Butterfly and Flame - Alina and Evan

All or Nothing

Ashley was taking a very big risk. She had finished up her meeting with her attorneys and thoughts of what she would tell her grandsons filled her mind with unease. On the one hand she was being very unfair to Christian. He truly deserved to be at the head of their growing empire but he was still so young and she didn't want him to miss out on a life filled with family and not just numbers and one night stands. Then there was Evan. That was going to be a challenge no matter what she did. She could rely on only one thing. He would never let his brother down. That was his Achilles heal. Knowing that, Ashley made her decision. Once she put the wheel in motion there was nothing that could stop it. Not even her. She was determined to leave her grandchildren with wealth and with a future filled with love and family. Something that she herself experienced even if it was short lived and tragic. That love gave her Christian and through Christian her handsome grandsons and ... a granddaughter.

Ashley had hired a private investigator a few weeks prior. She didn't have much time. After Christians death Ashley fell apart. She was wracked by the guilt she felt at keeping his birth from Elliot and defending her reasons for doing so. Elliot was furious. Within hours of meeting his son, a son he believed was Ashley and Malek's; he also learned that he had two grandsons as well. Then when the questions were so many to answer Christian slipped into a coma and died two days later. Her heart couldn't take it and she was hospitalized. Elliot remained with her, at her side even though he couldn't forgive her for hiding the truth from him for so long. The boys were allowed to come and see her and he had met them while in the hospital but only briefly. Of course they didn't know him. She had introduced them as her long time friend. Ashley knew it was one more stab in the heart for Elliot. She promised him that after they recovered from the loss of their parents she would tell them of who he really was. She begged him for time. Time to undo what she had done and to make things right. However, she kept the birth of her granddaughter a secret from him. As far as Ashley knew the child was adopted. She had no idea of her whereabouts  or even if she still lived. She didn't want to give Elliot hope and then dash it away. She had done enough damage. She remembered how he looked at her when he discovered the truth. Something faded from his eyes in that moment. She knew it instantly. She had a small hope that they might be reunited in some way, but he was devastated and overwhelmed by learning of Christians existence and then at loosing him in less then seventy-two hours. He left her and didn't take any of her calls for over a year. When they finally spoke they decided it was better to leave the boys unaware of him while they were young. They had been through so much already.

Ashley had wanted to search for the child but Christians death and the overwhelming pain her grandsons were enduring at the loss of their parents was overwhelming. They became her central focus. They didn't want to be separated from each other for even a day so she hired a private teacher to continue their studies at home. For the next few years they received counseling to deal with their grief and learn how to cope. Evan had changed the most. He was still sweet and loving but he had become extremely protective of his younger brother. He distanced himself from her in a way that hurt her deeply. The therapists explained that Evan was doing that in order to protect himself. She was all he had left except Christian Jr., if somehow he lost her the pain would be too great so he outwardly kept her at a distance. Always respectful, always courteous but gone was the boy who hugged her and teased and and shared his dreams with her. She understood that it was his way of dealing with his pain and prayed that he would come around but as he got older she saw how much he kept his emotions in check. She worried about him a great deal more than his brother Christian. As she recalled those difficult times she tried to convince herself that she couldn't look for the child but in reality she had been afraid. Afraid to find out the child had died. Afraid to find out that the child had been mistreated or abandoned. She couldn't face it and preferred to live in denial but now the time had come for her to confront her past. She couldn't allow herself to dwell on her missteps. It had been so long ago. What mattered now was to get things in order. She wasn't going to leave this world without finding her granddaughter.

Christian knew that his grandmother had been meeting with her lawyers and that she had hired a private investigator. What he didn't know was why. She had been candid with him regarding the business and told him that as the eldest son Evan was to receive her shares which were 51% of the business, effectively making him majority shareholder. Christian laughed at the notion and said Evan would never take them and that if she thought to force him into the business by doing that then she really didn't know him and it would backfire on her. Ashley carefully considered what her younger grandson said as she looked at the photo of her son and his wife on her desk. She turned to him and said "Christian when have you known me to make a business decision without thinking through all the possible repercussions, pitfalls and consequences?....she paused and let him think about it. He was smart and she knew that he had learned a lot from her. She watched his face as realization hit home. "Gran, Evan is going to be furious with you. Please believe me when I say that I don't care if Evan is majority shareholder and effectively my boss but he will do everything in his power to get out of this". She walked around her desk and motioned for them to sit. "Christian, I'm not going to live forever. I'm tired and I no longer have the passion for the game of business like I know you do. I know that Evan isn't you. He doesn't love the game, the people or the money. But what I do know is that he loves you. He would never do anything that would jeopardize you or cause you pain. Evan understands this business and what he posses that you don't is what you need to keep you grounded. Evan despises greed and he will make sure you are never in its grasp. "Gran I have never done anything to affect our business's because I couldn't"..she interrupted him "Christian you have built this company up further than even I had dreamed. However, you have had me to temper some of your decisions. You have had me to guide you as you learned. Your brother isn't interested in money or fame or a legacy. He is however interested in philanthropy and the arts. The both of you will provide our employees, the recipients of our philanthropic efforts and the community as a whole a brand new vision of the future. One where business is not a mindless carnivore devouring what it desires and leaving behind destruction and loss. That was the empire that your grandfather would have left you. I saw to it that it be changed and now you and Evan will continue that into the future with your own families". Christian was in awe of her. In a single stroke his grandmother had set on course a plan that would force the both of them to use their talents and mutually curb their faults in order to achieve the same goal. "Christian, all of your lives you and Evan have to sought to make your parents proud of you both. You have learned and grown into fine young men. Neither of you perfect in any way but perfect together." She stood and walked away from him. Without turning around she said "in order to bring Evan back into the fold he must accept my shares before January 10 2019 otherwise they will be sold to the highest bidder and you will be minority shareholder in your own company taking direction from someone else. This is not what I want but it is my only choice. No matter what he might feel about my decision he will never let you down". Christian sat silently watching his grandmothers back. He stood then and walked up to her "Gran Evan isn't like me he won't fight with strategies or plans he will just fight this and he will hurt himself. Please reconsider and find another way." She looked up at this handsome young man. He looked so much like his mother it made her heart hurt. She could hardly see the little boy who hugged her tightly at their parents funeral. The little boy who refused to go to sleep unless his brother was in the bed with him. The little boy who would set place settings for them at the table until he completely understood that they were never coming back. That little boy was gone and in his place was a man. The future of her legacy.

When Christian had left her study Ashley was in deep thought barely realizing how much time had passed since having spoken with him. She knew him and was sure he had told Evan by now. They never kept any secrets from each other which is why she answered the questions she knew he would ask. Evan would have time to process it before he confronted her with it. She saw him enter the house from the poolside and prepared herself for the conversation that would surely come.