BY CHANCE NOT CHOICE: Marco's Choice - Moretti Brothers Series Book Two

by Sage Young

  “The three of us?” Takeo questioned.

  “Yes. You, me, and my brother Dominic, because there is no way in hell my brother or I will allow our women to come even remotely close to any danger. Let’s go back and make sure that Kiyomi and Monica are okay, then you, me, and my brother will have a conversation.” Takeo nodded as they finished their drink and headed back to the building.

  *****

  When the men left the office and Kiyomi heard Dominic excuse himself, she took that opportunity to talk freely with her sister and Monica. “My father… our father,” she quickly corrected herself, “He is very possessive of his daughters and thinks that only a man of a certain stature would be good enough to marry us. I don’t have a problem standing up to Father, I just don’t trust his reaction. Before I found out about you and then the pregnancy, Takeo and I had planned to leave Japan and move to the US to start our life together in a few years. Father would never agree with my marriage to Takeo, and if he knew that I was carrying Takeo’s child, he may try to have him killed. I can’t let that happen. It was as if God himself intervened with me finding you. I don’t have a lot of time because, for some reason, I am putting on weight faster than I thought and soon everyone will know I’m pregnant.” Victoria smiled. “Have you had an ultrasound yet?” “No. We just found out we were expecting. Why?” “Because, my dear sister, it is very possible that you are having more than one baby. I had the same issue with my weight gain and I found out I was having triplets.”

  Kiyomi put one hand over her mouth and the other on her stomach. It never dawned on her that she could be carrying more than one child. “I would think that was unlikely,” she said, unsure of herself. “Don’t you think?” “I guess you will find out very soon,” Victoria said smiling. Both Takeo and Marco returned. “I don’t want to hang up but I guess we have to, for now, but I will talk to you tomorrow,” Kiyomi said as she touched the screen again. “We will talk tomorrow, sis, and Monica, please call me when you get a chance,” Victoria said as she smiled at both women and disconnected the call.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Within a few days, they devised plan to go public with the fact that a CEO of a major consulting firm in the east coast found her twin sister after being separated at birth. During that week, Kiyomi’s father took a turn for the worst and his doctors called her and her sister and told her that they needed to be at the hospital to say their goodbyes to their father. Kiyomi arrived at the hospital first and was upset to find that her sister had not been there to see their father in the last few days. Although they came at separate times to see him, it was unusual for Muri not to see her father every day. She called her cell but it went straight to voicemail. Something was wrong; it was not like her not having her phone always charged. She leaned into Takeo and whispered, “Please find my sister.” He nodded and left.

  Kiyomi walked into her father’s hospital room. She was not prepared to see her father look so weak and fragile. It had been a drastic difference since she was with him just a week ago. She kissed her father on the cheek and sat by his bedside. Her heart ached for her father, but she knew, even in his weakened state, he was a force to be reckoned. He is a tall man with a commanding presence. Whenever he walked into a room, everyone noticed. She had the same light caramel complexion and hazel eyes as her father. Even in his fragile state, he was still a very handsome man. “How are you feeling father?” she asked as a tear slid down her cheek. Ken looked at his oldest daughter and only felt love and pride. He had been tough on her throughout her life but he needed to make her strong. He could see the wetness on her face from the shed tears. “Don’t cry baby girl. I may look weak but I am feeling a little stronger.” he said as he began to cough and pointed to his cup of water. She placed the straw in his mouth so that he could drink. He waved the cup away indicating that he was finished and he continued to talk. “I flew in another team of doctors from the US to see what they could do for me and I think they found the source of my cancer. I need you to continue to be my ears and eyes while I continue to recuperate.”

