Loving Madeline

Madeline's POV

"Hello, Madeline and Gina, welcome to my estate," a handsome man in his late twenties or early thirties greeted us with a beautiful smile on his face while Gina and I were standing in the living room with mouths agape.

"You are my grandpa's Fri-friend?" I stuttered as I looked at him, and his grin broadened.

​ "Yeah, why do you look so shocked, Maddie?" He asked, and I felt a little embarrassed.

"You are so young," I mumbled, and I wanted to add hot and handsome, but I kept it to myself since I didn't want him to think I was flirting with him.

"Ha! Ha! Do you think I am old?" He asked, and I could see the amusement on his face as he looked at me.

"My name is Dean, and my grandfather is David Richester, who happens to be your grandpa's best friend." She replied.

"Oh, I am sorry; I assumed immediately you were my grandpa's best friend," I responded as I felt shy.

"It was okay, Madeline; I love Hector; he is one of my favorite people in this world," Dean replied, and I smiled at him.

"When can I see your grandfather?" I asked.

"I regret to inform you, but he was out of the country." He replied, and my face fell.

"Hey, don't look sad, Maddie; even if my grandpa is not around, I will still be the person you wanted to see since he left everything to me concerning his security team." He declared.

"I am the eldest among his grandchildren, and they all expected me to follow in his footsteps; that is the reason why at an early age, I had learned so much from running the company before I could ever graduate from college," Dean added.

"He told me you, Hector Grant asked for his help, and he assigned me to assist you." He continued, and I couldn't stop from having doubts.

"Hey, don't look at me that way, Maddie; believe me, I've got talents and skills, or else my grandpa will never trust me to be with you," Dean stated.

"I am sorry, Dean, for having uncertainties," I replied.

"Of course, I understand, Madeline," he said, and I smiled at him.

"Thank you, but I really need your help," I answered.

"Please, ladies, follow me to my grandpa's study." He said as he loosened his navy blue necktie.

We were following behind him in silence, and I could tell Gina wanted to say something, but he kept her mouth shut as he looked at Dean Richester's back.

We heard of the Richesters before but never got the chance to know them since they belonged to the elite society, and their family is one of the richest in the country.

"Please have a seat, and I wanted to speak with the two of you about the initial plan I made after I talked to your grandpa, and he told me about your brilliant idea, which I considered could be dangerous for both of you." He said right away as he stood in front of us, and he was towering over us.

David's grandson is not only handsome, but he is so tall and looked so charming and friendly. He has his own charisma, and I could tell he made women cry.

"Do you have any idea what we should do during the funeral?" I asked.

"Well, we must do the original plan, which is to surprise your father-in-law; if he was the reason for his son's death, even if it was unintentional, I could tell he would be a little distracted, but since Clark was a wicked person, I am certain, already planned everything," Dean said as he combed his sleek dark hair with his fingers.

"I could tell your husband's father was waiting for you to come since he knew your personality. He can read your mind, Madeline, and I know Clark Divenson would think you will never listen to his son, and you will still attend the funeral of his youngest son and daughter-in-law." He added, and I couldn't stop feeling nervous.

"You don't need to worry, we will double the security, but we will make sure no one will get hurt, and don't think my men and Hector's men abandoned you when there is no rescue right away; we need to bait Clark, Madeline," Dean stated.

"Okay, what are we going to do?" I asked.

"Just follow the order of his men," he replied.

"What if his men will shoot Madeline or me?" Gina asked, and he looked at my best friend and me before he spoke calmly.

"That is why you needed to be alert at all times, but I am sure Clark will be cautious in my assessment; he will make his move after his son's burial. He is not that stupid to ruin his own son's funeral. According to my source, your father-in-law was in pain of losing Parker," He responded.

"I think it would be best if Gina would show up first, and you should come out at the cemetery, Madeline." He said.

"But I wanted to attend the funeral service and see Parker and Rebecca for the last time. Do you think we can come at the same time?" I asked, and I could see that he was deliberating what I had said.

"Well, it would be possible, but your plan would create a commotion. I guess you wanted to give your husband's brother a perfect funeral, and to do that, I think you should not make a scene and ask Gina to stay in the car the entire funeral service." He responded.

"I think Clark will make his plan after he laid his son to rest. He won't make a move in front of many people and his friends, and we are not even sure if he had a change of heart; who knows, he wanted to see you and be a good father to you." He said, and I half laughed.

"No, it will never happen, Dean, Clark is evil, and his daughter Charlotte is his right hand, and we don't know what they are scheming right now as they wait for the funeral," I responded.

"Okay, so let us assume Clark is planning to hurt you, we will tackle that issue for the rest of the day, and tomorrow, I will brief you on what you should do the moment his men take you." Dean declared.

"What if he shoots me on the spot?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Don't worry, before Clark's man can shoot you, he will be dead," he said with confidence, and I felt relieved by his promise even if I knew this was my choice and I could get hurt along the process.

"Madeline, your grandpa, paid a reasonable

amount of money for your safety so that you can attend the funeral, and you don't need to fear." He said.

"Your things are already in your assigned room; I asked the maid to prepare two rooms for you," he added.

"Thank you for everything, Dean, but can we share the same room?" I asked, and he smiled at us.

"Sure! Whatever you want. You are really best friends. I will ask one of the household staff to bring Gina's suitcase to your room." He replied.

"Thank you again," I replied.

"You are welcome." He said.

After our meeting, Dean brought us to our room, and Gina and I spent the rest of the afternoon talking about the possibility of being caught, but we were both hopeful our plan would work out.

The day of the funeral came. It was still early, but we were getting ready in our room when Dean came together with the professional makeup artist and the one who would help us with our plan.

It was still early, and I didn't want us to be late since I was sure I would get extra attention if I got inside the church late.

"Wow! I couldn't believe something like this was possible?" Gina said after she looked at her reflection in the mirror, and when Dean returned to our room, I could see the surprised look on his face as his eyes scrutinized Gina and me.

"I am out of words to describe you girls; you both looked amazing; sadly, you were attending a funeral; I wished I had met you in different circumstances," Dean said as he looked me in the eyes.

"Yeah, me too; I hope the same thing," I replied, and he motioned us to follow him outside the room, and I couldn't stop from feeling nervous as I darted a glance at my best friend and I gave her a beautiful smile letting her know everything will be alright.

I didn't expect Dean would be driving our service vehicle, and I sat beside him in front of his car.

"Nice ride," I said, and he chuckled.

"This car is nothing to your new baby; I heard your grandpa wanted to give you the most expensive car this world can offer," he replied, and I couldn't stop grinning as I remembered my reaction when I received my grandpa's gift.

I didn't intend to get upset, but it was too much, and I apologized to Hector Grant after initially refusing that expensive present. My grandpa told me he worked hard every single day of his life, hoping one day he could make his only grandchild happy, and my grandfather didn't expect giving me that car would make me upset, and he became more proud of me.

"Are you ready?" Dean asked after he parked his black SUV at the church parking lot.

As I looked around, I could see expensive vehicles around us, and I couldn't stop feeling anxious as I nodded my head, thinking I would be seeing Hunter's father, my forever enemy. The man who plotted to kill me numerous times, and I am determined to stop his craziness, whatever it takes, so my family could finally have peace.