Chapter 28
Two days later Helena found herself at the Rahmi embassy.
“She has a set of brass balls,” Greer whispered as Lamya took a seat at the computer inside the royal receiving room at the main house on Desert Sun Farm.
Next to her, Abu looked uncomfortable in a borrowed suit and tie.
Lamya was in a designer dress and her hair and makeup were everything a young professional woman would want.
Gone were the scared teens and in their place were strong young adults.
“No. Balls are delicate and turn men into crying babies if they get hit. She has brass ovaries. She’s doing the hard stuff and not blinking,” Helena whispered.
Greer had listened to Lamya’s idea and instantly agreed to it.
Helena was hesitant, but it wasn’t her call.
So here they were, sitting behind the laptop that Lamya and Abu were using to lay their trap.
At the far end of the table was a television screen that mirrored the laptop so Greer, Helena, and Greer’s team could watch and record each interaction with the board of directors.
The video came onto the screen and a woman’s image appeared.
She had to be in her mid to late forties.
She instantly teared up and placed her hand over her mouth.
“You look just like your mother! She was my best friend in the whole world. We knew you were alive, but we could never get a location or who you were with.” The woman paused and wiped a tear.
“I’m Yana, do you remember me? I was at every birthday party of yours, Lamya.
And Abu, I visited you as soon as you were born.
My, what a fine young man you have turned into.
” Yana choked up a little and took a deep breath. “Your parents would be so proud.”
Lamya’s hands were tightly entwined as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
This was no place for them, even if the woman was probably her mother’s age right now.
It was sure to bring up those long-buried memories.
“We were with family, being kept safe from those who wish to steal our legacy, Yana.”
The woman’s smile slipped into a frown, but a frown of understanding. “So, you know about the power you have and what a target that makes you?”
“We do. But we’re tired of hiding. Abu turns eighteen in two months.
I’m turning twenty-one in four days. I have full rights to our inheritance and, with Abu’s blessing, I plan to execute those rights.
According to my parents’ will, I am able to assume full control of all companies right now.
I intend to do just that. Then Abu will take over the petroleum company when he turns eighteen.
In celebration of reclaiming our birthright, I am signing the papers at my birthday party,” Lamya told Yana. “And I want to invite you to it.”
Yana looked delighted. “Oh, children. Well, not children anymore, are you? But beautiful adults. I would be delighted. Where are you?”
“We are in the United States, a town called Keeneston, Kentucky. However, please do not tell the rest of the board. I am unsure who to trust. I want you here as the board’s representative.”
“Where is this place?” Helena watched Yana pull up her phone. Her eyes went wide. “Well, I'd better book my travel.”
“The party will be at a beautiful bed and breakfast. I’ll send you the address. I appreciate your discretion. There’s a reason you were my mother’s best friend, and I hope you’ll be mine too,” Lamya told her.
“It would be my honor. I’m touched and can’t wait to hug you both in person. Oh, I have so many stories to tell you about your mother and father. I am booking my trip right now and I will see you in four days. This is such a blessing!”
Lamya ended the call and let out a deep breath. “Surely she’s not the one working with Garang? She seems innocent.”
“That’s my read, too,” Rosalie told her.
She was the profiler after all. She should know.
“She seemed sincere. Good choice for the bed and breakfast. Remember, if I signal you or you get a bad vibe from them, tell them to go to either Desert Sun Farm or the Keeneston Conference Center, AKA the military training center.”
“If you’re not sure, send them to the Blossom Café or Cy Davies’s farm,” Rosalie reminded her.
The next call was to Ayman. He had been appointed to the board just weeks before Lamya and Abu’s parents were killed.
He was nearing forty and cocky. He didn’t seem to have a reaction one way or the other to seeing them alive besides being annoyed at having to travel so far to see them.
Abu had taken control of this video call.
“The party will be at this beautiful farm in town. I’ll send you the address.
I appreciate your discretion. You’re the only one we can trust since you were so new to the board,” Abu told Ayman.
The screen went blank and everyone let out a breath. “He’s a jerk,” Abu told them. “He never met us and he has no loyalty to us. But he didn’t give off any indication one way or the other besides being annoyed at getting our call, so I just followed your lead,” he said to Rosalie.
“The farm was the right call,” Rosalie told him.
Helena agreed too. Ayman was unlikable but did that mean he was a traitor?
Next up was Eufrasia. The older gentleman was in his late sixties and was moved to tears at the sight of Lamya and Abu.
Lamya remembered a gift the man had given him.
He was actually a distant cousin by marriage of some kind to her father.
He too had looked for them with Yana, but had never found them.
They’d told him to also meet at the bed and breakfast. But like the others, they told him not to tell anyone.
“I hope he’s as sweet as he appears to be,” Helena whispered to Greer. “He would make a great grandfather figure.”
Greer nodded her head in agreement.
“Two more,” Rosalie said. Helena took a deep breath. So far there were no glaring red flags besides Ayman being a jerk.
“I’ll take Zarifa,” Abu said of the woman who, like Ayman, was young and had a background in accounting.
