Guarding His Fortune. Stella Bagwell
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Savannah Fortune struggled to hide her impatience as she gazed toward the opposite end of the study where her father, Miles, was standing in front of a massive cherrywood desk. Tall and tanned, with short graying brown hair, he made an imposing figure in a gray suit and power-red tie. Next to him in a plush armchair, her mother, Sarah, dressed impeccably in a white dress and pearls, waited for her husband to address the family.
“This is ridiculous.” Savannah’s hushed voice was directed at her younger sister, Belle. “Why has Dad called this urgent meeting in the middle of the day? Couldn’t he have waited until dinner this evening?”
Belle slanted her a droll look. “Urgent means he wants his children to focus on him. Not the boudin kolaches and gumbo we’re having for supper.”
Miles rapped his knuckles on the desktop and everyone in the room turned their attention to the patriarch of the New Orleans Fortunes.
“I’m glad to see everyone is here,” he spoke, his strong voice reverberating around the room. “I’ll try to make this as concise as possible.”
A few steps away, Savannah’s older brother, Austin, held up a hand. “Sorry to interrupt, Dad, but Nolan isn’t here. Shouldn’t he be privy to this family meeting, too?”
“Nolan has already been informed of everything I’m about to relay to all of you.” Turning slightly, Miles picked up a large manila envelope from the desktop and held it up for his family to see. “Earlier this morning I received this detailed report and as much as I hate to alarm all of you, the news is jarring.”
Jarring? Now that Savannah was taking closer notice, her father appeared drawn and pale. What was in that envelope? As far as she knew, Fortune Investments, her father’s massive banking business, was as lucrative as ever.
Leaning closer to Belle, Savannah whispered in her sister’s ear. “Has the stock market crashed or something?”
Belle made a hands-up gesture to say she didn’t have a clue as to what might be going on. Across the room, their older sister, Georgia, was arching a questioning brow at their brother Beau. From the lost expressions on the faces of Savannah’s siblings, it appeared all were a bit mystified by this meeting.
Miles cleared his throat and continued, “The news is conclusive. The Fortune family is being targeted.”
This wasn’t exactly breaking news, Savannah thought. Especially the kind that warranted a family meeting.
Apparently, her brother Draper was thinking along those same lines. He said, “I don’t mean to sound like a snob, but being wealthy has always made us targets, Dad.”
Miles nodded. “You couldn’t be more correct, son. However, this situation is different. Someone is deliberately trying to harm members of the Fortune family. As you all know, there’s already been an arson in Austin that came close to being deadly, a cyber-attack at Robinson Tech and a real-estate sabotage in Houston. We have no way of knowing who or what might be next. We do have reason to believe that Charlotte Robinson is behind all these incidents.”
“Do you know this for certain?” Georgia asked. “It seems strange the woman would want to hurt her own children.”
Miles pecked a finger against the manila envelope. “As you all have learned, my half brother Kenneth Fortunado in Houston has a son, Connor, who’s a highly skilled private investigator. Connor has continued to dig up information about Charlotte and he’s recently discovered the divorce between her and Gerald recently became final.”
Austin quickly countered. “Why should we be concerned about this? We’re not a part of the Austin Fortunes or the Houston Fortunes. Undoubtedly, we’re related to them, but we’ve never even met most of them.”
Austin’s remarks matched the ones going through Savannah’s head. The other Fortunes were strangers. In fact, only a few months had passed since Miles had admitted to his children that he was actually an illegitimate son of Julius Fortune, the man who’d also fathered Gerald Robinson aka Jerome Fortune. At that time, Miles had beseeched his children to keep the secret under wraps. However, it wasn’t long afterward that the long-buried truth had somehow gotten back to the Austin Fortunes and from there it had spread.
Miles placed a protective hand on his wife’s shoulder as he answered Austin’s question. “Gerald and Charlotte were married for thirty-some years. Plenty of baggage and money has accrued over that length of time. The woman is furious that she’s losing out. Not to mention that she’s been humiliated in public by Gerald’s endless philandering. Make no mistake, she’s seeking vengeance on the Fortune family. And I’m very concerned the woman has most likely learned I am a half brother to her ex-husband, Gerald Robinson. And regrettably, that makes all of us an enemy in her eyes.”
Everyone began to talk at once, bouncing questions and opinions back and forth until the room sounded like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras. Savannah was content to stand to one side and wait for the commotion to die down. After all, she was soon going to be off on her own and away from the family. This Charlotte-threat didn’t apply to her.
Eventually, Miles called for silence. “I’m due back at the office in half an hour, so I need to wrap up this meeting,” he announced. “Are there any last questions before I leave?”
Belle asked a basic one. “So what does this mean for all of us, Dad?”
Miles somber gaze encompassed his whole family as he spoke. “It means all of us need to remain on high alert and be vigilant of people, our surroundings and anything out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, if any new information about Charlotte comes to me, it will be passed on to all of you.”
He assisted Sarah from the chair and as their mother made her way out of the study, everyone followed, including Savannah, who was on the tail end of the group.
She was about to step into the hallway when Miles suddenly called to her. “Savannah, please remain in the study. I’d like a private word with you.”
Smiling to herself, she made an abrupt about-face and walked back to the center of the room. Her father was going to congratulate her on being invited to the University of Texas to join an important study group, she thought. No doubt, he was proud to hear his daughter would be studying with one of the most elite professors in the field of epidemiology.
“Yes, Dad?”
He gestured for her to take a seat in the same chair her mother had occupied.
She shook her head. “I don’t need to sit.”
Actually, she was impatient to get back to her bedroom, where suitcases and garments were laid across every inch of the king-sized bed. By the end of the day, she wanted to have everything packed and ready for the move.
“Sit down anyway.” He adjusted the knot of his tie, then placed the report about Charlotte Robinson into the leather briefcase he carried to work.
Biting back a sigh, Savannah eased into the chair nearest to her and smoothed the hem of her mint-green skirt over her knees.
“Okay, I’m sitting,” she said cheerfully, then shot him a smug smile. “I assume Mother told you my good news.”
Easing a hip onto the corner of the desk, he said flatly, “She told me. Unfortunately, that’s why we’re having this talk.”
Instead of sounding like a preening father, his voice was crisp and resolute. It was the same unyielding tone she often heard him use on the phone with a business crony.
Frowning, she asked, “Dad, aren’t you happy about the invitation?”
“I’m always proud of my children’s achievements.”
His response was hardly encouraging. “Being invited to join a study group probably doesn’t sound like much to you. But in my world, it’s quite an honor.”
He