Trust

Hello, I' am so very sorry for the long delay in updating this story. I moved and getting adjusted to a new environment was not easy. I'm still adjusting as I will have to move again in few more months, however, I could not update this story again. On a good note, I finished a chapter I was having a bit of difficulty writing. Now for the other chapter that's going to be difficult. I have some ideas, I just need to work through them. The chapters maybe small when I update them here but I am trying to make them as detailed as possible. That being said, I hope to update the next chapter very, very soon. Thank you all for your patience and have a wonderful rest of the week and weekend. :)

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"Mike, the owner just came out of surgery but he's in critical condition. His wife said there was a backup camera in his study but she doesn't know how to access it from the computer. She's at the hospital now."

"Thanks Claudine, I'll look into it," replied Mike.

"No need to," interjected ADA Bricks. "I already got permission to have the footage reviewed. But I have to say Mike, I noticed something very interesting in the file while reviewing it. It seems that the suspect is known to both you and former ADA Storm Monsello a bit personally. Are you both trying to hide something or protect someone?"

"Listen Bricks, I really don't have time for your crap right now. If you want to get into a pissing fight with Storm, be my guest. We both know you won't win. Storm and I have been upfront with the Chief about everything we've been doing from the very beginning. I have to go get that footage."

"Officer Malcom is going to join you, just to make sure the recovery isn't compromised."

"Listen you asshole, I..."

"Mike!" yelled the chief, "in my office."

Mike looked at Bricks and followed the Chief. Once in the office, he closed the door none too softly and watched as Bricks smiled before turning away.

"That guy is such an asshole. He's never going to get over the fact that Storm is richer than him. Fucking prick."

"I know he and Storm never got along but if there is anything I should know, tell me now. I don't want any surprises," said the Chief.

"Chief, I have told you everything we know. We are keeping Sally as an informant but in reality, she doesn't know anything."

"Good, go get that footage."

"Thanks for having our backs Chief, we appreciate it."

The chief nodded and Mike left.

&&&

As they watched the footage of the robbery, Mike said a silent prayer that Sally was nowhere on the footage, and she wasn't.

"Pick up everyone who can lead to them being captured," ordered ADA Bricks.

"When you say everyone, who do you mean?" inquired Mike.

"I mean everyone, including the friend, Sally MacDonald. She may know something. We'll keep her here until she speaks."

"NO! Sally has no idea this has been going on," Mike protested.

"That doesn't matter now. She knows them. Are they not her friends? Isn't she listed as the best friend of one of the girls in that footage? Then she comes in too."

"Chief..."

"Mike, bring her in. If there is nothing there, then she'll be okay."

&&&

Bang! Bang! Bang! Sally got out of bed and reached under the mattress for the gun she kept there. She immediately went to her computer and looked at to see what the security camera at the door showed. Seeing the two police officers, she wondered what was happening. She went to her closet and got down the duffle bag she kept there with her emergency passport and the more than $750,000 cash. She would need to call Dara immediately to let her know what was happening. She would have to go into hiding immediately until her birthday and possibly afterwards.

"Sally MacDonald? This is the police. Please open the door, we need to speak with you," said one of the officers.

Instead, she decided to answer the door. The DEA wouldn't be that stupid to send regular police to come and get her. Cautiously she went to the door and opened it slowly.

"How may I help you?" she asked softly.

"Ms. Sally MacDonald?" After her acknowledgement, the officer continued, "We would like you to come to the station with us. We would like your assistance in an investigation we are conducting."

"What investigation..." just then her phone rang. It was Mike. "Hi Mike, I'm in the middle..."

"Hey Sally. Listen to me, go with the officers and don't fight back. They are bringing you in for an investigation. I'll explain everything when you get here. I wished I could have spoken to you first but its better this way."

"Mike, what's going on?" Sally asked.

"Miss MacDonald, please come with us? We won't have you there very long."

"Okay Mike, I'll go but please let me see you at the station."

