Chapter 11

I wake up the next morning to my phone ringing, I jump up and quickly grab it, the screen indicates it was Carlos.

*****PHONE CALL*****

ME: "Hey Carlos, is the plan in play already?"

CARLOS: "Yeah, they escaped."

ME: "OK, me and Branton will grab breakfast and be over in about an hour."

CARLOS: "I'll let everyone know. Come straight to the library that is where we are meeting."

I disconnect the call, quickly get a shower, get dressed and go downstairs. I find Branton already preparing breakfast. He turns in my direction and smiles.

"I assume you goy the the call?" Branton asks.

"Yeah Carlos called me." I answer

He nods, "Sam called me."

He puts two plates down on the bar and we eat quickly in silence. We get done, load the dishwasher and leave. We both clearly on edge after everything that happened and was said. We pull up to the mansion gates and are quickly allowed through. We get to the door of the mansion, the guards open the door for us and me and Branton rush to the library. We open the door and see Donya and Emo sitting in the middle of the room behind their laptops and two iPads sitting between their laptops. The rest of the group were looking over their shoulders at their screens.

"Ok, This looks intense, what do we have so far? Who helped them escape?" I ask nervously.

Jonas looks at me solemnly, "It was Cane, Sam's personal driver drove the getaway and a gate guard assisted. We have the guard and the driver in the cells."

I walk over and hug him, "I am so sorry. How could he betray his family?"

Jonas pulls away and turns back to the screen but then steps back, "Guys, I am going to go lie down. This is just too much right now. I am leaving this in all your hands now. I am done." He stops and turns his attention to Sam, "Dad, I am stepping down. I leave it to you to follow the line of succession. It is time to tell them." Then turns and walks, weakly out of the room.

Sam turns his attention to me and says, "We need to get through this meeting but then I am going to need you and Branton to meet in my office, afterward."

Me and Branton both nod but are equally confused and nervous.

Donya breaks the tension, "Carlos's son works in a government DNA lab, He run a DNA test last night comparing Bowens and Canes DNA. He emailed the results just before we called you here. Cane is a familial match to The Bowens. It seems they are half brothers. Cane is not Jonas's son."

I look up startled, "What! He was about to take over your mafia! Did they know? We need to find them and kill them all!"

Sam looked at me, "Lex, calm down. We have to do something important before we can go after them. They won't get away."

"How could you possibly know that?" I ask indignantly.

"We inserted trackers into the skin of the brothers last night, so we can keep track of them." Carlos says.

I look up startled, "How did you do that?"

Sam looks up at me and answers for Carlos smugly, "We beat them both badly, then had our doctor go treat them. It wasn't hard to slip a tracker under there skin before stitching them up."

"Is Jonas going to be ok? With the cancer and now this, it could just be too much?"

Sam took a deep breath, "Jonas always knew that it was possible Cane wasn't his son. You were too young to remember but back in the day we had sluts that hung around. Jonas had one favorite and ended up falling in love with her. He was seventeen, she disappeared for a while and he was heart broken. She showed back up several months later with a new born baby, said it was his and she didn't want it. She put the baby in Jonas's hands and said his name is Cane then turned and left. She never came back. He never wanted a DNA test and raised him as his heir. This is a shock to him but not a surprise. I want to believe he will be fine but we have no way of knowing. we will keep an eye on him."

"What was Jonas talking about the next in line of succession?" Tell who? I thought it would be Kirk? Does the next in line not know?"

He nods, "I was going to do this in private but this is is just a good of a place as any. I need everyone to sit down and listen, before I start I want to apologize to both Lexa and Branton, what I am about to talk about will be shocking to say the least."

I look at Branton and he is wearing the same confused expression I feel myself wearing. I look back at Sam, "Go ahead Sam, we will be fine."

He starts, "I had two children with my beloved wife, a boy and a girl."

"Where is your daughter? I have been around you guys my whole life. What happened to her? I was close with your wife before she died why didn't she ever talk about her?" I ask.

"My daughters existence was always kept a secret. We had a great deal of enemies back then that would have loved to get their hands on a daughter of mine. She carried her mothers maiden name. She fell in love at age fifteen to a man that was twenty two. He knew who she was he and he lived here. He eventually asked for her hand in marriage and I did not hesitate to give it. A blind man could see they were meant for each other, she became pregnant soon after. They came to me and told me the news but made me promise to never let her into the mafia life till she was prepared for it, she wanted her child's life to be made up of their own choices. I was not allowed to even tell the child I was her grandfather, but we have been allowed to stay in her life, anyway."

"Who is it? I have been around my whole life, I am sure I have met them. Do you need us to help locating them now to take over?" I ask.

He makes eye contact with me and his next words floor me, "My daughter died in childbirth. My daughters name was Alexis Carmen. You know her by Alexis Belle, or mom. Lexa, you are my granddaughter, I am your papa."

I open my mouth then close it. I take a deep breath and let the truth sink in then clear my throat, fighting the threatening tears I ask, "Why are you only just telling me now?" I feel Branton's arm snake around my waist pulling me to him and I feel composure slowly returning.

"I am sorry Lexa, your dad told me to never tell you until you unless you were the remaining sole heir. He also made a contract with Thomas James."

