Page 35 of Unwanted Vows

“Good thing you were just across the hall,” Kate flashes me a smile.

“Didn’t your husband have a household staff?” Mimi asks, proving that she knew a great deal more about affluent households than I did.

“Had, was the word,” Kate replies, as she wipes down the counter. “Almost immediately, the world went into lockdown to help prevent the spread of Covid 19. Thank goodness Charles kept the housekeeper on retainer and had provided her with state-of-the-art electronics in her home. She talked me through so many things. She’s our company’s communication director these days.”

“This is a cozy house,” Rylie says, arranging the napkin holder, salt and pepper shakers, and a tray of after-dinner mints so they were shown off to their best advantage. “It has an empty feel right now, but you and Andrew will fix that quick enough.”

“Are you sure about that?” I ask.

“Absolutely,” Andrew’s baby sister says, turning guileless pansy blue eyes upon me. “I am not good at finances or medicine, but I know when people fit. I can see it when you are together, even though you’ve been across the room from each other most of the evening.”

I blink twice at this pronouncement. “I wish I was as sure of it as you seem to be,” I say. “I’ve been a single parent for nine years. I know how to do that. We didn’t even really date. We had one week together.”

Mimi nods sagely, agreeing with Rylie. “Sometimes all it takes is one night. Anytime you need some space, you are more than welcome to visit. I have a nice shoulder to cry on and a bushel basket of platitudes to hand out, as needed.”

We all laugh at that. Then our time of visiting is over.

Andrew opens the bedroom door, and holds it for his grandfather, who came out fussily settling his coat about him.

Mr. Aims looks all around at the people who crowded out after him. “Are you satisfied that the diagnosis is correct?” he growls.

The petite physician looked sad. “As nearly as I can be with a single examination, and your medical records. If you come to the hospital, I could run some more tests. With careful diet, exercise and the right medicine you might stretch those six months to a year, possibly even two with a little luck. But in the long run, your condition is fatal.”

Mr. Aims settled himself on my worn couch. The springs groan a little under his weight, but it holds. “Pah. I could have told you that. In fact, I did tell everyone that.”

“I am sorry for the inconvenience, Grandfather,” Andrew says, “but I needed to be sure. Not just for me, but for Madeline and Paul.”

“Well, now you know,” he scowls. “So are you ready to listen? Because what I have to say is important. I’ve run Aims Corps for the last seventy years. I’ve seen a lot of changes. I’ve made changes. Leaving a company like this without a head honcho is like leaving a dying scorpion to thresh around, spraying venom.”

“What have you done, Grandfather?” Rylie asks. “I know Richard had a lot of work to do with Lane Enterprises after Father and Mother drowned.”

“Oh, not just what I’ve done,” the old man chuckles. “I have Connections, the kind with a capital C. If they are mismanaged, half of the New York underworld will go to war. If I drop dead tonight, it will be a disaster.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “What do you mean ‘connections’?” I ask. “Just what is it you want my son to inherit?”

“Ever watch the Godfather?” the old man asks.

“Of course,” I say. “Kate and I watched it with our suite-mates in college. Surely you can’t mean you are a gang-lord?”

“He’s a lot more than that,” Andrew says. “He’s why I left town in such a hurry that I didn’t know I was leaving a child behind. I want no part of shaking down shopkeepers or promising ‘protection’ when I and mine would be the perpetrators.”

“Oh, Grandson,” Mr. Aims sighed. “It’s not exactly like that. Do you know what happens when no one is in charge of the crime world? Organized, it is ugly. But take away that organization, and you have chaos. That’s why I need an heir. I need someone to take up the reins. You can take us legit. I’ve gone as far as I can in that direction, but it’s like holding the tail of a tiger.”

Charles stared at the old man, his expression carefully blank. “You think you can’t let go of the tiger because if you do, it will turn and rend you.”

“Exactly,” Mr. Aims said. “Not just you, but everyone you hold dear. Ms. Northernfield, you have no idea how vulnerable you and your son have been and are. You think you are protected behind Spindizzy and Lane Enterprises, but I’ve had body guards watching over you since the beginning. You wanted to be left alone, so I did. But you are all children playing with fire.”

“That’s an interesting statement,” Charles says, his face carefully bland. Austin also has a professionally stone-faced expression. Terror grips my guts. He knew where we were all along! Paul and I had never been safe at all.

Andrew has an expression I’ve seen on my son’s face when he has encountered what he believes to be an injustice. “I want records, files, voice reports…whatever you’ve got. I’m not going into this mess blind. And I have a feeling that’s exactly what it is: a mess.”

The old man laughs bitterly. “My family deserted me, my friends are fleeing like rats leaving a sinking ship. You are in danger, and you want me to provide proof?”

“I don’t see how kidnapping Paul would help you,” I put in. “He and I have nothing to do with you.”

“You think that was me? Jason is out of control. He wants the throne, and if he takes over it will be a disaster. Paul was his best leverage. The other children were just icing on the cake. He tried to get hold of Cece before, then Rylie and Julia.”

“What is Jason Wintergreen to you?” Charles asks.

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