Secrets Of The A-List Complete Collection, Episodes 1-12. Cat Schield

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       Chapter One

      “You think one of us is the Fixer?” Luc asked his mother. “Yeah, right.”

      “It has to be one of you chosen ones,” Elana shouted from the doorway of Harrison’s hospital room and marched out into the hallway, with the family right behind her. Her three-inch red-soled heels popped like gunfire against the winter-white marble floors. Now that she had everyone’s full attention, she pranced in front of her brothers, tossing her hair along with her accusations. “We all know I can’t be trusted to do anything.” She flashed an accusatory look at her mother, which Mariella promptly ignored.

      “Don’t be ridiculous,” Rafe sputtered, ignoring his sister’s typical outburst. “How could it be one of us?”

      “Ridiculous! Is that what you call some behind-the-scenes person manipulating our fucking lives—ridiculous? That’s the best response you can come up with, little brother?” Luc snarked.

      Rafe swung his body toward Luc and got within inches from his face. “Are you the Fixer, Luc? I wouldn’t put it past you.”

      “Fuck you.”

      Mariella stepped between her warring sons. She pressed her hand against Rafe’s chest and then Luc’s. “Stop! You are brothers. Act like it.”

      Not put off by his mother’s intervention, and still ticked off from his fight with Rafe, Luc emitted an incredulous chuckle. “Obviously, Dad’s accident has taken its toll on you, if you think for a moment the Fixer could possibly be me. I barely have enough hours in the day to manage my practice without looking for ways to screw over my own family!”

      “You could have fooled me,” Elana piped in, wanting to keep stirring the pot of discontent. “You’ve always been the one who thinks he knows best about everything and everyone. Maybe you fix lives like you do body parts. You never had a problem telling me what to do and what you think about what I do.”

      “Somebody has to,” Luc threw back.

      Elana’s dark hair showered her bare shoulders as she tossed her head back and laughed. “Typical. You always have to be right.”

      “Enough!”

      All eyes turned toward the command and seemed to notice Joe for the first time.

      “For Christ’s sake,” he hissed. He gestured angrily to the room behind them, glared from one to the next and stepped in between the warring factions. “We’re in a hospital, and I don’t care how private and secret it is—people have ears. Not to mention that your father is just a few feet away.”

      Mariella blinked back her surprise. She’d never heard Joe raise his voice higher than a burst of laughter, nor had she ever seen that steely look in his eyes.

      “For your mother’s sake,” he added with more calm, and settled his focus on Mariella.

      Mariella’s tanned cheeks flushed. She pulled her imported Italian lace shawl tighter around her narrow shoulders.

      “At least let’s get out of the hallway and go into the reception room for privacy,” Joe suggested.

      * * *

      The hot air slowly seeped from the room as the family split off to their respective corners, duly chastised.

      Joe moved closer to Mariella, placed a firm hand of comfort on her shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. She looked up into Joe’s eyes for reassurance. He gave her a short nod.

      Mariella drew in a deep breath, regained her composure and her position as the de facto head of the family. Whatever misgivings she might have about her husband—and she had many—she would not let her family fall apart by allowing them to tear one another to pieces. No matter what their differences, they were family first. It was her responsibility now to keep them together and focused. And it was her fault for suggesting one of them was the Fixer in the first place.

      “Joe’s right,” Mariella said. She pinned each of her children with her infamous mother glare. One by one their combative postures eased. They knew that when their mother shot them that look she was a breath away from one of her epic tirades, and no one would be spared. “This is not the time or the place. As much as I want to put my faith in the discretion of the staff here, we cannot risk them overhearing anything that shows any type of weakness or fracture in our family.” She slightly raised her chin. “Everyone has a price,” she added, knowing that her family understood exactly what she meant. “So we will smile, keep our voices down and act like we love each other. That means all of you.”

      Elana flopped down on one of the overstuffed white leather side chairs that sat beneath a СКАЧАТЬ