THE BADASS BILLIONAIRE'S SURROGATE

CHAPTER 38

Noah looked at his wife, who stared at him with angry, disappointed eyes, and he knew the day had finally come. This was the moment he had dreaded ever since he resumed his mission. He sat on the bed and didn't mind that she hurried away to the other end. He did this. There was no fixing or forgiving what he had done.

This stupid mission had started some years back when his family had been forced to leave Miami. It was a slaughter. He had lost his parents, uncles, aunts, siblings in a war that no one could have foreseen. That night, while the Smiths murdered them, Uncle Mason, Nathan's dad, had been able to take him, Gabriel, Nate and Samantha out of the Miami war zone through the back door in their house. He was able to put them in a stowaway car. While being driven off, the Smith had fired some shots. Uncle Mason had been hit. And though they escaped. He didn't survive.

Aside from them, no one had survived. Gabriel was angry. He wanted blood. But they had no power and no resource to pursue their enemies. So they did what could be done; changed their last names, find their hidden stashes all over the places and began to wait for their time. None of them was young. The youngest then was Nathan, and even he understood that this was a battle they had to fight someday. So, when Adriana Swiss became a lawyer and was called to bar, the news travelled far and wide.

And Gabriel, who had been watching the TV that day, suddenly had an idea. "Noah." He called his cousin who was in the room fixing the roof or whatever it was he does. "Noah!"

Noah came in looking all greasy and dirty. He flipped his clothing in the laundry machine and asked his cousin what was wrong.

"Look at the pretty lady."

Noah hissed. "You're telling me you called me out, like a jackass so I can see a pretty..." He looked at the screen. The woman was pretty indeed. Shaking his head when Gabriel murmured, he forced himself to look at the irritating man, "You called me to look at a woman." He finished off.

"Yes. And you'll agree she's pretty." Gabriel teased.

"I've got things to do." He said as he cleaned his greasy hand. He tossed the handkerchief in the laundry too and began to walk away.

"Noah."

Noah tensed. He hated that tone. Hated when Gabriel used it with him. Since his father, Mason, died, Gabriel had assumed leadership because, by birth, he was older than every one of them. But he couldn't run the company. He didn't go to college and didn't learn the logistics of the company. So even though he was the leader, Noah was second in command but more respected. He controlled the company's daily running and activities. But Gabriel being a gang leader and trouble maker, consistently enforce his rule. He managed to keep anyone out of order to behave. Like the typical Monterey, he murdered whoever pissed him off.

Still, Noah hated when he used the gangster tone with him. They were both leaders. He was more of the one keeping the family together. Gabriel was hot-tempered, too hot for business. Most of the deals gone sour had been his fault. And Noah hated having to clean up after him. A lot of times, he let his gun control his brain. It was offensive. Though everyone cowered in fear around him, he refused to. And that irritated Gabriel more. Noah didn't care. He knew he was needed to keep the family running as well as to clean up their misdeeds, so he enjoyed getting on Gaby's nerves every now and then.

Gabriel, on the other hand, knew how to get him worked up. All he needed was to lose it. Like he did now. What he failed to realize was, it was like barking an animal to a corner. Someday, the animal would feel cornered and be forced to fight back.

"I'm still talking." Gabriel said to the stubborn brat who still had his back to him.

Noah turned around and looked at him, angry. "You call this talking? Okay. I have to balance the accounts. What say you? Finish it while we talk?" He mocked.

"Look, sit your ass back down and listen to what I have to say." He was beside Noah in a swift stride. The two glared at each other, both daring the other to throw the first punch. Samantha walked in then and went to the two.

Wriggling in between the cousins, she asked, "What is it this time?" She chested Noah to the other wall. He was the reason of the two. If she did that with Gaby, she'd be dished a hot slap. She whispered to Noah to let it go and gently went to Gaby. "It's okay." She said. "Please sit you both and let's talk about this."

The two men grunted and sat down. Samantha went to get some drinks and gave both. Gabriel received his, opened the can and finished the glass in one gulp. Samantha shook her head in irritation and passed him another. "What is it?" She asked them

"We should have Nathan here. Since you're here, we might as well make this a meeting. What I have to say is important." Gabriel said, casting Noah a look before opening his drink again. Samantha brought out her phone and called Nathan. "Can you be home ASAP?"

