Tempest Relief: Chapter Two (standard:drama, 2502 words) [3/4] show all parts
Author: Ari Walker	Added: Nov 05 2001	Views/Reads: 2758/2004	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
okay, so i suck at this part! supposed to advertise the story here, huh? ok. it\'s about greed, betrayal, hate... love, forgiveness and acceptance. life! drama!

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


Art sighed. "She just fainted. I guess I was badgering her, but you know
how I get around a pretty woman. I wanted to know all her secrets 
immediately, and she was looking at me like I was a two headed snake." 

"I'm still not convinced you're not," Lori said with a devilish grin as
Cody gently shook the woman. 

Art looked at Lori and winked. "Don't tell anybody, goddess. Only you
know my secrets." 

"Be still my heart," she said, fluttering her lashes. 

"Cut it out, you two. You're like a couple of kids," Cody insisted. She
slapped the woman softly, murmuring quiet words. The woman moaned, her 
eyes opening slowly. 

She immediately tensed up, her eyes only seeing Art. 

"Get your paws off me, you dog," she hissed, bucking to get off his lap.
Art's chocolate colored eyes widened, and he raised his arms in mock 
surrender. 

"I'm more of a big puppy, don't you think Sleeping Beauty?" 

Jade got up on unsteady feet. 

He reached out a steadying hand and she flinched. 

"Careful, Sleeping Beauty," he said seriously as she swayed. 

"Don't call me that; why are you calling me that?" 

Art stood up and flashed a grin, looking down at her. 

"Don't do that!" Jade insisted, running a hand through her messy curls. 

Behind her, Lori let out a loud, brassy laugh. 

"You snake you," she said to Art. "You've already got her more than half
charmed." 

Jade spun around, seeing the other two people in the room for the first
time. She flushed red, and took a step back, bumping into Art. She 
jumped, and finally stood still, looking to Cody for help. 

"I told you two to stop," Cody said firmly, looking first to her sister,
then to Art, who had always been like a little brother to her. When she 
was reasonably sure they had stopped, for the moment at least, she put 
an arm around Jade. 

"Are you feeling alright now, Ms. Spencer?" she asked softly. Jade
nodded thankfully. 

"Yes, I'm not sure what happened. I guess I must have fainted again. I'm
sorry if I disturbed you," she said, gesturing to Cody's bathrobe, then 
stepping away, and making her way towards the staircase. 

"I think I'll go up to my room now," she added, not meeting anyone's
eye. 

"Good night, Ms. Spencer," Cody said, chewing on her lip. "Don't forget
breakfast is at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You won't want to miss 
it; my grandmother is an excellent cook." 

"Thank you, I won't," Jade said, and then turned and rushed up the
stairs. 

Art was frowning, one hand playing with the hoop in his ear. 

"Again?" he asked Cody, when he was sure the woman was out of hearing
distance. "Has she fainted before?" 

"I don't know," Cody said, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "She only just got
here this morning, and I haven't spoken with her much." 

"You go back to Zach," Lori said. "Have him give you a massage to put
you to sleep." 

Cody smiled. 

"Or whatever else it takes to get you to sleep." 

Lori had the satisfaction of making her older sister blush once again,
and winked at Art. 

"Sleep tight, darling," she called out gaily as she sauntered up the
stairs. 

"You too, goddess," he said, and then smiled a distracted good night to
Cody before opening the screen door and stumbling off the porch. 

Cody crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, deep in thought. 

**** 

Across the beach, a hotel glistened in silence like an enchanted castle.
The guests, mostly retired couples this late in the season, had been in 
bed for a few hours now. 

There was no one to see the picture Tempest Relief made in the
moonlight. 

Tempest Relief had been built by the patriarch of the Ayala family in
1904, and still stood atop the black rocks in all her shining glory, 
overlooking the cold, magnificent north Pacific. 

The first Koby had built the white castle for his wife, Margaret; not
realizing when he started that he might not have enough money to 
finish. The Ayala family had owned plantations in Virginia for 
generations, and Koby, being the youngest brother, had been unaware 
that his father had gambled most of his inheritance away. 

When news had come that Koby would not be inheriting any money, that the
Ayala family was, in fact, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, it 
was Margaret who had been strong, and seen what they could make of her 
white castle. 

And so, slowly at first, and then with rapid increase, Margaret's
wedding gift had turned into a prosperous business, so that today, it 
was one of the most expensive, therefore prestigious, hotels in the 
world. 

Inside the late Koby Ayala's office, his two youngest children sat in
plush white leather chairs, Callie tapping one of her high heels 
against the marble floor impatiently. 

"I don't understand, Mr. Joskeff," she was saying now. "Who else could
possibly be included in the will?" 

Alexander Joskeff looked at Heidi, but his face was a careful mask of
non-emotion. Obviously Heidi hadn't bothered to share the fact that the 
oldest- though illegitimate- Ayala wasn't Callie, but a woman from San 
Francisco named Jade Spencer. 

Callie noticed the look and frowned, unable to read what he was
thinking. She prided herself on being a good businesswoman, able to see 
past people's masks. But Alex... well, he was a tough one. Which, she 
supposed, was one of the reasons her father had hired Alex to be his 
attorney. 

One of the reasons, at least. She knew her father well enough to know,
though, that the fact that Alex Joskeff was Theo Donahue's 
brother-in-law had a great deal to do with it. Her father had been a 
strange man, taking pleasure in small things like having his wife's 
lover's brother-in-law do his bidding. 

