NB Drama - 3. NBD Chapter 3

“Cosa stai facendo qui? e terra private?” the man said in response, of which I only got part of what he said, which was something to do with private land. “Scusa non caisco” I replied, saying that I didn’t understand, “Eh, eh, eh! You go now, not be here” the man said in broken English, and with that I scooted around him and left the tower, and walked quickly towards the jetty.

When I arrived, I saw a small boat moored on the other side of the jetty, and Sebastian was talking to another man. “Ah, there you are, I was wondering where you got too, until the Captain informed me that you had scooted off to explore the island” Sebastian said when he saw me, then he switched back to Italian to speak to the man, who smiled broadly, and shook Sebastian’s hand, before he walked past me and headed for the tower.

“Did you bump into another man up there?” Sebastian asked me, “Si, I mean yes, he told me off, or something like that, I couldn’t quite understand it, as he spoke so fast” I replied, and Sebastian laughed, “Come and have some breakfast, then we will go and meet the stone masons properly” Sebastian said to me.

The twins were already eating by the time we arrived in the dining room, and we sat down and ate with them, and it looked like the twins were just as eager to explore the island too. “When is Xander going to be joining us?” I asked as we were finishing breakfast, “Oh hell, I totally forgot about our cousin, just as well I hadn’t made the travel arrangements, or he would be waiting for us back in South Africa” Sebastian said, as he jumped up and headed off to make a call.

Twenty minutes later, Sebastian returned, and he was not looking too happy at all. “Xander is furious with me, he said he has been waiting for nearly two weeks for a reply to his email, requesting the travel information that I promised” Sebastian explained. “You have some major work ahead of you brother, to make up for that big mistake” Joachim said, and Louis agreed.

“Anyway, he is on his way, he will be catching a flight in 1 hours’ time, that will take him to Naples, and I have chartered a plane to fly him to the city of Cagliari, and a chauffeur service will collect him from there and bring him to the marina, where we can collect him” Sebastian explained.

“What time will Xander arrive in Sardinia?” Louis asked, “Well it is 3 ¾ hour flight from Zurich to Naples, and a 1hour flight from Naples to Cagliari, then a 1hour drive East to the marina, so he should be here by 3pm at the latest” Sebastian replied. “Good that gives us plenty of time to explore the island” Louis said, as the twins stood up and made their way towards the aft platform.

When Sebastian and I arrived at the tower, the twins were happily chatting to the two stonemasons, “You know this was built in around 1640 AD, so I am surprised that it is still standing, we are just grateful that these two men have put a lot of care into restoring it” Sebastian said as we entered the old building and walked towards the four men.

Sebastian introduced me as his husband, and the man that told me off, apologised for being rude earlier, and I just waved it off as nothing to worry about, which Sebastian translated for them as don’t worry about it, all forgotten, which Joachim whispered to me, translating to English for me.

For the next hour, we were given a detailed tour of the ancient tower, by the head stonemason, with Sebastian translating everything for me, and we were amazed at how much research he had done on the place. I suggested to Sebastian, that he get the stone mason to record it all down, so we have a record of it, and Sebastian responded, by saying that the stonemason already has it in a folder, but he has memorised it all, and that he would be honoured to present it to me as a welcome present.

I was very touched by this, and I shook his hand in thanks. After the tour, we headed outside, and walked further along the island, towards the south end, stopping at the clearing. “You know this is going to be way to small a area for the tower to put here” Sebastian stated, “Yes dearest, I already worked that one out, what about in the bay just there, it might be deep enough to put it there, and the island will protect it a fair amount from bad weather and strong winds” I responded, and after looking at the bay, he called the ship on his mobile.

“Captain, can you organise a team who have open water diving qualifications, to do a dive for me, on the East side of the island, in the centre of a semi protected bay?” we heard Sebastian say, “Good, thanks for that, bye” Sebastian responded, before ending the call.

Sebastian continued to stare at the site that I suggested, and he smiled before facing me, “thankyou sweetness, you have possibly found a worthwhile solution” Sebastian said as he held my hand and looked around the island once more. “The dive team will be ready to leave in 1 hour, so lets’ head back, then we can join them on the boat to the bay” Sebastian suggested, and we did just that.

