Their sunshine

Chapter 8

James' POV

I was in the middle of cooking dinner with Elijah, when my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I said. "Dad, she isn't a threat to our family and is being abused by Marry who is lying unconscious in my car. I will bring her to our dungeon in the warehouse. You can start to call your lawyers to prepare everything for the adoption. I think Ryan will protest to go to school tomorrow so tell him to meet me at nine o'clock in the garage. We will buy things to decorate her room. I have some matters to take care of so don't wait for me tonight."

Vince hung up. I am glad to have this bright kid. He is a lot like his grandfather - he acts cold, emotionless, always serious. He smiles at us only from time to time. Almost everyone is afraid to be in his presence. He is the best leader I could have wished for. He is good at psychology. He knows what people around him think about, how to get them to do what he wants. He can find out their biggest secret within a day and know immediately what their biggest fear is.

"Kids, come to eat dinner," I said to the intercom.

"Dad! How did it go? Will Anna stay with us?" Ryan shouted as he ran to me.

"Yes. Now sit down and come eat."

"So... Does it mean that she was really abused?" I nodded."You said she is seven, right? Poor little thing. She will need a lot of rest," said Elijah.

After dinner, I told my boys to do their homework and go to sleep. And again, Vince was right.

"I will not go to school when I can be with Anna. You can't make me go to school."

"Don't worry. Vince will wait for you in the garage at 9 a.m. You will help him decorate her room." I told him and saw how he relaxed.

"Dad, does it mean we can also go with them?" Will asked and shocked me. I didn't expect this.

"No, Will. You can't."

"Byt why? I will be her brother too. It's not fair if Ryan can go when I can't."

"Life is not fair."

"Dad. Please. I will clean my room." Oh. He didn't. Did the Will I know just asked for something in exchange for cleaning his room? The one whose room is always messy and everyone's afraid to go there? Even our maids are afraid of it.

"I would love to see your room clean. But I think you will not keep your promise. How can I believe you when you already tried it before?"

"I promise this time it would be different."

"Ok. Go upstairs and do your homework. After you are done you can start cleaning your room. If you have it in the morning I will let you go with them."

"But dad! You know Vince gave me a bedtime at 11 p.m. If I don't sleep by then, he won't let me go with them. I can't make it in time."

"Your fault. You could have cleaned your room from time to time. So does it mean you won't try to do it?"

"Dad! Have you ever been to my room? It's impossible. I will go do my homework now."

And he left. He was really sad, but he must know the consequences of his acts. 

In the morning I called my lawyers. When Ryan and Vince came back I helped them organize the room. Everything was in sea pink color. They even bought her some toys and clothes. I hope she will like it.

After lunch, I took Ryan with me and we went to the orphanage.

"Good afternoon. I would like to adopt Anna Smith. My boy knows her and we decided we want her in our family. She will be better provided with us."

"Are you sure?" When I nodded she continued. "Ok. Here are some papers, you need to fill and sign then you can come here. After that, it will take a month for someone above us to approve it. They will come to your house to see if it is fit for her and then you can take her in. After some time they will come to talk to her about how she feels there and if everything is alright."

"Thanks, but we already were acknowledged as fit to take care of her. Here are the papers." It's good to have power. You can make things move a lot faster.

"Ok. Wait. I will check it. Meanwhile, you can go and see her. Her room is on the second floor, the fifth door on the right."

We went there and saw Anna sitting on the floor playing with her teddy. We stood there for a minute and watched her. Then Ryan said: "Hi." I've never seen anyone moving faster. Within a second she jumped at him and thank God Ryan caught her.

"Hi, Ry," she told him, snuggling her nose into his crook of the neck.

"Honey, what would you think about you living with us? Would you like to move in with us?"

"Are you serious mister?"

"Yes. Would you like to become a member of my family?"

"I would love that," she shouted.

"Alright. Where are your things? We have to put them into a bag."

"I've already packed, mister."

"Ok, sweetheart. Then you can go play with Ryan." After a while, I started to be impatient, so I said: "I will see what is taking so long. Be careful while I am gone."

When I went to the office, Rose had just finished reading. "Everything looks good, sir. I just have to have a little chat with Anna and then you can take her with you."

"They are in the garden. I will take the suitcase to the car."

When Anna arrived, we quickly said goodbye to Rose and drove away.

"Anna, sweetheart. Are you excited to meet your new older brothers?" asked Ryan.

"Yeah," she replied.

"We bought you some clothes and decorated your room. Do you remember when we talked about what you want your room to look like? It's almost like you imagined. Everything is in see pink and you have fluffy cushions and there is a small sofa for guests. Did I say something wrong? What's going on? Why did you stop smiling?" he panicked.

"I... just... Do you know how much it cost? It's expensive. I am expensive. I promise, I will try to work as soon as I can to pay it back, but nobody wants to give a job to seven-years-old. I know, I tried to find a job before. I promise I will clean your house and be cheap as I can, but you will lose so much money with me. Maybe I can bake cookies and sell it or help some old ladies gardening or-"

"Anna. Stop this nonsense. We take you in because we like you. Not because we want to earn money from it. And the only work you will do is to clean your room. If I ever hear you talking about finding a job before you are at least fifteen, I will wash your mouth. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Honey, you know, you can call me dad."

"Hmmm, sir. I am sorry, but I am not comfortable calling you dad. Maybe after we spend a little bit more time together? And I have to ask dad what he thinks about it. I know he is not here, but wouldn't he feel betrayed?"

"It's ok, honey and I think that your dad would be happy that you find someone who will help him keep you safe. But take your time. I will wait."

"Thank you, sir."

"Anna, look! We are almost here." Shouted Ryan.