Olivia quietly manoeuvred around the kitchen, finding plates and cutlery as well as a stack of paper napkins for the food that would arrive with Gideon. She wasn't sure she followed the whole of what was going on but what had started with just Armando and Isaac visiting to ask a few questions had expanded into a full investigation with Zanto and Orlando arriving. Their arrival was followed by the set up of several monitors and the video presence of Xavier and Dom in their dining room. Armando had made calls of his own and Claudio had arrived with Anthony and Gianni. The room felt crowded, and she was at a loss until Gideon called, and Genesis organised him to bring food for the men in her dining room, all talking loudly and studying various computer screens.
If she was honest, Olivia was glad she had something to keep her busy until Vivienne got there and she would have the excuse to slink away and hide from the drama she had inadvertently caused. Or at least she thought this was all because of her. If she let herself dwell on it, she might begin to panic again so she kept fussing in the kitchen organising everything the men at the table would need to eat and drink while they continued working. For the first time, she was grateful for Emma's interference in her life because she knew where everything was in the kitchen and could feel useful instead of the constant invalid who needed looking after.
"You doing okay, Little one?" Genesis asked as he walked in to check on her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the top of her head.
"it's nice to be busy doing something," she said quietly returning his hug. "I'd rather be in here doing something useful than in there with all that stuff. It's too much to follow when everyone talks at the same time."
"We think we know who killed Remington. We need to find proof of our suspicions. It's important not only for you but to help Noah keep Marcella safe and bring her home to us eventually," Genesis explained the basics of what they had found out so far. It wasn't much and hinged on a lot of supposition right now, but it felt right, and they were all keen to follow it through.
"I don't think she will. Come back with Noah. I mean," Olivia said quietly. "I know you all think that this curse thing can conquer anything but Marcie is different, she's... I don't know how to explain it, but I don't think she will ever trust anyone to keep her safe or bring her home. She does those things herself on her own or at least in her own way, you know? If she comes back here at all, it will be on her own terms for her own reasons."
"Noah is different too," Genesis chuckled. "It would be dangerous to underestimate him, especially when he wants something badly enough."
"The thing is," she said, drawing in a breath to bolster her courage. "Noah or you or Gideon. None of you come into a relationship alone. If I love you, I have to love all of them," she looked out into the dining room. "It's a package deal, and I don't think any of you realise how overwhelming that can be. Maybe not to someone who grew up close to the larger part of the family, like Vivienne, but me and especially Marcella, she's..." Olivia gave up and sighed. "I can't explain it, but I keep trying to tell you all, he won't bring her back, not for good, and if the curse is real and he needs or wants to stay with her, he won't either."
Genesis's eyes widened. The thought that he could lose his brother to his curse breaker had never crossed his mind. Dread swelled in him because he knew he would have left the family if they hadn't embraced the sweet woman in his arms and all the drama that came along with her including living and working with the head of the Northern Clans of the Suebi before he found her. They would have had the right to dismiss her, but they didn't, and thankfully, he was spared that decision. Noah, on the other hand, was fighting the years of mental abuse Marcella had suffered at the hands of not only her father and uncle who were the worst but also her mother and sisters. He had to admit if only to himself that there was a good chance Olivia was right, and the thought of losing his brother like that sliced through his heart.
Gideon and Vivienne arrived then, and the kitchen island was turned into a buffet set up as boxes of pizza and pasta were unpacked, and serving utensils were found for them all. The men slowly got up one or two at a time drawn by the sight and smell of the food to fill plates and go back to the table to continue their investigations each working to their own strengths to find the missing links they believed had to be there.
Isaac had found the initial link and everything had spun out from there. Madonna Schwann was the daughter of the woman Olivia had known as Aunty Bea. Her real name was Beatrice Annegret Kottman - Schwann. It was the deceased husband and son that became the focus of the investigation now as Isaac believed that Schwann was most likely to become the next leader of the northern Clans on the death of the last leader. That was until their lives had been cut short, leaving Remy with the most substantial claim to the mantle. Bea it seemed had been poised to become the Queen of the clan and mistress of the mansion. Then Remy took over the property, once the power plays for the top spot had fizzled out, and had offered Bea the housekeeper role so she wouldn't have to leave what had essentially been her home for most of her life.
The proof of the story they had sketched out from their investigations so far and Madonna's role in the clans seemed as elusive as the woman herself. She was like a shadow of a woman never actually appearing in the light of any company records or property sales. She was real, and she was the daughter of Beatrice and Ari Schwann, beyond that there was little proof that the woman had even gone to school, let alone university. She was an enigma which made the men all the more confident that it was her not Bea that was behind the assassination of Remington Royce and the reason Bea wanted the Royce mansion so much she would risk her cover.
*****
Marcella had dozed briefly, and when she woke, Noah was not beside her gloating over his conquest of her for which she was genuinely grateful. Curious as to where he was though, and if he had abandoned her here in the treehouse, she got up pulled on a robe that had been left by the bed. Tangling her hair up into a messy bun, she padded out of the bedroom on silent, bare feet. She could hear Noah mumbling faintly in another room, and she baulked at the fact that someone else might be in the treehouse with them. Peeking around the corner, she saw him sitting on a couch his phone cradled to his ear and a pensive look on his face.
Sensing the woman he had left sleeping, Noah looked up and grinned at her. She was stunning with her messy hair and wearing the oversized robe. He hoped that she was still naked underneath it because he had plans to revisit that home run and the battle he had won earlier.
"I have to go. Keep me updated," Noah said, cutting off whatever was being told to him as he came to his feet. Ending the call, he threw his phone down on the coffee table and stalked toward her in such a way that she involuntarily took a step back making his smile wider and his eyes glint with the challenge. "That was my Dad," he explained. "It seems they might have worked out who attempted to assassinate your sister alongside Remington Royce and why Bea wants the mansion so badly," he explained knowing she would forget any wariness in her eagerness for the news. "This might just be the break we need to clear Olivia once and for all and capture the person who orchestrated the hit," he added as she looked at him suspiciously as if what he had said was not a good enough reason for leaving her alone in bed.
"Explain," she commanded. "Leave nothing out." He may have won the little battle in the bedroom, but she was still in control of what they did in this investigation.
"Come have a seat, Kitten," he grinned and patted the couch beside him, making her narrow her eyes at him. "Just come and sit your still in charge I was just gathering the information for you, so you had time to think about it before we met Dad to grab the documents we need for the meeting at the markets this afternoon."
