Chapter 32: Pascal's Conditions

Adam Slade's vision of establishing a dynasty in Sunset Valley has reached the third generation but his work and that of his son, Brandon, is at risk.  Cleo Slade's ill-judged affair has split her family, can she repair the damage done or will she have to raise the fourth Slade generation on her own?

In this chapter Pascal sets out his terms for a possible future together  ...


Cleo didn't know quite what to think. Pascal had returned from Champs Les Sims to meet her at the hospital after the birth of her baby boy. How, she had told his parents that she was pregnant but how did he know the exact date? Of course, it was obvious, Danielle must have told him. But, then, for how long had Danielle been phoning her father?

The following morning Danielle sensed something was different in the house but it wasn't until she came down to breakfast that she realised quite what it was.

"Daddy!" she rushed over to Pascal and threw her arms round him in a tight hug, "You came, you come to help mummy? You're going to stay, say you are?"

"Oh, my beautiful baby girl, one question at a time!" Pascal laughed with joy, cherishing the warmth and love radiating from his daughter. How he had missed that feeling while he had been at his parents.

Barely releasing her grip on him, Danielle leant back a little to look directly into his eyes "So, are you back for good now?"

"I hope so honey; your mummy and I have to do some talking but you know I will always love you – you're my own beautiful girl."

The pregnancy had rather forced Pascal into making some decisions about his relationship with Cleo and as much as he wanted to reassure Danielle that everything was now OK, he didn't want to lie to her, to give her false hope.

"Now, I have to go into town to make some arrangements so you have your breakfast, and I will see you and mummy in a little while."

-- * --

That afternoon, with Danielle on a school trip, Pascal and Cleo sat down to work out where their relationship could go.

"Cleo, we need to decide where to go from here, not just for ourselves but for Danielle and the new baby, it is not fair on them if we cannot make this work, one way or another.

"I could not cope being a father not able to be part of his child's life, but what you did hurt me so much … I don't know if I could stay here, with you, but I don't want to lose out being part of the children's lives."

"And yet, I am afraid that if I just come back to live here without us resolving anything it would end up being worse for the children."

Although every day that he had been away she had hoped that Pascal would return, Cleo was not sure that she could offer anything more than excuses for what had happened.

"I know," she started, "that I cannot expect you to forget or forgive what I did. I was foolish and reckless. I have to take responsibility for what happened but, and this is no excuse, I know now that Garret manipulated us into this situation."

Cleo tried to explain Garett's Twinbrook story of how her great-grandmother was used to destroy his family and how he then used her in a similar way, as a twisted form of revenge for what his family had suffered.

"I think that from the moment we met as teenagers he had been working out a way to get back at us. He waited until I was happily settled with you and Danielle as the perfect time to cause as much damage to me ... and those I loved."

"Yes, I should have resisted, I already had you. And you gave me what I needed; love, support, and the most beautiful daughter. If there is any way that I could repair the damage I have done, anything that I can do ..."

Pascal had listened silently to Cleo's story and, to be honest, from what he knew of Garett could believe that he had engineered the whole thing. But still, if the woman he loved could be seduced by such a man once, could he be sure that it wouldn't happen again?

"Cleo, let me make it simple, I will tell you my conclusions and you can decide if you can accept them. First, and simplest, a new start for our family. After all that has happened here I do not feel that we could continue to live in this house. I know that it was built by your father and grandfather as a legacy project for you and future generations but that heritage has been tainted. As your grandfather did, I think we should move away and start afresh."

Cleo nodded, "I understand, Adam wanted to create a family legacy but that is more than just bricks and possessions, it is the family's strength – that is what is important."

"Very good, thank you," Pascal smiled warmly at Cleo. He knew it was a sacrifice to leave this old house behind but he was glad she could see the importance of moving out.

He looked down at the table between them, the next thing he was to ask could be more difficult for Cleo to accept but he needed certainty before agreeing to stay.

"The second thing;" he looked directly at Cleo, "I need to know ... are the children mine?"

"Of course!" Cleo snapped back immediately. It was a question she knew he would have to ask but even so she had been surprised to be asked so bluntly.

With the same impassive composure Pascal repeated himself, "But I need to know Cleo, to be certain. I want them DNA tested, both of them."

Cleo rocked back, pushed her chair away from the table, "Both? Do you really think that Danielle might not be yours? That's ridiculous!"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot be a father to them if I have any doubts. I want to believe you Cleo, I really do, but I have to know one way or the other. I am not saying that I will abandon you if they are not, we can still be a family but I could not live with a cloud of doubt hanging over us."

