry?” Finn’s eyes narrowed.

“Finn!” Julie leaned on the desk. “I’m Harriet’s mother. I’ve just told you that we learned a long time ago about giving her invisible boundaries. I still keep a very close eye on my daughter.“ Her eyes narrowed. “While she thinks her father and I just turn a blind eye, she doesn’t realize we’re right there picking up the pieces and making sure whoever hurt our little girl never does it again.”

Cold fingers crept up Finn’s spine at the look of warning in Julie’s eyes. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“That I know what you and Harriet are doing,“ Julie told him. “I admire you for what you are doing, and if I had thought for one minute you were in this for anything other than love, you’d have known by now.”

“I…” Finn swallowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love Harriet, and we’re engaged.”

“I know you love Harriet.” Julie nodded. “That’s why, while you’re helping me get payback from Gloria, I’m going to help you win my daughter’s heart.” She grinned. “Which, by the look of it, won’t be that hard. I’d say she’s already fallen for you.” Her words made Finn’s heart slam against his rib cage. “We just have to make her realize it and then admit it.” She gave a soft chuckle.” The last part is going to be the most challenging because Harriet is weary of giving away her heart.”

Finn stared at Julie in surprise while tiny pinpricks of shock zapped at his nerves. He wondered if he was so exhausted he’d fallen asleep, and this was a crazy dream. Did Harriet’s mother just offer to help me win her daughter’s heart? He swallowed. “Does… uh… Does your husband know?”

“Of course,” Julie told him. “We have no secrets.” She grinned. “Well, not many anyway.”

“And King Titus?” Finn’s eyes widened.

“Oh, no!” Julie shook her head. “He’s too excited about finally getting his hands on the Gladstone property. Let’s just say even if he found out, he won’t do anything.” A flash of triumph sparked in her eyes. “And I’ll soon have control of Gladstone Acres, so Titus will never try to sell off one of my children for his gain again.”

“Do you know that the olive trees in Joyce are all sick and have to be destroyed?” Finn blurted.

“What?” Julie’s eyes widened. “No, I did not.” She looked at Finn curiously. “Go on.”

“I’m going to be beheaded!” Finn said, throwing his hands in the air. “I’ve already broken King Titus’s trust and told you far too much.”

“Don’t worry, Finn,” Julie promised. “It won’t go further than the two of us. And I’ll do some digging into that because if that’s true, he had to tell Pat about it.”

“Oh, great!” Finn hissed. “Now I caused a family spat.”

“No, not at all.” Julie smiled reassuringly. “I’ll look into things quietly. I keep track of all activity on Joyce Isles.”

“I’ll have to tell Harriet that I’ve told you,” Finn told Julie.

“No, you don’t.” Julie shook her head. “In fact, you can’t tell Harriet, Pat, or Titus… or anyone about our meeting.”

“Which parts?” Finn asked.

“All of it,” Julie told him. “Titus thinks I’m using Harriet’s trust from my parents, which unbeknown to her, I still control, for you to pay for the land which will be given back to him eventually.”

“I think we’ve veered way off topic here,” Finn’s mind whirled as he eyed Harriet’s mother. “You were telling me why you and Harriet show such sympathy for Estelle?”

“She’s been manipulated and groomed into a Gladstone puppet since she became one of them,” Julie told Finn. “All the woman has ever wanted was to be free of them and live her life her way. But Gloria and Leon Senior have always controlled her purse strings and everything she does.”

“What about Leon Junior?” Finn’s brow furrowed as he remembered something Alex said the other night. “Why did Alex accuse the man of hitting Harriet?”

“How much has my daughter told you about her relationship with Leon?” Julie sat back as she asked Finn.

“Not much,” Finn said. “Only that she never wanted to get engaged to him, but King Titus manipulated her to get engaged by emotionally blackmailing her with Alex and her grandfather’s health while dangling Gladstone Acres as the carrot.”

“She gave you what she calls her cliff notes version of the story, which is the version all her friends know,” Julie told him. “I don’t usually do this because it’s Harriet’s story to tell. But you broke a confidence by telling me about the trees on Joyce Isles.” She frowned. “Off the topic quickly—is it only the olive trees that have to be destroyed? Did Titus mention the name of the disease?”

