The Fate of a Family

By K.C. Mitchell

This devastating, beautiful story continues in Book Three of The Tapestry Series as Brie’s charming life comes crashing to an end.
Brie is no longer the fearful girl she once was, but the last thing she expects is that she will have to endure unthinkable wounds on her own again. While Hazen would risk everything to save her, their vast geographical distance brings unspeakable devastation. A gripping and intimate journey that finds Brie and Hazen ripped apart just when they need each other the most.
A shattering yet realistic novel fraught with hardship, anxiety, and death, this heart-stopping epic story is emotionally charged and impossible to put down. This magnificent novel engages and mesmerizes the soul, echoing more like life than fiction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.C. Mitchell
• Release date: Apr 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215144954

Book preview

The Fate of a Family

image-placeholder

Book Three in The Tapestry Series

The Fate of a Family

image-placeholder

Book Three in The Tapestry Series

K.C. Mitchell

Copyright © 2021, 2024 K.C. Mitchell

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law or in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation to anyone bearing the same name or names. Any resemblance to individuals known or unknown to the author is purely coincidental.

Notes to Readers: This edition is the rebranded, revised edition of the original book.

Please be aware, this story contains themes of spousal abuse, rape, and their aftermath, including PTSD symptoms that could trigger certain audiences.

This book contains sexual content and is recommended only for mature readers eighteen and older.

Also By

image-placeholder

More Novels By K. C. Mitchell

The Tapestry Series:

The Tapestry of A. Taylor: An Inspiring Emotional Novel, Book One

The Weaving of a Warrior, Book Two

The Fate of a Family, Book Three

Other Books by K.C. Mitchell

till the Tide: A Novel of Awakening

Beneath a Tainted Sky: A Passionate Historical Affair

Coming Soon…

More Titles in The Tapestry Series:

The Woes of a Woman, Book Four

The Painting of a Portrait, Book Five

The Legacy of a Lady, Book Six

Contents

1.What Dreams May Come

2.So, This is Happily Ever After

3.Growing Pains

4.Isn’t This Exciting

5.All That Shines is Not Gold

6.Sealing the Ties that Bind

7.The Countdown

8.With a Heavy Heart

9.One Step in Front of the Other

10.Just Breathe

11.Unimaginable Loss

12.Baby Steps

13.Say What

14.Bombshell

15.I’m Outta Here

16.Take the Long Way Home

17.Anaya

18.Par for the Course, Sort of

From the Author

About the Author

Also By

Chapter one

What Dreams May Come

image-placeholder

Lying in the hammock, watching the sun as it melted over the horizon of our Atlanta penthouse condo, I relaxed with a glass of red wine. The breeze, ever-present at this level, kept the last heat of summer at bay. Comfortable after a long day at work, my daydreams wandered to all the days which brought me to this one.

Contemplating the series of events which led me here at this moment in time, I reflected on my life. If I had not left my first husband, Seth Taylor, vile as he was, I would not be lying here. I pondered this for a moment.

When I left Seth, literally running from our home out of fear in the middle of the night, I had no idea where I was going. If I had not ended up at Annie Mae’s and Poppa’s store looking for a job, I would not be here today.

If I had not gotten pregnant and kept Joshua despite my doctor trying to scheme him from me, I would not be sitting here. If Annie Mae had not mentored me and pushed me out of my stagnant emotional state by prompting me to work for her accountant, Rick Mallott, I would not be here. 

At present, I lay, relaxed and refined, because each of those decisions led me to Hazen Thatcher. Our journey together changed me in unimaginable ways.

Now, rather than a scared, destitute single mother with two children, I was wealthy beyond my wildest dreams. Hazen’s love and care for me and my two children had changed us in ways I didn’t know were possible before I met him. 

The people in my life, my precious friends, my chosen family, had proven over and over how they loved me unconditionally. They were each true and loyal friends I never wanted to live without. 

Our homes stretched from Atlanta to Africa and my ability to run this empire for my husband and his father, Carl, had amazed even me. These past two years of marital bliss helped me to grow into a role I could not have envisioned only a few years ago.

