Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Lukas
“Can I tell Lissy and my family that we’re engaged now?” Emma asks as we get ready to go to the store.
“Of course. I want everyone to know.” I chuckle. “I should tell you that I did ask your papa for your hand.”
Emma whips her head to look at me.
“When did you do that?”
“When we were back in Storyville. Remember when your papa and I went for the walk? I told him that you’re everything to me and I wanted to ask for your hand. After he said yes, I asked your maman.”
Emma laughs. “I can’t believe they kept it a secret. Now I have to call them. How about we FaceCall them before we leave?”
I kiss her. “Sounds good. I’ll finish getting dressed and meet you in the kitchen.”
As I’m getting dressed, my phone makes a noise. I look down to see a message from an unknown number.
Unknown: You think you know everything about Emmanuelle Rousseau. But you don’t
What the fuck?
Lukas: Who is this and what do you want?
Unknown: You’ll see. She’s not yours and she never will be
I frown and turn my phone off. Whoever that is, is an ass and a coward to hide behind an unknown number. I decide not to say anything to Emma as I head downstairs.
“Ready to make the call?” Emma smiles at me.
I smile and stand next to her as she calls her parents.
“Bonjour Maman. Is Papa around?”
“He is. Is everything okay, mon ange?”
“Oui, we just want to talk to both of you at the same time.”
We hear Juliette calling for Reynaud and his footsteps as he comes running. I can’t help but laugh.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” he shouts as he pants.
“Nothing’s wrong. Emmanuelle and Lukas want to tell us something.”
Reynaud makes a face at us. As we laugh more.
“Bonjour, Papa.” Emma smiles.
“It’s good to see you both. How are things?”
“Things are great. We wanted to show you something.”
“Are you pregnant?” Juliette smiles.
“No, Maman. But we are engaged!”
Emma lifts her hand up to show them her ring.
“Congratulations!” her parents say together.
“Merci!”
“Have you thought about when you’d like to have the ceremony? Will you do it in Wintervale?”
“We haven’t discussed the details yet. But yes, I’d like to have it here in Wintervale.”
“We can’t wait. I’m so happy for you both. Wait till everyone hears.”
“I’m going to send a text in the family chat. We just wanted to tell you and Papa first.”
“Thank you, mon ange. We love you both so much.”
“We love you too. Talk soon.”
After we hang up, Emma texts a picture of her ring in the family chat. I can hear her giggling as she answers all of them. I love seeing her smile, I walk over and kiss her.
“We should get going soon,” I say as I finish preparing the new flavors for the popcorn.
“I’m ready. What do you need help with?”
“I’m just weighing and bagging. Then we can go.”
It takes us another forty-five minutes to get everything weighed and ready to go.
“These new flavors are really yummy.”
“Thank you, baby. I like all the ideas everyone is coming up with. It’s been a lot of fun to try them. I was thinking maybe some fruits next.”
“Ohh. I wonder how those would be. “ She smiles as we head to the store.
Emmanuelle
I feel like something’s up with Lukas. When I asked him, he said nothing was wrong. But I know him better than that and something is definitely up. I go over to the grocery section where he’s working today.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask him.
He turns and kisses me.
“Everything’s fine, baby. Why do you ask?”
“It feels like something’s wrong. Like you’re worried about something.”
“Nope. I’m good. Well, I’m a little worried about the new popcorn flavors.” He grins at me.
“You’re a dork.” I laugh.
I leave him to work and go to the bookstore section to help Lissy. When I look back, Lukas is frowning at his phone. He looks angry. I knew something was up. I really wish he would talk to me.
“Is everything alright with my brother?” Lissy asks me.
“I asked him and he said he was fine. But I don’t think so, something is going on with him.”
“I agree, I asked him a question when you got here and he practically bit my head off.”
“I’ll find out, he’ll tell me when he’s ready.”
“Hopefully before I lose my head.”
Lukas
Another text comes in as Emma is walking away.