Cleo examined Pascal's expression, features that she had been so familiar with, that had reassured and supported her in their life before ... she knew that she could trust him in whatever he promised. She had no doubt that both children were Pascal's but even if their new baby, by some foul stroke of luck, was Garetts if Pascal said he would be a true father to him, that so he would.

"OK." Cleo inevitably conceded, "I will contact the hospital to make arrangements."

"No need," Pascal interrupted, "I have done that already, we have an appointment this evening. When Danielle comes back we can tell her and go straight to the clinic."

"Tonight!" Cleo’s mind was racing, this was happening all too fast.

"Yes, they have just installed the latest test equipment and the specialist who has been trained to use it is only in town for the next couple of days before going to train the consultants in Riverview. If we go tonight we can get the results in a matter of hours."

"OK, tonight it is ..."

-- * --

Danielle had hardly got through the door when she heard her mother calling out. "Dani? Is that you honey? Come upstairs a minute please."

"Honey, I know you've just had a busy day, but we need to go out again now." Cleo started to explain, "Daddy and I have been talking and we all need to go to the hospital to have a little test ..."

Hospital? Tests? Danielle immediately started to worry as she looked nervously at her parents, "A test? Is something wrong? Is it baby, is he sick?"

"No, no, everything is fine," Pascal stepped in to reassure her, "nothing is wrong but your Mummy and I have been talking and making some plans for us all and we might have to move away. But before we do that, we need to take a test to make sure, to make sure everything is OK."

"Okay ..." Danielle visibly relaxed for a moment before a second thought suddenly hit her, "we're moving? Why, where are we going, all of us, does this mean you're staying Daddy?"

--*--

Within the hour, all four were in the town centre, outside the Sunset Valley Memorial Hospital. Danielle skipping ahead, hopeful that this test would mean her parents would be back together again. Pascal smiled as if to comfort Cleo; that he would stay whatever the result but Cleo could not help but feel nervous. She knew Pascal was a man of his word, and she felt sure that both children were his but what if ... could he really be a father to someone else's child?

In a few hours time they would know the answer to at least one of those questions, an answer that would signal either the beginning of a new life as a family or the beginning of the end of all she had hoped for.



Chapter 33: A New Start

Chapter 31: Expecting and the Unexpected

With the third generation of the Slades in Sunset Valley, the legacy left by their forebears has been put in jeopardy.  Their family's history in Twinbrook and an ill-judged affair have split the family.  Adam Slade's grand-daughter Cleo lives alone with her daughter, Danielle, now that her partner, Pascal, and brother, Carl, have left the Valley.

In this chapter Cleo and Danielle are coming to terms with living alone when someone unexpected turns up  ...


Weeks had passed since Cleo's confrontation with Garett and she was trying to get her life back together.

She had lost her partner, Pascal; her brother, Carl and although her father could still be alive, somewhere ... and some when ... the only person she now had in her life was her beautiful daughter, Danielle.

Danielle had just started primary school so Cleo was able to return, albeit in a reduced capacity, to her job with the Sunset Valley Fire Department.

But in her reflective moments, when she was alone Cleo could not help but contemplate what might have been; what she could, should, have done differently.

She hadn't spoken to Pascal, on the odd occasion when she had tried to contact him it was always his parents who answered to tell her that he was busy and would call when he felt able.

She hoped they could come to terms with what had happened; his simple strength and clarity had become so important to her and without him she felt not so much alone as cut adrift. In this big house, even the smallest of rooms seemed to take on an almost overpowering scale.

About the only thing that kept Cleo focused was the need to take care of Danielle; to attempt to provide her with some sort of stability and make sure she was protected from the consequences of the mistakes her mother had made.

By all accounts Danielle was enjoying and doing well at school, and Cleo cherished those shared moments when the two of them worked on her school projects.

In fact, whatever Danielle did, she always tried to involve her mother and if she was at a loose end she would be at her mother’s side to help her out; cooking, cleaning, gardening ... anything . Danielle had even started painting. It was as if she sensed the sadness in her mother and was striving to keep her smiling, happy, and looking forward.

There was, however, one significant secret, that Cleo had been keeping from Danielle. One that she could no longer avoid telling, indeed Danielle had already started asking questions that weren't as innocent as she tried to make out. So, a few months after the graveyard meeting with Garett, Cleo decided it was time to be honest and let her daughter know ...

