Dereck's Pov:

"Will you stand up there with me please?" Vin asked as we watched the fifty or so member's from print, radio and TV news affiliates come in and take seats. It was kind of crazy.

I caressed his cheek. "You don't even need to ask. I'm with you. Now let's get up there and get your drama wh*re on." I teased to lighten his mood.

He gave me a quick hard kiss and we walked over to the make shift little stage that had a little podium with microphone on it.

"Good afternoon. Let me just start off by expressing my appreciation that you gave us a few days to grieve in private. I ask that you all please hold any questions you may have until the end as I may have already planned on answering them.

As you all can imagine this has been devastating to my family. At the end of this I have an announcement to make but I'd like to give you all some background information before I proceed with that.

About a year ago I walked in on my father beating my sister. I got in and yes we exchanged blows when he tried to keep me from helping her up. You see he'd beaten her so badly that she couldn't even stand. I'm sure your wondering why? Simply because she told him she was a lesbian. My father and I had words and that night I moved out. I hadn't spoken to my parents since that night. Until some months ago when I was summoned down to the family's attorney, he demanded I sign a nondisclosure and long story short I made some very inappropriate comments about what he could do with that. The following night Peter and my mother came to my house.

I'm not going to lie. I taunted him, I rubbed it in his face that not only was his daughter a lesbian but I was also gay and proud of the fact that I'm in love with Dereck. Again long story short, he became violent and yeah I'm not gonna lie so did I.

You see, I'd spent months pissed that he'd hurt my sister and then he had the audacity to show up at my house and hit Dereck. So yeah we fought and Dereck intervened and got him... lets say settled down. Anyway I dragged his worthless self outside and in true Peter fashion he decided he needed to use a gay punching bag. Unfortunately for him things went differently then they did when he tried that with my sister.

I walked back in to see my mom and Dereck on the couch having a heart to heart. I was short and basically told her to get out because in my mind he was just as bad as him. She didn't stop him either time and didn't say a word to dispute what he declared. At that time I had no idea that she'd been my dad's punching bag for almost 17 years.

I froze her out for a while and I'll regret that as long as I live because that would have given me extra time with an incredibly strong and resilient woman. Sure she made mistakes. Everyone does but in her own way she protected us from him for years.

She hid the beatings he gave her, tried everything she could to be his perfect wife. As we all know the problem lies with the abuser and not the abused. He broke her, isolated her and made her doubt her own worth as a human being. To him she was just another piece of furniture he acquired, she had no freedoms or rights.

She hid it from my sister and I so that we didn't have to know that, that monster was our father. She hid it from everyone around her because she was terrified no one would believe her and because he was such a powerful man with even more powerful connections. She was afraid of him and felt she had no where to go. She'd spent almost her entire life with that man and didn't know any other way.

Thankfully that heart to heart she had with Dereck helped set her free. He gave her the courage to stand up for herself. And because of that she was free and truly happy her last months. She was slowly but surely getting back to the woman she was before Peter broke her down.

Now that I've given you a little back story I'll answer the questions that have been on your mind and that you kept hounding me about.

I will not be attending the majority of the trial. I'm still a senior and have the next three and a half months to get through so I need to be at school. Plus I really don't want to even look at that man. Put yourself in my shoes, would you be able to sit in a court room and listen to the monster that beat your mother to death defend himself? However I will be there when they announce sentencing and yeah I have absolute faith he'll be convicted and given the harshest punishment.

I know you're all wondering how I can be so sure and as to that I can say there is a mountain of evidence against him and I found my mom's medical history at her condo and have turned that in to the DA. Other then that I really cant comment on the specifics of the case until it's closed.

You've asked who found the body and no it wasn't me. It was my sister which has affected her greatly. So I hope you can all understand why she just wants to be left alone to deal with all this. From now on any and all questions you have may be asked to me or preferably my account's manager. His name is Martin and he'll come up to give you some information at the end of this.

As it stands my mother was the main holder of the Ford empire. Seems like my grandpa had little faith in his son. I always knew grandpa Ford was a smart man. Along with that she's the only beneficiary for the Benidict's holdings. As soon as my mother filed for the divorce she also contacted her lawyer and had her will changed. Peter was obviously taken off of it and my sister and myself are the chief beneficiaries, however a very substantial amount of her estate will be given to numerous charities that she was on the board of.

I have no interest in taking up my father's position as CEO of Ford Inc. In fact I have no interest in the company at all and have decided to sell it. Negotiations are already in the works. If it wasn't for my concern about the 25,000 people employeed by us I'd level the place and burn it to the ground. However those people we employee don't deserve to be jobless and worry about feeding their family. So as part of the negotiations all 25,000 positions are guaranteed to be kept for the next two years.

Anyway on to the main reason for this little tete a tete. My sister and I have decided to set up a Charity in honor of our mother. This charity will focus on battered women and children. I plan on opening five here in Texas. Our focus is to be their safe harbor as well as helping them get the training or education they need to get a decent job so they can provide for themselves and their children. As well as food, clothing and help finding suitable housing when that time comes. We're gonna offer free counseling and medical care as well as legal council.

I want these women to have the opportunity my mother never had. A clean fresh start. I realize this is a huge undertaking and it seems naive that an 18 year old can accomplish this. However I'm not your regular 18 year old and this matter is very dear to my heart. I'll make damn sure this is done and done well. I've already hired a very great team and am in the process of reviewing sites for our first location. Which of course will be here in town. My sister and I are very dedicated to this and my incredible boyfriend has donated a very substantial amount to our cause.