Unknown: I’m coming for Emma. You should be worried
Lukas: You’re a fucking coward hiding behind an anonymous text
Unknown: When she chooses me, we’ll see who wins then. Be ready, Vandenberg
Whoever this assclown is, he or she knows way too much about me and Emma. And that’s pissing me the fuck off. Whoever it is, is coming after my Emma. I just need to figure out who it is. I remember Lorenzo Mancini saying his brother is an IT guy. I wonder if he can help me.
“Hello?” Lorenzo answers.
“Hey, Lorenzo, this is Lukas Vandenberg. We met when you came to Wintervale.”
“Oh! Hey Lukas! How are you doing?”
“I’m good. I was wondering if you could help me. You said your brother was an IT guy?”
“He’s one of the best. What can we do to help?”
“Earlier today I got a text from an unknown number. The person threatened my Emma. I was wondering if there was any way for him to trace it?”
“I’m not sure. But send me a screenshot of the text. And I’ll have Sebastiano call you. He’ll need to get your consent to look into your phone records.”
“No problem. I’m worried cause he’s texted twice now and that’s after I blocked the first one.”
“Shit. Okay, send them over to me now and I’ll get the legal stuff started for anything we might need.”
“Thank you so much, Lorenzo. Please let me know how much to send you guys.”
“You don’t need to pay us.” Lorenzo laughs.
“Of course I do.”
“This is what we do for friends and family. We take care of each other. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Don’t worry.”
“I appreciate this. I’ll send it over now.”
“We’ll talk soon.”
I send the screenshots over right away. I’m a little worried, but I don’t want to worry Emma too. I know she can sense that something is going on. Once I get some answers, I’ll tell her. But the nagging in my head is saying what if this screwball tries to take her before I can tell her? I just hate worrying her.
Unknown: Worried? You should be
Who the fuck is this? I send the new one to Lorenzo.
Lorenzo: This person is crazy and persistent. Have you told Emmanuelle?
Lukas: Not yet. I don’t want to scare her. But I’m also worried this person could grab her before I can tell her
Lorenzo: I’m adding Sebastiano. I’d also like to add Francesco Bastianini, he’s Celestino’s twin and another really good IT guy. They work together a lot
Lukas: Sounds good. Thank you
Lorenzo: Sebastiano, Francesco, this is Lukas. He needs our help. I’ll send you both the screenshots. But I thought this group text would be easier
Sebastiano: Nice to meet you. Don’t worry, between Francesco and me, we will figure this out
Francesco: Nice to meet you. I’ll get on this now
Sebastiano: Have you told your woman about this?
Lukas: Not yet
Sebastiano: You need to do it now. You don’t want this asshole to get to her without her knowing. It’s better that she knows so she can be on the lookout
Lukas: I’ll tell her today. Thanks for everything
Francesco: We’ll have something today
Lukas: I’m at the store today so I should be able to answer calls and texts
Francesco: I’m working on it now. Enzo needs to email you the forms to give us consent to look at your phone records. I promise we won’t dig into things that aren’t part of this
Lukas: I have nothing to hide. Do you need anything from Emma?
Lorenzo: I’ll send two copies, one for each of you to sign
Lukas: I’m on it. I’ll go and talk to her now and then we’ll sign and send them back
Lorenzo: Text me when you send them back. Talk soon
I put my phone away and go looking for my Emma. I find her eating popcorn with Lissy. I laugh as I walk over to them.
“How’s the popcorn?”
“It’s yummy.” Lissy giggles with her mouth full.
“I need to talk to you,” I say to Emma. She nods and follows me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier when you asked me what was wrong. I was trying to take care of this without bringing you more into it. But I’ve realized that’s not going to be possible.”
“What’s wrong?” she frowns.
“This morning I got some weird texts and at first I just ignored it. But then it started to really bother me. And I contacted Lorenzo. He said he could help and then I got another text.”
I show her the texts. And I watch her eyes get wider and her lower lip starts to tremble. I wrap my arms around her.
“Nothing is going to happen to you. I won’t let this asshole touch one hair on your head,” I whisper as I hold her tight.
“Do you know who this could be?”
Emma starts to visibly shake. Who the fuck has touched my girl? I’m going to fucking kill him.