"He's at the door." She informed the men.

By then, the news had ended, and the pretty lawyer wasn't on screen anymore. Gabriel brought out his phone and logged online to the News network for the story. When he found it, he played it and paused the part where Adriana Swiss was being talked about.

Nathan walked in then. Samantha passed him a drink, and he sat down wondering what was going on. "Did I miss something."

"You're about to find out as I am too." She told him.

"Here's what I was trying to tell...." He looked at Noah, still angry. "I was telling him about this pretty lawyer." He played the News, and everyone watched. "Adriana Swiss." He looked at them all. "You all know the Swiss. Miami." He said, trying to joggle their memory. "The lawyer family that sent all Monterey to jail, and we planned on having our revenge."

Not liking where this was going he asked. "How did the Swiss offend us exactly?"

"For one, they sent us to jail. Isn't that bad enough?" Gabriel replied sarcastically. "And if I'm right, the war started right there. Everyone died in their cell. Should I go on with the gory detail?" he looked at them all and finally settled on Noah again, "Your parents died in that cell too, bro"

Noah stopped him. "Hey, they were murdered by the Smiths, not Swiss."

"All is the same to me. Anyway, my point is, they played a triggering role in the war and should be punished for it."

"I agree with him there. If we are starting our revenge, then the Swiss need to pay too. We could have won the war if most of our men weren't already dead in the cell on their order." Nathan said.

"Finally, some sense." Gabriel was happy to have a second vote. Most times, everyone just went with whatever Noah said.

"So, what exactly are we saying now? Getting back our revenge?" Samantha asked the men.

"Yes." Gabriel said.

"Are we ready for this?" She turned to Noah.

Noah shrugged, "Financially, the company is still struggling."

"We are not starting the war right now. Will you please stop jumping my gun and listen to my proposal. There's a reason I brought up this woman." He pointed to the screen where Adriana Swiss was about to give her speech. He paused the screen again and showed them. "Listen. She's a Swiss with all the money. To kick start the plan, I want us to get into her family through her. If possible, a marriage." He laughed wickedly.

"How do we do that? And most importantly, why marry our enemy." Nathan didn't see any sense in that.

"Keep your friends closer and your enemies even closer. What better way to know more about the Swiss than to marry into the family and become part of them?" He laughed at his own brilliancy. Not even Noah had thought about it. And they call him the brain of the company! He laughed again. The three members looked at him like he was insane. He mocked them too.

"Who is married to such a fancy lawyer. She's smart." Nathan pointed out. "Me?"

"No.." Gabriel replied immediately. "I think it should be Noah. As you said, she's smart. She will see through you instantly. Noah, on the other hand? No."

"I can't do that." Noah refused. "She didn't do anything."

"She, alongside her fancy parents, murdered your parents. They killed my father." Gabriel said. "I believe you're the man for the job."

And while they argued back and forth, Samantha knew that the battle had started, and it wasn't going to be an easy one. She intended to travel far away when the time came. Though she had lost a lot in the last one, she wasn't in any way interested in the act of revenge skim. She heard Gabriel shout at Noah. "Have you forgotten how my dad died in the pool of his own blood?"

"No!" Noah screamed back. "I'm not doing this!"

"Because it wasn't your father? Wanna know how yours died?"

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Adriana asked, watching her husband closely. Noah sighed and seemed to be back in the room with her.

"Yes. I will." He said and began to explain how his family had been murdered.

Adriana listened as he talked about the family he lost during the ensuing war because his family had murdered many people. But she knew she wasn't interested in all that. She had heard enough from her parents. Still, she let him talk. The part where she was interested in, however, was how her family had been wrapped into their plot and why she was picked for their mind games.

"We escaped with Uncle Mason, but a bullet penetrated his backbone." he closed his eye in agony. "He bled to LA. We couldn't go to the hospital for fear of being captured and..." He swallowed hard, "Murdered. So, we had to treat him at home. Gabriel. Gabriel is my cousin. Uncle Mason's second son. He did all he could. There was just too much blood." He stood up from the bed and went to lean on the wall facing his wife. And spreading his palm, he said bitterly. "He died on my hands. He was drenched in a pool of his blood."

