Nelly jumped out of her chair. "Alex is coming back?" she blurted out. She was overjoyed.
Justin was also ecstatic at Gideon's news, but the rest of the family only stared nervously at Lincoln. They had no idea how he would react. They all liked Alex, and they knew that he would come to help them if he could. But it was Lincoln's decision.
In contrast to the previous mention of Alex's name, Lincoln looked calm and relaxed. Whether because of the good news or because he was softening toward Alex, he seemed to be warming to the idea of allowing Alex to come back.
Nathan became acutely aware of the change in his grandfather, and his newfound humility gave way to desperation. If Alex returned, it would spell endless trouble for him. He had to step in and stop it.
"You can't allow it, Grandfather," he cried. "Alex is no use to us. He can fight, but that's all he's good for. He thinks we're desperate, and he's using our troubles for his own gain. It's what he does."
Marion decided to speak out in support of her son. "It's true, Lincoln," she said and gave Flora a dirty look. "In the end, he's his mother's son. He's a schemer."
Marcus put his hand on her arm, as if to signal that it would be best for her not to say any more. "Father," he said calmy. "We know what Alex has been up to. He's been making powerful enemies out there. We have to make sure that they don't also become our enemies. Especially now."
Lincoln's face grew troubled. The brief period of happiness and relief appeared to be over, and his family was once again showing signs of a terrible split. He sighed heavily. No matter what he chose to do, this divide would be the biggest problem he had had to solve in years.
Before he could think of what to say to them, he was interrupted by the crash of the door flying open. A young man came running in through the doorway. He stopped a few feet into the room, took a few seconds to recover his breath, and then cried out in a terrible voice, "Aunt Flora's helicopter has crashed!"
Marion looked around herself. She hadn't even noticed that Flora wasn't in the room.
Everyone was stunned. Gideon grew pale as a ghost. He had sent Flora out to meet their son and bring him to the island, and he had personally asked Mickey Doyle, the head mechanic, to see to it that nothing could go wrong. He had even requested that a second helicopter be sent out as a decoy.
Lincoln was as stunned as the rest of them, but he quickly regained his composure. "What happened?" he asked in as authoritative a voice as he could muster.
"The helicopter must have been tampered with," the young man said through his heavy breathing. "It crashed almost immediately after takeoff. Aunt Flora has been taken to the hospital wing. She's in bad shape."
"I want security to scour the whole island immediately!" Lincoln roared. "And round up everyone at the aircraft hangar for questioning!"
Although he was taking decisive action, Lincoln was rattled to his core. Fairview was a fortress, a place where they had always felt completely safe. If the Mitchells could reach them there, the family were in greater danger than he could ever have imagined.
**
In the main hangar of the island's aircraft maintenance area, Mickey Doyle stood watching as a terrible scene unfolded on his phone. He saw his eight-year-old daughter. He saw the bruises on her face and arms. He saw the post to which she was tied and the rag that had been put in her mouth. He heard her muffled cries.
"That's enough," he whimpered through his tears. "I did what you asked, now let my daughter go. Please, I beg you."
"We'll keep her for a little while longer," a cold voice said from just out of frame. "We need to know that you've done what we told you to do. Once we confirm the helicopter crash, we'll release her." The screen turned black. The call had been ended.
Mickey put the phone away. His eyes were watery, and his mind was a mess. The thought of what he had done made him sick to his stomach, but they had taken his daughter. There had been no other choice.
**
"What?" Alex shouted as his father told him the news.
He was sitting in the helicopter, the one that had been intended as a decoy. His father had told him that his mother would be coming to get him, but she had not been inside. Then his father had called him, and now he was telling him that his mother had been in a crash.
Alex was furious. He punched at the seat next to him, unable to contain his violent rage. The backrest ripped open, and the metal frame was bent. He took a few deep breaths and put the phone back to his ear.
"Dad, listen," he said. "We need to keep it together now. For Mom's sake. How's she doing?"
"It's not looking good, Alex," his father answered in a heavy voice. "You'd better get back here as soon as possible."
Gideon's words cut into Alex like a knife. He sounded far older than he was, and Alex felt a chill come over him as he thought of the suffering of his parents.But the chill passed quickly, and in its place rose a scorching hot anger and a lust for vengeance. Alex was no fool. His mother's crash couldn't have been an accident, and he knew who was to blame. He vowed to himself that the Mitchells would pay.
"I'll be right there, Dad," he said. "Everything will be okay. Trust me." He hung up the phone and signaled to the pilot to take off. Any hesitation he had felt about going back to his family had vanished. His grandfather could punish him as much as he wanted, but he was going to see his mother. Nothing would stop him. He only hoped that she would hold on until he arrived.
As the helicopter lifted into the air, Alex's mind went back to Dominic Mitchell. He knew that the man was ruthless and determined, but he had grossly underestimated the lengths to which he would go to get his way.
I'll destroy you, Dominic, he vowed to himself in his rage. I'll bring your entire family down. You have money, and you have power, and you might think that you're safe. But you're not. I'm coming for you, and all your money will mean nothing when I'm standing over you. I should have done it earlier, and then my mother would be safe. Well, now you'll know what it's like to be hunted.
The thought of his revenge on the Mitchells consumed Alex for the entire helicopter ride, and he soon found himself touching down on the landing pad on Fairview Island. When he jumped out onto the asphalt and walked away from the helicopter, he saw that many of the staff had gathered to greet him. They were all cheering for him and crying out his name. He saw no one from his family.
Up in the villa, Lincoln was sitting alone in his chair in the giant parlor. He had made up his mind. The circumstances of the family had changed drastically, and he had decided to grant Alex's request to come and meet them on the island. Once he had made the decision, a heavy load had been lifted from his heart, but he had no idea that Alex was already there.