I ended up staying with the Rutherfords for a month. Death was certainly not pleased, though he had to go along with it.

I took the time to catch up with my mother. Steven was away on business, and it was a good thing; it would have been awkward to have to introduce Helen’s dead-daughter-come-back-to-life. My mother reassured me Steven was in the know, but still, there was something about the whole thing that made me feel more than just a little uncomfortable.

Well, that and the matter of the grimoire, that was. My mother saw to it that the month I spent with her was not wasted. This involved long hours of listening. Though I was a fast learner, it taxed my patience.

“Vanessa, we are running out of time,” snapped Astrid.

“Sorry mom,” I said. “I guess it takes some time to get used to the fact that I have the powers of Death and the powers of a witch family to have to deal with.”

“Free spirits, Vanessa,” said Astrid. “Not witches.”

I smiled. “Of course.”

The days were long and grueling. Filled with long and laborious exercises along the expansive Rutherford Estate. I would toil on the grounds until my mother was satisfied, the heat of the summer sun beating down on both of us. My mother had the energy and the resilience of a woman half her age. 

When the sun came down, we would sit outside admiring the expansive gardens, the beautiful marble sculptures from another day and time that were now comforting to me. We’d sip Bordeaux and catch up on the relationship that we never had, each of us longing to be with other.

“I wish I had pictures to show you,” I said.

Astrid smiled at that as she held her crystal wine glass and played with it gently in her fingers.

“I would have loved to see that Vanessa,” she said. “Still, you were in the news often enough. I had plenty of that to see.”

“Oh.”

“And when the internet happened and you turned sixteen, well, the press could not have been more accommodating.”

“I did draw a lot of unwanted attention,” I admitted.

“Oh, shush, Vanessa,” said my mother. “You never did anything that would make us ashamed. You were in the news not because you were a rowdy heiress, you know. It was your accomplishments, and not your failings that were newsworthy.”

I smiled. “I wanted to make my father proud…” I stopped, my voice trailing as I realized my mistake. 

“When your father pretended to pass away,” Astrid continued, “It took almost every ounce of control in me not to want to come and see you.”

“What stopped you?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to jeopardize your safety,” she said, her eyes looking downward in sadness. “Vanessa, had I known that your father would do this, I… I never would have…” Astrid’s voice trailed.

In truth, my heart was unprepared to accept the truth. My thoughts were still filled with beautiful memories of Donovan Hunter. We would go out into Lake Michigan back in the day, we would wake up very early, Daniel and I and my father. The three of us would go to the little slip that belonged to my dad back then, taking the cabin cruiser out onto Lake Michigan. The sense of freedom was exhilarating. How I wished those endless days never came to an end.

My heart was broken three ways over three people. Daniel, my father, and my mother.

Daniel, my fiance and lover would never come to know what really happened and my heart went out to him. Now that I knew he really and truly had nothing to do with my death, I had tortured my Daniel unnecessarily. I promised I would make it up to him when all this was over.

My heart went out to my mother, who had been forced to live a life not of her choosing. I could only imagine what went on in her mind as she fled from my father, into the arms of another man, thinking all this time that she would never again hold her only daughter in her arms. I wept for her in secret as I lay in bed at night, imagining what it must have felt like for her to watch me from afar.

But mostly my heart broke for the man who failed me, and everyone else in his life. My father betrayed me in the end. The one person with whom I felt the most secure was the very person who had taken my life. I vowed to keep my promise to my mother. I would make sure that Donovan Hunter never harmed another soul ever again.

I took my mother’s hand in mine, her pale hands soft, slightly wrinkled; the only indication of my mother’s age. My heart ached as I realized that my time with her was limited. 

I was immortal now, having taken Death’s offer and being blessed with the Van Dyke power at the same time. But my mother would pass away like a normal human being. She had passed on the Van Dyke power to me. She would wither and die like the rest of the human race. It saddened me in a way to be thinking such thoughts.

Still, I brushed my ruminations aside and concentrated on the task that lay before me.

“Once I learn the secrets of the grimoire, what then?” I had asked her one cool evening when the sun had come down and the breeze from Lake Pontchartrain had come in, cooling everything down. We were having Sazeracs by the house  looking out at the beautiful lake. I forced myself not to think of Lake Michigan, but it was impossible. 

“Steven has already put the plan into motion. We are very close, Vanessa,” said Astrid. “Don’t worry,” she added, noticing the look of trepidation upon my face. “We will find our means of flushing him out. I have…” she hesitated. “I have stayed in touch with Robert through the years.”

