~Chapter One: Tragedy
    
    
    
    The glass doors slides open as he takes his wife's hand stepping out into the pavement. The night was breezy yet warm and with the moon light splashing across the cobblestone sidewalk he wanted tonight to be perfect. Scott Lachey recently got offered the job of his dreams as the top notch CEO of Riverbank productions in New York and the idea brought chills to him. It was exactly what he always wanted to do and accomplish. While his wife often spoke of the glamor of the lifestyle she was very well aware on the concept of going from rags to riches and back to rags. While her lifestyle as an average middle class hard worker excelled her to being one of the most sought after fashion designers, her mind set never changed. She will always be the little country girl collecting eggs and shoveling away horses manure.

 “Baby what is it?” Vanessa whispers out catching a glimpse of her husband's eyes lighting up. Taking a careful step along the lit up pathway leading away from their favorite diner 'Almonte's Palace' she holds onto his hand letting out a giggle.
    
    
    Stepping in front of her he spins around facing her with a grin “I got the gig!”
    
    
    Gasping, Vanessa squeals bouncing from one heeled foot to the other “Are you serious?! Oh my God?!” Giggling, she flings her arms around his neck kissing him softly.
    
    
    Cradling her in his arms, Scott spins them around smiling watching his wife adjust the collar of his silk shirt. “Yeah New York is calling our name baby can you believe that? The big apple. I got us a little place to start off with but I promise I'll save and maybe buy a condo if we can get by.” Scott whispers out taking her hands in his. “Anything for my wife.”


“You promise?” The beautiful brunette steps before him. Her shiny almond color eyes lit up at the new life awaiting them.
    
    
“You know it. I always keep my promises.” The tall man whispers out running a hand through her long hair letting the peaceful night cradle them. A loud screech suddenly pierces the air when a black unmarked van pulls up alongside the couple.
    
Narrowing his eyes, Scott steps back pulling his wife behind him knowing exactly what was going on.
    
    
“Baby....baby! We should get out of here.” Vanessa pipes out nervously tugging on his hand already starting to steer away from the path onto the grassy parts.

“Wait a second honey. Hold on.” Scott reassures her watching three tall men jump out of the van all dressed in black with a ski mask concealing their identities.
    
“No! No now we get the hell out of here!” Vanessa exhales seeing as one of the men pulls out a pistol heading over their direction. At this point Scott grabs his wife's hand bolting down away from the garden pathway into the more deserted wooded back areas of Alabama. His wife kicks off her heels running as fast as she could to keep up but she could already hear the three mask men running heavily behind them. Her heart felt like it was ready to explode pumping more fast then she could imagine. Struggling to gasp air, she feels herself slowing down feeling the strong tug of her husband on her arm.
    
“I...I...I can't” She chokes out gasping hard, trying to find a way to drink in any air that could keep her moving and into her lungs.
    
“Yes you can!” Scott calls out pulling at her. The adrenaline shoots through her body when she sees the three men clearly running ten feet behind them. Zooming through the woods now with her husband clinging onto her hand, they jump and dodge behind trees when the loud clap of whizzing bullets fly past them.

“AHH!” Vanessa screams out ducking when a thick tree branch falls behind them with a rumble that sent the land under them rumbling. “Scott where can we go?! They're gonna kill us?!” She looks down at her bruised feet. The pretty stockings now ripped up did nothing to protect her bare feet from the sharp rocks and jagged ground.

Her husband frantically looks around the plot of land unsure of where else to go cause they'd be lost in a moment's notice. “I'm thinking...”
    
“What is going on? Dammit Scott what the hell are you hiding from me?” Vanessa balls up her small fists punching on his arm doing no harm to him. His pretty azure eyes scan the trees around them hearing nothing but their soft breathing and a few birds.
    
Scott pulls her to him whispering out “I need you to get out of here....don't look back.”
    
“Wha- what?!” Vanessa eyes him shaking her head. “No...noo I'm staying here with you don't you leave me Scott Lachey.”
    
Smiling at his wife he cups her chin “Shhhh sweetie its okay I have to handle some business and I can't have you around.”
    
“Just tell me! Damn Scott stop hiding shit from me.” She sniffs, her eyes already blurry from the on coming tears ready to drop.
    
     “They're after me....I didn't pay and now they're after me.” Scott whispers out turning at the sound of branches breaking under the new heavy footsteps. They were surrounded as the three men inch closer to them each holding up a revolver.

