The spring sun cast a warm glow on the gardens. They were coming back to life after what felt like too long of a winter. The financial news was up on my laptop screen so I could listen while I caught up on emails.
Since returning from Prague, we’d been as busy or busier than when we left in the first place. Adam had officially taken over at Reed, and Hamilton was out. We’d almost been willing to throw Hamilton a bone until he tried to sue for custody of Andrea.
It was a bad choice on his part. We’d removed him from Reed, shut down his access to most of the accounts and evicted him from the penthouse in Manhattan and the summer estate in Rhode Island.
Hamilton relocated to California fairly swiftly when Adam told him he had three days to get out of Manhattan and to never come back. If he did… well, we’d leave him destitute. Jason had been promoted and worked with Adam to tear apart the books and dig into every legal and, in some cases, illegal projects Reed had on tap.
When given the option, Ezra decided he’d rather work at Benedict with me or Reed with Adam. He wanted nothing to do with his father’s company. Since discovering how much of the Graham fortune came from criminal activity, Ezra wanted to take it all apart.
With that in mind, Collin Cavendish was lending us his expertise to go through the entire company with a fine tooth comb. Ezra had given him the power to hire, fire, and tear it apart. The internal panic of the board had given us several targets to investigate.
In addition to cleaning house at Reed and Graham, we’d begun to break down all of King’s various holdings. So much was buried inside a series of shell companies, we might not find it all. What we could find? We tore it apart and used the money to donate to various causes—including Pretty Boy’s new project.
He was building a community center and safe space for homeless kids in the city. The minute he described his plans for the building he’d worked to acquire, I’d written the first check to invest. Adam and Bodhi had been right behind me. Ezra promised more funds as soon as he had the sanitized ones.
It was entertaining how close Ezra and Milo had grown over the past few months since Pretty Boy followed me to Manhattan. Ezra also volunteered to help at the soon to be renovated community center and Milo put him to work stripping paint. The sheer volume of Ezra’s complaints had tickled me.
One of the last on our list to be dealt with was Phillip Cavendish, III. I’d gone with Bodhi the morning we’d dotted the last “i” and crossed the last “t.” We had the shares and the votes to remove him from Cavendish et. al.
His bank accounts had been closed since they were nearly all corporate-based. His personal accounts we’d drained and left him with the bare minimum of an allowance, the exact amount he’d been willing to pay for Isla Cavendish’s “commitment.”
Predictably, the older man had not taken it well. His breakdown had been witnessed by several members of the family and the staff. When he had to be sedated by paramedics and a doctor recommended a psych hold, Bodhi had signed the papers.
Phillip Cavendish, III would spend the rest of his life as Isla had. Locked away, and unlike her, he would be truly forgotten. Bodhi said he might go visit him every year or so to remind him of everything he lost.
Granted, it wasn’t the vengeance Bodhi had once desired or so he told me. But it was justice he could live with and when we consulted Levi on it, he’d been stunned but also agreed.
Levi and Bodhi were taking the time to get to know each other. We’d set up a room for him at Der Sonne. Andrea also had her own space, Grandfather had informed me of it as soon as I got her back to Manhattan. She had regular appointments with a psychologist and she’d been thrilled to get back to her horses. We brought in a trainer for Levi, who wasn’t sure about what to do with the animals.
Andrea also asked about dance classes. While she’d never been that interested before, she’d developed a passion for it. I was hardly going to tell her no. Fifteen days after we returned to Manhattan, a judge signed the official papers appointing Adam and me as her legal guardians.
Grandfather volunteered, but he’d already had to raise one grandchild. I preferred that he got to just be a real grandfather for her. They were getting to know each other and he went out to the stables regularly when she was there.
Healing was going to take all of the kids time. Theo, Milo’s brother, had asked a week earlier to go to Braxton Harbor. The friction between Theo and Milo hadn’t eased. Milo hadn’t wanted to send him away, but he also didn’t want to force him to stay where he didn’t want to be.
Andrea had been angry at Theo’s request and they’d had a huge blow-up the night before he left. It was also the first time she’d truly cried since we found her. For now, Theo would stay with the Vandals. Maybe Em could get through to him. Maybe he just needed time.
Or maybe it was as Milo suspected that Doc was the stabilizing influence. He’d actually come back with us and the kids on our return to the States. His medical knowledge came in handy when it came to explaining to the kids every step of their physical exams and more.
Thankfully, despite all the wild gunfire in the theater that night, the worst of the injuries had been a wrenched ankle and a couple of flesh wounds. Em was perfectly fine and the boys had hauled her up and out of the line of fire as soon as it started.
She was going to take a break from the tour for a few weeks to get Theo settled, then go back out. I promised to show up for her first night as much for her as for me. A knock on the door had me glancing up with my coffee cup in hand.
“Yes?”
“Brunch is ready, Miss Benedict, and everyone has begun to gather.”
“Thank you,” I said and shut down the laptop and finished the last couple of swallows before I left my room to go downstairs. Currently, we divided our time between Manhattan and Der Sonne.
Andrea needed stability. The first week we were back, Grandfather resumed Sunday brunches. We hadn’t done these since my grandmother’s declining mental faculties made it unbearable for him.
Bodhi was at the foot of the stairs when I reached them. I feathered my fingers along his cheek. The bruises had gradually faded. There was just a hint of a scar along his hairline where he’d taken a blow.
“Heads up—Levi and Andrea are quarreling about something.”
I glanced toward the solarium where brunch would be laid out. “Oh?”
“I don’t know what, neither is saying, but they are glaring at each other. A lot.”
Rising on my tip toes, I kissed him lightly. “They’ll figure it out.”
“They better,” Adam grumbled as he joined us. “He keeps scowling at her like that and I’m going to—”
Bodhi cut him a look and Adam sighed.
“I might punch him if he deserves it.” The amendment was not what he’d planned on saying.
“Every guy who looks at your sister deserves it,” Ezra said, slinging an arm around Adam’s shoulders even as he winked at me. “That was our rule for Lainey.”
“Oh don’t start.” I took Bodhi’s hand and descended the last step. “They’ll be fine. They’re still adjusting and we just need to keep everything as normal as possible. That also means letting them have their disagreements.”
“Are you sure I can’t punch him?” Adam sounded so irritated it almost made me laugh.
“If I think he needs it,” Bodhi offered. “I’ll consider it.”
“Well, that’s better than telling you ‘no,’” Ezra teased and Adam gave him a not so gentle shove. They mock punched at each other—at least until Grandfather cleared his throat.
I hid my smile as I let go of Bodhi’s hand and greeted my grandfather with a kiss to his cheek. He gave me a fond look. Milo was already at the table and he pulled out the chair next to him. It put me to my grandfather’s right and Bodhi had the seat directly across from me, on Grandfather’s left. The guys were spread out with Andrea seated between Milo and Adam across from Levi who was sandwiched between Bodhi and Ezra.
