Eventually, the electric gates opened, and the limo drove through. It seemed to take forever for the car to pull up the drive. As the car got closer, I left the study and headed back to the living room. I wasn’t sure how our conversation was going to go down. I was worried. Edward, though—it took a lot to rattle him. I was sure that he would be calm about the whole thing. If he had any worries at all, he wouldn’t let me see it. He never wanted me to worry about anything, and he would always downplay stressful situations. Sometimes he would dismiss them altogether. I could see the front door from where I stood. The door swung open and Edward emerged.
“Hi, honey,” Edward said.
“Edward, what in heaven’s name is going on? I have been worried sick!” I said.
“It’s all a big misunderstanding, and I can explain,” Edward replied.
“A big misunderstanding—are you kidding me!” I said.
“Honey, please calm down,” Edward said.
“Calm down—are you, serious right now? With everything that’s happened, you want me to calm down? I’m no fool, Edward, so please don’t be dismissive like you always are and just be honest with me. I’m not naive, I know the amount of money you make and everything else that you’ve accomplished doesn’t come without cutting corners. But these charges, Edward, this is a lot for me to handle.”
“Okay, honey,” Edward said calmly.
“So, are we going to discuss this?” I asked.
“How are the kids, are they home?” Edward asked.
“Jonny is here, but Carlie will be on the first flight from Connecticut Saturday morning. I have spoken to them, and they just want to know what’s going on. It’s all over the news, and people are asking them questions,” I replied.
“Okay, let’s sit down and talk about this,” said Edward.
***
Edward was more forthcoming than he had ever been, explaining that not all the charges were true. He said the kidnapping, murder, and assassination conspiracy charges were false, and that the High Court was desperate to pin something on him that would stick. As for the narcotics charge, Edward explained that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. He said that Edom Group’s pharmaceutical division was involved in the distribution of prescription drugs that weren’t approved by the NFDA. The NFDA wanted to tax everything sold in the Nations. Edom Pharmaceuticals branding and purposely mislabelling illegal drugs in an effort to mislead the NFDA hadn’t gone down well.
I’m not even sure how Edward and his people had managed to pull this off to begin with. Surely it would have been extremely difficult to keep this under wraps—I mean, this stuff was on pharmacy shelves all over the Nations. Edward came clean, about the other charges as well. He said he was very sorry for everything he had put me through and wished he could do things differently. What was I to do? I loved him. He was a great husband and father, and I wasn’t going to leave him in a time of trouble. I’ve always had my suspicions, and I could have left him long ago. I didn’t leave then, and I’m not leaving now.
“Edward, you should have trusted me enough to tell me things, you know,” I said.
“I know, honey. Things had gotten complicated with business over the years, and I just didn’t want to involve you in any of it. Also, I wasn’t exactly proud of everything that was going on,” Edward replied.
“What happens if you somehow manage to beat all the charges, are you going to put a stop to all the illegal stuff?” I asked.
“It’s not that straightforward, Laura. For the illegal stuff, I just can’t stop. I will have to hand that side of the business over to someone else, and that takes time. But yes, I will put a stop to it soon. I don’t want to ever put my family through this again,” Edward replied.
I trusted Edward would take care of everything. He always had a way of figuring things out, he was very good at that. The anxiety had subsided a bit now. Edward and I spoke at length about how we were going to move forward. He would be holding a press conference, during which he would declare his innocence.
Chapter 9
Port of Miami
Where: Port of Miami
When: 1330 hours, Wednesday, August 16, 1995
Currency: US Dollar
La Ambición docked at the port of Miami on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 16, 1995. One of the security officers came to Guillermo’s living quarters to tell them they had arrived in Miami and the ship had docked. They were told the US port authorities would need to board the vessel to do routine checks. Guillermo, his family, and the man that was sharing the living quarters with them were instructed to follow the armed officer.
They were escorted to the part of the ship where all the containers were stored. Within the stacks was a marked container located amongst many others like it. The huge orange container had the numbers 4377 etched on the front, the back, and the sides. It was showing signs of age with visible patches of rust that had developed from prolonged exposure to sea water. Across the top of the container were several ventilation holes that were barely noticeable at first glance. The tiny holes would allow airflow and tiny rays of light into the container. In the middle of the top of the container was a silent fan that was connected to a large truck battery. The battery was tucked away safely in a wooden box attached to the back