Finn knew it wasn’t right, and he’d probably pay for it later, but he really wanted to know what Julie was going to tell him about Harriet. He’d already broken King Titus’s confidence. If he was going to be beheaded for treason or whatever it was called, he might as well tell Julie what she wanted to know. “Xylella fastidiosa, and it’s affected a lot of the other fruit trees on the island.”

“That old fool!” Julie hissed and shook her head before looking at Finn. “Thank you for telling me, Finn.”

“As long as you know that when I get shot or beheaded for breaking a king’s confidence, I did it for Harriet,” Finn told her.

Julie chuckled. “Oh, Finn, I already think of you as my new son.” She reached over and patted his hand. “As you may have realized by now, I protect my children and grandchildren like a momma bear.”

“Thank you,” Finn said with a smile, realizing she had already thought of Tucker and Maggie as her grandchildren. “But I first have to convince your daughter that I’m not joking when I tell her I love her.”

“I told you I’d help you with that,” Julie promised. “Now, back to Harriet’s story.”

Finn listened as Julie told him about Alex being Harriet’s first love. Julie told him that Alex and Harriet had been in love with each other since they met when they were toddlers. But after they ran away and got married against their parent’s wishes, they started to realize that the deep bond and friendship they once shared had changed. While Alex claims Harriet broke his heart, and she did, Harriet’s heart had been broken too.

Harriet wanted her friend Alex back and knew that as long as they stayed married, that would never happen. But before she could end things, Harriet found out she was almost four months pregnant. While Harriet was trying to come up with a solution that would be best for her, Alex, and their baby, meningitis hit the college. Harriet didn’t want to tell anyone she was pregnant and was trying to find out if it was safe for her to get vaccinated without hurting the baby when she got meningitis.

Julie’s words broke Finn’s heart for Harriet and Alex as he listened to the story. Harriet had been isolated while her body fought against the infection. But the doctors couldn’t save her baby, and she miscarried. The doctors had told Julie and Pat, who had been by her side only through a glass window since she had been taken to the hospital, that Harriet would’ve miscarried anyway.

They found ovarian tumors, and there were complications during the miscarriage, which was severely impacted by the meningitis, causing severe hemorrhaging. Harriet had nearly died. Julie, Pat, and the doctors hadn’t known Alex had snuck in to see Harriet. They didn’t even know how he’d managed to find her, but he had.

Finn looked at Julie when she stopped talking, and he noted her voice had become hoarse with emotion, and there were unshed tears sparkling in her eyes.

“I hate myself for this,” Julie told Finn. “I would never wish that disease on anyone, but after Alex visited Harriet, even though she didn’t consciously know he was there, I’m sure subconsciously she did.” She wiped her eyes. “But a couple of hours after Alex left her, she woke up.” She sniffed. “I hate that Alex got meningitis, but I love how his love for her overrode everything else just so he could see her one last time.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “For that, I am forever in debt to him.”

“Wow!” Finn said, swallowing a lump in his throat and silently congratulating himself for not tearing up. “I can see how close Harriet and Alex are. Even when they hated each other, they were still close.”

“Another manipulation by Titus,” Julie informed him. “I like Titus, but that man has no qualms about doing whatever it takes to get what he wants. That I don’t like. Especially when it involves my family.”

Finn nodded but pushed the conversation back to Harriet. “What happened with Harriet?”

“It was the worst time of my life,” Julie admitted. “The worst part was that I couldn’t even hold my baby or touch her. We had to stand behind a glass window and watch her. If we went into the room, we had to wear hazmat-type suits.”

“How awful,” Finn sympathized. He couldn’t imagine having to do that and would probably have done what Alex had.

“When she was strong enough, we had to tell her that not only did she lose the baby, but they had to remove her ovaries.” Julie swallowed and wiped another stray tear from her cheek. “Harriet loves kids, Finn. She always wanted to be a mom. So you must know how that news broke her. A double barrel heartache.” She breathed out and let her head drop back for a few seconds as she composed herself. “Do you know what that’s like as a parent? Knowing your child has a hurt tearing her apart, and there is no way you can heal it?”

