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

Chapter 29: Scandal!

Two generations ago Adam Slade arrived in Sunset Valley to start a new life.  Not just for himself but for the Slade family, he dreamt of establishing a family legacy.  But to understand Adam's story, and that of his descendants, we have to go back to Twinbrook and learn about his mother, Wanda, and her relationship with two men; Sinbad Rotter and Walter Fisk.

In this chapter more people learn about Wanda and Walter  ...


Never one to stay in bed long, Adam Slade was up bright and early even though he wasn't going to school. He had just completed his final exams and in these last couple of weeks of term time he only had to go in a couple more times for admin stuff and the end-of-year celebrations.

Even though the sun had already risen on this typical misty and murky Twinbrook day, he realised his mother hadn't yet returned home. Nothing too unusual in that, he could just get on with his daily chores anyway.

Once showered and dressed he headed out to his garden. It was really coming along now; the tomato and lettuce plants were already producing very nice produce.

He was just tidying up the last of the plants when his ever-watchful companion, Sandy, stood bolt upright and started barking.

Looking up Adam noticed a heavily tattooed man, dressed all in black, approaching their house.

"Adam? Adam Slade?" the stranger called out as he walked up to their property.

Adam rose to greet the visitor, "Yes, I'm Adam. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, I'm Sinbad, your mother works for me. Is she at home yet, she is expecting me."

"Oh, Sinbad, yes, she has mentioned you, but no she isn't home, I don't know when she'll be back."

Sinbad smiled, "That's OK, I spoke to her earlier, she'll be on her way. So, Adam, tell me, how are you, still in school?"

"Just finishing, I graduate this summer."

"Right, right, and you have plans for after school?"

Adulthood was not something Adam had thought much about. His grades had been good but it was the more practical skills that he really enjoyed.

"I'm not sure yet, maybe horticulture or maybe something with mechanics ..."

"Well, there's no hurry Adam. You don't want to be doing something you hate and now your Mum's got a good job with me, you don't need to rush out and become a 'wage slave'."

"No 'spose not, and I already get some cash from selling my garden produce at the market and that'll give me a good rep."

"You can't beat that," Sinbad agreed, "if people trust you to do a good job you'll never be out of work. In my business, reputation is everything, my clients trust me to get results. And I do; whatever it takes. And, thanks to your mum, I'll soon have another very satisfied client."

As if on cue, they heard Wanda arrive home, "well, that's my number," Sinbad laughed, "great to meet ya kid, good luck with the exams, I'll see ya again soon."

Watching Sinbad walk into the house to meet his mother, Adam mulled over their short conversation. There was nothing much in what he said, but there was something in his smile, the way he spoke, that made Adam slightly uneasy, like that Sinbad was used to being in control and getting his own way.

Wanda was giving Sinbad a detailed report on the previous night's activities. From the romantic meal to the cuddling in the park to the culmination in the hotel room, only the most intimate details were left out.

"That is excellent, babe, you got him just where we need him. Now that he trusts you we can get him to talk about his business methods."

Wanda was still confused about exactly how her relationship with Walter Fisk was going to help with Sinbads client's business.

"OK, do you mean you want me to introduce him to someone else?"

"No no, that won't be necessary, I've already got someone in place to take the next step. So, are you going to be seeing him again?"

"Umm, yeah, he wants to see me again today, a sort of 'goodbye' ..."

"That's great, ideal. So tomorrow I'll start the next stage of the job."

Sinbad stopped for a moment.

"That’s a good kid you got there, Adam."

He had never before asked about her son, Wanda took a second or two to respond.

"Yeah, yeah, good kid, no trouble at all."

"You know we are expecting a big payout from this job you're working on. It might raise 'suspicions' if you were to get very rich all of a sudden. Has Adam got a bank account?"

"Err, yeah, he had to get one to sell at the market."

"Excellent. Just might make things easier. Right," Sinbad stood up to leave, "you go see our man Walter, I'll organise tomorrow and then we'll see about collecting our reward."