You need anything? Hazen peeked his head out of the sliding glass door to the balcony, where I lay lazily, soaking in the last rays of the sun.

You, I answered. His smile always made my heart glow. He was the most thoroughly loving person I had ever met.

Okay, he came toward me. I tried to slide over without upsetting the intricate balance of the hammock. Hazen stopped and looked down at me as I returned his gaze. You’re so beautiful. He whispered, which made me laugh out loud.

How many glasses of wine have you had? I teased.

If Joshua wasn’t here, I’d show you just how beautiful I think you are! Then he easily pulled me toward him and slid effortlessly beneath me, resting me over his hard, long body. I snuggled close into his warm embrace. It wasn’t cold, yet the breeze atop this high-rise gave the air a chill, but it was an excuse to get closer to the man I love.

Ah, this is nice, he moaned lowly. My response was only to nod. Hazen and I lay gazing at the sunset, snuggled in our hammock, contently quiet in our solitude. Neither feeling the need to fill the harmonious moment with words as we rocked slowly back and forth on the balcony. 

The soft fur on his chest tickled my cheek, and his long, flowing hair entangled with mine. Listening to his heartbeat soothed me and sleep called my name.

Alright, you two, George interrupted our nesting. After my divorce was final, I found George, who had been Seth’s butler. Seth had fired him upon my departure. Seth realized George and I had a good working relationship. Plus, he was privy to Seth’s destructive behavior, and he would never accept Seth’s story of Katie’s and my disappearance. 

For those reasons, he had replaced George. Once I found him, I hired him to manage my new life and to give him a much-earned, easier existence. His role in our family was more of a grandfatherly nature than that of an employee.

Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. He smiled knowingly and exited as quickly as he had entered.

Thanks, George, Hazen sleepily answered. I like him, he whispered after George closed the door.

Yes, I always liked him, plus he is a fabulous chef. We finally forced ourselves out of the comfortable position and made our way to the dining room.

Where’s Katie? I asked George as we were about to sit down.

She called and asked if she could stay at Emily’s house a little longer. I told her it was fine. The car is scheduled to pick her up at nine. George was a godsend to us. My schedule since I accepted my father-in-law’s offer to be his company’s chief financial officer, was demanding and often hectic. 

The responsibility of that, coupled with the constant charitable projects Hazen took on, kept me too busy to be completely in control of my children or household. Thankfully, George and Katie immediately rekindled the bond they had enjoyed when he was Seth's butler, and Josh warmed up to him as well.

George was thrilled when I contacted him to come to work for Hazen and me. He said he worried excessively about what had happened to us when Seth said we had died in order to hide the fact we ran away during the night. 

For the three years it took for all the details of the ordeal to come to the surface, George said he prayed nightly for God to protect us and provide for us. I told him God had done just that. Now, we all had formed one big family.

Often, we would have Annie Mae, Poppa, and Ezekiel over for dinner or Sunday lunch. George would cook the country-style meals Annie Mae and Poppa preferred and occasionally sneak in a healthier meal, which they seemed to love equally well.

When Hazen’s father was in town, George always made exquisite gourmet dinners for him. A talented chef, he could competently create a meal to anyone’s satisfaction. Life could not be any better. 

Even Seth, on the rare occasion he picked up Joshua directly from our home, was polite to George. Although George distrusted Seth’s new, happy temperament.

George, being homosexual himself, couldn’t fathom that Seth’s prior heartlessness could be caused by his double life, from his denial of his sexual orientation. Now that Seth had accepted his homosexuality, he was completely different.

George was the only person who did not accept that Seth’s transgressions towards me were caused strictly because of his personal misery. He continued to be skeptical towards Seth. Hazen and I agreed Seth had at least somewhat vindicated himself when he’d saved Hazen’s life at the lake that fateful day. Until we saw an additional reason to distrust Seth, we decided we would give him the benefit of the doubt.

Brie, Hazen began cautiously at dinner. This meant he was about to present an idea he wasn’t sure I’d go for. I know we haven’t been home long, and the kids have been back to school for only a few weeks, but I’d like to talk about where you might like for us to spend Christmas? I was thinking we could all go up to my dad’s place in Colorado. The kids could have ski lessons and you and I could take the mountains. 

