Legacy of My Father

The flight was half way over. Ryan and Thaelor sat in First class sipping on the complimentary coffee as the miles flew by (literally). Ryan was just beginning to feel normal as the hot liquid slid down his throat. Looking at his sister, he was pleased to see her beautiful smile returned back to him.

"Ahhh...there he is." Thaelor chuckled.

"Got to have my coffee in the morning. I don't function well without it."

"I know...that's why I left the wake up time for so late."

"Is it that I've become too predictable sis?" Ryan asked.

"Nope...you're just a creature of habit like everybody else." Thaelor leaned in closer;

"And sometime today...I want some of that creature."

Ryan kissed his sister's cheek, causing a minor flinch to ripple through her.

"What's wrong? I just kissed your cheek hon."

Thaelor looked around to ensure no one else was listening to their conversation.

Satisfied that everyone else was involved in their tablets, phones, magazines and breakfasts, she leaned in closer to her brother:

"You know, Aunt Flo knows about us."

"What? How?"

"I think I might have said something off when we were talking on the patio. I'm sorry. She cornered me and asked. Even if I had said no, she already knew."

"It's ok...I guess. We don't live there and I don't think she'll tell anyone." Ryan said, before taking another sip of his morning beverage.

"You're right. We talked about it. She assured me she'll take it to her grave. Besides...guess what she told me?"

"Do tell..."

"She was married to her 1st cousin Phillip. LaTisha's dad was her uncle's son."

Ryan let the coffee spit out of his mouth. "You're bullshitting!!" He whispered.

Thaelor handed her brother her napkin and watched him clean himself off. "No...I'm not. She was dead serious when we spoke. Question love..."

"Yeah...go on."

"Do I bring you peace?"

"Absolutely. That's one of the reasons I love you so much. Why?"

"How badly do you want kids? Would you still love me as much if I could never give them to you?

"What?!! Ok...where are these questions coming from?"

"Just answer me...please."

"Of course I would. I want kids just as bad as you do. Or at least that's what you have said. Why are you asking me this Thaelor? What happened while I was sleep?"

"Nothing." Thaelor said looking at the floor. "I just saw you with those kids and it made me feel some kind of way. And when you guys were sleep...it was the most peaceful, beautiful thing I ever saw. You looked so happy. I just want to be able to give you that happiness."

"Hold that thought." Ryan said. The Flight attendant sauntered up to the siblings, her smile evident a mile away. "Sir, we have a little time...would you like another cup before we land? Also, you asked me to tell you when we're 2 hours away from landing, well...that time is here."

"Thank you Ma'am." Ryan said. Picking up the phone from the seat in front of him. Dialing the number, he waited. The other line was answered on the 3rd ring.

"Hello? Thomas Rollins?"

"Thomas, Ryan. Listen, I'm 2 hours out from landing, we have the information you need. Where can we meet you?"

"Great. Meet us at the hospital, 3rd floor ICU conference room. Ryan...a lot has changed since you left. Hurry."

The line went dead and Ryan hung up. "Everything OK?" Thaelor asked seeing the look of concern on Ryan's face. "Not sure...but we're going to find out."

The ride to the hospital should have been an omen. In an area where traffic is usually a constant, the traffic into Maryland was amazingly smooth and sparse. Arriving at the hospital, there were even more Secret Service agents around than usual. Arriving on the 3rd floor, the siblings go to the receptionist's desk, where a nurse at a computer simply tells them Room 3114.

Knocking on the door, they enter. Inside at a table sit 3 men instead of 2. The only one known to them was Thomas Rollins. The new member of the group was an older man. White skinned, hair that was more salt then pepper, and a slight paunch enveloping his belt. The last was the man from the room before. Even though he was sitting in the light, he was much more terrifying now.

"Ryan...do you have the paper?" Thomas asked.

Taking a seat at the table, Ryan reached into his luggage and pulled out the manila envelope containing the birth certificates. Handing them over to Thomas, Rollins swiftly looked them over. Satisfied, Rollins handed over a stack of papers with sticky arrows attached to certain pages.

"Ryan, as fast as you can, sign everywhere there's an arrow. No time to waste."

"Is this the paperwork that makes me Dad's executor?" Ryan asked as he signed.

"No." Rollins replied.

