I felt myself go weak, overwhelmed with sadness. So close, and yet so far away.

“Brace yourself, cherie,” Death said. “It wouldn’t  do well to faint just now.”

I steeled myself and looked right at Daniel. He looked distracted. His eyes were distant.

“He mourns your passing,” Death whispered. “It has barely been a few days.”

I mourned too. In truth, I pined for Daniel far more than I did anything or anyone else.

We had planned to marry in Alsace, on the French countryside. It wasn’t all that different from Illinois Farmland to be honest. We were the same after all, Daniel and I. We liked the same things. Where the young and moneyed enjoyed cricket and polo, Daniel and I snuck into the local bar with fake ids and played billiards all day long. We lumped ourselves in with the masses. “The proletariat,” Dad would jokingly say before my grandmother would chastise him for being so crass.

It had been my decision of course.

“Why Alsace?” Daniel had asked.

“Why not Alsace?” I responded. “You and I grew up in a world not too different, I said. “The American Heartland shares much in common with the French Countryside.”

“Think about it,” I would go on to say, “we could go into a small town, get freshly baked bread and cheese, glorious french cheese, not the pasteurized kind we get here, and pick wine from a local winery. Plus, Alsatian food is wonderful, or so I’ve heard.”

And Daniel would just laugh at that and say, “That’s why you’ll always be my girl, Van. I could never do this kind of thing with anyone else.”

“Let me do the honors,” said Death, sharply snapping me back to the present.

“Wait, just like that? Can’t I like, prepare more?”

“You’ve had all the prep time you need, cherie,” said Death with a smile. “Now come along.”

Death walked briskly and I followed clumsily.

“There’s a sight for sore eyes!” Death exclaimed as he approached Daniel and the older gentleman.

“A promising young Executive Vice President of a large pharmaceutical firm, and a man after my own heart, a mover and shaker. What sort of wheeling and dealing is going on I wonder?”

Daniel and the gentleman both turned toward Death smiling.

“Whatever it is, Richard,” said the older gentleman, “it certainly wouldn’t do to have you find out,” he said laughing.

“Why Steven, you drive daggers deep into my heart,” said Death with a laugh.

Death took my hand. “Allow me to introduce a guest of mine,” he said with a flourish. “This is Haley Wellington, one of my clients. Her trust fund is one of the largest accounts I manage.” Death then gestured toward both gentlemen.

“And this”, he said, “is Daniel Ashcroft, heir apparent to the Ashcroft Pharmaceutical Company, and Steven Rutherford, owner of the gracious estate we are in, and host of this party. Also stockbroker and M & A deal-maker extraordinaire.”

Both men shook my hand.

“Have we met before?” Daniel asked me. “You seem so familiar to me.”

I pushed down the lump in my throat. “I don’t believe we have”, I said, forcing a smile. “I was orphaned at a young age and since then, I’ve tried to stay out of the limelight. I let Richard do the wheeling and dealing for me.”

“Smart girl,” said Steven. “Stay out of business, and politics. It gets very messy.”

Steven exuded an aura of success. He was well dressed, and despite his graying hair, he looked distinguished, with sharp features. I was used to his kind. Sharp, and cunning, the kind of person that makes no excuses. But that also made him predictable; the type of man one could goad into making a mistake provided a large enough carrot was dangled in front of him. I made a note to perhaps capitalize on that later on.

“And messy it gets indeed,” Death agreed. “That’s one thing we share in common. I steer clear of Capitol Hill.”

Death turned to Daniel. “Forgive me if this sounds a bit intrusive, but how are you holding up?”

Part of me was angry that Death was deliberately and glibly stirring up things in my past life. But I was beginning to see what he was up to. He was helping me unravel my own mystery. He was poking holes to see if something came out.

Daniel sighed. “To be honest, I’m not sure what to say. It hasn’t really sunk in. I went to this party to take my mind of the whole thing. Off of Vanessa.”

Daniel turned to me. “My fiance was murdered two nights ago. The police haven’t found any compelling evidence yet. I was with her the night it happened. That makes me a prime suspect, and, barring any extenuating circumstances,” he sighed, “I probably will be for quite some time to come.”

It was heartbreaking seeing Daniel in this light. How I wanted to tell him that I never wanted for this to happen. That I wanted nothing more than the life I left behind, to continue living the life I had with him. Forever. But that wasn’t possible anymore. I was angry and sad at the same time.

“I’m sorry to hear that. This might sound dismissive coming from me, but things have a way of working out.”