  Her father’s voice was so weak that she was beginning to think he was putting up a brave front for her. “Where is your sister? I haven’t seen her in a few days. She’s usually here every day.” Kiyomi did not want to cause her father any additional undue stress so she decided not to be completely honest with him. “I know she’s been extremely busy working on the projects that were assigned to her.” She paused, “I think she really wants to make you proud, so she’s been working really hard to do a really good job. I’m sure she’ll be here soon.” She took her father’s hand into hers and placed it on the side of her cheek as she closed her eyes. She really loved her father and it was killing her inside to see her father in this state. He took his other hand and placed it over hers. “Stop worrying, Kiyomi, everything will work out for the best. I am getting better, but you cannot reveal it to anyone, not even Takeo, that I am recuperating. I will explain everyth...” Just then, a team of doctors, mostly Americans, walked in.

  “Mr. Sato, we need to talk to you,” one said as he looked over at Kiyomi. He nodded to the doctor before turning his attention back to his daughter. “Ki, I need to speak privately with my doctors. I promise, as soon as we are done, I will fill you in on everything.” She looked at her father strangely, not understanding why she couldn’t stay, but she did not question him. She simply stood, kissed him on the cheek, and began to walk out. “Father, I’ll be just outside the door if you need me.” Ken smiled at his daughter and watched her walk out the door.

  When Ken was sure she was out of earshot of their conversation he sat up in his weakened condition, coughing as he was doing so. “Tell me what you found out,” he said just above a whisper. The same doctor spoke up, “Mr. Sato, all of the test we ran confirmed what we suspected, that you were poisoned and the drugs used not only gave you a false positive for cancer but also mirrored the symptoms. I have spoken with some experts from the CDC and one of the top oncologists in the field, and we believe that we have a combination of injections that, once given, can reverse your symptoms and hopefully you should recover with minimal damage to your system. Our only concern at this point is that you don’t know who is responsible for drugging you. We recommend that you take steps to replace all medical personnel responsible for prior treatments until the individuals involved are found and prosecuted.

  When I find the persons responsible, they will not live to spend a night in jail, Ken thought as he redirected his attention back to the doctors standing in front of him. The doctor spoke up again. “We also agree that in a few days you will be healthy enough to travel and you should continue your treatments in the US.” He nodded in agreement. “Start the treatments immediately,” Ken said as firmly as he could in his unsteady weak voice. “On your way out, please send my daughter back in,” he then said dismissively. He began to think which one of his enemies had the balls to try to kill him. Why in a slow manner like this? Why not try to put a bullet in my head. This makes no sense, but that person is officially a dead man walking, he thought as Kiyomi walked back into the room.

  Kiyomi sat back in the seat, she had recently vacated. Her unshed tears clouded her vision as she looked at the IVs that were hooked up to her father, hopefully keeping him alive.

  “Father, I feel so helpless,” she said as the tears spilled over and she rested her head on her father’s chest. He lifted his hand and began to slowly rub her hair and her back. “Don’t cry Kiyomi, I’m not dead yet. In fact, I just received some great news, it appears that my cancer is in remission.” He was not ready to disclose that someone was trying to kill him yet. He needed to handle this situation carefully. She quickly lifted her head to look in to his eyes. Ever since she was a little child she could tell when her father was not being truthful with her. His left eyebrow always went up when he was trying to deceive her, but she only detected honesty. “Father that is great news, when will you be able to come home.”

  “Soon, but I need y
ou to keep this information to yourself. I can’t explain now, but I will soon.”

  His breathing was becoming shallow; he paused before continuing. “I will be going to the US for a while, when I get out of here.” Panic rose quickly through her entire body straight to her head causing an instant headache. Did he know about their plan? Did he know about Victoria? What was he planning on doing?

  “When are you going to the States?” she asked as she could see her father appear to weaken with every word. His eyes began to flutter and he began to slowly drift off to sleep,

  “As soon as my doctors can arrange it,” he said as he closed his eyes. Fear washed over her. “Wh…why are you going to the US with your health in such a fragile state. I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Well my doctors suggested that I continue my treatment there. And it will be nice to go. I haven’t been back since I left thirty seven years ago,” he said groggily. “I’m so tired. I need to rest now.” Kiyomi kissed her father on the cheek and exited his room.

