St. Helena Vineyard Series_Promise Me Forever_A St. Helena Thriller

by Natalie Middleton

  “You always were so much more determined than your brother,” Elaine Garner said, staring at him. She looked wistful, as if lost in memories. Alex grinned. It was nice spending time with his mama. He’d missed her.

  “Mark, he liked to have his share of fun. But he’s happy now. He’s happy working with the DeLucas at their winery. I only wish you two would settle down. Mark dates girls, though I wish he’d find someone. Is there a girl back in Seattle I don’t know about?” she said, smirking.

  “No, Mama, there’s no girl. I’m always holed up in office. I don’t have time for dating. I’m not into such stuff. I want something like what you and Papa had. Something that lasts forever,” Alex said.

  “Oh,” Elaine said, looking surprised. “I didn’t know you wanted a forever type girl, Alex. That’s news to me.” She seemed to be lost in thought.

  “I thought you had a girl like that at one point in time, someone from here….what was her name? A beautiful brunette, she lived right around the corner somewhere…” His mama frowned.

  “Arianna Belmonte,” Alex said and then stopped himself. He didn’t mean to say her name out loud. Elaine looked triumphant, as if getting him to admit this was her plan all along.

  “Arianna, yes, yes. Sweet girl. You should find out what happened to her, Alex. I’ve always liked her,” Elaine said, picking up a book she was reading.

  Alex reddened. He mumbled something, picked up the tray, and hurriedly left the room. Elaine looked at him from above her book and smiled.

  Alex entered the kitchen all hot and bothered. Why were all roads, thoughts, and conversations leading to Arianna Belmonte? He hadn’t thought...no, he hadn’t allowed himself to think about her all this time. The truth is, she flitted into his thoughts more than he liked. They hadn’t spent much time together before they split up for college, but he remembered distinctly how she made him feel.

  Complete, a voice inside him replied. Yes, he grudgingly admitted. She made him feel complete. Even though they dated for a few weeks, it was the best time he’d ever had. Even kissing her felt so good, so right. It never felt that way with someone else. Nobody felt good enough, or even came close enough to how she made him feel.

  He picked his phone up and browsed through Facebook for Arianna Belmonte. He found one profile and browsed through it, and it felt like someone punched him in the stomach. Arianna was married and had a child?! No! It was only when he clicked on a few photos and stared intently that he felt the pressure ease.

  This was someone else. This Arianna was a blonde and looked so different. He checked out the next profile and his heart raced. He was looking at Arianna, and he felt like the awkward eighteen year old he had been when they first met. She was just as stunning as she was back then, and she looked like age hadn’t touched her. She worked in Symantec, and his respect for her automatically shot up. She had always wanted to do well and it looked like she had.

  I’m never going to get her back. He was surprised at how much his energy dropped at that thought.

  Brushing that thought aside, he checked the refrigerator for supplies. It didn’t seem like there was much to go by.

  “Mark’s working late tonight, so let me pick up something nice for dinner. I’ll tell Mama.” Alex quickly made up his mind.

  In the next half an hour, he had picked up what he needed from the supermarket and stashed it in his car. He was parked in the parking lot behind the Senior Citizen Center and something about being in town made him want to take a walk. He walked down Main Street, looking at the new shops and reminiscing at the old. He remembered sitting in the park, wondering about his life and his future. He knew he wanted to become successful, but doing what, he had no idea. It was only when his father was killed in an accident that his mind turned towards law and law school. He’d supported his family finances for a while now, ever since he started earning. They still stayed in the same home they had grown up in, but it helped to have extra income, especially for Mama’s illness. His insurance policy had meant seamless medical care for her.

  He found himself at the very edge of the park, in a corner spot nobody ventured out to. It opened to a gorgeous view of St. Helena and beautiful wineries as far as the eye could see. The vines were in full bloom and the verdant green was very soothing. He had accidentally stumbled upon this part of the park when he was in High School and came here when he needed perspective and calm.

  But the last time he was here, he promised a woman a shot at forever. And if his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him, that woman was walking towards him, not looking as stunned as he was.

  6

  Arianna nervously walked towards Alex. She wasn’t surprised to see him there even though she’d taken a risk coming here. The last time she was here, she was very much in love, with her whole life stretched ahead of her.

  Alex looked at her, stumped. She made her way and awkwardly mumbled a greeting. Alex walked towards her and pulled her into a hug. Arianna tried to ignore her heart, which thumped loudly when he hugged her.

  “Oh my god! Arianna, it’s been so long. To find you, here, on this day. What a sweet accident!” he exclaimed. She smiled nervously, not knowing what to say.

  Alex furrowed his brows. “Wait, there’s a word for this sort of coincidence. What is it called, what is it called?” he repeated.

  “Serendipity,” Arianna replied before she could stop herself.

  “Serendipity. That’s the word I was looking for. Arianna, you and I, here on this day. Serendipity.” He shook his head.

