Fractured

Chapter 13 - The Morgan Family Charity Gala, Pt 1

Over the course of the week we worked out our plan for the following Saturday. Corey would run surveillance, watching from the security room for anyone that doesn't seem to fit, cross-referencing them with my known associates from outside of the Academy. Brandon, Marc and Axel would pose as a 3 piece jazz band that would be the support act for Victor; and Raven would be posing as my husband, since he refused to practice any instrument and someone needed to stay with me while the others were on stage.

As promised by Gabriel, our full outfits arrived on Friday. Corey's suit matched the security team, a plain black suit, black shirt, and no tie. Brandon, Marc and Axel all had black suits with a white pinstripe, black shirt, white tie and white suspenders. Raven had a black suit with a silver shirt. They all had the standard black dress shoes.

My dress was a black, floor length, fitted evening gown, with a plunging sweetheart neckline and long sleeves. From the waist up, the dress was covered in black and silver glass beads and the side was split from the upper thigh to the ground. It was paired with some stunning silver heels and silver drop earrings. There was also the diamond ring that was insisted upon if Raven would be playing the part of my husband. Gabriel had outdone himself yet again with the styling.

After we had made sure everything fit to perfection, I went over everything I knew I would need. The reason Victor needed me to come was his mother. Once again, Jasmine was trying to force him to take on more than his contracted 2 appearances a year. He performed annually at the Morgan Family Charity Gala event and one other function, to be agreed upon by both parties. George and Jasmine had signed the contract outlining the terms and knew very well what would happen if they were to breach the contract.

I had been sleeping on the sofa in Axel's apartment since the incident that first night. No one argued with me about it after Marc and Raven filled them in on what had happened. I must admit that I had enjoyed knowing I wasn't in an empty house and one of them had always been close by. If they weren't in the room with me constantly, they would make excuses to come through and check on me. The most popular excuse was 'oh, I just wanted a glass of water' or 'I couldn't sleep, so thought some warm milk might help'. I had to give them credit, I couldn't remember the last time that someone other than Phil or Rose had been so considerate toward me that they felt the need to check in on me. I hadn't realised just how much I had missed being around people.

During the week, I had been filled in on the plan to keep Raven in the dark about my knowing Russian, and so far, he had taken almost every opportunity he had since we finalised the plan to call me his wife in his native tongue, thickening his accent after he noticed the reaction to it that I had attempted to hide. He also liked to given me little compliments that I am sure he would have kept to himself if he knew I understood him such as he liked the way my curls bounced when I walked and that he thought I was cute when I was flustered. We had also conversed a little in Spanish. He wanted to continue to learn more of the language, but was unsure about who he could practice his conversation skills with to ensure he got his pronunciation correct.

Waking up earlier than planned on Saturday morning, I decided to head down to the gym so I could get in a workout before making sure everything is perfect for tonight – including the multiple exit plans we had in place. I made it out the door and to the elevator before Brandon joined me, claiming he wanted to do the same thing. The workout was brief but intense and exiting the elevator back on their floor, we were greeted with the smell of breakfast.

I started getting ready around lunchtime. Corey, Axel and Marc had filtered in and out while I was working on my hair. Marc was trying to convince me that he would make a better fake husband than Raven and even attempted a fake proposal to try and get me to change the plan.