~!~

"Salina was fourteen years old when her father died. She was his only child. Her mother died when she was about a year and a half. There are many things about her that is still a mystery but what I'm about to tell you must remain a secret. She is god daughter of Ian Tessman, otherwise known as Red Water, the notorious point man for the cartel in the Caribbean."

"That's why..."

"Yes, she was the one who brought him down. Her father and Ian were best friends as children until Ian and his mother moved off the island. They didn't meet again until college and kept in touch even though they went their separate ways. Salina's father did know Ian was a drug dealer when he made him her godfather but he severed all ties when he found out. When he died, Ian came back for Salina."

"Why?"

"He thought he could get his hands on her wealth but he wasn't prepared for Salina. She is no ordinary girl. Salina's father had compiled a file of money and assets owned by some of the largest drug dealers; money that was invested in banks here, the US and Europe. In the account that was being managed by Ian, was 3.5 billion dollars. When Ian kidnapped Salina and took her to his home, she was able to get the information on the route for the shipment. He wanted her money but she refused to marry him. That's why he almost beat her to death."

"Jesus, Madelyn, she was a fourteen-year-old child," said Storm disgustingly his hands clenching into fists.

"Yes, she was but with that kind of money you can buy almost anything."

"God, no wonder the beating affected her so."

"Beating?"

"Yes. She saw someone who was beaten up by her boyfriend and has been having nightmares ever since."

"It must have triggered the memories we tried to bury."

"What do you mean?"

"By the time Henry and DEA found her, it was too late. She was so badly beaten. Henry had her placed in a medical coma while her wounds healed."

"But how did my godfather know her father?"

"They met many, many years ago when Salina's father was getting started in international banking. They became instant friends and Henry asked him to invest some money which he did, and that gave both him and your father the capital to grow the firm as fast as they did. It was all legitimate. As I said, her father was one of the top five best in the world."

"So the cartel wants Salina to repay the seized money?"

"No. It's the DEA is who wants the money or should I say one person."

"But wouldn't they have it?"

"Not if it was never reported."

"You can't just not report that kind of money..."

"Do you truly believe all drug money is reported? That information splashed on the news is to let the public believe that the war on drugs is working; to justify the wasting of their taxes. It's a complete failure. Henry kept the money and used it to bargain for Salina's life."

Storm stopped and looked at Madelyn. "Explain."

"Two attempts were made on her life in the hospital when no one knew if she would live. Henry had her moved to his mansion where she was cared for privately. After reading her father's will, he decided to put the money in her inheritance as a way to keep her alive. Her inheritance is in trust until her 23rd birthday."

"How?"

"Two accounts were created, one with the true inheritance and the other with the drug money pretending to be her inheritance. Locked in a trust until her 23rd birthday and if she dies, everything goes to charity. She has to live and in return the money never gets recorded as found. On her 23rd birthday, everyone meets and get their portion of the investment, including you."

"Me?" Storm exclaimed shocked.

"Yes, Henry took his money, portions of the company and placed it in the investment and named you his sole beneficiary. You are invested in this deal."

"Does Salina know about all this?"

"Yes, she does." Madelyn smirked before continuing. "She didn't like your father much since he lied to her and wouldn't tell her about Henry's funeral. But she understood why. She knew they would be looking for her and Henry had sworn your father to secret on so many things including that she shouldn't attend his funeral out of fear for her life. Your father agreed. Your father finalized everything after Henry passed. The doctor and one of the nurses have passed since then."

"How much total is in the investment?"

"10.5 billion; equal shares of 3.5 billion."

"But you said her wealth is more than 15 billion dollars?" asked Storm confused.

"Come, I'll show you."

Back in Madeline's office, she pulled out a map of the island. "You see this land here?" Storm nodded, "she owns it all; all thirteen hundred and eighty acres of property."

"Okay..."

"Look at where it's located..."

"It's on the beach. Beachfront properties are gold mines."

"Not this one, it's beyond that."

Storm looked at Madeline. The property was large. Salina could build a very nice house on it or turn it into a resort if she wanted to.