  She walked right into one of her father’s new doctors. “Dr….?” she paused waiting for him to give her his name. “Dr. Farrow,” his deep voice echoed. She smiled, “Dr. Farrow, how is my father? He told me the cancer was in remission.” She bit her bottom lip as she waited for his response. “It appears your father is going to be fine, but you will need to discuss the details with him,” he said as he nodded and walked around her. Kiyomi needed to talk to Takeo and Monica. They needed to change their strategy on handling the entire situation.

  *****

  Takeo headed straight to the Takahashi Corporation. He had gotten word from a longtime friend, who was one of Yoshi’s men but still loyal to Takeo, that Mr. Yoshi Yamada had his private detail pick up Muri. No one has seen her since, and that was four days ago. When he entered the building, he went straight to Yoshi’s office. After being searched he entered the office. Yoshi was at his desk, “Uncle I am trying to locate Muri. I’m not sure if you heard, but Mr. Sato has taken a turn for the worst and they’re trying to locate her.” Yoshi looked up from his desk seemingly unfazed by Takeo’s statement. “I heard that my friend was not doing well and that’s unfortunate. I asked Muri to attend a series of business meetings in Osaka. She is due back in two days but if you need her to return early, simply give her a call,” Yoshi said in a mocking tone. Takeo tried to contain his anger, as he spoke is a low stern tone. “We’ve tried to call her but her number goes straight to voicemail which is unusual for her.“ “Who did you send to accompany her on the trip?” Takeo asked, knowing that any executive going on a business trip was always accompanied by security. “I didn’t think it was necessary to send anyone with her because she was only going to Osaka,” he said in an irritated tone.

  Takeo knew he was lying. Everyone traveling on Takahashi business had at least one security member accompanying them due to threats to the company and its personnel, especially the children of the owners. “So you sent her on a trip alone, which is against the company’s policy, not to mention...” Yoshi abruptly interrupted him. “Look, I don’t have time for this. I’m sure as soon as her phone is charged she will call her sister. This conversation is over,” he said dismissively as he turned his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. Takeo maintained his cool as he spoke again. “If you hear from her, let her know it’s important that she contacts Kiyomi.” “If that’s all you came by for, I’m really busy.”

  Takeo took a deep breath and turned towards the door. He was heading for the communication office to review tapes from the previous days to see if he could verify what Yoshi said, his gut told him that he was lying. Once inside the office he asked the controller to pull up the video footage from Yoshi and Muri’s last meeting. Nothing seemed unusual; she met with Yoshi and left the office building with her security detail. So why didn’t they accompany her on her trip? He walked back to his office, sat at his desk, and called his assistant, “Contact Muri‘s security team and tell them I need them in my office immediately.” He hung up the desk phone, picked up a cell phone, and called his best friend and business partner Suri, who was also a part of Takahashi security detail. “We need to talk. Can you meet me at the usual place at noon? Okay, I’ll see you there.”

  As Takeo placed his phone in his pocket, there was a knock at the door. “Enter,” he said as he sat up in his chair. The two-man security team assigned to Muri walked into his office. Takeo began to speak quickly in Japanese demanding to know why they allowed Muri to go unaccompanied on a business trip. Both men looked nervously at each other then back to Takeo. “We were reassigned to a business associate who was in town for a week.” Takeo became very angry. “Who reassigned you? I was unaware of anyone coming into town and needing a security detail. You two were assigned to Muri and I want to know who authorized you to switch assignments.” One of the men nervously said that Jun Yamada switched their detail. He told Takeo that Jun, and his security team accompanied her on the business meeting.

  Takeo dismissed both men, and he would deal with Jun as soon as he returned. He was sure that his uncle was aware that Jun accompanied her and should have told him. As head of security, he should have been notified of any changes with security details. He picked up a cell phone and immediately dialed Jun. Jun answered the phone with a smug tone that irritated Takeo. “How can I help you, Takeo?”

  “I understand that you accompanied Muri on her business trip. I need to speak with her immediately.”

