Chapter 3

"That didn't go the way you expected, did it?" Sadir asked, coming from the other room.

"No, and I don't think I will be holding my breath while waiting for Mr. Palmer's apology either. Do you think it was his fault or was your brother lying to me?"

"My brother was probably covering his ass, as you Americans say. It is possible that Palmer took it upon his self to send the letter sooner than later, but I do believe my brother knew about it."

"I think your right. However, I have no proof either way."

"Don’t let it bother you. In a way, it is my fault by not telling my brother of our engagement. He wouldn’t have bothered, thinking I would let him have anything he wishes after I marry you. He'd be sadly presumptuous with those thoughts." 

"We have been engaged for over 5 months and you have yet to tell him. Why are you keeping it a secret?" 

"I didn't think he needed to know. Call it sibling rivalry or whatever. We just don't see eye to eye on anything."  

"Have you told your parents about us?" Jaxon wondered. 

Sadir stroked his beard and smiled. "With everything that has happened with your grandmother it slipped my mind," he said. 

"I am starting to get the feeling you're ashamed of me." 

"No, I'm not ashamed of you. Remove that thought from your mind. I love you with all my heart. I will call my parents and see when they can come to the states to visit for a few days. That way they can get to know and love you as much as I do," he said, wrapping his arms around her.  

"I like that idea. I hope they can make it soon." 

 

Sebastian was in the kitchen when Jaxon went in to get something for her and Sadir to snack on while they discussed their wedding plans. She was surprised when she saw a small tray of fruit and vegetables waiting on the table. She couldn't stand it any longer. She had to know how he knew things beforehand. 

"Sebastian, will you answer a question for me?" 

"Yes, Madam, I will try." 

"How do you know when guests arrive or are about to depart? And how did you know I wanted this food?" Jaxon asked, pointing to the tray.

"It is what I do for a living, Madam. Mrs. McLaughlin hated to wait, so I try to be where I am needed at the appropriate time," Sebastian said.

Jaxon stood looking at him, then cocked her head to one side, and smiled. "Sebastian, such an answer might have worked with my grandmother, but it isn't working for me. Try giving me the truth."

"Very well, Madam. You are forcing me to disclose one of my best kept secrets." He reached into his side pocket and produced a small hand held device. "This is a wireless monitor for the security system of the estate."

"How clever you are!" Jaxon said, looking at the monitor. While looking at it, a thought came to her, "Sebastian, are there recordings of the day to day surveillance of the grounds?"

"Yes, Madam. Did your grandmother ever show you the system?" Sebastian wondered.

"I didn’t even know we had a security system other than the alarm. I guess she thought that was your job to keep it running smoothly," Jaxon said with a smile.

"Follow me, Madam." Sebastian led her to a small room off the kitchen that she had always thought was his quarters.

She never went there out of respect of his privacy. She was amazed when she stepped into the room and saw three different monitors…each with several camera views on them. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She heard a chuckle and realized it was Sadir behind her.

"Did you know about this room?" she asked him.

"Yes, Gloria had asked me about security of my estate and I gave her the name of the agency I used."

"Why didn't she want me to know? Was she spying on me with it?" Jaxon wondered.

"No, but she didn't trust everyone at the estate. She was also worried about your safety."

"My safety? Why was she worried about me specifically?"

"You were her only heir. She loved you very much and didn't want anything to happen to you," Sebastian said. "She was protecting her most prized possession."  

"The prized possession I'm not so sure about. I knew she loved me, but to go to all this expense for me is a bit overwhelming," Jaxon said, leaning against Sadir's chest.  

"I'm afraid I became part of her security for you. She knew you would be well-protected when you were with me. She wasn't sure about my intentions, at first towards you and when I told her it was pure love and lust; she allowed me to ask you out," Sadir said, laughing.  

"You’re teasing me now, aren't you?" 

"Only about the lust part. I had to prove I was worthy of dating you," Sadir said seriously. 