"She owns the only privately owned natural port in the entire Caribbean, Central and South America. Salina Cater has the ability to become one of the richest women in the world and one of the most dangerous people in the world. She can ship anything she wants going east and west, drugs, gun, slave, anything and no one can stop her. She is has immediate access to the ocean."

"Fuck! She's always going to be in danger," Storm exclaimed as the reality of Madeline's words became clearer.

"MI6 watches her. DEA wants the money, and you are only secret legal protection she has in the US. But let me warn you, if you cross her out, I will personally have you killed."

Storm looked at Madeline, seeing a new side to her. "When did you become like this?"

"When that monster threatened my children and I saw what he did to that child. Salina Carter is alone. She can't trust anyone."

"Yes, she can. She can trust me."

"Why? Do you love her?"

"You know what they say about love, it can be either your weakness or your greatest motivator."

"Then you need to know, that she knows who you are." Madelyn continued when she saw the perplexed look on his face. "She asked me to get information on you. I thought it was because she was looking to whether or not she could trust you. I didn't think it was because you two were seeing each other."

"You mean she knew who I was all this time."

"Yes. Do not under estimate her. There're things about her we don't know."

"Such as?"

"We know she speaks several languages but how many and which ones we don't know. We know of Spanish. She has an unrecorded IQ of more than 140. Henry stopped the test before it could be completed."

"150 is genius..."

"She has a master's degree in international business and we think economics and some knowledge of international law..."

"She's going to school for microbiology..."

"Her father had her privately tutored. No one knows the true extent of her knowledge or has been able to find the tutors to verify any of the information. She took 700 million dollars of her money and invested it in properties and tech stocks. The building she lives in is owned by her, she commissioned it. She turned the money into more than 6.8 billion dollars of which I manage most of the investment. More than 3.5 billion dollars has been moved to an account that has since changed hands to where we cannot trace it. The only connection Salina has to the island is her nanny, June, the woman who is like a mother to her, and no one but Salina knows where she is. Salina will never let anyone get to her."

"She's an orphan."

"June has been her nanny from birth. Rumor has it that there is more than fifteen million dollars set aside to pull June so far underground she would virtually disappear with one phone call. Salina worked when she didn't have to. A minimum of one million dollars is allotted each month for her living expenses but yearly it can go up to fifteen million without touching any of the solid investments. She doesn't even have to pay for school. The only thing she takes from the estate is her health insurance which was non-negotiable. She is to have the absolute best in medical care at all times. She works to remain off the grid. Even the passport she travels on is one of the best fraudulent ones we've ever seen but then again, she did pay more than a half a million dollars for it. Like I said, do not underestimate her."

"I've never seen or heard of her. She's never spoken..."

Madelyn laughed, "Of course not. That's how well she protects her. No one knows how she communicates with her and she gets very guarded when asked. We've tried tracking her but she's good. Her phone old phone didn't have a GPS locator on it but the new one she has the ability to turn it off whenever she wants to. She can disappear at any time. That's what happens when you are able to spend more than $30,000 having a phone almost custom built the way you want it."

Storm stopped again and looked down before looking up. He looked away from Madelyn, "The last few months has been a lie," he said mostly to himself.

"Storm..."

"I know Madelyn," he sighed, "everything has to remain a secret and it will. You have my word."

&&&

When Sally arrived at the police station, Mike was not there. She was lead into a room and left there for a while. Outside the room, the chief along with another detective and a few police officer waited to execute their next move.

"What do we know about the owner that was shot?" asked the chief.

"Nothing yet chief, he came out of the surgery but he's still in critical condition," answered one of the officers.

"Where is Mike? Did he find out who the others were?" asked the chief.

"He's still working on it,," replied the officer again.

"Okay Finney, go in there and get some information from her. We need to wrap this case up."

"Okay chief but how do you want me to handle her? She's Mike's friend and he says she's not involved," asked Finney.

"It doesn't matter what he say. She knows the people who did it and more than likely she was there. She's a part of it and I want her charged with them," stated the DA Josephs as walked up behind everyone.