  “Let me see if my fiancé is available.” His fiancé? What the hell was he talking about? Takeo continued to try and maintain his composure, but it wasn’t working. “What the fuck are you talking about? Look, I don’t have time for games, I need to speak with Muri.” “Ri,” Jun said affectionately, “Takeo is on the phone for you.” “Hello?” Muri said in a giddy voice. “Muri, you need to come home immediately. Your father has taken a turn for the worse…” Takeo could hear the change in emotion in her voice. “What’s wrong Takeo? He seemed to be getting better when I left.” He could hear the panic in her voice and could hear Jun in the background asking what was wrong. Takeo continued, “You need to get home immediately, your sister is already with your father.” She began to cry and Jun retrieved the phone. “What is going on Takeo?” “You need to get her home immediately. Ken is not doing well,” was all he said before disconnecting the call. I will deal with Jun when I see him in person. And what the fuck did he mean his fiancé? Takeo thought in disgust.

  He needed to speak with his friend before going back to the hospital to be with Kiyomi. Takeo met his friend, Suri, at their favorite Saki bar and they sat and discussed what was happening lately at the company and Suri gave Takeo a USB pen with information on what his uncle, Yoshi, was up to. They had a few drinks and discussed what they needed to do moving forward to get their business. They left the bar and Takeo headed to the hospital to pick up Kiyomi.

  Takeo approached Kiyomi who was sitting in the hospital waiting. He could tell she had been crying because her eyes were red and swollen. He sat down beside her and grabbed her hand for comfort when what he really wanted to do was hold her and assure her that everything was going to work out.

  “How is your father?” he asked. She gave him a faint smile.

  “He’s resting. Have you located my sister?” she asked softly.

  His mood instantly changed and she noticed immediately.

  “What’s wrong with my sister?” she asked concerned.

  “Nothing is wrong with her. According to her fiancé, everything is just fine,” he said sarcastically.

  “Fiancé… Takeo what are you talking about? Who’s her fiancé?”

  “Apparently, Jun is,” he said angrily.

  “When did this happen?” she asked louder than she wanted.

  “I don’t know, but you can ask her as soon as she gets here. They were leaving Osaka and should be here in a few hours. We need to talk, but not here.”

  “I want to check in on my father, and we can talk
while we get something to eat. I’m hungry. Maybe we should ask Monica and Marco to join us; we will need to rethink our plan.”

  As they stood, Takeo looked at Kiyomi and smiled because he noticed the weight Kiyomi had put on; his baby was growing inside the woman he loved.

  Marco and Monica were already at the restaurant when Takeo and Kiyomi arrived. Kiyomi took note of their body language. They were very much in love and anyone looking at them could see it. Marco had planted another kiss on Monica’s lips unaware that Takeo and Kiyomi were approaching. “Uhh hum,” Takeo cleared his throat causing Marco and Monica to look up. Monica blushed but Marco looked at them unfazed by the interruption. Marco stood and shook Takeo’s hand as Kiyomi sat. She filled them in on what was going on with her father and the fact that he was going to the US. She was trying to decide if she should tell her father about Victoria before he goes to the US because it would not be a good situation if he found out from someone else. They ordered dinner and continued to discuss how they would handle the official announcement.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kiyomi needed to get back to the hospital to see her father and talk to her sister about her ridiculous engagement. Marco and Monica returned to the condominium while Takeo accompanied Kiyomi to the hospital. They arrived at the hospital shortly after Jun and Muri. Kiyomi noticed Jun as soon as she walked into the hospital. She immediately approached him.

  “Jun, what the hell do you think you are doing and what type of game are you and your father playing? You have never even dated my sister and now the two of you, are engaged. I know that you and your father are doing this to gain control of the company, but that is not going to happen. You can consider your engagement officially over.” She moved in closer to him and barely spoke above a whisper. “I cannot believe you, Jun. You used the fact that my sister has a schoolgirl crush on you to get her to agree to marry you. That is low even for you, Jun. I am disappointed in you. Our father is dying and you try to pull this stunt.”