  Alex hadn’t changed much, she thought. But then she looked at him closely and saw his body for the first time. He had filled out, and he looked great. His messy hair fell loosely on his forehead and she suddenly had the urge to flick some away.

  “Wait, are you checking me out?” Arianna broke out of her reverie. Alex had a cocky smile on his face.

  “No! I’m not checking you out. You...you’re checking me out.” She frowned, turning red. Alex’s cocky smile was replaced by a soft one. He came close, put his hand out, and then stopped as if he didn’t want to touch her.

  “I can’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t believe you’re here today. I can’t believe I’m here today. It’s been so long.” He sat under one of the trees.

  Arianna sat beside him and looked away into the distance. She was already prepared with what she wanted to say. But when she looked at Alex, he smiled at her and every thought she had flew from her mind. His broad smile had always warmed her heart before, and even now, it completely distracted her.

  She didn’t know how to broach the topic she really wanted to talk to him about. They were seeing each other after so long, it almost felt surreal. There were butterflies in her stomach when he smiled and she tried to breathe in and focus.

  “Do you want to go somewhere and talk maybe?” Alex asked, noticing Arianna’s discomfiture.

  Arianna instantly focused and smiled at him. He found the change a little surprising.

  “Sure, let’s go to the Bistro in town. We’ll catch up,” she said, grabbing her bag and dusting her pants.

  They made their way to the Sweet & Savoury Bistro on Main Street. Arianna ordered a grilled chicken salad and Alex ordered a burger. Orders done, they sat in silence waiting for the other one to speak.

  Finally, Alex broke the silence and said, “How have you been, Arianna? What are you doing these days?” Arianna should have expected these questions, but she felt impatience. She wanted to get what she wanted to say out of the way. Those tingles in her spine told her this was a bad idea. She wanted to drop everything and run back to the comfort of her home. She waited for him to answer.

  “I’ve been great, Alex. It’s going great. I work in Cupertino, in Symantec. It’s all been great. What about you? I hear you’re a lawyer,” she said, hoping she would be able to do what she set out to do.

  Alex stiffened when she mentioned what he did. There was no way word would travel here about him being suspended
, would it? His heartbeat thumped and he keenly observed Arianna.

  Arianna nervously bit her lip. Something was bothering Alex, but she didn’t want to think about that. If she didn’t talk to him now, she would abandon that. Already, her heart thumped whenever he smiled. She cleared her throat. Alex raised his brows.

  “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Alex. I need your help,” she said, searching for any resistance. Alex’s mood changed and he immediately went into lawyer mode.

  “What happened? Are you in trouble?” he asked. It was just the way he said word trouble which bristled her. She wasn’t the type to get in ‘trouble’. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

  “Our estate is slated to be sold in two weeks. Sophie, you remember my sister, Sophie? She called and told me to come here urgently. Said it was an emergency. I found out that my father has been paying money to someone called Franco to repay a gambling debt. And now, it turns out, the estate is being sold to him.” She blurted everything out.

  Alex stared at her in shock. The Belmonte estate was going to be sold? Arianna continued.

  “I don’t know, something about this didn’t sit well with me. Papa isn’t the type to have gambled, and I just don’t know who this Franco guy is and why we’re paying him any money. I wanted a lawyer…” She pointed to Alex.

  “...to look at what we had so far and then tell me what to do next. The agreement doesn’t seem like something Papa would sign just like that. It’s a big mystery,” she said, handing him the folder with the sale and the loan agreements.

  While he glanced at the agreements, she continued.

  “Sophie and I figured this had been going on for a while, and it was hidden in some way because she didn’t know of any monthly payouts that were suspicious. So we pulled up the list of regular payments in the system and found a few vendors who we need to inspect. One of them was very weird, but we couldn’t find any document to prove where the money was being sent and for what.”

  Alex read through the agreements. The loan agreement seemed spurious. It didn’t mention any repayment schedule, just that the payments had to keep coming in to save the property from being sold. The sale agreement was just as vague and ambiguous. Alex had seen many people fall down rabbit holes like this and not like what came out on the other side. He just had to caution her.

  “Arianna, are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.

  “Yes.” There was no uncertainty in her voice. She looked down.

  “I’ve….It’s my family home. I just can’t give up on it. I can’t give up on Sophie; she’s worked so hard to build everything after Papa retired. It’s just…” Her face looked tortured.

  “I can’t imagine someone holding Papa under their thumb, so much so that he agrees to sell out. It’s not like him. I know the man, he’s a good man. He’s a good man.” Her voice stuck in her throat.

  Alex nodded curtly. He hadn’t met Arianna’s family many times, but the Belmonte’s enjoyed a stellar reputation in town. They were boutique vintners, and their winery was always open for visitors looking for tours. He hadn’t heard much about the winery and the financial condition, but whatever he was seeing, he didn’t like it. Arianna was right when she said this arrangement didn’t seem right. He took a deep breath in. When he asked about the rabbit hole, he also asked himself that question. Did he want to fall down the rabbit hole with Arianna again? Did he want to take that chance? He looked at her. She was looking down at the floor all forlorn and lost. He would help her out, he decided. He would fight for their winery.

