"Granny Marian!"
Danny Dumani burst in like a little hurricane from the front door, closely followed by his mother, Shannon. The boy went straight to Sean's mother and hugged her tightly, as he always did, but although his mother didn't stop him, she looked at Shannon firmly.
"I wasn't expecting Danny. This is an adult conversation."
"Oh. I didn't know," Shannon said, seeming puzzled by everyone's serious demeanor. "I didn't have time to get a babysitter, but I believe Danny will be fine in one of the rooms."
Alexandra emerged from the kitchen, and Shannon smiled, probably expecting a warmer greeting from her, as the two had always gotten along infinitely well.
"It's good to see you, Lexi," Shannon said, her eyes then falling on the gold ring on the blonde's finger before scanning Sean's fingers. "Heavens. You two...?"
She was interrupted by the arrival of Elliot, Alex, and Ed. Danny ran over to greet the man who was his mother's boyfriend.
"Perhaps Elliot can look after Danny?" Alexandra suggested. "Would you do that, Elliot?"
"Sure," Elliot agreed. "Come on, big guy."
"Let's all go to the kitchen," Marian said, leading the way.
Shannon still attempted a smile at Sean, and although a part of him thought she was in the dark about everything, he couldn't bring himself to reciprocate. He entered the kitchen with his arm around Lexi's waist, who was still wearing the wrap dress from their earlier civil wedding.
"You're armed," she whispered lowly, not in a questioning tone.
Sean merely nodded, also becoming very aware of the revolver strapped to his waist. He pulled Alexandra close, trying to convey the reassurance he needed, but it was evident that the situation wasn't contributing much.
Alex and Ed were the last to arrive in the kitchen. The older one seemed flushed with emotion, but Alex's face betrayed his nervousness – he had always been a terrible liar.
As they all sat down, Sean tossed a folder of evidence onto the table.
"You have some explaining to do," Sean said.
At the same time, Marian asked, "How long have you known about Floriana?"
Ed's first response was, "Alex knew nothing."
"I'm not asking about Alexander," Marian replied sharply. "Answer."
Ed took a breath and responded.
"I've known for a few months."
"You lied to me," Marian concluded. "Knew Finn was going to leave us."
"He only told me the night he was killed," Ed argued.
Sean couldn't believe it. He laughed, though there was no humor in it.
"You knew all this time and didn't tell us?" he asked scornfully.
"I had to keep everything under wraps to keep things afloat."
"You kept it secret because you were involved!" Marian accused.
-x-
Tensions were high, the atmosphere heavy, and Lexi couldn't muster the courage to look at any of the Dumani. She couldn't believe the possibility of such betrayal. She couldn't even look at Shannon, someone she had always gotten along with.
Sean's face was red, a clear sign of anger, and he accused the Dumani:
"You wanted to take over everything, damn it," Sean said, pointing a finger at Alex and Ed. "Confess."
YOU ARE READING
E M P I R E
Romance"You could be a king. You could have an empire" Lexi and Sean had known each other since childhood and had lived a story for years that involved love, family, business, kisses and guns. When life's turns put both couple together, they try to figur...
