Fortune Favors The Bold

CHAPTER THREE: THE FORTUNE DYNASTY

Adonis was skeptical about the proposition from the detective, he didn’t trust her one bit, but he felt that keeping her as an ally was better than an enemy. It wasn’t like he had much choice anyway.

From the evidence, it was clear that his father had not been expecting his aggressor’s attack. Adonis watched as Alaya Petrov interacted with the rest of the team as they gathered up in the house for more evidence and investigations.

Apparently, all the thirty-six members would be called over to the precinct and interrogated, along with the seventeen servants. Until they had another clue, everybody was a suspect. He wasn’t sure he liked the way things were proceeding, with no concrete evidence left behind by the killer, the case could take up weeks or even months.

Essential time which he didn’t have because he would have to ascend the throne. Last night at dinner, right before somebody had slit his throat, Mason Fortune had announced his retirement and that his entire empire was going to his only son. That had evoked many unpleasant reactions.

His eldest aunt Athena Fortune-Gallagher had been the most furious one and had exploded in a burst of anger without relent. “Adonis does not even understand how the corporate world works,” she’d snapped heatedly. “All he knows is make merry and spend our fortune after whores.”

It was untrue, the media had given him a playboy image without his consent. Every time he smiled at a woman; the tomorrow newspapers would print about his ongoing affair with the latter. At the beginning when he was only eighteen years old, he’d been furious with the lies and manipulation and had lashed out against the journalists.

Nothing good had come out of it, as they had labelled him as a spoilt brat who didn’t show respect for their work. Nowadays, every time a lie was printed about him, he just gritted his teeth in benign tolerance, pretending that it didn’t affect him.

But to have his family buying that bull and using it against him was the last straw. Outraged, he opened his mouth to put his cynical Aunt Athena in her place but was stopped by a palm outstretched in his direction.

“He is my heir Athena whether you like it or not. Frankly, I cannot see anyone else stepping in my shoes. Your elder daughter is too busy preparing for her fourth marriage, while the second one hasn’t recovered from the bastard which had impregnated her with the twins.”

There was a shocked silence around the table, with everyone waiting awkwardly for the fiery retort from Aunt Athena.

Aside from the immediate family, there was also a few close friends, Uncle Richard Benedict, and his lovely daughter Candice, and of course the ever-present Williams family. The perfect couple Hans and Kimberley Williams along with their irreproachable three children, Ashley, Hansley and Marley.

The one who responded was Aunt Helen Fortune Alexander, who was the stark contrast of her volatile sister. Instead of an incendiary reaction, she lifted her wine glass towards her husband at her side in a deceptively calm manner.

“Victor could have taken the post,” she supplied serenely, twirling the red content of her glass in a slow hypnotizing manner.

Victor Alexander was her husband, father of her three children Prue, Piper and Patrick. The Alexander family had so many heirs that there was no prospect of Victor inheriting much despite coming from big money. A huge disappointment for Aunt Helen who had married rich only to be left hankering for more.

“Why Victor? Why not Maddox?” Aunt Athena protested vehemently, pointing the attention to her husband. To his credit, the latter sighed with fatigue, like his wife’s attitude was embarrassing him but he refrained from any comment.

Chloe, their ‘impregnated’ daughter had no such misgivings though. “Mom, why don’t you relax? I see no harm in delegating the company to Adonis. After all, he’s Uncle Mason’s only son. Dad is already occupying an important post in one of the branches.”

Aunt Athena threw Chloe a venomous look, one so potent that shivers ran down Adonis’s spine. It was no secret that Aunt Athena despised her second daughter, the fact that she’d been misled by a gold-digger an unpardonable crime. A mistake made years ago but still freshly implanted in everyone’s minds.  

“Chloe, why don’t you stay out of this?” her mother asked with saccharine sweetness, her tone fooling no one on the table. “We all know that you’re in no condition to advocate for anybody given your circumstances.”

A clenched jaw was the only reaction from Chloe, who sat back in her chair and started picking up her food like her twins Kobe and Knox. Adonis felt sorry for her, she’d been a naïve young girl who’d blindly trusted a man. There was nothing wrong with that, just the reinforced belief that no Fortune was supposed to fall in love.

The only exception to the rule was Aunt Artemis Kingsley, happily married for approximately two decades with her two children Kenneth and Thelma. She was also the only one not pitching her husband for the CEO post, knowing that it would be futile. Graham Kingsley was the queer fish out of the pond, he came from a modest family with no money at all and was by far the nicest person in the group.

“Now, now, Mother. No insults at the sacred table, remember?” Jeanne intervened, jumping to the defense of her younger sister Chloe. Out of their pack, Jeanne Gallagher was the hottest and the latter was well aware of all her assets. Her current flame was boyfriend Warren Johnson, on the lookout to be husband number four.

Divorces were rare in the family – Fortunes were not allowed to wash their dirty linen in the public and Jeanne was the rebel. Three divorces in her ledger made her a cougar, but her five children were even more unwelcome at the family table.

Their father, Jeanne’s first husband Griffin McGregor had squandered a considerable amount of money from the corporate funds when he’d been an executive head, the reason why Mason Fortune was reluctant to hand over his enterprise to his two other brothers-in-law.

