She was angry and frustrated at the same time because as far as she was concerned, Frank and the girls were her family now. And the sad part was that she had received more love and attention in the last few months than she ever did from her parents. That's when it finally hit them that they didn't know much about her family. Her first reaction was to call and tell them off, but the girls would have none of it.
They were able to convince her to meet them and hear what they had to say, she owed them that much. The next few days she opened up about her family and how they virtually abandoned her, they understood where she was coming from but at least she had a family. She decided to meet them in a restaurant because she didn't trust herself enough to keep a level head and to make sure of this; she asked that Frank join her for emotional support.
In the mean time, he had been doing a bit of research of his own, and he was impressed by what he found out. Jackie's parents were rich, filthy rich, they came from old money and from what he could piece together their marriage was mostly a business arrangement. That explained a lot, they had a child and he couldn't understand why they went out of their way to isolate themselves from her. He would find out in a few days.
The restaurant was a nice cozy little place which they frequented and the waiters knew them. She was so nervous that she couldn't even hold her glass of water and had to ask for a straw. So he did the only thing he could, he held her hand and tried to calm her. This wasn't easy but the fact that he showed his support seemed to calm her a bit.
'I can't do this.'
'Yes you can, I won't let anything happen to you okay.' Despite the reassurance, she still had reservations. Then she tensed, tightened her grip on his hand and stared at a couple that had just walked in. They approached the table slowly and right away he could tell they were absolute snobs. They checked out the place and they didn't have to say anything because their expressions showed their disgust.
'Hello mum, dad this is Frank my boyfriend,' she introduced them then turning to Frank, 'these are my parents Victor and Anna Quinn.'
'Hi Jacqueline, it's been a long time dear,' her mother replied, 'it's nice to finally meet you Frank.' They didn't even hug. Victor had yet to say a word, although he didn't have to, Frank could tell he didn't like him not that it mattered.
'Has he started beating on you like your last so called boyfriend?' he asked sarcastically.
'How dare you,' she answered with a rising temper.
'Please let's not fight,' Anna tried to intervene.
'Why, he's just after her money just like the rest of them. I've been doing a bit of digging on you young man, and your background didn't impress me. How dare you take advantage of your assistant, I thought it was against company policy to date a subordinate,' he continued.
'He loves me unlike you two. When was the last time you sent me a birthday card?' Jackie was really upset now.
'Mr. Quinn your daughter is old enough to make her own decisions and ...'
'Who are you to tell me about my daughter?' he interrupted him.
'Stop it all of you,' Anna screamed. This attracted the attention of the other customers. 'We didn't come here to fight. Jacqueline we came here to tell you, no to ask you to come home with us because we want you to take over the family finances,' she added after lowering her voice.
'That's what it's all about to you you've never cared about me sending me off to boarding school so that you could entertain your snooty rich friends. Do you know what that does to an eight year old? For heavens sake my best friends were the servants. What makes you think I want anything to do with you or your money? She couldn't continue because she was too upset.
'I'm sorry for the lack of attention, I know it's a bit late for that now but honey we need you to take charge because that's the least we can do,' Anna tried to plead with her.
'You don't get it do you, you think you can buy me off? I've found someone who can love me for me and he doesn't care how much money I have,' she said with a surprisingly calm voice. This seemed to piss her dad off.
'You little shit this is the thanks we get for raising you?' Victor bellowed out.
'Look who's talking, where were you on my seventh birthday? Oh I know you were in Monte Carlo, for my eighth birthday you were in Rio for the carnival. For my ninth you were in Egypt visiting the pyramids. I could go on and on but you get the idea, so don't tell me you raised me.'
'Don't you dare use that tone with me,' he said trying to regain control. The evening was turning out to be quite interesting and Frank had a front row seat. Fortunately for him, he could pick up on their intentions and as far as he could tell, there was more to their little visit. Anna was the key, but she was too afraid of Victor to speak up. This wasn't about Jackie taking over, they were being investigated for some questionable deals and they needed someone to take the fall for them.
Unfortunately he couldn't just come out and say it but he could make them think he knew about the illegal deals. He had to be careful about how he did it. They didn't even order food, but decided to meet again in a few days after everyone had calmed down. Jackie cried all the way home and it didn't help when he told her about her parents' little predicament. That night she cried herself to sleep, fortunately for her she had people who loved her.
Frank did a bit more digging and found out more about their shady deals, or more precisely Victor's deals. Anna was the weak link but getting to her wouldn't be easy, but he decided to try. He called up the hotel they were staying and asked for her. She seemed relieved to hear his voice and agreed to meet him right away. That was easier than he had thought, but the hard part lay ahead.
They met at a coffee shop and he could see she was really uncomfortable. 'My daughter really loves you,' she said trying to break the ice.
'I love her too, but that's not why you are here is it? I've been doing some digging and you two are in some deep shit. So my question is why are you here? Why not just leave the country; I'm sure the money you stashed in the Caribbean will be more than enough for the rest of your lives,' he probed. All of a sudden she became nervous and he could feel her internal emotional conflict as she tried to decide what to tell him.
'It was all his idea,' she finally burst out.
'Calm down, let's start from the top.'
'Okay, Victor made some deals without telling the board and when they started loosing money he borrowed from some questionable individuals to cover them but the FTC got wind of it and started sniffing around. Unfortunately I was also a signatory to them although I didn't know at the time. So now we are looking at more than twenty years each of jail time.'
'What does Jackie have to do with all that?'
'Once we sign over the finances, all liability will be on her and that gives us a loop hole to get out.'
'But wouldn't they still investigate you.'
'You'll be amazed at what a good lawyer can do with the laws they have now.' Unfortunately she was right, all a lawyer had to do was poke enough holes. But it still didn't make sense why they had to frame Jackie.
'But why Jackie, she's never done anything to deserve this,' he asked.
'Victor has never really accepted her he even did a blood test to confirm his paternity. I know as her mother I should have put a stop to it as soon as he suggested it but I'm afraid of him.'
'You can always go to the cops.'
'You're kidding right? He has very powerful connections.'
'What if I could protect you?'
'Please don't do this to me the least I could do is ask that you take care of my baby because even though I don't know you that well, I can tell that you are a good young man. Nobody can protect me from him but you can protect her. I know what I have to do I just wish I was a better mother tell her I'm sorry for everything.' With that she stood up and left. He didn't know how long he sat there because when he took a sip of his coffee it was cold.
When he got home he sat them all down and recounted the meeting's event. Jackie sat motionless but they all knew what she was going through. That evening her mum called to say they were leaving, Jackie tried to convince her to stay but she had made up her mind. For the next few days Jackie didn't talk much and when she finally broke down, she cried for a good two days and they encouraged her to let it all out.
A few weeks later, she received a call from the FBI telling her that her parent's car had been discovered at the bottom of a cliff. This time she cried for a week. Frank and the girls did their best to console her but she blamed herself for their bitter parting and their death. She flew out to identify their bodies and make funeral arrangements. Her mother's last wish was that their ashes be spread over the Rockies because that's where they met.
A few weeks later, she received a call from a lawyer asking her to come in for the reading of the will. She didn't want to go because as far as she was concerned, she didn't want anything to do with their dirty money. Frank was able to convince her to meet with the executor and hear him out. He was a nice old gentleman who also seemed to want to get it over with. After the usual pleasantries they got down to business.
Basically they had left everything to her but before he could continue he handed her an envelope. It was addressed to her, so she cautiously opened it and started reading.