He closed his eyes as a tear trickled down his left eye. Adriana forced herself not to let his pain cloud her anger. He had messed with her emotions to avenge his family. He deserved no pity from her. "What happened after?" She forced herself to ask, hoping he would launch into the part where she became his pun.

Noah opened his eye and brushed off his tears. He shifted his weight on his right leg while still leaning on the wall. "Our family might have been murdered brutally, but our businesses thrived. Outside Miami, of course." He shifted his weight again. This time, he was resting his weight on his left leg.

Adriana could see his discomfort. That was when she realizes what he was doing. He left the bed to put a distance between them. She found that interesting. It only meant one thing, he was getting closer to that part-the part where she would bleed.

"Gabriel was the eldest. He assumed leadership. But I knew more about the business. I was the one trained to take over."

"You're saying that you're the brain of the company?"

He nodded and said yes before realizing what she was implying by that. "No." He quickly added, "For the company, I ran the operations. I did everything by the book. Believe me." He smiled sadly. " Coming to you wasn't my idea. It was Gabriel, and I had no choice."

Now, here we are! Adriana sighed, not believing him. "He forced you." She smirked.

He didn't bother trying to convince her. He just went on with his story. "We got the business up and running. Everything was finally back to normal until Gabriel saw you on screen. Of course, we have always known the day would come to have our revenge. The day you got called to the bar was the day our revenge started."

Adriana laughed hysterically. "That day, at the courtroom, you approached me intentionally." She had been right. He did know her right from the beginning. She felt disappointed and sad. "I've been longing to ask. That day, at the courtroom, you were waiting for me." She stopped to look at him, "How did you happen to be the only one?"

"No. The Monterey might have left Miami, but our deeds preceded us. All we needed to say was the name to get everyone out of there."

"We?" She asked.

"Yeah. Gaby was there. He came to make sure I went through with it."

That was the man who had been walking away. "So, for revenge, you ruined my life." She started to cry. He came closer, but she pushed her hands to stop him not to come any closer. "And the kids?"

"I'm so sorry." Was all he could say. Adriana began to cry, full-blown, back rocking sobs, and he couldn't console her. He stood watching as his world shattered right in front of him.

CHAPTER 39

While Jason finished his mean, he listened to an incredible tale he hadn't heard before. The Swiss filled him in about the five founding members and the wall that ensued between them. They had also mentioned their involvement in the war. He listened aptly as he did James. When they were done sharing, he asked his he could help.

"We will let you know when the time comes." Robert replied, "For now, we all should work on getting safe. I don't think the men will engage us now."

"Okay." Jason nodded.

"In terms of an ally, we are counting on connections and the law. We hope to do this the legal way." Mrs. Swiss added.

"Sounds fine by me." Jason moved his seat back. It had been a lovely night. As the couple bade him goodnight, he spoke to his security detail, "Did you get all that?"

"Yes, boss." James replied instantly. He had listened to everything and knew the Swiss were as honest in their account as the tale he had been told. He had called his father the moment all these started. Thomas had been quick to fill them all in about the founding members and the war.

"And?"

"They gave the same story my dad told me. He thinks we can help them."

"Alright. Where are you parked?"

"I'm right outside, boss." he said and chuckled when Jason hit his leg and started to swear, but he quickly covered his mouth his boss wouldn't hear him.

"I heard that."

"Sorry, boss." He apologized jokingly.

Standing outside the restaurant, he spotted his white Lexus immediately. The bouncer handed him his suit, and he stepped into the car. Once in, he said to his PI. "You have to get to work. You and your team, alright?" And as they drove off, something struck him as odd too. "And I want you to look into the death of my parents. I think they died right about the time this Miami war started. Something doesn't seem to add up."

"Sure, boss." James replied, his mind already on the task. Although the suggested sounded somewhat troubling. What if the Valdez had been murdered? It was going to be a catastrophic one. His father hadn't said anything to him about the war and the Valdez. Their names never came up in any of their talks involving the war and the old founding members. But Jason was right. His parents died about that time. It wouldn't hurt to be sure all was right. If there was anything, though, should Thomas his father know? As the security head and the Valdez' PI, he would have known if anything fishy happened. If he did, why didn't he say anything when he debriefed him while handing over?

"Make sure to get those men tailing me. We can't let them off so lightly because the Swiss think they won't engage." Jason added, bringing his PI back to the present. He tried to take off his mind away from what he just heard tonight. "By the way, where's Evangeline right now. I should speak with her."

