Chapter 11
Charlotte
It was afternoon and I was in dad’s study, pouring over his accounts again. He didn’t trust anyone else to do it as well as I did, but this was not the kind of work I wanted to be doing.
“Ms. Williams.” It was Rosie, dad’s secretary who was at the door. “Mr. Williams has called a family meeting in the den,” she said and with a flourishing smile, she turned and walked away.
A family meeting? Dad hadn’t called for one of those in several years, since I was a teenager. I hated them. Because they were never really meetings. It was just a chance for dad to sit mom and me down and tell us what to do.
Nonetheless, I would have to go. I had a nagging suspicion what this was going to be about—my pregnancy and my recent rebellious behavior against the family.
Grudgingly, I went to the den. There I found dad and mom already sitting on the leather couch. But mom looked like she’d been crying.
“Mom?” my voice cracked as I entered the room. I wanted to despise my parents, but when I saw them like this—I remembered how close we used to be. When I told my mother everything. When I was still the apple of her eye.
“Charlotte, I need you to sit down,” dad said.
Keeping my eyes on mom who was dabbing at her moist cheeks, I sat down on a chair across from them.
“What is going on, dad?” I asked him and he sighed deeply.
“I really didn’t want to tell you this, I wanted to protect you from it…both of you. But I don’t think I can keep it a secret anymore. For your own safety,” dad began.
“Safety?” I said, crossing my brows. I had no idea what this was about. My hand flew up to my belly instinctually.
“A few weeks ago, I received some threatening material by mail. A few letters threatening the safety of this family. Evidence of surveillance being carried out on us. Pictures of our family, of our daily lives. Somebody’s been watching us,” he explained.
“What? Who? Why?” I asked with a shaky voice. I couldn’t believe this was actually going on. Was that why the shifter clan had been specifically hired for the auction event? I couldn’t ask him that, not yet.
“People who are against the Eagle project,” dad said.
I heard mom sniff again.
The Eagle project. It was dad’s company’s latest enterprise. They were tearing down homes in a shifter neighborhood and building pricey condos there instead. It was all legal and by the book, but there were factions of the community there who didn’t want to be forced out of their homes—despite the payout they were receiving. My dad saw shifters as beneath him. As a different class than he was. And it infuriated me.
“Maybe you should consider not forcing people into homelessness,” I said, raising my brows and dad shook his head, like he was disappointed in me.
“You know I’m giving them a lot of money as compensation. The kind of money they’ve never seen before in their lives,” he replied.
“But there’s bound to be rebellion. It’s not just about the money, people don’t want to be forced out of their homes!” I snapped. I’d always had a bad feeling about the Eagle project.
Dad stood up from the couch, pacing around the den with his hands behind his back.
“Charlotte…your father is trying his best to keep the family safe,” mom spoke up through her tears.
“Why can’t we just stop it now? Pull out of the neighborhood?” I asked and dad whipped around to me.
“And just give up like that? Never! I’m giving them the money they want and now they’re coming after my family. I’m not going to give up now!” he growled.
Mom sputtered and sobbed.
“What about the police?” I asked and he nodded.
“They’ve been informed of the threats, and they say they’re going to keep an eye on us, but it’s not going to be enough. Besides, I don’t want any added attention. If this gets out in the media, there’s going to be chaos. The Eagle Project doesn’t need any bad press …” dad’s voice faltered as he spoke and he rubbed his temples with his fingers. I could see that he was suffering.
“What are we going to do?” I asked in a small voice.
I was scared now, especially scared for the baby.
Dad breathed in deeply, and then went over to stand behind mom and place a hand on her shoulder.
“I’ve hired some people to keep us safe,” he said. Mom looked up at him.
“Some people?” she asked.
I could feel my muscles stiffening. I couldn’t breathe. I already knew what he was going to say and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do now.
“Yeah, the Canyon Hollow Clan. The ones I’d hired for the charity auction,” he explained. Mom cried out again.
“I don’t believe this…I can’t…” she sobbed and dad crouched down beside her to console her.
My ears were ringing. I hoped that I would never have to come face to face with Lincoln again. I didn’t know how I was supposed to keep lying to him.
“And…and what are they going to do?” I asked. I could barely hear myself speak. My voice was a whisper.
“They’re going to keep an eye on us, twenty-four-seven. They’re a big enough group, with many men. I’m going to work out a system with them so that there is always someone at the house, and accompanying both of you wherever you go,” dad explained.
“Shifters? In our house?” mom asked and he nodded. She cried out again. She couldn’t imagine sharing a house with men like Lincoln.
I sat with my hands on my lap, fiddling with my fingers nervously.
“I’ll be fine, dad. I don’t need protection,” I argued but he stared at me with determination in his eyes.
“Charlotte, please don’t fight me on this. I just want to keep you safe, please, just do it for me until I can figure this out,” he pleaded. I turned my face from him, so he wouldn’t see the anxiety in my eyes.