"Stay out of my business," Alex said.
"You're pathetic," Nathan answered scornfully. "Some little girl was nice to you because you saved her. And then she left because she realized you'd be bad for her. And on top of that, you stole a bunch of money from her, dropped out of school and went to work in a hotel to pay it back."
Nathan had done his homework. It was clear that he wanted to make Alex feel guilty. "Don't talk about me and her!" Alex shouted.
"Excited, are we? Well, you should be. I've heard things, you know. About how you treated your 'girlfriend.' For example, I heard that when 'Debbie' went to that competition in Chicago, she was the only one whose boyfriend wasn't with her. Poor girl, all alone. And where were you? Off drinking somewhere? I bet you were having the time of your life!"
"Now here's the question, Alex. If you'd treat your girlfriend like that, would you really care about a couple of employees? Just drop the act."
Alex was shaken.
Nathan sneered. "Just admit that you're a hypocrite, Alex."
"I'm not," Alex blurted out. "I love her. And I'll make things right!"
"And how will you do that?" Nathan answered coldly. "Who are you kidding? She's getting married today, and you want to make up with her? Do you want to be a homewrecker?"
Alex was startled. "What? She's getting married?"
"Spare me, Alex. As if you don't know that Leona's marrying David Drake today."
"You're wrong. David's marrying her sister Lindsey!"
Nathan hesitated for a moment. "You really don't know, do you? Then listen up! David isn't marrying Lindsey. He's marrying Leona. Your precious girlfriend!"
Alex froze. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Nathan continued. "Oh, and by the way, Grandpa did ask me to come here. He wants you to know that if you've really given up on Leona, you're not cut off anymore. And you can come to his birthday party in a few days. But if you persist, you're on your own."
He stopped talking and stared at Alex. "Make your choice!"
As much as he hated Nathan, Alex knew that he was telling the truth. He had come to D.C. on Grandpa's orders. Alex searched desperately for an answer and blurted out, "I can't give her up."
Sam stepped forward to interrupt him. "Alex, please think carefully. If you reject your grandfather now, you'll be out in the cold for a long time."
Ken also stepped up. "This is your chance, Alex. If you accept, everyone has been told they're allowed to come and see you. You'll be back in. Please think about it."
Nathan exploded in anger. "Don't interrupt, you idiots! The family's talking."
He walked over and kicked them both in the shins, and they stumbled to the ground. They looked at Alex, and their eyes seemed to beg him to make the right choice.
Alex didn't know what to do.
Nathan looked at his watch and said leisurely, "It's just over eleven now, and Leona marries David at twelve. You'd better hurry."
No, Alex thought. If Leona marries someone else, I don't want to live.
He turned to Sam and Ken. "Sam, Ken, I know you're looking out for me. But Debbie means more than anything. I can't let her do this. I hope you understand."
And with that, he ran out of the room and didn't look back.
Ken and Sam were saddened, but they understood why Alex had made this choice.
When Nathan saw the sadness in their eyes, he grew enraged once again. "You idiots! As if your opinions would change his mind. I'll tell you, if I were in charge, you'd be fired! Now get out of here!"
Ken and Sam looked resentfully at Nathan, stood up and left the room. Nathan and Keith were now alone.
Keith stepped forward. "Well done. You played this perfectly."
Nathan touched his face and squinted at Keith. "Did I?"
Keith nodded. "Beating Ken and Sam got him worked up. Once you revealed the news about Leona getting married, he was too emotional to think straight. It was well done. I'm impressed."
Nathan sneered. "You're impressed? I didn't plan that. All I had to do was tell him that Leona was getting married. I suffered a beating for nothing!"
Keith searched for a compliment to smooth things over. "You have good instincts for this. You know him better than I do."
"Yeah, well, we're family," Nathan said. "Of course I know him. If he cares about someone, he'll sacrifice anything for them. It's an easy weakness to exploit."
"By the way, boss, I have some good news," Keith said. "Apparently the Drake family has increased their security for the wedding. They've hired a bunch of new guys, and one of them is a real force of nature. He's the best hand-to-hand fighter in the business. If Alex tries anything, those boys will straighten him out."
"Is that so?" Nathan said. As much as he had looked into the situation with Leona, he did not know about this.
Keith lowered his voice and continued. He suddenly seemed hesitant. "It's true. But you know, if something terrible happens to Alex at this wedding, your grandfather might blame us."
Nathan smiled. "We'd better make sure something happens to him. And if my grandfather blames anyone, it'll be the Drakes."
"You're right," Keith said. "There's no way to pin it on us." He took a step forward and suddenly noticed the swelling in Nathan's face. "Christ, boss, your face! Let me take you to the hospital."
"No," Nathan answered. "My dear cousin is getting killed, and I'll be there to see it."
**
Alex ran out of the hotel, but he couldn't find a taxi. He saw a man getting out of a car, and he ran up to him and took the keys out of his hand. Then he got in the car, slammed the door shut, and raced off to David's house.
It's over eleven now, Alex thought. They'll be married in less than half an hour. There's no time to lose.
**
Over at David's house, a large crowd was gathering out front. The Moon Maidens were among them. They were curious and excited to see their first big wedding.
The Washington D.C. Police Department had sent almost thirty police officers to keep order in front of the house. They were led by Police Commissioner Billings. They had put up police tape to keep onlookers off the street so that the wedding would not be interrupted by the commotion of the crowd.
At an intersection not far from the house, Nelly had parked her food truck. She was busy selling pancakes to the crowd. The sidewalk was overflowing with people, and Nelly had already made hundreds of dollars.
When the wedding motorcade arrived in front of the villa, a lot of important people stepped out of the black cars. Many of them were members of the city's wealthiest families, and they were accompanied by artists and celebrities of all kinds.
Most of the invited politicians had found it inconvenient to attend, and they had already visited David to express their congratulations in a less public manner.
When all these people stepped out of the cars, the roaring of the crowd reached a fever pitch. Many people cried out for their idols to notice them, and hundreds of phones were buzzing in a picture-taking frenzy.
David and Leona stepped out of the white wedding car and walked into the villa under the adoring gaze of the crowd. Once all the guests had gone inside, the buzz of the crowd started to die down.
Nelly's food truck was still surrounded by customers. She was concentrating on making pancakes when she suddenly heard the roar of a fast-approaching car. She looked up to find out what was happening. A hundred meters down the street, a BMW came racing straight towards the food truck at breakneck speed. It closed the distance in the blink of an eye, and everyone around the food truck was frightened as it roared right past them.
Strange, Nelly thought. That was Alex driving that car. But why would he be going to David's? But there was no time to think about it. She stepped out of the food truck and ran toward the house.