"Really? I find it hard to believe a Prince had to prove he was good enough for me," Jaxon said, giggling. 

"I didn’t mind one bit proving myself to her. I saw her point of view. I may have been a friend, but I was also a rival in the business. She had a right to be weary," Sadir said.  

"Sebastian, I would like see the day Grandmother died. I want to know what happened."  

"Madam, there is nothing to show you," Sebastian replied. "I was curious as well and I cannot find that day’s video." 

"It has to be here! Are you the only one with access to this room?" 

"Yes, madam. I have contacted the agency and they said their recordings of that day have been erased as well," Sebastian answered. "They promised to get back to me if they found anything, but so far, I have heard nothing from them." 

"When did you last here from them?" Jaxon wondered.  

"Two days ago when I found the recordings were missing," Sebastian reported.  

"If you wish, I can get in touch with them and get to the bottom of this," Sadir offered. 

"Yes, I would be grateful if you could. Thank you," Jaxon said, kissing him on the cheek. 

 

In the days that followed, Jaxon worried she would never find out what happened to her grandmother the day she died. Her only hope was to find the surveillance of that day.  

Sadir contacted the agency and they were trying their best to find out what had happened that day, but they still had no answers. Sadir thought they were not working hard enough to find out, so he hired a team to work on recovering the data from the McLaughlin computers. The team consisted of computer specialists from all over the world. He didn't want Jaxon to bother them with endless questions, so he kept her away while the technicians were working.  

Jaxon enjoyed her outings with Sadir, but what was happening back at her home was always in her mind. Their long horseback rides together made her happier than she had been in weeks. She made a promise to herself that no matter what the technicians found she and Sadir would be married soon. 

One day when Sadir took her back home, Sebastian met them at the door as he usually did, only this time he could hardly control his excitement in seeing them. "It is a pleasure to see you finally home, madam," he said, greeting them. "There is a gentleman in the living room waiting to speak with you." 

"Really? I wasn’t expecting anyone. Did he say what this was about?" Jaxon asked. 

"No, madam. He did say it was urgent, so I allowed him to wait for you," Sebastian answered, giving a quick nod to Sadir. 

"Darling, if you stop questioning him you can find out for yourself," Sadir said, urging her toward the living room.  

"Yes, you're right. Guess I’ve been out in the sun too long," she said with a gentle laugh. 

Jaxon stepped into the living room, immediately recognizing the person as one of the technicians Sadir had hired. She took hold of Sadir's hand, looking into his dark brown eyes. She needed him to ask the question. She was too nervous.  

"Mr. Drexel, I hope you are here with good news," Sadir said, escorting Jaxon to the sofa.  

"Yes, Sir, we have the video restore, but no audio so far. That is taking a bit more time," he answered. "I have made two copies for you of what we have found." He gave the copies to Jaxon before turning his laptop on in front of her to show her the findings.  

"Thank you. Will I be seeing everything? I mean, will I be seeing the workers outside at the stables as well as the house?" 

"No. ma'am. We were told to concentrate on the house and anything with Mrs. McLaughlin. We did recover the outside video as well, but what I have on those copies is what lead up to you finding your grandmother," he said with a touch of sadness in his voice.  

"Okay, please play it for me," Jaxon said, taking a deep breath.  

Sadir placed his arm around her shoulder and held her while they watched. He could feel her shaking and wondered if this was going to be too upsetting for her. He leaned over to whisper in her ear, "I can do this for you."  

Jaxon only shook her head and continued to watch the video. Mostly it was Gloria looking over the accounting books after she had sent Sebastian on a few errands. Jaxon remembered how secretive her grandmother was acting that morning. When Jaxon left to go to the racetrack that day, she felt as if her grandmother was expecting someone and wanted her out of the house. 

His concern for Jaxon kept him from watching the video closely. When he felt her tense up, he looked at the video. He saw a man and woman talking to Gloria that he had never met before. He was sure Jaxon knew them by her reaction.   