We'll be hosting a Charity ball with the works in about three months time to gain more awareness and of course the more money the better. In the mean time any and all donations should be directed to Martin my account's manager. All the money we gain in the next three months coupled with whatever we make the night of the Charity Gala will be matched by both my sister and myself. So if we raise six million my sister and I will add an addition tweleve to it. On top of which all money gained from the sale of Ford Inc will go straight to the charity.

Domestic violence is serious. No one knows this more then my family. I've been blessed enough to have the ability to gain awareness for this and to do something so less women and children end up like my mother.

Thank you and if you have any questions I didn't answer now's your time to ask."

I gave his hand a little squeeze and whispered. "You did very well Vin. She'd be so proud of you."

Hands went up and he indicated one. "Vincent what about the money in your father's personal accounts? Are you planning on going after that also?"

Vin smirked. "I have to wait until the guilty verdict is passed, which it will be and then I'm going to file a civil suit and take every last dime he has. Of course all that will go into 'Veronica's Safe Haven' and the proceeding four we plan on opening across the state."

"Vincent that is incredible it really is but aren't you worried that you may be taking on too much. You're young and young people have a... forgive the offense but tendency to be taken advantage of."

"No offense taken. That is a reasonable question and it has a simple answer. I'm not like most young people. Since the time I basically took my first breath I've been taught the 'business' My grandparents were amazing and taught me everything they knew. I've hired the best of the best and will have auditors and accountants combing through all transactions to make sure they're legit and no one in the charity is trying to swindle us. If something like that did come up I'd make sure to have them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"That seems like that'd take a large amount of money, will that be coming from the charity itself or are you going to foot the bill?"

"No that is all coming out of my money not the charity. Veronica's Safe Haven's money is deigned specifically for what I outlined earlier."

"Is it true you went from a little over 15 million to several billion net worth? You're now considered one of the richest people not only on America but world wide. Especially at your age."

"That is a bit of a stretch I'm no where near that flush and even if I was I plan on donating a very sizable portion to Charities and a few other things that Dereck and I have thought about that would benefit the people we're trying to help. Such as housing developments where the people leaving our facilities can move into for very little cost, which would be mainly to cover part of the utilities. We're very serious about dedicating whatever is needed to help victims of domestic violence move forward and live healthy happy lives."

"You speak as if you and Dereck are married. Haven't you been dating less then a year, in fact only some months. It seems premature to include him in planning when you could split up before you graduate."

My mouth dropped open but Vin laughed. "Thank you for that, I've needed a good laugh for a while now. SO instead of telling you to go f*ck yourself for that little comment I'll be nice and actually answer. I know Dereck and I both speak like we're a married couple but no that is not because we're dating. It's something we've always done. We've been literally inseparable since our crib days and honestly I don't plan on that ending until one of us kicks the bucket. When we're really old and I'm hoping it's from a Viagra overdose. Simply put he's my past, present and future."

"Dereck? Is he implying that there may be wedding bells in the near future?"

I rolled my eyes but smiled when Vin leaned over and kissed my temple. "No unfortunately gay marriage is not legal here in Texas but even if it was that's still a step that's a good distance in the future. At least a couple of years."

Vin chuckled. "Yeah there isn't any rush. Neither one of us are going anywhere and it's not like we can knock each other up. However don't be suprised if you hear about a civil union or commitment ceremony by the time we finish college. Just sayin"

"Are you worried you're sexual preference will deter would-be donors to your charity?"

"Not at all. If they're that closed minded and bigoted then I have no use for them or their money. However I'd like to think the vast majority of people aren't that closed minded."

"So what are your plans after you graduate or are you planning on living a life of leisure?"

Vin shook his head. "No a life of leisure holds absolutely no appeal for me. However my personal plans for the future are not up for discussion. I think I've humored you all long enough but as the questions have veered away from the important topics I'll have to just say thank you all for your time and patients and I look forward to working with you again in regards to Veronica's Safe Haven. Good evening and now Martin will come up and give you all the pertinent information about donations and the current details for the charity gala. See you all in three months."

We walked down and each shook hands with Martin. He'd been Veronica's account manager and was a very nice guy. He walked up and began speaking.

Vin and I walked out hand and hand and I pulled him into a kiss. "You did very well and I'm very proud you resisted the urge to tell that guy to go f*ck himself. Awe my baby's growing up. You're such a big boy now." I cooed patting his cheek.

He nipped my finger and wagged his brows. "I can show you just how much of a big boy I am." He cooed back.

"Mmm hmm lets get your hormonal ass home and see about that." I said against his lips.

He pulled back and began walking again. "Let's go we have school tomorrow and I have a feeling it's gonna be a long..hard night."

"Have I every told you how charming you are?" I asked sarcastically.

He just smirked. "Nah just how amazing I am, or how amazing and tight I feel"

We got in his truck and I bit my lip against a smile. "Ya know I'm just gonna start being mute when we have sex."

His grin got even wider and he ran his hand along my thigh. "You know you really shouldn't have said that. You know how much I love a challenge and how competitive I am. Yep it's looking like a long, hard and if I have my way very vocal night baby."

I gulped hard and grinned. "Bring it on big boy"

He slapped his hands together. "Looks like we're gonna play a game of 'how long' I give it ten minutes before you're moaning your head off."

"Don't talk about it be about it." I taunted smirking at his lust filled look.