"She's in LA." James replied immediately.

"Why?"

Well, she's been all by herself for some days now. And you totally ignored her for days, that was what he was going to say, but that wasn't for him to say. Let the boss figure that part out too. "She must have a meeting." He replied instead.

"Then get me there tomorrow afternoon. Is her security detail with her there?"

"Yes, boss."

"Good." He could easy knowing she had company. His mind wandered back to the last time they had been together. Something about his expression must have given him away. Evangeline had looked sad. He needed to correct that impression, and he could do it now, knowing her parents had finally agreed to let them be. Speaking with them tonight had lifted a burden off him. Though it sounded archaic, he was glad they approved. And now, he could face their daughter and sort out this thing they had going.

Noah sat limb on the bed, watching his wife cry out her eyes. This was the most challenging part, "I did what I thought was best for my family." He said, looking at her. She spared him only a glance, but it was a look that broke him. "I'm sorry."

"When you joined the company because I asked..." She was interrupted

"Yes. It was all part of the plan." He told her. "I was to get to the company through you."

"To siphon our funds?" He swallowed hard. This was getting deeper, but she had to know. She has to know this wasn't easy for him too. Gaby and the others would probably kill him for this, but he didn't care anymore.

"Yes." He swallowed. "We have been taking from you." She didn't say anything. It only meant she had at one time suspected. "But I stopped some years back."

Adriana scoffed. "Good of you to think you needed to stop." Sarcastically, she added. "You must have seen the money was running so low."

"No. It wasn't that. If that was it, the total money drain was the point of the whole plan." He reached out to her again. She pushed his hand away, "I changed." He said slowly.

"You changed me." He stood up again but stayed close to the bed. "You changed me." Sighing heavily. He began the story of how he had started to suck at the revenge plans, and now Gaby was getting pissed off.

"When we couldn't have kids, which by the way, wasn't totally planned. I was somehow relieved. Didn't want any kid getting mixed up in a mess." He shook his head, "But you were so miserable. I watched you became a shadow of yourself. I couldn't stop caring." He paused again.

"I cannot say when exactly I fell for you. It was shocking. I don't know how but I love you, Adriana Swiss. One day, I came home, and you were in bed, sad and without the glow. I wanted to do everything to get you to be your old lively self. The woman who showered me kisses every morning and made me excited always to be home. I could do anything for you then. That day was when I found out I couldn't hurt you or your family this way anymore. So, I stopped the plan."

"We were childless for almost six years. You're saying in all those years I was only the pun in the plan" she laughed weirdly, tears falling down her eyes. "My kids and I meant nothing to you."

"I love those kids."

"And now, you stand there to tell me this trash of love stopping your plan."

"I... love you, Adriana."

"Yet you continued to steal from us."

"No. I stopped. It's why my brothers are angry with me. I haven't touched or hurt as much as a fly in your company. Not since the twins came along."

"Then how come just a couple of weeks back, we lost over a couple of thousand dollars?"

"I didn't do it. You have to believe me. I didn't."

She shook her head vigorously. "You need to be out of this place tomorrow." She said sadly and turned off the light. "We can start working out the divorce papers too." She added before covering herself with the duvet. She listened as he took his things and left the room probably to sleep in the other room. And the tears began to fall again.

CHAPTER 40

"I didn't know." Thomas told his son when faced with the outrageous challenge." He was certain there had been no mischief in his late bosses' death. "It was a plane crash." He added, "The pilot also died in the crash. How would he know about anything and still let himself be killed in the crash?" It didn't add up. "Stop troubling the still water looking for pebbles. Nothing is there."

"It's so frustrating not getting any solid info." James sat down angrily in the chair beside his father. His gaze fell on the picture of his mother on the frame, and it seemed to calm him down. Then he looked back at his old man, who was also staring at the frame, smiling. "You never did get over her." He murmured

"Neither did you." He smiled. "She was a remarkable woman. Not someone I could ever forget." he turned away from the picture and looked at his son, remembering something. "There are so many things you should understand about the Monterey and Smith's war. Back then, the war had been going on silently. The Smiths were already into their business and holding key posts. Your mother tried to warn me about it."

"Did she know something?"

