Chapter Eleven
It had been a long day. Fernando was looking forward to a hot shower and bed. Making time in his schedule for this trip to Europe meant squeezing in extra meetings before and after. It had been nonstop all week, but negotiations had finally ended for the screenplay of a new movie project. Postproduction had wrapped up on several projects, and they were going to be good.
Then, tonight, there had been a celebration dinner in honor of his win at the Edgar Awards. He hadn’t been able to make the actual award show due to his inability to fly but was honored at a dinner in LA by industry leaders. It was an excuse for folks to hobnob and network, but he wasn’t complaining. Every award on the shelf was a success for his company and the people who worked there. He networked at events like this just as much as everyone else did, so he attended and thanked his hosts graciously.
He was in the middle of removing his tie and kicking off his shoes when an unknown male voice spoke from the sitting area in the corner of his bedroom .
“Took you long enough. I was giving you another hour before I tried out your bed like Goldilocks. If my brother had been here, you would have heard his snores halfway down the hall. Come in, have a seat. If I was going to hurt you, it would already be done.”
The medium-built blond man indicated to the armchair next to the one he was sitting in. He didn’t look scary, but the fact he was in Fernando’s home, in his bedroom no less, made his heart race.
“I assume you’re Sarah’s brother. My brothers Enrique and Gabriel told me to expect a visit. I guess one of them gave you the code to my security system. How did you get past my security team? Or did one of them call and get you permission to come into my home?”
“Yes, I’m Sarah’s brother. You can call me Tom. No, no one gave me the code. They didn’t need to. Using the date of your BBC adoption was better than your birthday but still not original. Never use dates that are part of public records as passwords. Enrique should have already told you that. No, your security guards did not let me in the house. Julio will need to find you new men, as yours are ineffective. My turn. What do you want with my sister? Who have you shared her identity with? Why do you have two of the most skilled security professionals in your family and don’t have them running point on your personal security?”
Tom sat back in the cream brocade wingback chair as relaxed as a king in his castle, not like an interloper who had broken and entered into the home of one of the wealthiest men in the country.
“I don’t like relying on other people. My brothers are busy, and I don’t want to be a burden. I am the youngest, but that doesn’t mean I need my big brothers babysitting me. I want to offer Sarah a collaboration. I have investigated her publishing house, and it is failing. She has the potential to grow with my company, and I want to offer her a partnership. I hired four PIs over the years to figure out who Marie Lautner really was, but they all came back empty-handed until the last one. He first told me he didn’t know, but then a year later, back in February, he called me up out of the blue and said he had found her. My assistant Sophie Williams knows, and I recently learned that she asked our in-house investigator to locate Sarah’s contact information but not the connection to Marie Lautner. That is all. Sarah’s identity is safe with us,” Fernando assured.
“You don’t get to decide who my sister’s identity is safe with. The people in that circle of trust were very carefully vetted, and you, Fernando Knight Santos, did not make it in when two of your older brothers, and now Julio, did. The only reason you are getting the nicer version of this meeting with me and not my brother Eric is because your brothers all assured me you could be trusted. The fact that you have already shared this information with two other people is a concern. You can take chances with the lives of your family, but you don’t get to take chances with the lives of mine. If someone goes to such great lengths to keep their identity a secret, you should respect that.”
“I don’t understand why Sarah’s identity is such a closely guarded secret. She is a famous author. Her first young adult series has already been adapted for television, and her adult series is definitely close behind. I know she has received awards for her work and attended award shows. How is it that she is never photographed?” Fernando asked.
“The how and why are none of your business. I want my sister to enjoy life to its fullest and receive the recognition she deserves. It takes a lot of time, effort, and resources to do that. Her publishing house isn’t failing; it just isn’t thriving because all the attention is on her. All the other authors and books are basically for show, a cover. Those authors’ writing is mediocre at best. They would never have gotten a publishing deal at all if not for their contribution to helping hide Sarah. The owner died recently, and restructuring has been done. Things have gotten messy, and changes will be made. If she wants to hop over to your publishing house, that is her choice, but before any more action is taken, your ideas, suggestions, and offers will be run past her legal team, her husband, and me.”