47 Earl's Bridge Road wasn't a fancy sounding address, though everyone knew there was plenty of money in that part of town. Even so Wanda was surprised at just how impressive Walters home was as she walked up the steps of this simply elegant and stylish house.

She knew his wife and son would be out, so this was the ideal time to pay a last visit to Walter, to set the seal on their whirlwind romance.

Where the exterior of his home exuded classical charm, the interior was effortlessly chic - someone clearly had a good eye for the best of modern design, and wasn't afraid to spend money on selecting the smartest and most fashionable designs.

As Walter ushered her into his home, Wanda felt intimated by the lavish exhibition of wealth and taste that Walter was so clearly familiar and comfortable with. She reminded herself that he was just another man who had fallen for her charms and that she had a job to do. This couldn't be a real relationship; this was business and had to be handled as such.

Walter was not a man who needed to show off his wealth. He had inherited this grand old house but he had worked hard to make the family business as successful as it was and being able to live comfortably well was just a by-product of that success.

They discussed their plans for the next few months, not explicitly setting dates or making arrangements but, more elliptically, suggesting points where they might find themselves once again in the same place, to meet and continue the relationship.

As they had on previous meeting, they became so engrossed with each other that they didn't realise how long they had been talking. They didn't realise that the school day had come to an end. They didn't notice that Walter’s young son, Lewis, had returned home.

-- * --

Closing the heavy front door behind him and dropping his school bag in the hallway, Lewis heard voices from the dining room. It was clearly his father talking but he didn't recognise the female voice. Not his mother's, not that she should be at home at this time anyway. His father seldom brought business colleagues home during the day and if he had, this didn't sound like a business conversation ...

On the expertly, and expensively, laid floor his soft soled shoes made hardly a sound as he entered the dining room. His presence unnoticed as he witnessed his father kissing this strange woman.


Lewis was old enough to realise that this was not the friendly kiss one might give a work colleague, or even a family member; this looked like one of those kisses he had seen on TV. A kiss that could only mean trouble between his mother and father.

Some of his friends at school had parents who had split up or, even worse, still together but always arguing. He didn't want to have one of those families. His parents loved each other and he loved them both, he didn't want to have to choose.

Hearing the shocked gasp of his son, Walter broke their kiss, only to see Lewis running out into the lobby.

Walter chased after the boy, but seeing the front door swinging closed he realised that Lewis would have run off to hide somewhere in a nearby park. Even if he found him, he doubted that Lewis would be in the mood to accept any explanation; it was probably best to wait until he calmed down and returned home.

Returning to the dining room, Walter was beginning to realise that his relationship with Wanda was, inevitably, going to affect both his wife and son.

Wanda was quick to apologise. "I'm sorry Walter, I shouldn't have come here, Lewis should not have seen us together like that, not yet."

"No, it was my fault, I should have realised the time. I will speak to Lewis when he has calmed down, I'm sure I will be able to explain why you were here. It will be alright."

"OK, well, I should go now anyway. I will speak to you again soon but if there is anything you need from me to tell Lewis, just call me."

With a quick kiss on his cheek Wanda left Walter to consider what he was going to tell his son.

As he sat in the now empty room, he knew he would have to face squaring this affair with his family and the unpleasant choices he could be faced with. But, before he could dwell on the consequences, a wall clock chimed to mark four o'clock, reminding him that he had a late meeting to attend in the Council offices. He also had an early start the following day ... it could be another whole day before he was able to speak to Lewis, reassure him that he had seen nothing untoward.

Collecting his briefcase, Walter took a moment to look around the beautiful home he had created with his wife, Anna, and felt a sick, sinking, feeling in his gut that maybe this might now be at risk.

-- * --

After running from the house Lewis hid in the Wheloff's old tree house just across the road. It was a place he often used when he wanted to spend time alone. Zo Wheloff had outgrown it and her parents seemed in no hurry to take it down, it was one of the few places he could find some peace, quiet, and solitude.