“Robert has been a good family friend,” I agreed

“It has not been easy for him since you left.”

“He understands the business well,” I added. “The board trusts him implicitly.”

My mother shook her head. “Your death has cast a shadow of doubt over everything. The plan still hinges on Robert, but it will not be as easy.” 

“What do you mean?”

“Hunter Robotics has always been helmed by a Hunter, Vanessa. When you die and leave no heirs, no next of kin, it becomes very difficult to fend off the vultures. The birds of prey are circling, as they say.”

“So what’s the plan then? Half of my ownership stake is currently frozen due to the investigation. The other half is now under the board’s control. How will Steven Rutherford orchestrate a takeover?”

“By starting a rumor about your death being a suicide.”

“Excuse me?”

“Think about it Vanessa, you have no real known enemies. You have corporate enemies, yes, but none that would have stood to benefit from your death.”

“Except maybe Robert.”

“That is exactly why Robert is not the ideal point person for this.”

“So my death has cast a huge suspicion over Robert, and my frozen shares are still not going anywhere. Why a rumor about my suicide?”

“The rumor will cause the shares to go down. Part of the rumor is that you were struggling to maintain control over the company. When it became clear that you would not be able to steer your company properly, you took your own life.”

“That forces the shares to drop sharply in trading,” I agreed. 

“Precisely. A week after the rumor starts, we start a second one - criminal activity on the part of Hunter Robotics and an insider trading scandal.”

“You’re going to eradicate the value of the company,” I said.

“No, not quite, Vanessa.” said Astrid. “We just need to send it teetering on the brink of total ruin. But just ever so slightly before complete destruction.”

“And why is that?”

“So we can snap up whatever shares we can on the open market. By significantly reducing the market capitalization of Hunter Robotics, we can snap up the shares at a discount. We just need a small controlling interest. We don’t have to have majority ownership, just a seat at the table.”

“But that would draw unwanted attention to Steven Rutherford.”

“Precisely. So we need to mask it a little.”

“How so?” 

“By playing a high stakes game with a shadow investor.”

“A shadow investor?”

My mother smiled. “Humor me for just a little bit longer, Vanessa.”

“I’m all ears.”

“If the rumors do their job, it should send the shares into freefall. Which means someone stands to benefit from the loss, if they time in right.”

“You’re going to have someone short the company.” 

“Exactly right.”

“It needs to be timed right. Where will you get an investor who has absolutely no affiliation with you to play this game of chicken with Steven Rutherford?”

My mom smiled very wide.

“From a trust fund heiress that Steven happened to meet very briefly at a party a few weeks ago. A certain client of Mr. Richard Grim’s.

“Oh,” I said, with a smile, “right. Haley Wellington.”

“Yes,” my mother smiled.

“Ok, so I’ll short the shares, rake in the profits and then what?”

“Steven goes on the news and accuses you of market manipulation.”

“Lovely.”

“That will be big news. It’s going to cause a destabilization in the market. We’ll link you to Tanaka. After all, you and Rina were very cozy just a few weeks ago.”

“I’d really rather not have the crazy samurai lady come after me,” I said.

“We want her to. The more commotion this draws, the greater chance we have of flushing Donovan out. We want your father right in the open where we can see him.”

“Mom,” I said, finding it awkward. I still had to get used to that word, after all. There had been no one to call that all my life. “Are you sure this is ok? This is a big risk for Steven. What if someone else tags along and plays our game?”

“We’ve been preparing for this. Ever since word of your death reached me, I knew that it was not going to be long before Donovan made his move.”

“And if my father chooses to participate in this game?”

“Then so much the better,” said Astrid.

“Okay. So Steven and I face off. I’m assuming Steven comes in, ‘Knight in Shining Armor’, to save the day. He can then buy as many shares as he can on the open market.”

“Precisely. This then, gives Robert the opportunity to take control of the company for a limited time as a precautionary measure.”

“Which he’ll then take and sell and give control to Steven Rutherford,” I said.

“Precisely right.” 

“Once we gain control what then?”

“Presumably at that point, all this trading will have flushed your father out of hiding. If not, we’ll use the opportunity to stabilize Hunter Robotics.”

“Mom?”

“Yes dear?”

“What made you decide to disappear and leave Dad? Why not sooner?”

 Astrid sighed. “Your father was a brilliant man and a wonderful lover early on. All I ever wanted was to build a family with him. I…” she hesitated briefly before continuing, “I never should have told him about the grimoire.”