“Shut up!” Athena hissed furiously, no longer pretending to be sociable anymore. Then, she turned towards Mason dismissing her children like they were insignificant. “Mace, you cannot give the handle of the main branch to Adonis. I will not sit by and watch him destroy what we’ve worked so hard for.”

There was a snort from the end of the table, and Adonis felt the first trace of mirth lifting his spirits up. Family dinners were stressful until Uncle Elijah intervened which he barely did. He was the black sheep of the family, Adonis’s father’s only brother but was not involved in the company shenanigans as the three sisters.

Unmarried till date, he had no care in life except sailing around life with no real objectives. He was the only one in the family who no longer had anything to lose, so he spoke the truth whenever he felt like it.

“My dear sister Athena, you’re delusional once again my darling. Why wouldn’t Adonis be apt for the role, can you please remind me?” he asked mildly, but his sarcasm was not lost on Aunt Athena.

“He’s a philanderer. Do I have to remind you that not later than last week, a picture of him was flashed all over the newspaper with that half-naked model? He’s just going to bring us disgrace and drive the company to bankruptcy. I really think he’s not the most appropriate person for the job.”

“Well, dear sister. Your opinion does not matter,” he told her bluntly and there was a shocked gasp in the room. No one dared talked to the eldest Fortune children with such disrespect. Well, no one except the youngest one.

“Elijah, how dare you?” Aunt Athena had exploded in rage, clenching her fists as she had stared at her brother with animosity.

“Need I remind you dear sister that your husband Maddox had messed the last consignment to Baltimore? We had to pay a compensation of three billion dollars just because your stupid husband could not…”

“Alright, ENOUGH!!!” Aurora Fortune roared with fury, seething at her children with flaring nostrils. Adonis’s grandmother rarely got angry, but tonight was an exceptional event it seemed. “Is it too much to ask my children to set their differences aside so that we can eat in peace?”

The old matriarch was formidable in her fury, her grey hair immaculately in place even with hours of sitting with them at the table. The white pearls adorning her high neckline was the epitome of class and grace. Wrinkles surrounded her pointed lips, a sight which should have made her look less intimidating, but her old age only spoke of past experiences.

It wasn’t enough to stop the viragos though.

“I am not going to sit back and allow Adonis to take over everything,” Athena insisted in sheer outrage. “I agree that Maddox must have made some mistakes in the past, but he’s the one who’s worked his ass off for this company.”

“Athena…,” Maddox finally deigned to say his wife’s name in an attempt to calm her down.

“No!” she refused by standing up abruptly, the action causing her chair to topple over backwards. “No! Don’t you dare pacify me as a child. I am the one who’s sacrificed the most, never even seeing you around the house. I practically raised up my two daughters on my own. I don’t accept this decision.”

“I could fight for Victor’s eligibility as well,” Aunt Helen poured fuel over the already blazing fire. “Although he joined later than Maddox, he’s also contributed greatly to the success of the Fortune Jewelries. I will not let anyone else have what he deserves,” the insinuation was clear in her voice. She believed that neither Adonis nor Uncle Maddox deserved the place.

“You cannot contest for the position. You are the fourth child,” Aunt Athena protested. “I am the eldest daughter, so it’s natural that the most important post comes to me or someone from my family.”

“That’s complete bullshit,” Aunt Helene scoffed sardonically. “We’re not living in the medieval times. It’s not about who’s the firstborn anymore dear sister. Have you heard about the word meritocracy? Victor’s the one who expanded the jewelry to the Latin countries, making our profits skyrocket to unmeasurable heights. He should be named C.E.O!”

After the outburst, there was a lengthy silence. Not one sound echoed in the room, not even a drop of fork or even breathing was overheard in the dining room.

Then, like nothing had happened at all, Mason Fortune had picked up his fork and dug in his caviar like he had no care in the world. “So,” he pronounced with his mouth full, munching on his food nonchalantly. “It’s decided, then. Adonis will be the C.E.O of Fortune Jewelries. Let’s celebrate,” he smiled rising his glass as a toast.

It was a deliberate tactic – it said that his decision was final.

Everybody was speechless after that, following his action with a tentative lifting of their own glasses. Aunt Athena and Aunt Helen left the room fuming in fury, followed by an even more aggravated Victor. After a few minutes of hesitation, their children followed suit, excusing themselves from the table.

When the others remained at the table, more because they didn’t dare oppose the decision, Mason Fortune turned towards his son with a nod. “Congratulations, son. I know you will do me proud.”

Adonis spoke for the first time through that turbulent diner. “Thank you father for trusting me with that responsibility,” he replied with an absent smile, his mind already mentally crafting his latest designer necklace. He was an artist, not a corporate businessman, but nobody seemed to give a f*ck.

Jerking back to the present, he realized that many people had motives to kill Mason Fortune. Those who had spoken outright at the diner last night, and more so those who had remained silent preferring to keep their opinions to themselves. The hypocrites. It was going to be a challenge digging out the bastard who’d committed the crime.

His eyes inexorably landed on a pair of pale brown eyes watching him suspiciously.