Is this destiny?

In the study…

Steve, Charlie, and Jeff discussed the incident in the garage, or to be more accurate, how to deal with Kevin and Nate.

The attack from the garage was outside the view of security cameras, but Charlie heard from the bodyguards that Kevin and Nate attacked Corey and Merve. Also, Corey told Charlie that Kevin and Nate wanted to assault Merve and hurt Corey. That is enough to warrant heavy punishments for two boys and their families.

"Kevin Beaty is local to Los Angeles. His family got rich recently and they bought a medium-sized real-estate business. Nate Dall is from Florida, and the Dall Bank owned by his family is facing issues. They have good coverage and loyal customers, but Nate's father wanted to prove himself quickly when he took over, and he made some bad decisions. Since then, they are spiraling downward." Steve summarized.

"I will take care of the Dall family." Jeff said. 

Charlie was happy to hear this because he does not have strong connections on the East Coast. "I will handle the Beaty family." He looked at Steve. "Based on reports, they are also expanding into trade with Eastern Asia. I will need you to deny them smooth access to the ports."

Steve confirmed how that is not a problem, but he was curious. "What will you do with them?"

Steve and Charlie looked at Jeff and he understood that he needs to make this decision. "Let's fix them up and give them to the kids. I will ask Russel to give me a hand in stabilizing Dell bank, however, I don't have any intention of expanding into finances and I don't want to give a present to Russel, he already got more than he deserved when he married Anita. Also, Kevin and Nate offended Corey and Merve, it's only fair that they get compensated for emotional trauma. Sounds good?"

Charlie already plans to give some assets to Corey as a graduation present and one medium-sized business in addition to what he prepared will be a cherry on top. Charlie chuckled. "I can't wait to see Corey's face when he finds out that he owns a business."

Jeff grinned. "That's the best part. When they don't expect it. I will consult with Russel to…"

Jeff stopped talking when the door opened and Victor, Cassie, and Anabella entered.

All three youngsters froze when they recognized men in the room.

"Please, sit…" Steve said to three teenagers while gesturing to the sofa. "I assume you know why you are here."

Victor took a deep breath and nodded. He was suspicious why he got an invitation for lunch from the Long family, but now that he sees Charlie and Jeff, he knows it's related to last night. Victor is confused by Charlie's and Jeff's presence. Samantha argued with Corey and Merve, so… shouldn't the atmosphere between Steve and the other two be tense? Why does it look… harmonious? And this is between Long, Smith, and White families. Cassie and Anabella clearly took sides last night, but why was he invited? Victor decided to stay quiet and observe.

Cassie and Anabella exchanged glances. Cassie was nervous to begin with, and now her anxiety shot through the roof. Anabella was confident with a hint of arrogance, but now that she is looking at these three men, all her energy deflated.

"We are not going to hurt you." Jeff tried to calm them down. "We want to hear your version of what happened last night."

"It is important that you understand one thing: what you say now, you need to stick to it. If you change your story later, there will be consequences." Charlie added.

Victor, Cassie, and Anabella heard loud and clear what Charlie and Jeff said. They want to hear their version and changing the story later is not advisable.

Victor felt like crying. Why is he involved in all this?

Anabella cleared her throat nervously and started talking: "It was like this… The prom barely started when I accidentally overheard in the restroom…"

…

Bridgette, Emma, and JoAnna were upstairs, entertaining Bridgette's 8 months old daughter, Denise, while listening in on the conversation from the study.

Alice and Jayden are at home with their nanny. The toddlers are active and need space and JoAnna does not want to bring them to these stiff events (how JoAnna calls them) because it's not pleasant for anyone. Alice and Jayden want to explore, she tells them that they need to sit, then they have a meltdown and scream their lungs out. It's the best choice to leave them home with their nanny.

When JoAnna comes to a friendly visit, she brings them along. Alice loves to dress up Denise because she sees her as a doll and Denise is too small to retaliate. Jayden does not care much about dressing up Denise, however, he likes the variety of toys.

The flat-screen television is showing the security feed from the camera in the study room, and neither of the three women in the room liked what they heard.

"Sarah will flip when she hears what happened to Merve." Bridgette said with concern obvious in her voice. Bridgette is known for her explosive temper, but the truth is that she does not like conflicts. "Merve is one of the shy girls, she would not hurt a fly… and she was bullied. Sarah is listening also, right?"

"Yeah, Sarah and Aiden are on their way, and they have access to this feed." JoAnna exhaled. "Sarah is already angry. After Charlie called this morning, Sarah and Aiden retrieved security footage from the hotel where the prom was held."

Emma knew this because Sarah and Aiden sent that footage to Charlie. Charlie was not sure how far to go related to Samantha Long because creating friction with the Long family will not benefit him in any way, and he thought that it would be wise to request compensation for the dress and to stop there. However, when he heard Samantha call Corey 'trash' that was picked up from the street, Charlie was enraged. Emma was also upset because Corey is a good boy who never caused trouble, and other than the fact that Samantha's over-inflated ego was hurt, she had no other reason to be arrogant and to release her anger at Corey and Merve. 

Emma and Charlie discussed the incident and they are proud how Merve and Corey handled the situation in the event hall, but that was not enough. In order to ensure that random people (like Samantha) will not disturb Corey, Charlie decided to make an example of her. Everyone needs to know that Corey is not randomly picked up from the street. Corey is a Smith, and Charlie has his back. Also, Merve is Corey's girlfriend, and picking on Merve is the same as picking on Corey. Where would the Smiths be if they can't protect their own women?

To make things more serious for Samantha, Merve is from the Cliffside Villa and Charlie and Emma know that Jeff will not allow a White to suffer grievances. Jeff is established as an intimidating leader who takes care of his people, and he demonstrated many times how swift his punishments are. However, no one is sure how far Sarah and Aiden will go. The two of them are… unpredictable.

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