“Why don’t we start a rumor in the news about the grimoire being found?”

Astrid shook her head. “No, the grimoire is a closely-guarded Van Dyke secret. We cannot expose it to the world. The secrets of the grimoire, even its very existence must be kept secret from the world.”

My mother took my hand in hers and looked right at me, right into my eyes. “Dear Vanessa, I look at you and I see another woman. I don’t see your blonde hair and blue eyes. You look at me and see a different person as well. How difficult it has been for both of us.”

I nodded and the tears fell again. “I know mom, I know. But I do not love you any less.”

I clenched my fists and stood up. “I’m ready mom. I’m ready to make Dad pay for his sins.” 

I looked at Lake Pontchartrain, with it’s calm blue waves and glistening under the bright sun. It was very easy to be deceived by illusion. By memories of being on a beautiful boat floating endlessly under an azure sky. It was very easy to be deceived by a father’s love.

I breathed in deep. “I’m going to bring down Donovan Hunter.”

***

A month passed and I was ready. It was a little difficult leaving my mother. Over the course of a month, I had grown deeply attached to her. 

My mother planted a kiss right on my cheek. “There will be plenty of time for us to catch up once this is all over,” she promised. “For now, we must set the plan in motion. Every one of the pieces must work. We must stick to the plan, and hope everything goes well.”

I drove around New Orleans for a little while just to clear my head. I wandered aimlessly for hours, until the hot summer sun finally came down and darkness descended upon the city. How differently New Orleans seemed to me now. The city had always held secrets, I knew, but it was far different for me now that I knew what the secrets were.

I parked the car in a garage somewhere and left it. 

I ran around the city again, under the cover of night. The speed was exhilarating. I had newfound powers now, too. I felt free as the wind blew in my face and the city became a blur of neon lights and countless faces. I cried a little too, to relieve myself of the burdens I carried, as I leapt from building to building. I stopped when I reached a particularly tall one and looked out at the city. 

The lights seemed so distant. So far away. This was it for me. It was time for Vanessa to settle the score with everyone who killed her.

I went back to the little corner store, hoping to run into Death. He and I had some unfinished business.

I found him looking at me through the store’s opening, his handsome piercing eyes were as disarming as they always were. The store was empty at this hour. The preppy looking clerk wasn’t around and Death was manning the store. I was sure it wasn’t an accident. 

I noticed new clothes and a fresh coat of paint on the store. Death had remodelled. 

“I see you’ve solved the riddle to your murder finally,” he said.

I smiled, walked up to him, and breathed in deep, as I pulled my fist back as far as I could, and drove it right into his face.

It was a good thing the store was empty.

The force of my blow sent him hurtling several feet into the air where he crashed into the nearby wall, the structure collapsing as he hit it. Death stood up and dusted himself up and smiled at me.

“That’s for lying to me,” I said.

***

Short Glossary of Terms.

Ok, I’m fairly certain I lost a few readers in this chapter, particularly my younger readers so I’ve included a little stock primer here:

1) Stock Manipulation - when someone, in this case Vanessa and Astrid, do something to affect the value of a company’s stock. This can be done by creating rumors, or making purchases of a stock in large quantities such as what Steven Rutherford is planning to do. When these happen, the price of a company's stock fluctuates, which creates instability.

2) Market Capitalization - the value of a company as measured by the total value of shares available for purchase in the market (shares outstanding), multiplied by the value of each share. For instance, if a share is worth $5 each, and there are a 10 million shares outstanding, a company is worth $50 million. But if the share price drops to a dollar, then it's market cap shrinks to $10 million, thus making it easier to buy the company.

3) Short - a short is a bet that the value of a company will drop. Effectively, one borrows money to sell the stock and profit from the sale. It’s the opposite of making money by buying stocks for appreciation. In a short, a person who shorts makes money when the stock price goes down, and loses money if the stock price goes up. Haley Wellington is going to make a large bet that the stock price of Hunter Robotics is going to go down sharply, while Steven will bet against her and purchase shares in the company after it drops. By orchestrating it this way, Haley (Vanessa) and Steven are covering both sides.

4) Controlling interest - when a shareholder accumulates a significant amount of shares in a company, in our case about 10 - 20%, he or she is said to have a controlling interest because the amount of shares they own gives that person power over the company.

5) Majority shareholder - a person who owns the most shares in a company. This was Vanessa Hunter before her death.

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