"Danielle, sweetie, I've got some exciting news for you ... in a little while we're going to have a new addition to our family ... you're soon going to have a baby sister or brother."

Danielle let out a squeal of delight and hugged her mummy tight. "Ohh, a baby sister please mummy, that would be so ... amazing!"

As her daughter pressed an ear against her stomach Cleo ran her fingers gently through Danielle's hair, "I don't know sweetie, it's going to be a surprise ..."

Danielle looked up at her mother, "Oh, OK, I suppose ... I suppose a little brother would be cool too ..."

"That’s right Dani, and they'll love having you as their big sister."

A frown slowly worked its way across Danielle's face as she sat back into the sofa ... "But, mummy, can we look after baby? You work so hard and I have to go to school ...?"

"Oh sweetie, don't worry about that, it'll be fine. The Fire Station will give me extra time off to look after baby and, anyway, we have plenty of friends to help out if we need it. It'll be fine honey."

Although she wasn't convinced by her mother's assurances, Danielle didn't want to upset her by making a fuss now. "OK, mummy, I know it will too."

Throwing her arms around her mother one more time, Danielle whispered into Cleo's belly, "Hey baby sister ... or brother ... we're going to have the best time – you, me, and mummy."

Looking up, smiling broadly, Danielle announced, "I'm going to do a painting ... I'm going to do a painting of the new baby!" Cleo barely had time to comment before her daughter had rushed out and up to her room to start work on her new painting.

But en route to her room, Danielle slipped into the bathroom to make a phone call. "Hey Daddy! It's mummy, she just told me she's having a baby – I'm going to have a baby sister ... or brother."

-- * --

Weeks and months passed by much as they had before but, as much as she protested it wasn't necessary, Cleo noticed that her daughter was even more attentive than she had been previously. At any sign that she might be exerting herself Cleo would find Danielle at her side insisting that she help.

Grateful that her school performance hadn't suffered since learning of her pregnancy Cleo was concerned that Danielle had almost no life outside of home and school. The few friends that she had previously invited over were not even talked about any more. She could only hope that when the baby was born her daughter might relax and start enjoying her childhood again.

And then, the day arrived. Just as she was going to bed, Cleo felt a sudden tightening of her stomach. The pain coursed around her abdomen and through the nerves of her legs and back - Cleo knew what it meant ... baby was coming!

Quickly punching the emergency code into her phone Cleo alerted the Community Parent Care team who swiftly organised an ambulance for Cleo and a babysitter for Danielle.

Whether it was the stress of now being a single mother of a newborn or the awkward positioning of the baby, this labour went on through the night and it wasn't until the following morning that Danielle’s sibling was finally delivered.

As long as the labour had been, Cleo turned out to be surprisingly resilient and was eager to get up, out, and back home as soon as she could.

The difficulties of the birth, though, were quickly forgotten when, as she stepped out of the hospital into the cool evening air of Sunset Valley, Cleo noticed someone waiting for her.

"Bonsoir ma chère let me take you home."

Chapter 32: Pascal's Conditions

Chapter 30: Leaving the Past Behind

Two generations ago Adam Slade arrived in Sunset Valley to start a new life.  Not just for himself but for those that would follow him - he dreamt of establishing a family legacy.  Having acquired one of the finest properties in Sunset Valley, Adam built a solid foundation that his son, Brandon, expanded and handed down to his daughter, Cleo. But Cleo, the third generation Slade in the Valley, is learning that her family's story actually started elsewhere ... and the foundations that Adam had laid might not be as sound as was thought.

In this chapter the consequences from the first meeting of the Slade and Fisk families are finally revealed ...

"And that was when Walter Fisk's life came apart." Garett sighed.

"He returned home shortly after Anna had finished reading the newspaper reports. She confronted him about the story. Perhaps he should have lied and tried to front it out, deny everything – isn't that what cheats do?" Garett looked pointedly at Cleo, but she knew it wasn't a question she was expected to answer.

"But he didn't," Garett continued, "he admitted that he had been seeing this woman, Wanda. He tried to explain that it was just a one-off, that he truly loved Anna and Lewis, that he would do anything to make it up to them."

"But Anna was having none of it. There was no reason why he would cheat, he had everything he could want right here. What could he possibly find appealing in a woman from the Swamplands? The very idea made her skin crawl."

"What truly shocked her was that Walter had brought this woman into their house and exposed their son to his sordid affair. For that alone she would never forgive him."