“What do you mean you didn't pay!? What do you want?!” Vanessa calls out to the men shaking. She couldn't die. Not like this. Whatever her husband did is catching up to them and putting them in danger. She couldn't leave this earth in such a matter.
    
The masked man in the center flicks his gun to Scott “He owes us.”
    
Vanessa steers her eyes over to her husband. “What?”
    
“Baby...just get out of here.” Scott begins to push her out of the plot of land and to a dirt pathway besides the trees. Stumbling a little, she turns her head in time to see all three guns go off lighting up like they often show in movies. However they don't really show how bullets look when it hits human skin battering it open sinking into it as the blood sprays out. Nor do some of the movies really focus on how the blood sprays as liters of it begin to spew out of the wound directly in the center of the forehead. That was all it took to take the love of her life away from her. That one bullet that crashed into the center of his forehead. He was wounded in his arms and legs. But the man that aimed that bullet into the center of his head stood in the middle of the two other men.

There it was. Sunken deep in his cranium, the bullet disappears. Vanessa watches her husband die before her. His hand reaching out to her as a blank look crosses his eyes. Death was immediate, so suffereing didn't last but more than a mere second. But for her it felt like a minute which turned into a hour as she stares at the body lying across from her feet. The man that she committed her life to laid before her immobile and dead. He barely had a chance to breath in the process as he spits out blood from his mouth lying with his eyes open staring at her feet.
    
Exhaling, Vanessa remembers to breath again as she drops to her knees letting out the most painful scream a human can create. She didn't know how long she screamed nor did it matter. The pain is still there, his body before her. And nothing that anyone can do can bring him back alive. Shifting her eyes over to the three mask men she manages to stand up pointing at them slowly inching over.
    
    They put away their guns backing out of the woods and disappear into the night leaving her alone to deal with the reality of her loss.
~*~


Carrying a stack of papers in his arms, he rushes over to the leather seat dropping the propositions and evidences of past cases there. Glancing around his office, he hated doing renovations during work hours but it needed to be done. He didn't have much a choice with his pregnant wife expecting him home in time for dinner. And he knew better than to be late. She was quite the stiffler in regards to those things. Stretching his arms over head he glances around the disarray room hoping he can clean up before it was time to head home.

Hearing a knock coming from his door, he shoots his head up in time to see a silhouette behind the graze glass window. “Come in.” He shoves a few folders out of the way pushing a rickety chair before his desk. Watching a beautiful caramel leg slide through the entrance first, his eyes run up her body to find a lovely woman staring lost back at him. Her eyes seemed swollen and in her hands she hold a few sheets of torn papers.

“Are you Mister Reynolds?” She whispers out stepping closer to the man.

Ryan straightens up nodding, resting on the edge of the front of his desk gazing at her. “The one and only.” He smiles sticking his hand out as she shakes it. “Have a seat. What can I do for you?”

Clearing her throat, Vanessa stares at the papers in her hands glancing up at him with watery eyes and without saying a word, rest the papers on his desk. His dark eyes matching hers quickly scans over the newspaper clippings discussing the murder of a young up and coming CEO and director of the new Riverbank productions. Frowning, he knew she was the widow of the late Scott Lachey that was killed a month ago. Police were skeptical about the man's murder and were ready to close the case since no proof besides the man's corpse was found. The one bullet fired into the man's head was a residential bullet that the majority of the Alabama residents own. It would take forever to even get clues on where to begin finding the man's murderer.

“I want them behind bars.” She whispers out, nervously tapping her red painted nails on her lap.

“I understand that. And I'm sure the police are out finding the one that did this.”

“You don't understand I think I know who could have done it. But before I can go to the police I need to know if I can trust in you when I bring the case up to the court.” She shifts in her seat, her black pencil skirt inches up her thighs as she moves.

Ryan takes a quick glance at her thigh before focusing back on her face. “You have my word Mrs. Lachey. I'll make sure to get the culprit locked up and rot there.” He crosses his arms before his chest smiling sadly at the grieving woman. It had to be difficult for her to lose the one person that meant so much to her. He couldn't even imagine what it would be like if he lost his beloved wife. Sure she has her days but he wouldn't take a day back being with his soul mate.

“Is it true what they say about you? That you're good at convicting people?” She pipes up softly. Soft spoken since the murder of her husband, she just didn't have the energy to really be heard as much as she thought she should. Gripping her hands on her skirt she drops her head for a moment wiping the tears off her eyes.

“Ma'am I haven't lost a case yet and I don't plan on losing one now.” Ryan assures her, stepping behind his desk. “Excuse the mess. I'm trying to do some cleaning up. I got new furniture and its taking up my time.”