“I can only imagine,” Finn said softly.

“So Pat and I decided not to tell Harriet about Alex,” Julie told him. “Titus, however, saw it as an opportunity to swoop in and get what he wanted.” Her green eyes flashed with anger. “With one sentence, he nearly destroyed Harriet’s fragile peace she’d managed to find by letting her know that Alex had contracted meningitis.”

“What?” Finn felt her anger at what King Titus had done. “How dare he?”

“That was one of those rare days that the true king put the stand-in one in place!” Julie told him, making Finn frown.

“What do you mean by stand-in king?” Finn asked, confused.

“Titus is only the stand-in-king,” Julie explained. “While it isn’t practiced, Titus is only a figurehead, so the island has a king on the throne. Pat is the true reigning monarch, and the only reason Titus hasn’t managed to change anything on Joyce Isles is that Pat always has the final say.” She raised her eyebrows. “Why do you think Titus is so desperate to get Gladstone Acres?” She cocked her head. “Because he thinks that their father will finally make him the true king so he can finally be free to make the changes he wants to make.”

“What are those?” Finn was afraid to ask.

“Joyce Isles is an absolute monarchy,” Julie explained. “Which means the king has absolute control over all aspects of the island’s governance.”

“Oh!” Finn nodded. “I didn’t know that.”

“It’s not because the king has ruled with an iron fist. It’s because we leave it to the people on Joyce Isles to vote for what they want,” Julie explained. “The people have always wanted to keep the island’s governance as it is. In fact, one year, they wanted Harriet to rule.” She laughed, lifting the somber mood in the room. “But Titus, he wants to change that. He wants Joyce Isles to become a constitutional monarchy. And the people don’t want that.”

“Oh!” Finn’s eyes widened even more as he realized the gravity of Harriet’s situation back then and now. “Harriet obviously knows all this?”

“Oh, yes,” Julie nodded. “My children know the truth. Titus also knew that even if he’d had children, unless something happened to mine, they weren’t in line for the throne.”

“So that’s why your husband never fully gave up his seat? Was it because he knew what his brother would do?” Finn said.

“Yes,” Julie confirmed. “Titus hit Harriet when she was at her weakest, then just carried on rubbing salt in the guise of emotional balm on the wound.”

“Did Leon hit her?” Finn’s voice was low and came out as a soft growl.

“Harriet fell for Leon because he is handsome, charming, and had been groomed by Titus on just how to reel her in,” Julie’s voice resonated with anger and disgust. “She wasn’t talking to us as she accused us of lying to her, and well, we won’t get into that.” She sighed, but Finn saw the hurt flash in her eyes. “But we still had our secret weapons in the guise of her other best friends and Gray. They slowly opened her eyes to what Leon really was. But by then, she’d agreed to marry him, and when she tried to break it off, Leon got, shall we say, aggressive.” She said it through clenched teeth. “Only, he didn’t realize the power he was going up against and soon backed off. So did Titus after he was warned by his father and Pat.”

“You’re talking around my questions,” Finn told her, not able to keep the impatience out of his voice as he felt his fury bubble up for Leon.

“Yes, Leon hit Harriet,” Julie answered Finn’s question. “He gave her a black eye and a broken hand. However, Harriet got that by punching him back. Only he is a lot bigger than her and managed to break three of her ribs.”

Fury, the likes of nothing he’d felt before, washed over him as a red haze swam before his eyes. He knew that Leon Gladstone Junior would never get out of prison if he had anything to do with it. “Did you file charges?”

“No.” Julie shook her head. “We all begged her to, but she refused. I only found out years later that Titus had threatened her not to. The Joyce family may own the olive trees that sit on the Gladstone land, but that doesn’t mean they can’t stop supplying Joyce Island.”

“What do you want me to do?” Finn asked Julie.

Finn knew he’d chosen the right side and done the right thing by breaking King Titus’s confidence. He also knew that he was playing in a league far above any he’d played in before. If the Joyce family was a sports league, they would be the Titans of leagues.