Page 91 of Sinner's Storm
Vicious cursed loudly, getting up from his chair and pacing the room.
Montana slowly sat up in his seat and sneered, “Tell me you are fucking lying?”
Pippen gulped. “I’m not. I checked three times. Even called Sypher. He confirmed everything. Delany is the heir to the St. James family.”
Looking from Pippen to Montana, I asked, “Want to fill me in?”
“Gideon St. James,” Vicious began, rubbing the back of his neck. “The slimiest, evilest motherfucker on the planet. Reaper caught onto his game too late. By the time Bullseye put a bullet in the fucker’s head, the bastard had already done the damage.”
“His mother, Sylvia, was worse. She made Gideon look like a fucking boy scout. I never liked the fucking prick. Always brown nosing, trying to find a way into my club. Thank God Dad had already turned the club over to me because I would have killed that fucker with my bare hands if he was here. That whole family was sadistic and major players in the Society,” Montana added before asking, “How is Delany related to those sick fucks?”
Bane leaned forward and revealed what we all wanted to know. “Delany’s mother was Donna St. James before she married David. Donna was the only daughter of Sylvia St. James and the older sister to Gideon. When Donna learned that her mother had her whole life planned out, Donna refused. Like Delany, she wanted nothing to do with anything. David and Donna were making arrangements to disappear when 9/11 happened. Like everyone in the city, they were stuck. Donna couldn’t get out and David couldn’t leave his brothers to rebuild alone. So, David stashed Donna and Delany at my place. I was basically living at the hospital back then. I rarely went home. When I did, I made sure they never saw me. But when the murders started, David and I knew it would not end well. It didn’t take a genius to know that a firefighter caused the murders and fires, ‘cause only someone with training would know to cut off all access to escape. When the second family died, David got suspicious when Gale insisted on knowing where Donna was. Fucker said he just wanted to make sure she was safe. But when the third family died, Gale demanded to know. Even going as far as having the Battalion Chief order that all firefighters confirm the whereabouts of their families.”
“The sick bastard was in love with Donna. Wasn’t he?” I asked, putting things together quickly as Bane nodded.
“Yeah. He was. When David refused to give the whereabouts of his family, the fourth and fifth fires happened. All in a three-day span.”
Fury muttered, “A jealous fit of rage.”
“That’s when David learned Gale opened an investigation into him at the bequest of Sylvia St. James. Claiming she believed David was the arsonist and murderer. Even going as far as to plant evidence at the last fire to incriminate David. In reality, Sylvia was trying to get her daughter back, because like with Linsey’s family, only the female inherits. Anyway, when David learned who was really behind the murders, he didn’t waste time. He picked up Donna and Delany and fled. I never saw them again.”
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Bane, but Sylvia St. James was a sitting member of the Society. She ran the Sunshine Foundation, right?” Vicious asked causing Pippen to pick up the story.
“Sylvia St. James wasn’t just a sitting member in the Society. She ran a division of the Society and created a charity in 1990 called Sunshine Child. On the surface, the charity was legit. It helped children from troubled homes. It was her sub-charity, Sunshine Kids, that was different. On the outside, the charity homed orphaned kids, but in truth, it was linked to several adoption agencies and hospitals around the world. The charity searched for remarkable children. The higher the I.Q., the more valuable they were. She took those children and created Poseidon Innovation. Poseidon Innovation’s function was twofold. One division dealt with the many military contracts with the federal government and the other was pharmaceutical. Her company specialized in the latest modern urban warfare technology. Everything from drones to computer technology for fighting the world’s current wars. As for the pharma side, they, along with three other pharmaceutical companies, got the bid to create the vaccine for the current pandemic. Today, the company is worth trillions.”
“Jesus Christ,” I moaned, leaning forward, my head in my hands as I tried to absorb everything.
“I’m sorry, Storm. But there is more.”
“Of course there is,” Montana clipped, taking a long swig out of the whiskey bottle.
“Delany isn’t just related to Sylvia St. James. She is also a first cousin to Donatella Valentinetti.”
“Which explains why Illyria said what she did at the Fireman’s Ball,” Fury groaned. “Anything else, kid?”
“Only that David and Donna both died protecting their daughter. They didn’t want her anywhere near this shit,” Pippen stated, looking at Montana, who saluted, then nodded when Pippen added, “Also, George Stone knew who the Campbells were when he ordered the Arizona club to burn them. He was a member of the Society, too.”
“Motherfucker!” Vicious roared as he punched a hole in the nearest wall.
“I’m still compiling all the information Sypher gave us, Prez. It’s a lot, and I’m going to need a few more days to go through it all, but that’s the gist of what I found so far.”
The room was eerily quiet as we all let Pippen’s words sink in. Even I had to admit it was a lot. Not only was I married to a Golden Legacy, but a direct cousin to the wife of a Valentinetti Family member and the heir to one of the world’s most corrupt businesses.
Talk about a trifecta.
Now everything made sense. Why Sypher was so angry, Remi’s words, Illyria and Maxim’s threats. I married the one woman on the planet who needed to stay hidden. They all demanded I protect the one woman on the planet that held the keys to everything.
Only she didn’t know it.
“We can’t tell her,” I said, looking up at my brothers. “She won’t be able to handle this. She’s barely hanging on with what she knows.”
“You want to hide her birthright? Her inheritance from her? Storm, Delany is the sole heir to a trillion-dollar company. If she takes control, she can change things for the better. You can’t keep this from her,” Fury petitioned adamantly.
“That same company is connected to the Society. Who knows how many still loyal to that fucked-up group still work there. Besides, let’s not forget the fact that the second she claims the company, she puts a bullseye on her back. The press will rip her apart. I won’t put her through that. No.”
“Storm’s right,” Mercy said, agreeing with me. “We can’t tell her. You all heard what she said earlier today. She wants nothing to do with any of this. She just wants to live free and raise Harlow in peace. I say we give her what she wants. While she will never really be free, we can give her the illusion of freedom.”
Bane groaned. “How the fuck are we going to accomplish that, because last I saw, Storm lives at Davenport Tower? His own family lives in the city.”