He saw the mystery woman and then his father leave the house, and it was going to be another hour or so before his mother returned so, with the coast clear, he scrambled down from his hiding place and ran back to his own room.

-- * --

"Lewis? Where are you?" Anna called out as she dropped her sports gear in the laundry room.

There was no immediate response, she looked out over the back garden; he wasn't out playing, "Lewis!"

"I'm doing my homework!" came the exasperated reply.

"OK dear, I'll have tea ready in bit."

"I'm not hungry, ate at Freddy's after school."

"Alright, if you're sure honey, I'll make up a sandwich anyway, in case you want something later."

That was all Anna heard from her son that evening, he wasn't normally this quiet but had sometimes 'hid' in his room when he was upset about something, but it always passed quickly enough.

Lewis had already turned in for the night by the time Walter returned home several hours later.

Anna mentioned that Lewis had stayed in his room all evening, but she didn't say anything about what the boy had seen so Walter decided he would wait and talk to Lewis first before broaching the subject of Wanda with his wife.

-- * -- 

The following morning, Walter had left early but, as she prepared breakfast, Anna was pleased to hear Lewis skipping down the stairs. "Fine," she thought to herself, "he's back with us again, nothing to worry about."

As they sat down to breakfast Anna started to ask what her son would be doing at school that day but he changed the subject.

"Mum, who's Wanda?"

Anna was perplexed, "Wanda, dear? I don't think I know anyone called Wanda, why?"

"She was here, with Daddy, yesterday."

"Oh, really? Probably someone your father is working with, a business colleague I imagine."

"She was very pretty."

Anna laughed, "Well, there are pretty businesswomen too you know."

"I suppose." Lewis concluded. He didn't want to upset his mother by telling her that he had seen them kissing. Perhaps it was nothing but if it wasn't he didn't want to be the one to cause his parents to fight.

-- * --

With Lewis prepped and packed off to school, Anna set about her normal daily routine, only taking a break when the weekly business newspaper, The Twinbrook Financial, arrived.

As she sat down with the paper, she was taken aback by the sensational headline in this normally dry and unemotional paper; "Respected Local Businessman in Criminal Sex Scandal".

But it was the lead-in paragraph that caused Anna Fisk's heart to miss a beat.

"The Twinbrook Financial has learnt that the CEO of one of the town's most respected and well established companies has become involved with a woman known to have connections to an out-of-town criminal organisation. It has come to light that Walter Fisk, 53, CEO of construction giant Fisk of Twinbrook, has had several meetings with a woman identified as Wanda Slade, also of Twinbrook. The nature and purpose of these meetings is not clear, but their relationship is known to have become sexual."

Anna suddenly felt very cold, her stomach tightening, as she continued to read the paper's revelations.

"Walter Fisk is the third generation in charge of the construction firm that has been the main contractor on many of the town's major building projects. The company has been particularly successful in winning local, and even some national, government tenders by giving particular emphasis to social and environmental impacts.

"It is believed that the company had, in the last week, been given the contract for the renovation of the town's school properties, a contract potentially worth tens of millions. The success of the Fisk bid was being attributed to the personal commitment of CEO Walter Fisk to the company’s proclaimed 'value statement' of 'Integrity and Quality Built In'.

"A spokesman for the Mayor's office told the TF 'The private life of our contractors is not relevant to our contract process but where there is suspicion of criminal involvement we are obliged to seek answers and do whatever is necessary to protect the public purse.'

"The question of criminal involvement was raised when investigators traced the woman involved to premises in the run-down area of Riverside that are believed to have been purchased by associates of the notorious Pok family of Moonlight Falls."


Anna had to stop reading. As she connected the story she had just read with what Lewis had asked only a couple of hours ago, a rage spread through her. After all these years what had he done? How could he destroy what they had worked so hard to create, for themselves and their son?

Chapter 30: Leaving The Past Behind