“Its alright. And you can just call me Vanessa.” She begins to stand up assuming he was done discussing things with her.

“Where are you going?” Ryan perks his eyebrows at her seeing her stand ackwardly before him.

“I...I just thought we were done.”

“Well Vanessa if we're gonna do a case on the bastard, I'm gonna need to know something about you alright?”

“Its just I...I don't have the money at the moment. It should probably wait.” She clutches her small purse.

“Now now ma'am. No need for that. I'll start gathering some data and when you're good and ready just visit me and we can push this case to the court. I know you're in pain and you deserve to get the justice so you can rest finally. I just want you to understand that I work on honesty here.” Breathing out, Ryan points back to the seat watching as she shifts back to seat down exhaling. “Let's start from the beginning....and I need you to be honest. No creating something that didn't exist. Our story needs to be balance so when its brought up to court its stated as truth.” Watching her nod, he whispers out. “Start from the beginning....tell me where you were.” He rest back on the edge of his desk before her, adjusting his tie as she trembles softly beginning to tell him from the fabulous dinner.
~*~


Slamming his fist into the punching bag the blond man does a few rounds as the bag is held in place by his friend.

“Fuck.” Damien whispers out pushing the bag back into the blond's face.

“Getting too strong for you now?” Nick cracks his knuckles shaking his fists at the brunette.

“Heh you wish. Gotta admit you getting stronger I'll give you credit.” Damien teases him pushing the bag roughly back at the man who ducks in time flipping him off. Chuckling softly, the pair head back to the changing room as Nick tosses a small rag over his shoulder wiping the sweat off his neck.

“Jealously must suck ass dude.” Nick walks down the corridor of the locker room bench dropping his water bottle and rag on it fiddling with the dial on his locker.

“Of what? Your little snow capped mountains dude.” Damien chuckles dropping on a bench exhausted from the hard workout.

Hearing a click from the lock, Nick grins swinging the locker open taking out their stuff. “Bitch please the women line up for something like this.” And flexing purposely he grabs his clothes out of the locker.

Damien smirks shaking his head and glancing around to see its just them alone for the moment, he leans over whispering out “You still keep in contact with him?”

“Nah you?” The blond looks over clearing his throat. The idea that they're even bringing up the man's name was enough to cause a shiver down his spine.

“Last I talked to him was that day...look I got wind the police wants to end their search. Though there's rumors the case is being reopened cause the wife of the dude is starting to speak up.”

“Fuck I dunno why he didn't just do this right. I can't have the 5-0 on my back now. Trying to get a clean slate since our fucked up juvi past. You know how hard it is to get a job with that track record?”

“Yeah in case you failed to remember I was there with you ass.” Damien props up his long legs kicking off his sneakers, tossing his socks aside looking for a towel in his bag to go wash up.

“Whatever. Case and point I ain't going down for what was done” Nick whispers out watching as a small crowd of men walk into the locker room to either get into their gym gear or back into their street clothes.

“You and I both. We need to reach his ass asap. Things are gonna get nasty fast if we don't do something about it.” Damien frowns heading over to a free shower stall.

“I'm gonna get in a contact with him. Hurry your ass up we don't have all day.” Nick leans back on the lockers dialing Justin's number. He just hoped his boss would answer his cell finally.
~*~


The lavish ceiling to floor window spanned out across his living room giving him the view of the beautiful Panama city beach. He wanted to clear his head up and taking a little vacation was exactly the remedy. Tapping his fingers across the brass railing aligning his rented out loft, he breaths in the salt air with pleasure. A smile playing across his lips. This past weekend he decided to take his mind off things, one of them the murder of a semi celebrity on his hands. It was all in the days of his work. Being apart of the mafia was something in his blood. Call it genetic but he was drawn to seize power and it helped his uncle lead the way of the new wave mafia. They were a small eclectic bunch but all with the same purpose. Power. Many of them never had it at all. Others came from power but failed to achieve what their ancestors had. They weren't a gang. No. Many of these man have high paying jobs and master degrees. They dressed in only the best and suits were always required to be worn during board meetings. Enjoying the soft warm breeze that brushes against him, Justin feels the vibrating of his short pocket. Rolling his eyes he pulls out his blackberry answering. “What the fuck you calling me for?” He grunts out leaning on the railing.

“J....we got some problems” He could hear Nick on the other end. Groaning, he closes his eyes knowing this wasn't part of his vacation plans and awaits the news.
~**~