Branton jerks up, "Wait, that was the name of my father."

Sam nods, "The contract was with your father."

"What did the contract say? What has the contract got to do with me being heir?" I ask, getting more confused and slightly agitated.

Sam straightens up before saying the part he has clearly been avoiding, "The contract states that if Lexa is the only sole heir she is to only do so after entering into an arranged marriage to the only child of Thomas James. The contract is binding and in the mafia world completely unbreakable. The only way to avoid the marriage is to refuse to head our mafia."

Me and Branton look at each other wide eyed then he turns to Sam, "Why me? I barely remember my father. Him and my grandparents died in a house explosion when I was young."

Carlos answers this time, "Branton, your grandfather was a great assassin in his time. He mentored your father a well as Lexa's. Your fathers were best friends. Branton, Leif was the one that paid for your formal fight training. The day you met us all in that ratty gym you started in, Leif was with us. He was the one you never saw again after that day."

"You all knew this when you told him to call me? Was that part of the plan all along?" I ask suspiciously.

Sam looked slightly contrite and nodded, "It was one of a few reasons. The first reason being Jonas's cancer and Cane's behavior was showing us that we could not trust him to take over. The second reason being your team was the only one skilled enough to help us put an end to the Bowens garbage and you needed the revenge, the last reason was I was hoping for a spark between you two. You two spent a great deal of time together before Thomas was killed. You both were so young you couldn't possibly remember but you were inseparable, then but when Thomas died Branton's mother took him away from this life completely. Lexa, you cried for days wanting to see your Ban, it broke all our hearts but you eventually forgot about him. The day we were introduced to Branton at the gym Leif took it upon himself to make sure Branton was given every chance to succeed at his chosen profession, not only because of Thomas but because how much you meant to our beloved Lexa, at one time."

"Why didn't my dad set it up for me and Branton to meet up since this marriage contract was still hanging over our head?" I snap, not meaning too.

Kirk give me an understanding smile and said, "He was planning on it. He thought he had plenty of time. He set up Branton's training, got him into a top gym and gave him a very generous bank account to make sure he and his mother could live comfortably. He was planning on taking you to his house and explaining it all to you both but he died three days before that meting was planned to take place."

"I remember dad telling me not to make plans that weekend because he was taking me to see some old friends and tell me a long story. He died the next day." I tell them.

Sam nods, "He never told us what to do after his death so we continued to follow his wishes as we knew them."

"I remember Lexa. It is a faint memory but I remember trying to teach her to read, when I barely could myself and taking our naps together." Branton exclaims.

I see Kirk smile recalling the memory then nods his head, "You called her Exa, you two would not nap unless your arms were around each other."

I turn to Branton, "I am sorry I don't remember you. I wish I could."

He half smiles, "Its ok, we were both really young and I barely remember it, I didn't remember it all until they reminded me." He says as he lightly rubs my shoulders.

Sam clears his throat and we look at him, "I hate to say it but I am afraid time is against us, we have to ask you for a decision. We will not put any pressure on the two of you. If you are not willing to do this under we have to select the next head of our mafia. The contract is clear, you do it together as a married couple or you will be passed over. The result of that would be either hand it down to Gil which is out of the question or we hand our business and territory over to another mafia to absorb."

I straightened up and looked over at Branton, trying to read his unreadable blank expression, as he looks forward lost in his thoughts. I turn back to Sam and purse my lips, "Papa." I say and freeze realizing what I said as his eyes widen in something close to the look of delight. "Sorry, I don't know where that came from."

Sam shakes his head, "No, baby girl, I have waited a long time to hear you finally be able to call me papa. I am good with it if you are comfortable with it." he says with a wistful smile.

"Thank you, Papa. I realize I should be upset about all this but I am not. I have been associated with this mafia since, well before birth, now that I know the whole truth about it. I have chosen to live the dangerous lifestyle. I may have not been a part of the mafia but I certainly have made sure my life has run parallel to it. I know part of the mafia is secrets and sometimes arranged marriages between allies to join families or gain power, it is an accepted part of the life. I have loved this family as if it were my own before I even knew it was. I was born into this life, I could have left it when my dad died but instead I made it my own. I am fine with taking over as the family head with Branton as my husband but it is not my choice alone."

Kirk looks at Branton, "Branton, I know this is a lot to take in but we need to hear from you now. You have heard Lexa's answer, we need yours."

Branton turns and looks at me and we make eye contact, seemingly trying to read each others souls, just trying to wrap our heads around everything this means. We hear Donya start to talk but we do not break eye contact with each other as we listen to her speak.

"Branton, honey do you need a minute? If you need to think a minute we all understand. We have always been around this life but you were kept away from it, though it runs in your blood. You are a natural for this life, you proved it in our training courses and the MANY times your skills have been tested under extreme pressure since. The arranged marriage is also something from this life, though does not happen often, it is still accepted and even old contracts are still binding. I have looked over the contract myself this morning, your mother also signed the contract. Your parents wanted this to happen if the circumstances arose but the choice is still ultimately yours and yours alone."

Branton breaks eye contact and turns slowly to face everyone else. "I accept but I have my own conditions. The marriage has to be a real marriage in every sense of the word."