I woke up not surprised to find Luca's side of the bed empty. I had been changed into my gown, so I was worried about who had changed me. Luca would have woken me up for sure. I bet it was Brad's stupid wife. I really didn't like her. After griping about that, I decided to take a shower to look presentable for anyone in my house.
After a shower and fixing my hair, I prepared to make some breakfast. I'm sure the kids were hungry. When I went to check on Dominic he wasn't in his room. Jasmine came out of her room and wrapped her arms around my legs. I laughed and ruffled her hair.
"Where's your brother?" I asked.
"Auntie Bella gots him," She muttered into my leg. "Who are those mens downstairs with grandpa?"
"...What men?"
"I asked you first."
I laughed once again and took her downstairs. I smelled something cooking before making it all the way down. It must have been Natalia, because she never made smelly foods. It sort of smelled like French Toast. I sent Jasmine in the kitchen and chose to see who was in the living room. There's no way Brad would just allow anyone in my house.
When I entered the room, every head turned to me. I ignored them all and sent Brad a questioning look. I didn't recognize anyone here. Except for Asher and Cameron. I was surprised Kathryn and Asher's girlfriend wasn't here. They seemed clingy last night.
"Nice of you to join us," Brad said. "Let me introduce you to everyone."
Ew. Why would I want to know who these people were?
"That's my right hand man, Ashton. He works with my money and that's why no one has been able to touch what you have for me in your business account. Beside him is his twin brother, Grayson. He doesn't know a lick about business, but he can handle a gun better than anyone here in this room. He's our head sniper."
"Hi," I greeted.
They waved in unison.
"Beside Asher is one of his many cousins--"
"Jacques," I interrupted and crossed my arms. "Been awhile, hasn't it?"
"...Oh. I didn't think you'd--"
"I still hate you."
Brad laughed nervously and continued. "I...Jacques is in charge of weapons and security. If you can't get a hold of him, that means he's busy with one or the other. Never both. Beside him is Chance. No relation to anyone in this room. Don't mess with him. Especially when he's not in the mood. I swear he acts just like you, except he kills people. Yes, he does scare me sometimes."
"So...he's your hitman?" I asked.
"Exactly."
Ooh, I'm so scared. Yeah. There are scarier people than bipolar people. Unless he said he was a psycho, then I would be scared. He didn't, so I have nothing to worry about. He's never getting a drive from me.
"And there's Blake...behind Cameron." Brad had a small smile on his face. No. He couldn't have made Brad proud in some way. I will murder him. "He's basically our mafia spy. Be careful not to mention anything important around him. He's sworn to report everything we say back to Asher's mother's husband's brother's best friend."
"Is he like...What is he to Asher?"
"...I don't know. Someone important. Just remember to watch your mouth. There are things meant to be a secret. It's of no use against our enemies if the mafia already knows."
Good to know. I guess I'll take my leave now. They didn't have to worry about me saying anything. My mouth was sealed like an envelope. It would take more than just a few measly threats to make me tell where the drive had gone. Right now it was in the worst place possible. I needed to get to it before it was found. I said goodbye and left the room in a hurry.
Awkward.
In the kitchen, Isabella and Brad's stupid wife were sitting at the island. I was surprised to see Jade here too. I hadn't seen her at the party at all. Maybe I was just too busy. She usually was by my side at huge parties. Natalia was at the stove like I had predicted. They hadn't noticed me yet, so I had the element of surprise.
"Did you see the news today?" Jade asked and slid her phone over to Isabella. "I can't believe he would do something like that."
"Really?" Isabella asked. "Have you not been spending time in Palm Springs?"
She put Dominic on her other knee to read what was on Jade's phone. I wanted to know. Who did something stupid? Jasmine was clinging to Jade's legging and staring at Brad's wife. I had yet to learn her name again. I bet it was easy and generic.
"Jay said the other woman works for a prestigious magazine company in New York," Jade said. "I just can't believe Sam would stoop so low at a time like this."
"She's Sam," Natalia spoke up. "There's nothing she won't do for a price. It doesn't matter who she's hurting. Especially if it's Lexi. She knows weaknesses like she knows her own life story."
"Unfortunate for the people she hurts. I just feel so bad for Lexi. It's not like she hates Sam or anything. They were best friends before she met any of us. To suddenly get betrayed by her because of a guy...It's just crazy."
"Life is crazy," Bella noted and passed Jade's phone back. "Can I get some coffee, Nat?"
"Yeah. Hang on a second."
How had they not noticed me? Were they that blind or just didn't care? I was kind of hurt by this. It was a little funny though. I cleared my throat. Jade whipped around with the fakest smile on her face. Once she saw it was me it transformed into a real one. Isabella looked like she was going to drop my child and rush over to me. Natalia pretended she hadn't heard me and poured Bella some coffee. Brad's wife only took a glance and looked at her phone again.
"Good morning, babe," Jade said. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"
"More than a while," I said. "Where have you been?"
I sat down beside her and picked up Jasmine.
"Out of town. I had to escort my boss's son from Santa Barbara to here."
"An escort? That's very unlike you, Jade."
"It was a good deed. Plus, Jay was around to help for a bit."
Johnathan. It's been a minute since I last talked to him. I expected him to spend a little more time behind bars. Couldn't really blame the cops for that one. I wouldn't want him to be in jail either if I had to be the one looking after him. He was annoying sometimes.