“Yes, I was with David when Freya called him. I think she feels enough devastation for all of us. It’s mind-blowing, but I can’t muster even the smallest morsel of sorrow. I know I should feel guilty for feeling nothing, but I don’t.”
“No point regretting what you can’t change. He probably wouldn’t have given us a second thought if something similar happened to one of us. Ironically, the only person he would have missed is Freya and look at the effect that kind of emotional pressure had on her. His love was toxic, so be glad he didn’t bestowed it on you.”
“So are you heading to the hospital now?” Livvie asked.
“Yes, I thought it best to show willing and I know Freya needs all the support she can get. I feel this is going to send her over the edge again.”
Freya was the youngest of the Keats’ children and the most fragile. She had been in and out of rehab numerous times since the traumatic event of her past.
“I thought she was doing well this time?” Livvie remarked.
“She was, but seeing him die in front of her like that is going to really shake her mind up. You know how she blames herself for events that are out of her control.”
Livvie sighed. “Poor kid, if only she knew her father was the reason for her being kidnapped in the first place.”
“On the drive up here I was thinking that the earlier we start the wheels in motion for a new chairman, the better. Perfect timing to start revealing all the things we uncovered about daddy dearest’s dodgy dealings and get you in prime position for the vote,” said Xander. “I think if you were the one to call in the auditors, to make sure there is nothing untoward still hidden in the financial transactions, it will give you a good boost as a person who can be trusted – make sure the company starts afresh with a more ethical business approach.”
“Are you sure it isn’t too soon to be thinking about such things. I don’t want to appear heartless.”
“Livvie, carpe diem – seize the day before someone else does, because they will very soon.”
“Do you really think Milo will want to give up his place in the band and stand against me?” asked Livvie, voicing the name Xander had just been thinking of.
“While Dad was still alive and simply going to resign, I would have said no, but now I think it is only a matter of time before Milo throws his hat into the ring. Although he hasn’t said anything to me face to face, I have heard rumours from Noah that he wants to be able to make his own mark on something.”
“Let him bring it on then!” Livvie spoke vehemently for the first time. Out of the siblings, she and Milo had always managed to antagonise each other the most while growing up.
“That’s more like it. You are going to have to become more cut-throat if you really want this position. Even without the Milo complication there are going to be other CEOs constantly trying to undermine your reputation when securing new business.”
“I know and I will. Anyway, will you be coming to stay at the house, at least until after the funeral?”
Normally, Xander lived in a penthouse overlooking the River Thames in Chelsea whenever he was in the country, wanting to avoid the family home at all costs, but now he had no excuse to stay away.
“Yes, I think I may be in Warwickshire for the foreseeable future,” he announced wearily.
Xander was conscious of how anguished Freya had sounded on the phone and he could only imagine how the suddenness of their father’s death was going to dent her recovery from a long history of drug addiction. His sister’s health was going to have to be his first priority for a while, putting any idea of initiating contact with Indi on hold indefinitely.
Next in the Fusion Series, Infamous coming in December 2013
Contact me
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Contents
Copyright
Chapter One: Anonymous
Chapter Two: Lust
Chapter Three: Starstruck
Chapter Four: Rules
Chapter Five: Consumed
Chapter Six: Passion
Chapter Seven: Closer
Chapter Eight: Bombshell
Chapter Nine: Numb
Chapter Ten: Unravelling I
Chapter Eleven: Unravelling II
Chapter Twelve: Reality Check
Contact me
Starstruck (Fusion #1) Page 11