Chapter Sixty-Five
The autumn months passed by in a blur, the family settling into their places and finding a rhythm despite the many households whose lives intertwined on a daily basis.
Elsie and Arabella’s families were ensconced in the mansion down the hill, while Sophie and Javier lived with her parents in the guest house until after the wedding. Santiago and Gisela finished moving into the house next door, and the home they had all been renting together was let go.
Colin and Annabel had rented out their New York home and taken up residence in the guest house on the property with Elsie and Arabella in November, just in time for a humongous combined family Thanksgiving feast held in the mansion’s formal dining room. Elsie announced her plan to purchase the home from Gabriel as she was the oldest child, and she felt it was her place to host the family dinners on the West Coast moving forward. Having a dining room that held over a hundred guests seemed practical, given the size of their family and its potential to grow. Now that she was COO of FKMG, company events and parties could be hosted at her home, providing a layer of separation for Sophie and Javier.
The three youngest McKenzie kids had healed, and all FK Studios film projects had resumed.
Life felt normal. Good.
On December 1st, Enrique called. “Is now a good time for you and Sophie to talk?”
“Yes, let me conference her in. She’s at the house setting up Javier’s bedroom with Henry. Can you believe it took almost six months for his bedroom furniture to arrive? Hey, Sophie, Enrique’s on the line. Can you run down to my office so we can talk for a minute in private?”
“Oh, sure. Hi, Enrique! Henry, break time. I need to take this call. Be back in a few,” Sophie called out. A moment later, the sound of a door closing was heard. “Okay, I’m secure. What’s up?”
“Tom reached out to me. He heard about the meeting arranged with Sarah for the end of the month. We pooled our resources, and I finally have conclusive information on the Reyes Cartel. Sophie, you may not like this, so sit down,” Enrique instructed.
“Sitting,” she confirmed.
“First of all, the reason you’re a free woman is because Richard Reyes is dead. He turned state’s evidence and was placed in the witness protection program. With his help, the entire operation was shut down. The entire Reyes family was wiped out. A large number of them were killed during the raid on the family estate in Mexico. The rest were wiped out by competitors who didn’t want one of the most powerful cartels restructuring. Richard’s testimony helped the feds understand the cartel’s structure like they never had before. They were able to convict over a hundred key players in the sophisticated network the cartel had created. The reason it took me this long is because I was working to identify anyone who was still alive from that time who might hold a grudge against Richard and come after Javier if his face ever landed in the tabloids. I have spread my net far and wide over the past five months, and I am certain that there is no threat from the Reyes Cartel. I’ve worked with the BraveHeart team, and security measures are in place to monitor for any threat that may arise. Sophie, if you want Javier to continue wearing the special cream to keep his face from being photographed, that’s fine. I won’t tell you to stop. What I will say is that he doesn’t need to be hidden away anymore. Julio and I are confident that our teams can keep him safe. Tom is satisfied with the plans we have in place, and you have the green light to move forward with Sarah. Her safety is a top priority. Do not plan any media campaigns with her face. She lives in seclusion with her husband for a reason.”
“Enrique, is working with Sarah going to increase the danger to my family?” Fernando asked, considering this angle for the first time since all of this started.
“No. I’m fully aware of the situation surrounding Tom’s heightened security for her, and it shouldn’t be a problem for you. If it becomes an issue, I’m confident your BraveHeart security team will be able to handle it,” Enrique replied confidently. “If there aren’t any questions, I’ll wish you both a very Merry Christmas. See you on New Year’s Eve.”
“Merry Christmas!” they said in unison before Enrique jumped off the call.
“Sophie, are you okay?” Fernando asked, wishing he had been with her for this conversation.
“Yes, actually. I think in my heart, I knew that Richard was dead. I’m glad he was able to help bring the cartel down before he was killed. It must have been very hard for him to turn on his family, though. I think this is a secret we should keep from Javier until he is an adult. He knows he has a biological father, and I can honestly say he is dead now but that he was a good man. When the time comes to share his father’s past, I will ask Enrique to help us so Javier doesn’t wind up doing his own research and stirring up trouble. Now that Enrique helped us verify the cash and gems he saved for us are clean, we can put them in the safe for Javi when he gets older and decides what he wants to do with them. A few of the stones would make beautiful jewelry for his future bride and would be a nice connection to his father. Okay, I need to get back to work, so this is done before Javier gets home from school. Was there anything else?”
“Yes, I received confirmation from Harrington House in Hickory Falls; our reservations are all set for December 22 nd -25 th .”
“Perfect. The winter clothes I ordered for Javier arrived, and they fit, a miracle of all miracles given his recent growth spurt. I’ll work on getting us packed. I think I forgot to mention the gowns you had Tess select for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve arrived, too, and they are stunning. Thank you. That was a huge item taken off my list. I appreciate not having to stress over what to wear for those two occasions.”
“There are perks to having a personal stylist, Sophie. Soon, you will be calling and arranging your own wardrobe. Have a good evening. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Sophie said softly before ending the call.