"The more he tried to apologise the angrier she got. And when he claimed, as truthfully as it may have been, that he knew nothing of Wanda's criminal connections her rage exploded. Walter would bear the bruises from that afternoon for many days."

As impatient with his rambling story as she was, Cleo sensed that Garett was finally getting to some sort of point, one that he hoped would explain away his own recent actions. She could see the moisture starting to glisten in his eyes, and his voice was breaking, but however emotional he was getting she was certain there was nothing he could say that would excuse his actions.

"When Lewis returned home from school the tension between his mother and father was palpable, just by the way they looked he knew it was bad, but it was his mother who was particularly upset and when she saw her son come into the house she just rushed outside; on the verge of tears."

"Sensitive to his mother's emotions, Lewis followed Anna out, but she wouldn't let him near until eventually she composed herself enough to instruct the boy to collect his favourite things - they were going to stay with his grandparents for a little while."

Garett paused, clearly struggling to control his own emotions.

"On that same day Anna left Walter, forever."

"Walter's business was intimately involved in many city projects so any suspicion that he had criminal links was bound to bring the police to his door. Sure enough, just moments after Anna had left a police car pulled up outside their home and Walter was arrested on suspicion of corruption and money laundering."

Garett paused again, to make sure that he still had Cleo's full attention.

"I can't tell you exactly what happened in the swamp lands, but I can make a pretty good guess considering what we know Wanda, Sinbad, and Adam did after Walter was arrested."

"I don't know if Sinbad had any genuine feelings for Wanda, but he must have thought she was useful to him. He was seen spending time on Bayou Gulch; he probably spent several nights there, convincing Wanda to keep to his plan."

"His 'office' on Riverside Road closed within days of Walter's arrest. He and Wanda Slade suddenly left town, I don't think it took much to convince her, Wanda probably wasn’t much more than a simple plaything for him, paying her attention and offering a share of his ill-gotten gains was all she seemed to be interested in."

"Was she bothered about leaving her son, Adam, behind? Somehow I doubt it. Did your grandfather ever mention his origins in Twinbrook? No? I didn't think so."

"Sinbad Rotter had it all planned out. He was getting a huge payout from his 'associates' and used that to keep Wanda sweet and onboard. But, you know what his masterstroke was? Having nearly half of that pot sent into Adam's own account. I don't doubt he and Wanda expected to come back and collect it but, as it turned out, they never did."

"And can you imagine that conversation Cleo? You beloved grandfather and his mother sat down one morning after she had destroyed Walter Fisk, somehow she would explain away this enormous sum of money Adam was suddenly going to have. How she and Sinbad were leaving Twinbrook to set up 'business' in some faraway place?"

"Newly graduated and about to make his way in the world, this kid from the swamps now had money to burn. And his mother was going to run off with her latest fancy man, to be honest, he probably expected it would have happened anyway."

"I would like to think that she had a moments doubt over what she was doing, but, y'know, I really don't."

"So, there it is Cleo. That fabulous piece of land you live on, that impressive mansion you now own, bought not through skill, or enterprise, or even simple hard work, but by the proceeds of fraud and deception. More than that; a deceit that destroyed not just Walter Fisk's business but also his family. My family!"

Realising that his story was coming to its conclusion, Cleo asked the question she had been waiting to get an answer to: "OK, so you're related to this 'Walter Fisk'? He lost his business, which is sad, but it happens ...”

"It happens!" Garett snorted. "Walter Fisk was my great-granddaddy, and he didn't just lose a business; his reputation, his family, was stolen. Sinbad Rotter was just a front-man, behind him was a corrupt cabal conspiring to take over ever major government contract not just in Twinbrook, but the entire county. The very criminals who were paying off Rotter were sat on the committees that handed out the city contracts. They weren't satisfied with a back-hander from the companies they employed, they themselves had bought companies they could give the work to ... they would get very penny the council paid out."

"But it wasn't just planning committees, they had influence over every aspect of life in Twinbrook, so my great-granddaddy had the papers, the police, the courts, everyone ranged against him. They wanted him destroyed."

"The police 'found' evidence of criminal conspiracy; the papers turned his foolish affair with Wanda Slade into a catalogue of debauchery and corruption. He had to sell the business for next to nothing but, worst of all, he never saw Anna again, and didn't even see his own son, Lewis – my grandfather – more than half-a-dozen times after they had left."