The tone in his voice was as deadly as a tomb. When Ryan had signed the last one, Thomas looked the paperwork over, then handed them to the white man that had joined them.

"What do you mean "NO" I'm not the executor?" A tone of irritation had risen in Ryan's tone.

"We had to change the paperwork. You won't be your father's executor, this paperwork made you his sole heir and rightful inheritor of his entire estate." Thomas answered flatly.

"What?" Thaelor exclaimed.

During the entire exchange, the sole white man in the group hadn't said a single word. His eyes were busily perusing the paperwork. Fussing over every line and dotted letter. Finally, he pulled a pen from his pocket and began to sign his name and stamp the paperwork. Finished, he pushed the pages back in front of Mr. Rollins.

"You said there was something else you wanted me to see?" The man said.

"Yes, your honor. We thank you so much for your valuable time."

Nodding to the enormous man sitting on the other side of the man Thomas referred to as "Your Honor," He pulled out a medium sized tablet, punched in some commands and handed it to man, along with a pair of earphones. The man sat idly for several minutes, every so often manipulating the tablet and giving it further commands. Finally, he took the earphones off his head and handed the machine back to the large man at the end of the table.

"I've seen enough. As far as the claim goes, I am satisfied with the findings and am ruling in your favor. Give me the paperwork. As for that other thing, I can't adjudicate that because I have seen this and of my obvious conflict of interest. However, I believe you have more than enough to sustain an indictment and I'll sign the warrant." Thomas passed along another small stack of papers, in which the man quickly signed them and placed a stamp at the end.

"Wait...indictment...warrant? What exactly is going on Thomas?" The large black man at the end of the table made a small sound to catch Thaelor's attention. Placing his finger to his lips, he called for her to be quiet.

After he was handed the paperwork back, Thomas separated the sheets and placed one in the stack from earlier and other he put off to the side.

The white man finally addressed the two young siblings. "First off, I am so sorry for the loss of your father. I'm sure it will take some time to move past this horrible tragedy, but rest assured we will bring the perpetrator to justice. He was a really good friend of mine and I won't rest until this is brought to its rightful and proper end. If you ever need me, just ask. I owed your father a few favors and I will gladly take care of you guys if I can." Standing, he shook Ryan and Thaelor's hand. "Thomas, I'll see you on the links later. If you need anything else for about an hour, I'll be downstairs in the cafeteria. Oh...and Ryan...tell your brother I said hello the next time you see him." With that, the man turned and left.

"Thomas! What the fuck is all that about?!" Ryan almost screamed.

"Ok...first of all...I need you to calm down and lower your voice. Remember we are in a hospital. Second of all, like I said, a lot has changed since you left. Like your father's brainwaves have decreased. He is all but dead. We were hopeful that the treatment they were giving him would help bring him around, but last night, he had a massive brain spike, then they all but flatlined. According to the doctors, that means for all intents and purposes your father is braindead. He's only being kept alive by the machines.:

"Fuck.!" Ryan said, slamming his fists against the table. A single tear fell from Thaelor's eye. Her hands trembling as she gripped the table with her palms. Ryan pulled her closer, hugging her close to him as she sniffed her grief. He had to be strong for her.

"Secondly, it took my paralegals overtime to prepare all this paperwork because of new evidence my assistant here gathered and delivered." Pointing to the other large, black man in the room, Thomas introduced him. "This is Phillip Graham. He's a former DCPD Detective and Secret Service agent. He was working on a couple different things for your father, when he went down. Now with his help, you have inherited approximately 2.35 billion dollars from your father's estate. The homes, the cars, the businesses, EVERYTHING!"

"So sorry to keep you in the dark like this." Said Phillip. "But, with what I've been working on, we thought it would be better for your safety."

"Ok...but, why do you say for my safety?" Ryan asked.

Pulling up one of the stacks of papers, Thomas handed it back to Ryan. Having really not inspected it earlier, Ryan finally saw the top of it: Dissolution of Marriage, Robert James Morrison v. Sharmel Denice Walters-Morrison.

"Before he had his stroke, Robert was in the process of divorcing Sharmel. We believe that was the reason she went to Europe. What really hurts her in the divorce is the fact Robert had her sign a Pre-Nuptial Agreement. I personally wouldn't let him get married without it. It stipulates that if she is caught having any infidelities, she only gets a severance of $250,000, her belongings, and she gives up parental rights to any children they might have had. Thankfully, they never did."

