Page 27 of Marcellus: House of Drakos

All of the mothers and their children, the usual faces that attend every monthly family dinner, were all together in the living room.

They were still in a state of mournful disbelief.

When no one heard from Niko, they all assumed he was pulling another one of his regular disappearing acts.

It was what he did all the time. Many still didn’t believe it until they saw it for themselves on that video.

Panic set in when they viewed that video.

Although Scottie was in the back of the room at the bar counter on the phone with his security detail chiefs, and Olivier and Freddy were on their phones with the office, Kalayna was curled up on the front window waiting for news, not even attempting to communicate with anybody. She was worried sick about her brother.

Peggy Price, Niko’s mother, couldn’t be still.

She jerked her long, blonde hair back constantly as she walked around that room like a wounded animal.

And complained about everything: from how cold it was in there, to why would they even consider serving breakfast at a time like this, to why did Natalia always have to get the best seat in the room every time she showed up.

Natalia Bennett, Freddy and Kalayna’s mother, sat quietly in the wingback chair with her shapely legs crossed and her perfectly manicured hands resting on her lap.

She wasn’t thinking about Peggy Price. Or Piggy Price as she called her due to the slight weight gain Peg had experienced.

She was a pain in the ass on a good day as far as Natalia was concerned.

But Natalia loved Niko as if he was her son too.

Despite his mother, she was worried sick about him too.

But Juliet Laurent, mother of Olivier, and Sharon Scipio, mother of Scottie, sat side by side on one of the two sofas, and spoke quietly with each other.

They called themselves the Darkhaired Beauties because of their (dyed) deep-black, down to their butts hair (mostly weave), but Natalia called them the darkhaired bitches because of their constant scheming and conniving to try to get the upper hand and curry favor with Marcellus.

It always backfired on them, he could see right through their trifling asses, but they never ceased trying.

At least Natalia knew what she was getting with Piggy Price.

They argued constantly but they were thick as thieves.

But she could never tell what was what with those darkhaired, conniving bitches.

Although, if she were to be honest with herself, she knew nobody schemed and connived more than she did.

“Dad’s coming down,” Freddy yelled out when he saw his father and as he ended his call. Olivier ended his phone call too. And everybody, including Kalayna, looked toward the elevator.

And sure enough they could see the numbers change from the top floor to the second floor to the first floor.

When the doors dinged and opened, Kalayna sat up to avoid incurring her father’s wrath for slothfulness despite the long hours she worked seven days a week, and Peggy moved to the middle of the room, her arms folded in accusation, before she even saw his face.

Then Marcellus stepped out, not alone as the ladies had expected, but with an attractive black woman much older than his early-twenties usual type, stepping out beside him.

The dark-haired beauties looked at each other in shock, and then back at Savannah.

Peggy looked at Natalia as if, because she was black too, she’d know who the woman walking beside Marcellus was. Natalia looked back at Peggy with an are you for real look on her face. That woman’s not-so-subtle racism always astounded her. Then they both turned their attention back to Marcellus.

Especially Peggy, who was livid. “You couldn’t bother to at least see and comfort me last night in all of my grief when I found out that our child, our baby, was kidnapped somewhere, but yet you can pay a whore to come and pleasure you? How dare you!”

But before Marcellus could say a word, Savannah spoke up for herself the way she was always forced to do her entire life. “I know you’re upset,” she said to Peggy, “but I’m not a whore.”

“Any woman that sleeps with Marcellus Drakos is and always will be a whore of the first order,” Peggy shot back.

“Then I must be in a den of whores,” said Savannah, “since you’re his baby mamas.”

Every woman in that room, and their children, all looked at her.

They could not believe the level of disrespect she’d just reaped on Peggy.

Forget what Peggy said. Peggy was just being Peggy to them.

But for her to come back at her in such a disrespectful way?

It was unheard of! They were, even Natalia, offended.

But Marcellus could not agree with Savannah more. “Now shut the fuck up,” he said to Peggy, “and sit your ass down.”