Daniel nodded and smiled. “Vanessa used to say that all the time. Thanks for saying it that way.”

Crap. I needed to watch what I said going forward. It wasn’t going to be easy carrying a conversation with Daniel. He knew me inside out.

“Am I late to the party?” A voice chimed in.

I’d recognize that voice anywhere. It was Robert Mayer, CEO of Hunter Robotics, and trusted family friend.

Robert was a heavy set man with sandy hair in his early sixties. Still very spry despite his girth. He was always very casual in his approach. This was a black tie event, but he kept it simple, with a navy argyle sweater vest, and classic gray blazer. He had his pipe with him.

That was dad’s influence. Donovan Hunter didn’t care for formality or frivolous things, so Robert, the ever loyal and staunch right-hand man followed suit.

Dad would always jokingly tease me for being the “supermodel” in the family. “That’s all your mother, hun,” he would say. “You didn’t get the looks from me, I can tell you that.”

I would shake my head and hug him and kiss him on the cheek. “No, I got the brains from you, Dad.”

“Beauty and brains make for a powerful combination Vanessa,” Dad would say.

Well, they do when you’re alive that is. Not sure what good they do when you’re dead.

“Robert,” Steven greeted him warmly. “Thanks for coming.”

“You have some nerve coming here,” said Daniel angrily.

Robert sighed. “This isn’t easy for anyone Daniel. Losing Vanessa has been difficult for Hunter Robotics. The company is in turmoil right now. I am sure you watch the news.”

“Yes, but it sounds like someone stands to benefit a whole lot from my loss.”

Robert’s eyes flashed angrily. “Your loss?” He straightened up. “Donnie Hunter was my friend. I personally watched Vanessa grow up from a precocious little girl to the beautiful woman she became just before her passing. I carried her on my lap long before you even knew her. Your loss? No sir, I grieve for her just as much as you do.”

Daniel shook his head. “I… I am sorry Robert. This whole thing…”

“It’s been a terrible ordeal for everyone, Daniel. And now I believe we’ve made it sufficiently awkward for everyone around us.”

“Allow me to introduce everyone again,” Death said, smoothly breaking the ice. I could sense the tension subsiding.

Death made the introductions all around.

“Forgive me for saying this young lady,” Robert began, “but I happen to pride myself on being an excellent judge of a person. I’m rather good at sizing people up,” he said with a wave of his hand. “You don’t seem like someone who would be comfortable letting someone else manage your money. Matter fact, there seems to be so much more to you than meets the eye.”

“Now, now Robert,” said Death. “You’re going to make Haley here uncomfortable.”

“It’s quite alright,” I said, smiling as cheerfully as I could. “I get that a lot.”

“Well, now that we’re all sufficiently introduced, Haley and I should probably go off and leave you gentlemen to your conversation,” said Death taking me by the hand and very gracefully making an exit.

“Well that was awkward,” I whispered to Death once we were out of earshot.

“Not just that cherie. Don’t you think there’s something odd going on there? Why are all those players gathered in one spot?”

“What do you mean?”

“Now’s not the time to play dumb, Vanessa.”

“Are you suggesting the three might be colluding?”

“Don’t you think so?” said Death winking at me.

“Ok, you obviously have something in mind. Let’s hear it.”

Death paused, and motioned me over into a small corner where there were less people gathered together.

“A theory if you will,” said Death as he held up a finger. “You just died, cherie. That throws your entire company into chaos. You don’t think a few people are going to benefit from that, and that the very people who stand to benefit from it are all in that one spot, at this one party?”

“Are you suggesting the three are planning to stage a hostile takeover of Hunter Robotics? That’s absurd,” I said. “Robert Mayer is a family friend I’ve known my whole life and Daniel is my fiance, for crying out loud! Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?”

“Not so absurd once you hear what I have to say,” said Death. There was a strange gleam in his eyes.

I shook my head. “Look, I’m not worried,” I said. “Dad created a poison pill clause to protect Hunter Robotics against a takeover attempt in the event of my death.”

I grabbed a set of coasters from a nearby table to show Death. “Look here,” I said, placing the coasters side-by-side on the table, forming a straight line. “Should I die without naming a beneficiary, the controlling ownership of the shares cannot be bought by a single entity,” I said as I slid each coaster apart.  