"Fine. But I know for a fact my Dad had several mistresses, so how does that work?" Thaelor asked.

"Hey." Phillip shrugged. "He who pays the piper, picks the tune."

"Ok...that explains the money and everything." Ryan interjected. "But it doesn't explain why Thaelor and I were in "danger," or warrants and indictments."

Thomas' brown eyes grew cold and distant. "We have evidence that Sharmel had your father killed. That was the second thing Phil was working on. When the judge was looking at the tablet, he was reviewing evidence Phil found at Shemel's apartment in L.A., an associate of hers here in D.C., and the medical records from your father's doctors. Apparently, this wasn't her first attempt. Phil uncovered at least 3 other tries. That was why the judge signed the indictment that I have to get downtown as soon as I'm done here with you guys."

"Ok...I know Sharmel isn't the "nicest" of people." Thaelor said. "But I find it hard to believe that she's a hardened killer!"

"You would think that. But according to the evidence, that's not entirely true. She actually contracted the killing to other men." Handing the tablet over to Thaelor, Thomas had pulled up a hidden video scene. Pulling out the headphones, Thaelor pressed play and it began showing a recording of Sharmel at a restaurant having a meal with a strange man neither she nor Ryan had ever seen. The audio had them talking about disposing of Robert so they could be together. The next line talked about how her foot felt in his crotch. Thaelor shut off the video and dropped the tablet on the table. "Jesus Christ." She said in disgust.

"Thomas...there's something else I mean to ask you." Ryan continued. "I noticed that the only person that you mentioned gaining access to the estate was me. I'm not an accountant or anything, but one thing I do know having worked at my Dad's companies, is that the law makes several exceptions as far as taxes and things are concerned if the properties are spread across several other entities. Why isn't Thaelor added to all this paperwork? She's his daughter isn't she?"

"Yes...and no." Thomas stated flatly.

"What do you mean?" Thaelor asked.

"Look...here's the deal. When you were born, your father never signed your birth certificate. When you came back into his life, he refused to sign a new one stating that you were his child. What he did do on the other hand, was sign a Certificate of Legal Guardianship. Basically, he was responsible for you, without really claiming you. Your blood might be his, but as far as the Law is concerned, you have never been Thaelor Morrison. You have always remained Thaelor Leigh. I'm sorry."

Thaelor's eyes grew red. There was no way she could hold back the tears. They fell without stopping. Ryan hugged his sister. Every heave of her chest, every tear a dagger through his heart. Even in death, his father never lost an opportunity to try and destroy her.

"Why Ryan?!! Why didn't he love me?!! What did I do wrong?!!"

"I'm so sorry sis. He didn't deserve you as a daughter. He was an ass who has gotten his karma. I will always love you. Remember that."

"I'm sorry Ryan. I know this is the worst time to bring this up. But, I have no choice. I need to know what to do with the most important asset your father left behind." Thomas said.

"What?" Ryan asked. "What else could he possibly heap upon my shoulders?"

Thomas took a heavy sigh. He had to compose himself before he continued.

"I think Phillip uncovered the reason why Sharmel tried to kill your father. It's something that we have had to keep quiet as best we could. I don't expect either of you to know anything about this. A few months ago, a young woman was shot on the campus of UMD DC. She was 8 months pregnant at the time. When they rushed her to the hospital, they did an emergency C-section. The mother died, but the children lived. Later that evening, the assailant came to the hospital and tried to kill them again. It was only blind luck that a Security Guard was walking his beat on the NICU ward, that he was able to stop the assassin. The culprit was caught and taken to jail. The young lady killed, was named Tabitha Minors. She was a Political Science Grad, and an intern of your father's He sent Phil to get some information from him. Needless to say, the culprit cracked under interrogation."

"I promise you." Phil said in a cold tone. "That individual will NEVER bother you...or anyone else in this plane of existence...again."

"Because of the attempts on their lives, the hospital has moved the children every so often to keep them safe. Twins. One boy, one girl. The other night when I called you, a Lab Nurse pulled me to the side. Because of their frailty, the hospital has to take blood samples of the children. When your father came in, the same nurse did his bloodwork. Needless to say, paternalistically, there is a 99.5% certainty...those twins...are your father's. Now that you have total control of your father's affairs. I need to know what to do with them."