"Such was the shame my great-grammy felt she divorced Walter and reverted to her maiden name, Krist."

"Right," Cleo guessed she knew what this was all about now, "so you're after revenge for what happened to your great-grandfather, I understand that, but why my family? Weren't they just pawns in this, just like yours?"

"Sure, that's the simple view." Garett continued, "but I have made it my mission to repay everyone who played a part in that setup, that they get what is due to them. Do you know what happened to Anna and Lewis when they left Walter? Do you think life was easy for them? It was not! The Krists were not a wealthy family, far from it; they were barely any richer than the Slades back in Twinbrook and even if she would have accepted any of it, Walter's fortune was in his business, when they took that he had nothing to give anyway."

"My granddaddy, Lewis, never recovered from the shock of his parents splitting up, and even though he took his mother's maiden name, Krist, everyone around Twinbrook knew who he was, it was all over the papers, and no one ever gave him a chance."

"But, somehow, he made a living and got himself a wife; they had two children, Joanne and Oliver, and he was creating a life for himself when Joanne was murdered in a dirty backstreet by some addict. It tipped him over the edge; he died drunk and destitute at only 53 years old. But out of that, losing his sister and father, Oliver, my father, grew stronger; he'd heard gossip about what had happened to Walter and vowed to find the truth."

"Can you imagine, though, what that takes, one man against every power in the town? But he did it, he unearthed the truth, there were trials of some of the few old men still alive and he even traced Sinbad and Wanda. They had ended up halfway across the country in a place called Moonlight Falls. Sinbad died in a gangland shoot-out and Wanda, well, no one was quite sure, but they reckon she was attacked and killed by a pack of wild animals."

"The last piece of the puzzle was Adam. While my family was struggling in the gutter of poverty and disgrace, Adam Slade had escaped to Sunset Valley, using the spoils from my family's disgrace to make himself even richer and provide his family with a luxurious lifestyle mine couldn’t even dream of!"

"But the struggle to find the people who had destroyed my great-granddaddy took its toll. Even when he could find work, his constant focus on finding out what had happened always got him into trouble, constantly moving house, changing job, he gave up everything to clear our name and give me a future."

"We suffered, Cleo Slade, because of what your family did, we have suffered because someone broke into our family and ripped it apart – and by giving you a taste of that I can finally close this chapter and start restoring the honour of our name."

"Is that it? Revenge for something that happened generations ago? Is that what this is all about!" Cleo screeched; her normally placid features twisted by rage. A rage borne of anger at being deceived into having feelings for Garett, guilt for what she had done to Pascal, and what this would do to Danielle.

"Even if what you say is true, my grandfather was as much an innocent in this as yours. Just because ... just because some of the money was dumped on him ... how dare you blame him for what this Sinbad and the council did! You came here to wreck my life because a young man tried makes the best of what life handed out to him?"

"How dare you!"

"You speak of 'honour' Garett, there is nothing honourable in what you have done here. Whatever torments your family have been through is no justification for inflicting this on us after all this time."

Deflecting Cleo's verbal and physical assault Garett smiled tightly at her. "Oh, you can rationalise your distance from what happened in Twinbrook however you like but let's take it back to first principles - every action has an equal and opposite reaction or even an eye for an eye. This isn't simply revenge; this is 'just' retribution."

He paused, as if to say something more but, instead, Garett turned and started to walk away from Cleo.

The moment Garett turned his back on her, Cleo felt suddenly limp, the tightness in her stomach, across her chest and back released and she almost fell, crumpled, to the ground but she somehow had strength enough in her legs to keep herself upright. The rage at him she had felt just a few moment earlier turned into a crushing sadness; Yes, he had done this, deliberately inveigled his way into her family, but she had let him. If only she had been stronger, faithful ..."

Leaving the cemetery Garett took one final look back at the woman he seduced into betraying her family, a family he had ripped apart just as her great grandmother had done all those years ago. For the briefest of moments he felt sorry for her and, most especially, young Danielle; for what would follow from today. But then his thoughts turned, as they often did, back to the desperate, destitute, and squalid last months of his own father's life and knew that he would not, could not, have done anything else.

He didn't know what the future held for him, but Garett Fisk, son of Oliver, grandson of Lewis and descendant of Walter Fisk of Twinbrook was finally able to leave the past behind.


Authors Note: and so we conclude the "Generation 0" back story, so now, we can rejoin the legacy story where we left off all those months ago! :-)

Chapter 31: Expecting and the Unexpected