  “I’ll help you,” he said. Arianna looked up and beamed. His heart skipped a beat. He was surprised at how he was reacting.

  He took a bite of his burger and read through the agreement. He’d never seen a loan agreement without payment terms or the amount that was to be repaid. Similarly, the sale agreement didn’t have any consideration mentioned. He wanted to read through every clause to find the loopholes. He put the agreements back in the folder.

  “Is there anything else you want me to look into?” he asked.

  “Well, there’s a list of vendors we’ve been making recurring payments to and we’re not really sure of the nature of the payments. Some seemed off so I made a list, in case we want to reach out to them,” she said, handing him a list with a few names and numbers on it.

  Alex took the list and scanned it. There were five vendors with monthly payouts mentioned on the right. Two had monthly payouts of $3,000 and three had monthly payouts of around $500. It was a lot of money that went out in fixed installments every month, and for the winery to not know who these vendors were, it was a big risk.

  Something in the back of his mind clicked when he read the name Ezee Securities, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He hadn’t mentioned the fact that he was suspended; he didn’t want to be the town’s gossip for months. But he could definitely send these vendors a letter asking about agreements and look up their details.

  He gestured to the waiter and put some bills on the table.

  “Wait, I want to pay for mine,” Arianna said, hunting for her purse in her bag.

  “It’s on me this time. Treat me once I’ve found something out for you,” he said. She reluctantly agreed.

  They looked at each other, waiting for the other person to make a move. A shiver went down his spine. This was not going to end well for him, he thought. She took a step forward and hugged him lightly.

  “Thank you for this, Alex. I really appreciate it,” she said.

  Alex gulped. His heart was beating so loudly, he was scared she could hear it. He broke their embrace and smiled at her.

  “No worries, Arianna. I’ll be in touch,” he said, taking the folder and making his way out of the door.

  He composed himself as he sat in his rental. His arms felt her absence already. He regretted not hugging her for longer.

  He looked at the folder with the agreements. It was going to be a very interesting summer.

  7

  Alex entered his house, checked in with his mother, and entered his room. He wanted some time to go through everything that Arianna had given him. His phone rang when he was in the bathroom, and he came out to find a missed call from his colleague, Brian.

  “Hey, you called?” he asked. He balanced his phone under his ear as he fired his laptop.

  “Yeah, I did. Look, I heard what happened with Derek. The smug ass has been going around threatening everyone who worked the case,” Brian said. Alex fumed. He hated being at the receiving end of everything.

  “I think there’s something wrong about this whole thing, though,” Brian said. Alex’s ears perked up.

  “Wrong? How do you figure?” Alex said. He turned around to look if anyone was watching and locked his door. The last thing he wanted was for his brother to walk into his room unannounced and hear the conversation.

  “You know Sadie, the chick we hired to work with us on the case? She took some time off before this whole mess broke, and I didn’t connect the dots, but she hasn’t been back. The groundhog’s been working to clear your name, in secret of course, and we’ve been looking at surveillance tapes. She worked a lot longer than the rest of us, I mean coming in early and reading through files and everything, you know what I mean?” Brian’s volume lowered. Alex frowned. He didn’t think Sadie had anything to do with this. She was a young intern fresh from law school. Wasn’t she? The Groundhog was their code name for Mr. Schneider; he and Brian had developed that when they were interns. Alex was glad to know he hadn’t given up on him yet, even with the allegations.

  Brian broke Alex’s line of thought with what he said next.

  “There were a few moments she was suspiciously around the copier machine. We strictly controlled material that was printed. I printed things in my office and so did Derek; it's not possible for a random computer to fire a print for those documents. We’re talking to Buzz for more information on Sadie, but it’s a real lead.” Alex ran his fingers through his hair. He fel
t frustrated. How did he miss someone from his team spending more than the required hours on the case?

  “How, man? How did we miss this? God, I feel so stupid stuck here. I should be there helping you guys out.” Alex was agitated.

  “No, no, no. Don’t do that. You’ll compromise everything we’ve been working for. I want you to sit tight wherever you are, and Alex?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Don’t reach out to Sadie. No matter what you do. Buzz is setting up surveillance for us and any wrong move could collapse this operation. We’re going to bring down whoever did this. Groundhog doesn’t want any moles to exist.” Brian coughed as he said this. His voice suddenly changed.

  “And if you’ve got anything more to say, then I’ll see you in court. Goodbye, counsellor.” The line abruptly cut. Alex stared at the phone. Someone must be around. He sat on his bed, frustrated. Who would leak vital details of a money laundering case? And more so, why would they blame him?

  This is going nowhere, he thought. He wondered what Buzz would uncover.

  He grabbed a bite from the kitchen and sat looking up the companies that Arianna had given him. She said she was still finding documentation for these parties. He scanned the list again and something clawed at him. The name Ezee Securities stood out like a sore thumb. Something about that name made him pause and think. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this was related to the Moretti case somehow.