She was right about her grandmother wanting her gone that day. The reason why was unfolding before her eyes. Her father and mother had arrived and they all went to the room they were now in to talk. She was starting to shake visibly, so Sadir asked the tech to shut it off for a moment.  

"Why did you do that? I need to see the rest of it!" she screamed at him.  

"I think you need to calm down. This is causing you a great deal of discomfort. I thought a moment was needed," Sadir explained.  

"Stop treating me like a china doll! I want to see the rest of it. If you can't handle it, I suggest you leave the room," Jaxon blurted out. She regretted the words the moment she said them. "I'm sorry.”  

"It is the pressure and stress speaking. At least, I hope that is what happened," he said, smiling. 

"I am deeply sorry. I hope you forgive me," she said, looking up at him.  

"I do. Please forgive me for interfering," Sadir said.  

"Just hold me and let it play. Nothing can be as devastating as walking in the door to find her lying there." 

"I guess you are right," Sadir said, having the tech start the video up again. "Do you know who her guests were?" 

"My parents. That is why she insisted that I go to the track to watch Glory Rose run in her workout." 

"Really? Why wouldn't she want you to see them?" Sadir asked.  

"Possibly, because she knows I want nothing to do with them," Jaxon said, still intently watching. When an argument between her grandmother and father erupted, she became angry. "There! That is the reason she collapsed. He tormented her someway and got her angry. She shouldn't get that angry; her blood pressure was too unstable. I shouldn't have left." 

Sadir held Jaxon while she started to cry. He was surprised to see her stop the technician when he wanted to stop it again. They saw Gloria stagger slightly when she went to walk away from the door then she collapsed. Neither was prepared to witness what happened next. Tariq's right hand man, Mr. Palmer walk in the door. 

"What was he doing there," Jaxon whispered, watching him lean down and check on Gloria. Jaxon saw her grandmother move with Mr. Palmer saying something to her before he stood and left. "He didn't call me or 911! That bastard!" 

Sadir had the tech stop it and asked him to leave them alone. "I will get to the bottom of this. He will pay for what he has done," he said angrily. 

"Sebastian!" she yelled, not knowing he had been watching from behind her.   

"Yes, Madam?" he said, approaching her. 

"Please call my friend, Andrea. She will help me with this. Have her drop everything and get here at once!" Jaxon ordered. "Mr. Palmer will wish he had never come by that day." 

"Isn't Andrea the woman you speak to on the internet? And the one standing up for you at the wedding?"

"Yes, she's in law enforcement. When she is on a stake out she needs someone to talk to, so we talk over the internet." 

"Isn't she supposed to be watching someone while on stake outs? Why is she talking to you?" 

"We don't type our messages. We use the headsets, so she can watch. I would never interfere with her work."  

"I see. So, this is what you do when I'm not with you at night," he said, smiling.  

"Some nights. She tells me when she needs me to be on and keep her awake. She was my best friend until you came along, now she is my second best friend." 

"That doesn’t seem fair to demote her because of me. After all, you are going to marry me, so she can be your best friend," Sadir said. 

"Always the gentleman. I'll tell her when she gets here," Jaxon said, winking.   

"She will be here in an hour, Madam," Sebastian said, coming back into the room.  

"Thank you. Sadir, will you have the technician stay until she gets here in case she has any questions for him?" 

"Of course. Excuse me," he said, leaving her and Sebastian together.  

"Sebastian, I think a light dinner for tonight. I'm not feeling up to eating much."  

"Yes, Madam. May I say something?" 

"Yes, go ahead," Jaxon said.  

"I would like for you to know that if the police do nothing about Mr. Palmer, or he gets away with this, I will personally see to it he pays for what he did to Mrs. McLaughlin," he said, seriously. 

His words sent a chill down her spine. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" 

"I believe I am. I will not have any regrets in doing so." With that said, he turned and headed towards the kitchen.