I then traced a large circle with my hands. “This circle represents the controlling stake I owned in Hunter Robotics. Exactly 53% of the company.” I then traced a line in the middle of my imaginary circle and pointed to the right half. “One half of the controlling interest, in this case, 26.5% is to be immediately given to ten different charities upon my death.” I moved the coasters to represent the charities.

“Each of these charities is required to immediately liquidate the shares publicly to different buyers, to make it impossible for a single buyer to accumulate a controlling interest.” I then pointed to the left half of my imaginary circle. “The other half of the remaining shares immediately go under the control of the board, as insurance; a second line of defense, if you will.”

“Ah, you know your stuff,” said Death, smiling. “But you haven’t read the fine print, cherie. Under extraordinary circumstances, the current board-appointed operating head of Hunter Robotics has the right to take ownership of the full controlling interest for a short amount of time.”

“I am well aware of that,” I said. “But that is purely a defensive mechanism: ‘extraordinary circumstances’ specifically refers to only one thing - a hostile takeover - which is impossible because…”

I stopped.

“Oh my God.”

Death smiled. “That’s right cherie. The investigation into your death has frozen your assets, thereby putting the poison pill on hold. It can’t do its job, because half of the controlling interest cannot be liquidated at this time. Should a hostile takeover attempt happen right now...”

“Robert gets controlling interest,” I finished.

“Exactly right.”

“That‘s why you were trying to get Tanaka to look at Hunter Robotics. Were you preparing a defense in case Daniel was planning to mount a hostile takeover?”

“That is for you to look into, Vanessa.”

“So this it then, this is why I was murdered?”

“It’s certainly a motive,” said Death.

“But why? What does Daniel stand to gain from all this?” I wanted to cry, but tears didn’t come.

“Think about it cherie, what happens when you combine Ashcroft Pharmaceutical’s R & D capabilities with Hunter Robotics’ bleeding edge technology?”

“Ashcroft goes from being bit player in the pharmaceutical world to being the most advanced biotech company in the world. Nothing else would even come close. My God. I’ve been such a fool all this time.”

I thought about it some more. “But wait, that still doesn’t make sense. Robert would gain the interest and my shares, but he wouldn’t be able to sell them at all. And as insurance, only the half that goes to the charities gets frozen. I no longer own the other half, so it would continue to go to the board as a defensive measure.”

“Robert can’t sell your half, cherie,” said Death as he lifted his finger again. “But he doesn’t need to. All he needs is controlling status, which he gets if a hostile takeover happens. As majority shareholder, he can then force the board to take a vote on selling the other half that was given to them as a second line of defense. If Robert can force the board to take a vote, that secondary defense becomes a Trojan Horse, because if Robert combines it with the original shares he already owns, he gets a combined 30.5% of the company. And because your frozen assets would only constitute 26.5% at that point…”

“It would be more than enough for a takeover bid to succeed,” I said. “Dammit.”

I turned toward Death. “But it still doesn’t make sense. That would just point right back to Daniel. It incriminates him in all this.”

Death smiled. “It would, except it isn’t Daniel who’s mounting the takeover, cherie. It’s Rutherford Capital Holdings, LLC.”

“Steven Rutherford?”

“Think about it. Rutherford makes the buy, waits for the dust to settle and sells only the rights to a tiny set of patents belonging to the robotics division, to a subsidiary of Ashcroft’s. Not even the sharpest investigator would notice a small transaction like that.”

“What the hell does my company have that’s so interesting to Ashcroft?”

“It’s not what Hunter Robotics has, Vanessa, it’s what you have. It’s the very thing that’s led me to you, my dear,” said Death as he moved closer to me. The shadows around him grew. His smile looked diabolical, and the world turned into a haze again around me as the edges of his person shimmered.  

“Wait, what do you mean? What are you saying just now?” I was very uneasy. The foundation upon which my entire life rested had been torn to shreds. And now the only person I could talk to was beginning to sound like the enemy as well.

I had been betrayed from all sides.

“They seek the key to unlocking the Fountain of Youth; the Formula for Eternal Life. A key that only you have,” Death pointed a finger at me.

I was frightened just then, afraid of the implications of what I knew he was going to say next.

“You hold the key to the beginning of the end, for Death.”

----

Ok, this chapter is a big risk for me in terms of my readership. A few of you will understand what went down, so may go, "What happened?" In any case hopefully, most of you liked it. Should I continue down this road? Or reset and move toward a different path? Please comment - I really do love hearing from my readers.

Vote as well? ;) Vote and Comment? Vote, Comment, and comment again? LOL! :D