Chapter 81: Good Deed

The celebrations began later in the afternoon. The shop was packed with paintings and people and the merchandise was quickly being purchased by different customers.

Sharon's paintings were selling much more quickly than the others because they were more appealing. After the last encounter with Addicus, Sharon was filled up with all sorts of negative and positive emotions, and she poured them into her art, which gave it a renewed and revitalized artistic touch, one that people noticed in the paintings.

All of Victoria's friends were present, including Julio and Juanita and, of course, her boyfriend, Pedro.

Victoria ran off to them when they all walked in and gave them all hugs.

"You guys made it!" She said in excitement.

"Of course we did," Julio said.

"We wouldn't miss it for anything," Juanita added.

"Hola, Papi." Victoria seductively to Pedro and kissed him.

"Well, well, well! Even after two months, I still can't believe that you two finally got together. I thought it would never happen," Sharon said as she got closer.

"He finally came to his senses," Victoria said to Sharon, as she teased Pedro.

"I was blind, but now I see," Pedro said and smiled at her.

"Sharon! It's been so long," Juanita said, and hugged her.

"Juanita, Julio. It's so good to see you again. You two still dancing?" Sharon asked.

"Of course we are. Nothing's going to stop us from doing what makes us happy," Julio said.

"That's great. I'm so happy to hear that," Sharon said with a smile.

"You'll be even happier when they dance today, here at this party," Victoria informed them.

"What? Are both of you dancing here? When's that happening?"

Julio and Juanita looked over their shoulders and saw Hector signaling them.

"Right now, it seems," Julio said, and he and Juanita ran off to go get started.

"I've never seen them dance before, I've only heard that they were really good," Sharon said to Victoria and Pedro.

"You would have seen them a long time ago, but you were always cooked up inside and never went out with us after the first time we took you to El Palacio," Victoria reminded her.

"Well, you're going to see them do it now and, for the record, they are not really good. They're amazing." Pedro said, and they stopped talking so they could watch the dance that was about to begin.

"Buenos Noches, everyone! Welcome to the grand reopening of **Imaginación** Art Shop. I'm Hector, the proud owner and CEO of this establishment and I welcome you all. For your entertainment pleasure this afternoon, I present to you the dancing duo of Julio and Juanita."

Julio and Juanita stood in the middle of the shop. Everyone stood around them, forming a circle with them in it. The music started playing, and the twins began dancing.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, and they flowed to the rhythm of the music, lost in the tunes and the melody. Their dancing was fast-paced yet graceful. They blended multiple dance moves into one amazing choreography.

The crowd in the shop were all blown away by their style and artistry, and they all burst into applause after the dance was over.

"Bravo! Bravo! Everyone, please put your hands together, one more time, for Julio and Juanita." Hector asked.

The roar of applause was deafening as the twins walked off the platform and went back into the crowd to speak to their friends.

"Oh, my God! That was... incredible." Sharon said to them and gave them both quick hugs.

"Thanks, Sharon!" Juanita said.

"Why would your parents not want the two of you dancing?" Sharon asked.

"They're traditional. They believe in school and formal education and all that, but we don't," Julio said.

"That's right! We can use our skills to be successful. We're already booking shows and making good, decent money," Juanita added.

Sharon and Victoria nodded in approval, and they all laughed, chatting and remembering old times.

***Just then, a weird group of three men, all dressed in black suits came walking into the shop. They looked quite dangerous and immediately Sharon saw them, she wasn't at ease anymore.***

They caught sight of Sharon and walked over to her.

"Are you Sharon Thompson?" One of the men asked her.

"Who wishes to know?" Peter said from behind her, Chris by his side.

"I was sent to find you by my boss, Mr Addicus James Worthington,"

Sharon's breath suddenly became shaky. *The time of happiness was finally and inevitably over.*

They didn't want to make a scene in the shop filled with customers, so Hector decided to end the party and close early so they could hear what the messengers of Addicus had to say.

"Sorry, everyone, but unfortunately, we have to close up early, so the party is over. Please, excuse us."

They all grumbled in disappointment and all left the shop, "Victoria, what's going on?" Julio asked, as they were also asked to leave.

Victoria didn't want to lie to them, but she also didn't want to involve them with Addicus, so she promised that she would explain later and they left.

Pedro already knew about everything so he stayed behind. The shop was now finally empty but for the people in it. Peter walked cautiously and stood in front of the three men.

"Normally, I'd throw all three of you out of this shop with bullets in your heads, but you look like you didn't come here to fight. So, say what your boss sent you to say and get the hell out," Peter said to them, without an atom of happiness on his face.

"My name is Will, and I'm the head of security of Mr Addicus. My boss wishes to have a meeting with Miss Sharon at a neutral location of her choosing. He wants this to happen soon."

"And why does he wish to have this meeting with her?" Chris asked.

"He wants to make peace; to call a truce and to put an end to all this bloodshed. He's even willing to give back the land he stole from your family and wants you to sign the deed that will give you back the ownership," Will said.

This news didn't feel true to Sharon. Why would Addicus suddenly want a truce? Even go as far as to give her back her father's land. It had to be a trick to lure them out and kill them all, she thought.

"Do you think we're stupid? You're going to have to do a much better job at trying to lure us into a trap." Sharon said to Will.

"My boss thought that you would not believe what I say, so he gave me something to convince you," Will said, and reached into his jacket.

Chris suspected it to be a weapon. He pulled out his gun and so did Peter and Hector. The other two goons also took out their guns and there was a standoff.

"Everyone, relax! My weapon is on the other side of my jacket," Will said, and showed them his weapon on the opposite side he was reaching for.

He pulled out what he had in his jacket and handed it to Sharon. She took it from him and unwrapped it. It was her drawing book with her parents' picture inside it.

"How did...?" Sharon was about to ask how it came into Addicus' possession.

"The boss found it after he attacked you at the cottage and now, he's giving it back as an olive branch, a symbol of his honesty in calling a truce," Will told her, "This is my number. Call me when you decide on a time and place for the meeting," he said while handing her a small card.

"Is that all you have to say to her?" Hector asked the man.

He nodded affirmatively.

"Good! Now that you're done, get the hell out of my shop."

The men slowly backed out of the shop, got into their car and drove away.

Sharon sat down and stared at the card with the number on it. Victoria sat down beside her and held her hands.

"We can't trust them!" Hector said to the guys.

"You're right, Hector. It has to be some sort of trick," Chris said in agreement.

"If he thinks that we're stupid enough to fall for his lies, then he's sadly mistaken," Peter said as well.

"So, what do we do?" Pedro asked them, wanting to help however he could.

"We do nothing! We stay where we are and don't let him bait us out just so he can finish us off," Hector said, and all the men nodded.

"No!" Sharon suddenly said, "We'll go to this meeting. We call him up and set a time and place. If he really brings the deed to my father's land, I'll sign it and take back what's mine and then, we'll use that opportunity to kill him, once and for all," Sharon said, without looking at them.

Peter went to her and bent down to look into her eyes.

"Are you sure about this? You remember what happened the last time you tried to kill him."

"I'm sure!"

***Author's Note: Here we go again! Another chapter, another plot. What are Addicus' true intentions?***