“And I’ll take Marwan,” Lamya said of the board member who looked to be in his late fifties and who was in the head management role.
Helena was so proud of them as they made their video calls.
Abu sat up straight and exuded a confidence Helena had seen in images of his father.
Abu pressed on the fact that his sister would run the company until he turned eighteen, then he had every intention of taking over.
Zarifa didn’t say anything one way or the other about that.
She seemed polite, excited to meet them, and asked when and where.
In a brief moment of his youth, Abu looked to Rosalie.
She held up her pad of paper, and before it was obvious, Abu looked back to the camera.
“It’s my sister’s twenty-first birthday in four days,” Abu told her.
“I want to invite you to her party where she’ll be signing all the inheritance paperwork and taking control of the companies with my full support.
Unfortunately, we don’t know who to trust on the board.
Since you have a direct connection with the accounting, we believe you’ll be the most valuable to teach us about the current status of our inheritance.
I want to stress that this is confidential.
No one from the board must know. You’re the only one who will be present. ”
“That is a great honor,” Zarifa said with the respect needed in this situation. “Where is the party?”
“Keeneston, Kentucky. It’s being held at The Blossom Café, in Keeneston.
I’ll send you the location. I know it’s a bit of a journey.
We have a lot to discuss about the future of the company and the direction my sister and I want to take it in.
I believe we’ll be shaking things up some. I’d love your opinion.”
“Of course. I’m happy to help advise you.”
The video call ended and Abu practically deflated. “She seemed good, but then again, she wasn’t Yana good. I thought this would be easier.”
“I agree,” Rosalie admitted. “She wasn’t as many green flags as Yana or Eufrasia, so the café is perfect since there really weren’t any red ones either.
One more. Why don’t we send him to the military center regardless of what you think?
” she said to Lamya. “That way we can keep the three we are unsure about separate. I think we’re good with Yana and Eufrasia, but we don’t want to chance it. ”
Lamya agreed and the Zoom call was made. Marwan was shocked to say the least to be invited to Lamya’s birthday party and eagerly accepted the invitation. Again, some green flags, no red ones. A couple of beige flags, but nothing worrisome.
“There’s a conference center here in Keeneston.
We’re turning it into a birthday party. I’m so glad you can represent the board.
I plan to take full control of my inheritance and would love your opinions on my vision for the companies and the board.
Please,” Lamya said, looking innocent, “don’t tell anyone about this trip until things are signed. ”
“Of course. I look forward to meeting you in person and hearing your plans for the future.”
Lamya ended the call and both she and Abu deflated. It had been over an hour of intense video calls. “What do you all think?” Lamya asked Greer and her group.
“I think Rosalie is correct that Yana and Eufrasia aren’t the ones working with Garang,” Greer confirmed. “We’ll look into the other three. I don’t want to make any assumptions. Those can get you killed.”
“I’ve been doing deep dives on the board,” Bowen told them.
“Yana’s and Eufrasia’s stories are verified.
They did look for you two as soon as your parents were killed.
I hacked their emails. They were friends and supporters of your parents.
That doesn’t mean they are in the clear.
Friends turn on friends all the time. However, there was nothing but true sadness at their deaths and worry for you both.
As for the past two years, there’s been no suspicious emails or bank transfers.
They seem to be working hard to keep the companies running smoothly.
I’ll print off the relevant document for you to read.
It will help you with some insight as to where the companies stand. ”
“Thank you, Bowen,” Lamya said with determination.
“What about the other three?” Abu asked Bowen.
“Less clear. Their finances are way more complicated. It’ll take a while to trace down the wires and see where they’re coming and going from.
It’s not necessarily a red flag, it’s just that they’re more technologically savvy and are involved with more companies than just yours, which means many more money trails to follow. ”
“Well, whoever it is, the plan is in motion,” Helena said, taking a deep breath.
Each party was slightly offset. The plan was for Abu and Lamya to start at the bed and breakfast. They would learn as much as they could from Yana and Eufrasia before heading to the farm, then the military center, and ending at the café.
“Don’t worry,” Greer told Helena as the group talked around them. “We’ll be watching you the whole time too.”
That was the other part of the plan. The part she knew Nolan would hate. Helena was going to be right beside Lamya and Abu’s side the entire time.
“What about us?” Fiza asked. “We want to help too.”
Lamya and Abu insisted on telling their friends everything. They were family to them and they wanted their support. Plus, Helena wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t end up working with Lamya and Abu.
“I know you want to be there,” Greer told them.
“But I want all the attention on Lamya and Abu. How do you feel about being guests, but keeping your distance from the birthday girl? I specifically want you to mingle close enough to overhear the board or try to read any texts the board sends out while at the party.”
“We can do that,” Fiza instantly agreed.
“And can you do an accent? I wouldn’t mind introducing you from a different country so you’ll instantly be dismissed,” Greer told them.
The three looked at each other and shrugged. “We can do a passable British one. We had a British nun for a while at one of the schools we attended.”
“Speaking of nuns,” Kuol said to the group, “I have one more favor.”