“Tell me, baby. I’ve got you now, you don’t ever have to be afraid of anyone.”
“I-I dated a guy named William Rockton. It was only for a few months, we broke up because he hit me. The first time I forgave him, and he swore he wouldn’t do it again. But he did, so I had to walk away. And I never saw or spoke to him again. It’s been a year and a half now.” She sobs.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask, holding her tight.
“Because even though we weren’t together, I knew that if I told you, you would come and find him. I didn’t want you to get into trouble because of me.”
“Emmanuelle Rousseau. Look at me, love. You’re absolutely right. I would’ve been on the first flight out there and I would’ve killed him for putting his hands on you. And if this is him? I’m still going to. And I have a feeling our new friends won’t have a problem helping me do it.”
“You-you’re not mad at me?”
“Why would I be mad at you? You did nothing wrong. Forgiving someone isn’t a fault. That’s being a caring human being. You also knew that when he did it again, you needed to leave. You’re a strong woman. My strong woman. I love you and I will protect you for the rest of our lives. I need to call Lorenzo and let him know they need to check on this William guy.”
I hold onto my Emma as I make a group call with Lorenzo, Sebastiano and Francesco.
“Hey, what’s up? I have some info. But you first,” Francesco says.
“I just talked to Emma and she has an ex that she dated for about three months. He was abusive and she left him. Hasn’t had any contact with him for over a year and a half.”
“What’s his name?” Sebastiano asks.
“William Rockton.”
“Fuck. That’s who that number is registered to. You need to be careful, he has a record. He’s got serious issues,” Francesco says.
“We’re going to send some of our guys to you. They’ll be there in a day or two. In fact, I’ll have a few fly out today. This guy worries me that much,” Sebastiano tells us.
“I’ll text you the names of everyone coming. Can you get them rooms at the resort? And I’d also feel better if some of them could stay with you at your home.”
“I can do all of that. And I can have three to four of them at my place.”
“Be careful. This guy is a serious threat. I don’t know how Emma met him, but we’ll help you take care of him. I’ll text you in a few,” Lorenzo says as we all hang up.
After I hang up, I tell Emma what we talked about. Then I text my siblings to come and meet Emma and me in the break room. I need to tell them what’s going on.
“Are you okay with them knowing what happened to you?” I ask Emma.
“I’m okay. If it’s going to help keep everyone safe? They should know everything.”
I kiss her as we wait for my siblings to get in.
“What’s going on?” Paxton asks.
“I need you to all sit down. There’s something serious going on and I’m going to let Emma tell you some of it.”
We all sit and listen to Emma tell us about that douchebag William. Felicity starts crying as she hears what Emma went through. It’s taking every ounce of restraint to stay sitting and not stomp out of here to look for this fucker. He put his hands on my Emma, I don’t fucking care that she wasn’t with me then. She’s always been mine and always will be.
Lorenzo: Okay, we have quite a few guys coming to you. Some will be flying in and will be there in six hours. We just need you to pick us up at the airport. The rest will drive in and be there in two days
Lukas: Thank you. How many and who’s flying in?
Lorenzo: Flying: my papa Enea, my zio Leonardo and my zio Antonio. Giacomo Bastianini, he’s Celestino’s papa. Sebastiano, Francesco and Salvatore. Driving: Mitchell, Armando, Carmelo, Noah, Galen and Celestino. We’ll tell you more when we get in
Lukas: Okay, let me know when you’ve landed. It’ll take us about fifteen minutes to get to the airport from here
Lorenzo: See you soon
I tell everyone about the text.
“Seems like a lot of people coming for one guy.” Rhett frowns.
“Lorenzo said he would tell us everything when they get here. There’s something about this guy that they’re really worried about. And I’m just glad we have help.”
“True. I just hate that someone treated you like that, Emma. I’m so sorry that happened. I hope you know that you’re safe here with us.” Rhett says as he gets up and hugs Emma.
We all join in and hug her. I wonder if her family knows what she’s been through. I’m thinking that they don’t because her papa would never let someone treat one of his girls like that. He’s going to flip when he finds out.