I looked at Hazen with disinterest as we ate our dinner. His restless spirit often collided with my preference for enjoying our condo here. He barely got home from one excursion before he was planning the next.

Honestly, I haven’t given Christmas break much thought. I’m still exhausted from our summer trip to Africa. Do you think Nazario and Amara will be able to keep things going in Africa with all the chaos surrounding them? Hazen’s countenance became somber, which let me know he was just as worried about them as I was. 

Hazen had many charitable institutions set up in Africa, from homes for orphans to hospitals, churches, and schools. He had others around the world also, but for some reason, the continent drew me in.

The connection between Africa and me was strong, perhaps because it was our first place to venture outside of the United States together, or perhaps because we married there on Benguerra Island. Although I was not sure why, part of my heart stayed there every time we left.

In the past two years of marriage, Hazen had introduced me to many people around the world. Some of whom he provided financial assistance to and others who were only friends. 

Nazario and Amara were both. Hazen met them ten years ago on one of his trips to Africa. They had been missionaries there for about two years at the time and struggled daily. Theirs was a particularly troubled area, war-torn and stricken with poverty and disease. 

While the missionary board supported them, they were not able to provide for the entire village over which they were given charge. Nazario and Amara gave more of their own resources than they should have to give to those in need around them. As a result, they were perishing along with their inhabitants.

When Hazen happened upon them, his compassion pulled at his purse strings. He stayed with them for almost a year while he orchestrated many pursuits.

These included digging wells for fresh water, a medical clinic with doctors on rotation from the United States to service them, a make-shift school so they could begin educating the children, clothing for all in the village, along with food provisions to both help them eat daily, and to learn how to plant plenteous food for the next year. They built stronger huts to protect against the heat and sandstorms. 

Other necessities, such as sanitary products, dishes, shoes, medical supplies, vaccinations, and more, were provided. Hazen’s generosity had, no doubt, saved numerous lives and provided security these people had never known, just as he had done for my children and me.

Hazen’s undertaking had changed Nazario and Amara’s lifestyles overnight, and they were eternally grateful. After the village no longer had to struggle just to survive daily, their hearts were open to hearing God’s love. 

They marveled at how strangers could love them so much to waltz into their lives and provide so immensely for them. It created a hunger to know where such love originated. As a result, Nazario and Amara were able to establish a strong community of God-loving people and harmony they’d never known.

Well, I certainly hope so, was the only comment Hazen offered, noticeably disturbed by the angst his friend’s fate could entail. Hazen kept in contact with Nazario. Theirs was a brotherly relationship which each cherished.

I loved them as well but did not yet share the ten years of history they had with Hazen. Amara was always kind and friendly towards me, and we even confided in one another. Yet, somehow, she and I always seemed to be too busy to talk multiple times between visits, as Hazen and Nazario did. 

It was Hazen and Nazario's conversations which kept us abreast of the ongoing wars which grew exponentially around their village. As unimaginable as their world seemed to us, loving them the way we did made us worry about their safety.

As usual, dinner left no one wanting. Even Josh ate all his vegetables, thanks to George’s extra care to disguise them. I loved George eating with us, rather than in the kitchen, as he had done at Seth’s house. He deserved a family, and we were the closest thing he had to one.

Because I had distracted Hazen’s train of thought about Christmas, it was later in the evening before he brought it up again. Exhaustion had hit me. It had been a long day, a long week even, with all the catching up from not being present most of the summer. 

Of course, I worked remotely when we were abroad. Yet it was not the same as physically being here to iron out all the day-to-day issues which inevitably came up.

Hazen preferred to leave all the financial running of the corporation to me. Carl, Hazen’s very capable father, still enjoyed the hands-on authority of most other issues. 

Hazen kept abreast of everything. Yet he still much preferred to take care of changing the world, one charitable foundation at the time. His humanitarianism, as admirable as it was, created more work for Carl and me. This was the only issue Hazen and I sometimes differed on.