"She was a friend to a distant cousin of the Smith." He said. "They were already planning a takeover because according to this cousin, the Monterey murdered a Smith. It was all vendetta." He paused, then went on. "And you know how those gangs operate; kill one, they take what's dear to you. The Swiss only landed them a golden opportunity when Robert sent them to jail. That was a terrible call."

"He was only upholding the law." James said, trying to picture how the judge must have felt, losing a witness and all the chaos right outside his courtroom.

"Not to the crowd. To everyone, the judge picked a side."

James laughed. "Surely, you don't believe that. As you said, the war hadn't even started. It was just a Monterey case killing a witness in court."

"Haven't you being listening to anything I said?" He looked at his son sternly. "The war had been going on inwardly. The Swiss may not have known about the Smiths' move. But I'm sure they must have caught wind of it." Sighing, he added, "It's why I wouldn't have allowed this surrogacy thing your boss has going on with the Swiss lady. It could be disastrous for him."

And for all their sakes, he hopes there wasn't anything catastrophic about the Valdez getting involved with the Swiss. They were too closely knitted now to back down. "He seems to like her."

"Who?"

"Evangeline Swiss, the surrogate." He explained, "Jason likes her. He won't walk away from this."

"Then we can only hope this doesn't go south."

"And you don't think the Valdez were murdered? They died right about the time of the ongoing war. And from the information I got now, something fishy happened. I haven't verified it, but it would appear that the pilot or someone among the crew was on the Smith's payroll."

"What? I didn't know that." Thomas said standing up. "You sure about this?"

"Not confirmed yet." He pointed out. "I'll have more facts before tomorrow. I've put Sam on it."

"Keep me appraised, okay? I'm really interested in where this goes. And if you need my help in any way." He winked. "We old men still have our deep-rooted relationships that opens doors faster."

Standing up to take his leave, James teased his father. "That or you're bored and want back in the game." He wanted to ask what his father did with his time. Hopefully, it wasn't spent staring at his mother's old picture.

"I just want to know what happens. I feel responsible for the Valdez. I was their security detail. I should know." Although, he did feel bored most of the time, he couldn't say that to his son. Still, he said, "I have nothing doing now. I could help"

"Okay. I'll let you know if I need any help." He started to leave. His father stood up to walk him out, "Don't beat yourself up over any of these. You were the best at your job."

"Until they got murdered right under my nose, and I knew nothing about it." He said as he bottled up his anger with a wicked grin.

James shook his head. "Only way I'm telling you shit is if you get off that impression. The Last thing I want is you going off on a guilty rampage as you did with mother." And as the man walked into his car and drive off, he couldn't help but remember how his dad had been when he lost his mother. He blamed her death all on himself. The result wasn't a palatable one. Even the doctors were not spared. Thomas had made a list of possible suspects who could have played a role in the 'natural' death of his wife. He then went on to stalk every one of them. It was creepy watching him tail everyone. Once, he had almost shot a DSS agent who he worked with.

The agent had been an old friend of the family and was the one who had rushed his laboring wife to the hospital. Thomas had been on official assignment and wasn't in the county. When he got back to be told of his wife's demise, Thomas immediately lost it. He started to ask if his wife had been brought in early enough. He asked who the doctor that attended to her was and what delayed he had encountered. Finally, neighbors were questioned go know what went wrong. After investigating the hospital and the staff thoroughly, Thomas decided to check on his old friend. It must have been him who delayed, he figured.

Thomas, who didn't know what was going on, was sleeping peacefully in his house that evening after an exhausted state. As a trained officer, he heard a stir and grabbed his gun. He was kicked off, and his gun taken from him. In the struggle, the gun had been fired, nearly shooting off his left leg. Thankfully, the bullet hit the bed instead. Shocked, the agent watched his friend, who looked so different. He still had no clue what was wrong.

But to his surprise, his friend sat down, questioning him with a gun pointed at him. "Did you get in time to get my wife?" He asked, "Reply promptly, or I'll blow your fucking head off." He swore and the agent knew he was dead serious and not himself. He replied to his questions as pathetically as he could. It was the only way to get through to him. He did his best to calm him down. When finally he could get through to the scarred man hiding behind the gun, he told him as best as he could that his wife's death was a natural one. Thomas wailed in pain. His cries could be heard three houses away.