“Man, it’s the 21 st century. Women aren’t chattel anymore!” Fernando declared, infuriated by the leash these men had on this woman.
“Trust me, Sarah is her own woman and has a mind of her own. No man is going to tell her what to do except her brother and husband, who she knows will protect her at all costs. She understands what’s at stake here. Your assistant’s phone call last month scared her silly. She answered it out of habit and instantly regretted it. If it hadn’t been for Eric sitting right next to her to calm her down… let’s just say she values her privacy more than ever these days, and no one and nothing is going to threaten her peace of mind. If you want to collaborate with her, you will do it on our terms. There will be a very detailed contract. You and your team of vetted and approved individuals will understand that there is more at stake here than legal filing if you screw her over. If her name is leaked, her face is slipped to the media; if she is endangered in any way, even a single mention in an unauthorized email, I will erase your name from any and all records. It will be like you were never born, and there will be nothing your brothers can do to stop me. Then, Eric will take you somewhere no one knows about, and you will wish you hadn’t been born because that is what he does. Still want to work with my sister? Sit down with your brothers and find out how to secure your communications and close your circle. Then, and only then, may Sophie Williams reach out to Sarah again and let her know that your house is in order and would like to proceed with a meeting. Make sure this is what you want because once you walk through this door, your risk factor multiplies exponentially, and so do your brothers. Sometimes, I shake my head at the mysterious ways God works. The number of ties that now connect our family is rather astounding, considering the layers of separation and division we have put into place over the years. Sarah is excited to work with you, and I will work with E and J to make that happen if you are willing to put in the effort. Think it over and choose wisely. Sarah is more precious to me than your Hannah is to you.”
“I highly doubt that,” Fernando argued with a smirk.
“My sister and I have never gone longer than a week without talking, and now she lives right next door to me and is married to my best friend. You go months without speaking to Hannah and only see her once or twice a year. Trust me on this. Whatever you feel for Hannah, multiply that by ten, and you may be getting close to my relationship with Sarah.”
Tom rose to leave but turned before exiting the bedroom. “Don’t ever say my sister’s name again. The same goes for Sophie. Come up with a code name if you have to, but don’t use Sarah Stoll; in fact, I would prefer that you don’t say Marie Lautner outside of your office, which E assures me is secure. You never know who is listening, and you are not your brothers. You’re na?ve, which I can appreciate. The world needs people like you. But I don’t trust you not to slip and say it in public. Understood?”
“Understood. Thank you. I never meant to hurt her or endanger her. As you said, I was na?ve and wasn’t thinking clearly about the implications of how challenging it was to find her. I would really like to work with her. I will talk it over with my brothers before proceeding.”
“Very good. Also, I took care of the PIs. Don’t reach out to them again. Any investigative work needs to be run through your brother’s security firm. If you already had that procedure in place, a red flag would have gone up when you requested information on Sarah, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now. Have a good night, and enjoy your trip to Europe. I know you’re trying to overcome your fear of flying, but I would still have Sophie book the first-class tickets. It’s hard for veteran travelers to make that flight in economy. If you have a phobia, it will not be fun for you or the people around you when you panic being sardined in those seats for fourteen hours.”
“How did you know…”
“You’re on my radar now, Fernando. I know everything about you. You have five pairs of red boxer briefs in your drawer, but the rest are black or navy blue. That, my new friend, says it all,” Tom called as he walked down the hall towards the main stairs.
Fernando popped his head in his walk-in closet, half expecting it to be trashed, but everything appeared to be in its place. By the time he followed Tom downstairs, he was gone. Sitting on the entry table was a blank business card with a handwritten number. He pocketed the card and made his way upstairs to shower, then call his brothers. He had a feeling he had gotten in way over his head, but he had already churned the water, so he might as well see if he could seal the deal and get Sarah on his team. Now, what would be a good code name for her?