"Well, Mr. Joskeff?" she demanded, raising her eyebrows. "What is the
problem? You called this meeting, I assumed, to read the will. We're 
all here, now read." 

"Alex?" Heidi asked, her pretty features worried. "Is... somebody else
supposed to be here?" 

Alex nodded. 

"Yes, Heidi," he sighed, running a hand through his black hair. He hated
the old man for doing this, but there was nothing to be done. The old 
man had made sure of that. He cleared his throat. 

"Really?" Callie asked slowly. "Who could it possibly..." 

Then she nodded. "That woman, the one in the church, crying. Who was
she?" She was looking at Alex, but asking Heidi. The room was silent. 

"Jesus Christ!" Callie stood and began pacing. "Would somebody tell me
what in the holy hell is going on here?" 

"Callie," Heidi said in a rush, "Dad has another child. A daughter; the
woman in the church this morning? Her name is Jade." 

Callie froze, her eyes shocked. Heidi fidgeted in her chair
uncomfortably. The clock high up on the wall was ticking, and outside, 
the wind could be heard racing across the beach. Heidi licked her dry 
lips and waited. 

"That bitch!" Callie exploded. "Why is she showing up now? She came to
get her piece of the pie, didn't she? It's a con, I know it's a con." 
She turned and pointed an accusing finger at Alex.  "Have you bothered 
to check and see if her claim is even based on facts, Mr. Joskeff?" 

Alex reclined his head. 

"As a matter of fact, there was no need. But then she hasn't even
contacted me yet, Ms. Ayala." 

"Ha," Callie's heels echoed across the room as she paced furiously back
and forth. "Just a matter of time. Just a matter-" 

"Callie," Heidi spoke up timidly. 

"- of time. I know her type, just waiting-" 

"Callie?" 

"-to get her hands on a fortune. Those fake-" 

"Callie, wait-" 

"-alligator tears in the church had me really confused. Oh-ho. I am on
to her!" Callie finished with a twirl of her hand, her eyes slits of 
hard, green emotion. 

"Callie!" Heidi shouted, standing up. 

"What?" 

"I wrote to her and asked her to come. I found-" 

"You what?" Callie's voice was gaining power, as it did when she was
emotional. The powerful voice was the Ayala gift, a gift Heidi had not 
inherited. 

"I asked her to come." 

Heidi stood her ground, looking across the room at her big sister.
Callie and Heidi were only 14 months apart in age, but Callie had 
always seemed years older. It came in part because Heidi was so small, 
and added to that, Callie was assertive, ruthless even, while Heidi was 
quiet and gentle. 

"Really? You asked her? And how, please do share with me, is it that you
were aware of the fact that dad had some bastard child and you didn't 
deem it important to share this information with others?" 

"Good for you, Callie!" Alex snapped. "You sound just like him." 

It was a slap to the face. Callie reared back, her face chalky, her
breath coming in short little gasps. She put a hand up to her forehead, 
feeling faint, and backed up to one of the leather chairs. How could 
this be happening? 

"Alex, that was unnecessary," Heidi said mildly, going over and kneeling
beside Callie. 

Alex nodded. She was right, of course. Life was a vicious bitch,
throwing anything at people to cause turmoil. And this was quite a toss 
they had been thrown. 

"Callie, honey, you know I love you very much. That's why I'm asking you
to understand what I did. The day dad died," her voice caught and she 
stopped for a moment. Callie was looking at her, her eyes tired, her 
hair mussed and beginning to curl from running her hands through it. 

"The day dad died," Heidi began again. "I came in here to be alone. I
don't know what I was doing, I guess I wanted to feel dad somehow. I 
was sitting in his chair, my legs up on the desk like he used to do, 
you know?" 

Callie nodded. 

"Well, I knocked over some papers and I bent down to pick them up," she
shrugged. "And I found it. A secret compartment beneath his desk. I 
found some pictures of a woman, along with a letter. It must have been 
from her. In it, she told him she had given birth to his daughter. 
Callie," Heidi turned her attention to the wall. "She was born just two 
months before you were." 

Callie laughed humorously. She had never thought he had been faithful to
her mother, her mother certainly hadn't been faithful, but she had 
never ever suspected that he had other children. Much less that he 
would be unfaithful to her mother when she had been young and 
beautiful. What more had he wanted? 

"I didn't tell you because... I don't know why," Heidi admitted. "It was
an impulsive move to write the letter, telling her dad had died and 
we'd like to meet her. The moment I mailed it, I regretted it. I guess 
part of me was hoping it wouldn't reach her, or that it wasn't true. 
How was I supposed to know her mother still had the same address she 
had in 1978?" 

"It wouldn't have mattered," Alex spoke up for the first time. Two
identical pairs of green eyes turned to him. He cleared his throat and 
stood up, brushing an imaginary piece of lint from his pinstripe suit 
and picking up his brief case. "She's included in the will, and I had 
orders to contact her. I'll get in touch with everyone else included in 
the will and we'll read it tomorrow at, let's say, one o'clock." 

So saying, he walked out of the office. 

"Well, shucks dad," Callie drawled. "Not even cold in the grave and
you've already started haunting us." 

Heidi shivered. 

Copyright 2001 by Ari Walker 


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