"There is no evidence..." stated Detective Finney.

"Then I'm sure when you find it you'll report it immediately," stated DA Josephs interrupting.

"Wait a minute asshole, are you telling us to manufacture fucking evidence against..." Detective Finney stated as he began advancing towards DA Josephs.

"Hey, hey...calm down," said the chief and the other officers as they held back Detective Finney. "Don't let him upset you."

"Yeah, you know this all has to do with the fact that he doesn't like Mike."

"He has nothing to do with this. I'm just doing my job," stated DA Joseph harshly.

"Then do you fucking job and proscute the bastards when we catch them. Don't go after an innocent person," stated Detective Finney.

"Is she not close friends with the suspects?" DA Joseph asked innocently.

"Get in there and see what she can tell us," stated the chief to Detective Finney.

Detective Finney nodded, grabbed the file from his desk and headed to the room.

&&&

As Sally sat in the room waiting, she wondered about her next move. She needed to assess the situation fast to know if she had to call in protective services. Was this a trick by the DEA? They wouldn't be so foolish. She had to remain calm and trust her plans. Would she be able to ask Storm for help if she needed? No she wouldn't have to. Once she got word to Madelyn, she would assist her if needed. The door opened and the detective she saw when she got to the station entered.

"Hello Ms. MacDonald. How are you doing?" asked Detective Finney.

"Hello Detective...," Sally deliberately paused.

"I'm sorry. I'm Detective Finney. I work very closely with Detective Mike Griffin whom I believe is a good friend of yours."

"Yes, I know Detective Griffin. Is he here?"

"No he's not. He's busy following a lead on this case but in the meantime I would like to speak with you if that's okay?"

Sally said nothing and seemed to think about the request. "I will assist you as best I can. What this is about?"

"Please, have a seat?"

Sally smiled. "Yes, thank you."

"Would you like something to drink, a bottle of water, juice, office, tea...?"

"No thank you. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? It's not problems at all."

"I'm sure, thank you. Shall we begin?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Do you know these people, Rhonda..."

As Sally looked at the pictures of a surveillance camera showing Rhonda, Katie and Paul she knew it was trouble and once again she was back in the mall getting caught for shoplifting. Only this time, the stakes were much higher and this could damage everything she had planned and worked for including putting peoples' lives in danger. She needed immediate protection.

"Detective Finney, stop please. Thank you, however, do not continue. I invoke my right to an attorney and I request my phone call immediately."

"Ms. MacDonald we're not accusing you of anything..."

"I will not deny that I know those three people, two more than one, however, I do not want to be involved or linked in any way to anything they are involved in."

"You won't..."

"I'm afraid I can't take your word for it." Sally sighed before continuing. "I'm not trying to thwart your investigation, however, I would prefer to have legal protection before I continue."

"We will protect..."

"No, you cannot. Our conversation has ended. I will contact my lawyer now."

Sally took out her phone and called a number and as soon as the person answered she said, "I'm at the police station. Full protection."

&&&

"Norma I need your help."

"Sure Dara, what's going on?" asked Norma as soon as she answered the call. It was definitely a surprise that Dara would call her and ask for help.

"Do you remember a few years ago, I told you about a girl that I would call upon you one day to help?" asked Dara.

"Yes, I do. You never said anything else after that so I thought it the situation was passed," said Norma.

"A situation has arisen which requires you to protect her. You must go to the police station and make sure that Sally MacDonald in your custody."

"What? Wait? Sally? As it Storm's girlfriend Sally?"

"Yes, but there's not time to explain right now. She must walk out of that police station with you," said Dara.

"Dara, I have to know...I have to tell him..." Norma said.

"He will know soon enough. Please go now."

Norma sighed, "Okay, I'm on my way."

&&&

As soon as the plane landed, Storm called Mike. "Hey, I just got back..."

"I couldn't stop it. They picked her up and took her to the station..." said Mike.

"What? Fuck no!" said Storm. "I'm on my way there now. Meet me there."

"I'm on my way back also," said Mike.