In Young Hollywood, Episode 3: Doctor Uncle, revenge takes a backseat when a tragic accident, puts gifted surgeon, Adrian Banovic at a crossroad. His goal is to protect his niece’s reputation at any cost.

The History

Six years ago, Adrian Banovic disappeared, leaving his family to fear the worst. Upon the death of their father, his brother, Robin Banovic discovered that their father had hired a detective to find Adrian. One month later, the detective turns up dead.

Robin, decides to hire his own detective, who suffered the same fate. Before the trail of dead bodies could lead Robin to Adrian, the trail gets cold.

Kevin, Robin’s eldest son, is the only person who knows Adrian’s whereabouts, but he isn’t talking.

Previously… (in FPS 5: Bad Uncle)

When Kevin’s lifestyle puts innocent L’Wren in danger, his retaliation brings his ruthless uncle, Adrian out from the shadows and into a world of trouble.

“You got any kids?” Adriana asked.

“No, why? Look up.” Adrian Banovic shined his pen-light into her eyes.

“How come you’re so nice to me and mean to everyone else?”

“Look down. I like you, you remind me of my niece.”

“What’s she like?” Adriana’s eyes lit up with curiosity.

“Follow my pen without turning your head.” He held the pen in front of her face and slowly moved it from right to left. “She’s your age. Feisty as hell, don’t take shit from anybody. If she wants something she goes after it and nothing can stop her,” pride filled his voice.

“You must really love her.”

“There’s nothing I won’t do for her.”

There was a brief pause between them and Adriana picked up on his sadness.

“What’s her name?”

“Monkey.” He said quickly, “Got any headaches?”

Adriana laughed. “That’s not a name. Just a little.”

“I used to call her that. How’s your vision, blurry? Clear?”

“Clear. Why’d you call her that?”

“When she was a little girl, she used to climb up my arm like a monkey.” He searched her face to see if the memory of their time together registered. It did not.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s um, she’s out there, somewhere.”

“Why don’t you find her?”

“You ask too many questions. Get some rest, I’ll check on you in the morning.”

“Is my dad coming tonight?”

“Yeah, he’ll be here soon.”

“I want to wait up for him.”

“Okay, but keep your eyes closed, they’re very sensitive.”

Adrian turned down the lights in her room and paused to look at her. He longed to kiss his niece on her head the way he did when she was little. To her, he was just her ill-mannered doctor. A role he was willing to accept if it meant that she would be spared the pain of remembering the horrible night that brought her to this place, or that he left without saying goodbye so many years ago.

“What’s the deal?” Kevin Banovic asked the moment Adrian closed the door to Adriana’s room.

“Still the same, but her physical injuries are healing nicely.” Adrian replied.

“Tell me again why jogging her memory is not a good idea.” Kevin pressed.

Adrian quickly looked down the empty corridor, opened a janitor’s closet and pushed Kevin inside, he followed and closed the door behind them.

“Because, nephew, the truth might be too much for her to take.”

“She’s stronger than you think.” Kevin challenged.

“If she can’t remember, she can’t be charged. Now trust me on this.”

“The last time I trusted you, I killed someone.” Kevin whispered through clinched jaw.

“Two people, but who’s counting.” Adrian smiled, triumphantly.

“You’re the devil, Adrian.”

“I’ve been called worse. Those idiots had it coming. Frankly, I don’t see the problem.”

“Human life may mean nothing to you, but it does to me!”

“Kevin, you’re the best enforcer I have on my payroll, it was time for you to graduate. You killed the man who tried to rape your fifteen-year-old sister. Save the guilt for the laundry list of secrets you’re keeping from your girlfriend.”

“Don’t even mention L’Wren. Don’t bring her into this!”

Adrian rolled his eyes, “Are you still pissed about the kidnapping thing? It was a joke, I just wanted to see how far you’d go to save her.”

“I appreciate that you’re here for Adriana and all, but as soon as she’s better, you need to get the hell out of town and away from my family.”

“That all depends on you, Grasshopper.” Adrian smirked.

“I don’t work for you anymore.” Kevin spat.

“We’ll see.” Adrian let himself out and headed down the corridor.

“Adrian!” Robin Banovic called after his brother, stopping him in his tracks. “How is she?”

“Her eyes are still very sensitive, they’ll probably be that way for a while.”

“When will she start to remember?”

Adrian could see hope in his brother’s eye. “I don’t know, just be patient okay?”

“I’d like to get a copy of her records.”

“Why?”

“I’m suing the car company.”

Adrian led Robin into the nearby break room. “What’s going on with you?”

“The vehicle was obviously unsafe. My little girl practically cracked her scull on the dashboard. What happened to the airbags?”

Adrian sat opposite him, “Look, I know that you have a lot of questions, but suing the car manufacturer is not going to give you any answers.”

“You didn’t almost lose your daughter, Adrian!” Robin snapped.

Adrian paused to let the hurt sink in, “I almost lost my niece.”

“I’m sorry.”

Adrian couldn’t bring himself to tell his brother that Adriana was the one driving the vehicle that caused the crash that killed Reece Kincaid, the passenger. He couldn’t bring himself to tell his brother that his little girl had drugs in her system when it happened. All he knew was that he had to find a way to make sure that Robin didn’t file the suit. The investigation alone would be a nightmare.

“They’ve set up a cot for you in her room, you don’t have to sleep on the chair anymore.” Adrian got up and walked toward the door.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and let himself out. As soon as he entered the corridor someone called out his name.

“Adrian!”

“What now?” He rolled his eyes.

“You have to see this.” One of his henchmen walked up to him with his phone held out.

“I’m not paying you to browse the internet.” Adrian took the phone and the henchman hit the play button. A YouTube video interview of Warren Voss, professing his un-dying love for Adriana came on the screen. “Good Lord.” Adrian paused the video.

“What do you wanna do, Boss?”

“Make sure Captain Hollywood doesn’t visit her again.”

“Do you want me to find him and break a couple bones?” The henchman smiled, and Adrian knew he was eager to inflict pain.

“I was thinking more like a body guard outside her room.”

The henchman looked disappointed.

“Inconspicuously, think you could manage that?”

The henchman shrugged his shoulders and sulked off.

Look for Episode 4 on July 27. Missed Episode 1? Read it now.

Look below to find previous episodes.

In the meantime, learn more about The Family Portrait series. Or get the box set which contains books 1 through 5.

Copyright ©2018 Gillian Felix. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, email the author Gillianfelix23{AT}Gmail.com