"Do...do...do they have names?" Thaelor asked between tears.

"No. They are just known by the hospital as Baby B and Baby G. What do you say Ryan?"

"I want them." Thaelor said.

"Wait a minute...sis, you don't have to take on that responsibility. After everything he has put you through..."

"I want them Ryan. Please...They have no one. No mother, no father, and aside from you and me, no immediate family. Besides...the man I love can't give me any children. These will be mine. I'll love them with everything I have. Give them everything I never had growing up. Give them a home full of peace and all the love I have to offer. I don't care about his money or his power, Dad saw fit that I was never afforded that. But, I can take these kids and make a fresh start. For them. For me. Please."

"Thaelor...they will be bastards."

"WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?!!" she screamed! "I HAVE NO MOTHER ANYMORE!! I HAVE NO FATHER!! I'M A BASTARD RYAN!! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!!"

"NO YOU'RE NOT!! And neither will they be! Thomas...do you think that Judge is still here?"

Thomas looked puzzled. "I guess so...why?"

Reaching into his luggage, Ryan pulled out a small velvet box. Dropping to one knee, he opened it, to reveal a sparkling pair of his and hers wedding bands.

"You have never been a bastard to me. You will never BE ONE either. A bastard is a child unloved and unwanted. I have always wanted you and loved you. Please do me the privilege of being the one next to you, to reshape the name Morrison, and give OUR CHILDREN...a home; by being my wife?"

Thaelor broke down. But she couldn't nod her head hard enough.

"YES!!" She cried. YES, I'LL BE YOUR WIFE!! FOREVER AND EVER!!"

"Wait guys...I don't mean to be a stick in the mud. But, incest is illegal here in D.C. I don't think the judge or anyone else for that matter will marry you two." Thomas said.

"You said it yourself Tom. Legally, my Dad never claimed her. So as far as the LAW is concerned, she's still a LEIGH! I can marry a LEIGH!" Ryan said. "Will you please be my witness?"

"I will." Said Phil with a shrug. "What...I love weddings."

Thomas picked up his cell phone and dialed a number. "I sure hope the judge goes for this."

"He has too." Thaelor said, hugging her fiancée. "He owes Ryan's Dad a favor."

A couple hours later, Thaelor sat in the Senator's room. Her arms filled with a little pink blanket swaddling the cutest little girl she had ever seen. The chair next to her held her best friend, her lover, her brother...her husband and a little blue blanket that refused to stay still. He was too enthralled with the big fingers of his "father" that he grasped.

"Well...here I am Dad. I want to in thank you so much for everything you have given me. First, you gave me life. When you met my mother and laid with her, you gave me life. Then you brought me into your home and gave me a new family. Many of which, I would've never even known I had. The, you gave me the greatest gift of all...you bore and raised the man I love and gave me two children of which I am proud to say, I am their mother. For that...I can never repay you."

"But...as I look down on your cold, hard body...I think of the man that you were to me when you were here. You did everything in your power to destroy me. A girl that all she ever wanted was your love and attention. A girl that just wished for once, you had said...I mattered to you. Just once, I wish you could've been my father, a man that cared enough to dry my tears when I thought of my mother. But you didn't. You cared more about your LEGACY, your position, your title, than to care about the girl that bares your blood. You never meant for me to bare your name. Well...I got news for you partner. The man I love has given me your name. All that was once yours that you worked so hard to keep from me...he gives to me freely. And...the children that you wished to destroy...children you didn't even see fit to give a name...now are known as Lisa and Henry...they will carry on your legacy...the newest branches of the Morrison family...but they will NOT know YOU!! You will be a ghost...a myth that they hear of at family outings and read in books, learning in schools that might one day bare your name. But the person you were...they will NEVER KNOW. And won't need to. Because their brother and sister...mother and father...won't keep you a secret; you will just be a memory that will fade with time. Goodbye father. Rest in the hell you have created for yourself. Because as you sink into the flames, this Phoenix rises from your ashes." Grabbing her husband's hand, Thaelor and Ryan pushed the button of the machine. The whirring and humming ceased. The alarms on the heart monitor sounded. The beeps dying down...until the shrill sound of flatline filled the room. Thaelor and Ryan's faces were covered in tears. Not of remorse or reflection...but of the thrill of freedom.