Chapter Three: Leo Prescott

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Chapter Three: Leo Prescott

Leo Prescott sat on his upper deck, looking over his town and sipping a glass of lemonade as the sun sank behind the horizon. He finally had everything right where he wanted it. His loving, young, beautiful wife was perfectly trained to do exactly as he told her and she now knew his routine. He had a beautiful daughter who he had wrapped around his finger; he was planning her wedding to a rich merchant from out of town; he would be a valuable asset to his small community. Clark, his handsome son of 15, was a sure shot with a shotgun and showed great promise in running the community when Leo decided to retire.

There was one thing out of order, though. Those blasted Tanner's. His pretty young wife, Adeline, did not come without womanly needs; needs that consisted of acquiring pretty things. Like bows, ribbons, and other little trinkets his wife desired. But Leo could not afford her constant spending. So he came by the shop one day and offered what should be an irresistible deal.

All the Tanner's would have to do is give his family a discount on the things his wife splurged on, and the Mayor of Charlottetown would be forever in his debt and gratitude. Leo even offered his son, Clark, for marriage to their spoiled little girl, Lucinda, who was eight at the time. There was no way the Tanner's would pass on that.

But they did. The Tanner's prided themselves in being fair to everyone, never offering discounts or sales that were exclusive to only one person. They did not want people to catch wind of the 'discounts' they were giving to the Prescott's; it just wouldn't be fair.

But Leo didn't understand 'fair'. Leo was the type of man who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. And if he couldn't get one thing, everything else would start slipping away. If he couldn't provide his wife's trinkets, she would start slipping away. His daughter acted on whatever her mother did, and if Adeline didn't listen to him, Charlotte wouldn't listen to him. She wouldn't marry the merchant if her mother wasn't pushing for it. Then if the town found that Leo Prescott's family wouldn't follow him, he would lose the dignity and demeanor that came with the title 'Mayor'. Then what would he be? A bossy old man who's family left him?

He would not allow that to happen. Leo would not lose the precious control that came with money and a good name. He needed a new solution, a solution that didn't threaten his reputation or power in Charlottetown.

Then it came to him. The perfect way to assert his dominance while still making his wife happy. He would raise the taxes. Get more wheat and corn from the farmers, more horseshoes and nails from the Harvey's, and more money from the Tanner's and Woodson's. They would be mad, but there was nothing they could do about it. This was his land, after all.

It wasn't technically his land, though. He had a fake deed made up in the city, and the only people to ever go to the city were the Tanner's, but they only went to check out the fashions and go to flea markets to get more items for their general store.

Bruce went sometimes, to stock up on liquor, but he never let Lisette come. And none of them would ever doubt the authenticity of the deed.

So he could herd anyone he wanted out of Charlottetown, with no opposition from the other residents of the village. No one could oppose his new taxes.

Leo sat on his porch, sipping his lemonade, with no thoughts of how badly his 'harmless' new taxes would affect his life.

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Sorry this is kind of short. It's just a filler that shows what Leo Prescott is like. I also had to squeeze in the new taxes somewhere.

This story might change a bit, so don't be concerned if the number of parts decreases or the title or picture changes.

I am also going to add a cast soon (yay!) and add pics of the characters to the earlier chapters, so those should be up soon.

Feel free to vote and COMMENT!

-Eliz♥♥

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