To him, it was a matter of spreading his wealth to help the world, a responsibility he felt we owed because of his family’s great fortune. 

As much as I appreciated Hazen’s heart, I sometimes grew overwhelmed with the constant increase of responsibility. There was the creating new foundations and ensuring proper personnel were hired to oversee them, setting up all the channels necessary to ensure the money flowed to the people who needed it and not to line another chairperson’s pockets. 

When I voiced my concerns to Hazen, he always quipped about how I should hire more people to help me. It just wasn’t that easy. 

So, my love, he began as we undressed for bed, about Christmas. I had my face away from him, so I rolled my eyes in retort to his ability to never let something go that was important to him. My emotions were all over the place because I was fatigued. 

From experience, I knew to keep my mouth shut when I felt this way or I would say something I would later regret. As we both slid between the Egyptian cotton sheets, I took a deep breath and as I let it out, I looked in his eyes.

Hazen, you are my whole life and I love you beyond measure, but I can’t make any more decisions today. My brain, I began to cry, pure exhaustion catching up with me.

Hey, hey, hey, Hazen cut me off and pulled me to his chest. No worries, my love. We’ll talk about it another day. What can I do to help you? He’d asked me this many times and my answer was always the same, nothing. This time, I only shook my head. 

I don’t accept that answer, Abriella. You have far too much on you. Can you please find a competent assistant, or better yet, an accomplished financial officer, who can take some of this off you?

I don’t even have the energy for this right now, Hazen, I sniffed.

Alright, my pet. Get some sleep and I’ll schedule a massage for you in the morning. No work! As I was about to interrupt him to tell him all I needed to do tomorrow, he placed his fingers over my lips and shushed me. I insist. There is nothing so pressing it can’t wait until Monday. 

With his fingers over my lips and his powerful torso over me as I lay there, something stirred deep within me. Yet the fog in my brain snuffed out any possibility of making love. Hazen, as if reading my mind, winked at me and kissed my forehead. 

You rest tonight because tomorrow night my manly demands will roar to be satisfied. We have not made love since our return and you will not neglect me for long, my sweet. He was trying to be amusing, but all I could do in return was smile.

His accent made everything he said sound sexy, even a pretend reprimand. Having grown up all over the world, it was indistinct to any one area but sounded more French than any other particular tongue.

I nodded, and he turned the lamp off and pulled me into his arms. Sliding my leg over his to pull in closer, I realized too late that his passion was stirred. He gently reached his hand down and pushed my leg to just below the evidence of his passion, and then he kissed the top of my head.

Knowing I affected him so obviously caused my insides to tighten. He was a magnificent man, strong and virile. His thick legs lay under my own, the same legs which had carried me many times. 

His long dark brown hair, now almost to his shoulder blades, tickled my face as I lay on his dense chest and the rise and fall of his breath hypnotized me. I reached my hand up to smooth his mane away, only to find the hair on his chest had the result of teasing my cheek. I breathed in the scent of him.

Since I’d first met Hazen, I’d been mesmerized by his unique manly aura, as if the very essence of him drew me in. His powerful arms wrapped around me as if I were a caterpillar and he my cocoon, keeping me sheltered from the world with all its misery. 

The contentment which filled me infiltrated all the way to my bones and I sank slowly into peaceful bliss, knowing he loved me.

Good night, my love, he whispered as he kissed the top of my head.

Chapter two

So, This is Happily Ever After

image-placeholder

The next morning, I snuck out of bed earlier than normal to get to the office as soon as possible. The last thing I wanted was to disagree with Hazen early in the day. 

If I ignored all my responsibilities at work, I would only internalize more pressure on myself. Then I’d never be able to relax on a massage bed. Hazen would be upset, but once I explained I was doing all I’m doing for his and Carl’s benefit, how could he stay upset? 

My observation was incorrect.

My phone rang several times once I got to the office. So, I put it on do not disturb, to avoid being interrupted while cataloging the spreadsheets. It was tedious work without interruptions and impossible with them.

At lunchtime, when I looked up from my work, I saw Hazen walking up the hall, looking none too happy. Standing, I stretched out my neck as he walked in the door. Expecting