FRAUDS

chapter two

The car ride home was a nightmare. I cowered into the leather seats of my parent's Escalade as Ichiro drove me home. My parents would be furious. It was never good when Aurelia and Daichi Tomomi were angry. It didn't bode well for me, my friends, Ichiro or the owners of the club we were at. Although, I have to say, the worst off will most definitely be the shooter, he most likely will regret the day he was born by the time my parents were done with him.

My mother is Aurelia Arnault-Tomomi. She is the CEO of a law firm that specializes in criminal law, however if you ask the right people, they will tell you that if you have the right connections and enough money, her and her team can get you out of any lawsuit no matter the details. She is originally from Nice, France from a large family, most of which also have made careers out of the 'black market' for lack of a better word. My mother is a charming, yet cunning woman with flowing blonde hair, slanted blue eyes and defined cheekbones - the latter two of which I inherited. I looked more like my father though, Daichi Tomomi, who is from Takayama, Japan. He is a very tall man with Japanese-style tattoos covering his body. The tattoos plus the jet black hair, chiseled features and the stoic aura around him made him intimidating to anybody. My father is ex-Japanese military who now owns a company that trains private body guards and other jobs of that sort. He used to teach me when I was young and I used to pretend that I was a spy, rolling around on the gym mats with pretend nunchucks flying around my head.

By the time I had refocused on the reality around me we had arrived at my home. Ichiro ran around to open the door for me and I clutched the jacket that I had been given closer around my body. I took a deep breathe and headed up the stone pathway to the front door, attempting to mentally prepare myself for the storm that was waiting inside.

I stepped in the door and was not surprised at all to see my parents sitting in the living room like a stock image of what happens when you get home late and your parents are very, very angry. My father sat in a leather armchair, still with his black suit on from work, and my mother leaned on the back of the chair looking like she was calculating something in her head. Both parents immediately stood up as soon as Ichiro and I entered.

"Hi." I greeted them in a small voice, they were the only two people who could make me feel this small.

"Emi-chan," My father nodded at me and looked at Ichiro, who got the message that he would be interrogated later and left to his quarters.

My mother on the other hand didn't even greet me, "Emmanuelle, what happened?"

I took a breath, "Let's first establish that all of us are okay and I am okay."

"I don't care Emmanuelle, you could have died! Did that run through your head at all when you only brought Ichiro to protect you and all of your friends? Yannic was there as well! Can you imagine what would have happened if my nephew was hurt? Do you care at all about your safety?" My mother walked closer to me, "Non? "

"Maman, I am okay. I don't know what happened or why that man was there." I tried to smile reassuringly.

She suddenly sobbed and pulled me into a hug, "You stupid girl. Of course that man was after you, there is nothing that can give you more power than putting in danger the heirs to some of the most powerful families in the world."

I peered at my father over her shoulder who was already on his phone, "Otousan** what are you doing?"

He briefly looked up, "Emi-chan don't worry yourself, I am dealing with a matter that will have to happen sooner than I thought."

My mother unravelled herself from the hug, returning to the reserved woman I was used to and looked me dead in the eye, "This man will regret the day he was born." With that, she turned and followed my father out of the room.