Peggy was gravely offended, but she knew not to push his buttons. She went and sat next to the darkhaired beauties. Marcellus and Savannah sat down on the other sofa.

“Who is this woman,” Natalia asked for all of them, “and why does she have to be here? This is about our family. No outsider should be in this house at all.”

“Thank you,” agreed Peggy.

“Savannah,” Marcellus said, ignoring them, “that’s Peggy Price, Niko’s mother.

In that chair over there is Natalia Bennett, the mother of my son Fredrick (Freddy waved his hand), and my daughter Kalayna.

And on the sofa is Juliet Laurent, the mother of my son Olivier, and Sharon Scipio, my son Scottie’s mother.

Everyone, this is Savannah Richardson. Niko’s secretary. ”

“His ex-secretary,” Savannah corrected him. She didn’t give a shit about making herself look good to those women. “I was fired by his fashion director.”

“You were fired?” asked a stunned Peggy, “but yet you’re here? Why?”

“Because I want her here,” said Marcellus point blank. “So stop making this about her. She didn’t bring this grief on this family. She didn’t kidnap him.”

“As far as you know,” said Peggy.

Marcellus gave her a hard look. “Say one more disparaging word about her and I’ll banish your ass.”

“She’s just upset, Marci, for crying out loud,” said Natalia. “Cut her some slack. Her child is missing. And the point is well taken. If she didn’t kidnap Niko, then who did?”

“Right,” agreed Peggy. “Who did?”

Marcellus, who had been in contact with Scottie all night, exhaled. “We have a name, but we haven’t found him yet.”

“Why don’t you call in the FBI,” asked Peggy. “They can find anybody. Scottie’s a security guy. We need law enforcement.”

“Here here,” said Natalia. “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

“If Scottie hadn’t confiscated my phone,” added Peggy, “I would have called the FBI myself as soon as I found out.”

“And you would have killed your son had you done so,” Scottie said from the back of the room. “I got this, Peg.”

“No FBI agent is going to work harder to return Niko than his own brother,” added Freddy, whom all the baby mamas respected.

“Scott is the chief of security for Drakos Aeronautics. He’s got more contacts than any FBI agent would ever have.

So let’s cut that shit out. We can’t be divided.

We’ve got to stand together as one family for Niko’s sake. ”

Marcellus always appreciated Freddy’s leadership abilities.

That was why he put him in charge of the day-to-day running of his entire corporation even though he was only twenty-eight years old.

He, like Olivier, was a leader of men. “Everything is being done,” said Marcellus, reassuring them, “to bring Niko home. But Fredrick is right. We cannot involve law enforcement. Whomever abducted Niko has made it clear that they will kill him on the spot if we bring in anybody connected to law enforcement. Let us handle this.”

“Then handle it,” said Peggy as tears came. “I just want my boy back!”

Juliet, Olivier’s mother, hugged her. But it was obvious to Savannah that Natalia and Peggy were the two ringleaders.

Juliet and Sharon seemed to be more than happy to let them take all the fire.

But in their quietness was sneakiness, in Savannah’s view, and she wouldn’t trust them as far as she could throw them.

Scottie got off the phone and came into the living room. Everybody looked at him, but he shook his head. “We’re still trying to get more intel,” he said.

“No phone call from the kidnappers overnight?” asked Olivier.

“Nothing or I would have notified you.”

“What if they’re bluffing?” asked Freddy. “What if they have no intentions of returning Niko?”

“But what would be the point of kidnapping him?” asked Olivier.

“The same reason they may be tampering with all of those airplanes,” said Savannah. “Revenge.”

The ladies looked at Savannah with frowns on their faces. “What are you talking about?” Peggy asked. “How could planes crashing have anything to do with my son’s abduction? Why would you think such a hideous thing?”

“She doesn’t believe in coincidences,” said Marcellus as he leaned back and crossed his legs. Savannah remained on the edge of her seat. “And neither do I.”

“Ollie, will you please get this woman straight,” said his mother Juliet. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Why is she even here?”

“And she’s got Marci going right along with her,” added Natalia.