Just over an hour later, after some morning tea, we joined the three-man dive team, and headed off towards the bay on the east side of the island. “What I am looking for is a roughly flat area of sea floor, that is not more than 9 metres deep at high tide, which we are approaching in half an hour” Sebastian said to the diving team, as they finalised their scuba gear, “Yes sir, 9 metres max at high tide, with a flat bottom” the lead dive member said in response.

About ten minutes later, the two divers surfaced and returned to the boat, “Sir, most of the bay is approximately 6 metres deep, with a slight slope, then over there it drops steeply from 6.5 metres to about 20 metres” the lead diver said to us, as Sebastian grabbed the marker buoy, and handed it down to the diver, “Just mark the flattest part at six metres, and that will do” Sebastian said, and about ten minutes later the marker buoy appeared, which is tied to a heavy lead weight on the sea floor.

“I would say that is about 120 metres from the shoreline” Louis commented, “Agreed” Sebastian said, “So, what are you going to do about the 3 metres difference?” I asked, “Easy, that equals to one level, which will now be above the water line instead of below” Sebastian replied. “The administration level” I asked, and Sebastian nodded yes and smiled.

“We still have four days till the ship arrives, so we just have to relax and wait for it to arrive” Sebastian said, and he indicated for us to return to the yacht. Once we were onboard, we watched a movie, before having a late lunch, and at 2.30pm, the Captain started up the engines, and we set off back to the marina, to collect Xander, who I hadn’t seen since the wedding.

It was as we were leaving that I first noticed the huge signs on the end of the jetty, which was in Italian, English and 3 other languages, two of them I guessed to be French and German, the last one I was not sure, but it could be Spanish.

“Lascia stare quest’ isola area protetta dalla fauna selvatica, I trasgressori seanno fucilati”, I said out loud, hoping that I pronounced it all correctly, and the look on Sebastian’s face was priceless, as the twins burst out laughing, and Sebastian quickly jumped up to look at the sign.

“Trespasses will be prosecuted, you rascal, not shot” Sebastian snarled, and I just tried to look innocent as possible, which had the twins laughing some more. “Very funny, but well done on the Italian, you had it almost correct, just have to watch the pronunciations a bit that’s all, but you got all the words right” Sebastian said, before sitting down again.

When we arrived at the marina, it was just before 3 pm, and because we are such a large yacht, we docked at the very end of the Marina, near the entrance. About ten minutes later a white limo arrived, and a very tall teenager stepped out from the back door, with a backpack in hand, while the driver removed two large suitcases from the back.

“Wow, he has grown so much” I commented, as we stepped off the yacht to greet Xander, with the twins squashing him in a group hug, “Hey. let me breath will ya” Xander complained, and I pulled the twins apart, so Xander was no longer being squashed, and I stuck out my hand to the teenager, who slapped it away, and gave me a huge bear hug, “Hey, how about you let me breath” I said to Xander, which had Sebastian laughing.

“Family tradition I am afraid, so you have to put up with it” Sebastian said before giving his young cousin a hug and ruffling up his hair, “Hey not the hair, I just had it permed yesterday” Xander said in a serious tone, which made the twins roar with laughter, and they each grabbed a large suitcase, and we headed towards the yacht, where Mrs Cooper, Wyatt and Xavier were waiting to greet Xander.

“You are in the same suite, across the hall from Mr Sebastian and Mr Lewis” Mrs Cooper said, as she gave Xander a warm hug, while her nephews took over carrying the suitcases from the twins, and soon we were on our way again. “So, what are we doing in Italy, is this something to do with what I read in the newspapers?” Xander asked.

“Yes, in a small way it is, we were going to go to the Falkland Islands, but that was before an attempt was made to try and kidnap Lewis, so we decided to head for the Med, were we have access to a lot more things, including security” Sebastian said. “By the way, don’t forget that Kylie will be ringing me late tonight” I said to Sebastian.

“So, what are we going to do here in Italy, just cruise the Med for ever?” Xander asked, and I chuckled at this, “Would help you get a beaut tan, keep all the girls happy eh” I said to the teenager. “All the boys you mean, I am gay, just like you guys, but I haven’t done anything serious yet, just experimenting a little, and I don’t have a boyfriend either” Xander announced, which caught all of us by surprise.

“Well as long as you are careful and take precautions at all times, no mater what the other guy says, we are happy for you, no matter who you are with” Sebastian said to his cousin, “Thanks Seb, that means a lot to me” especially after everything that has happened in the past few years” Xander said.

When we approached the island and began to slow down, Xander looked out the window, but he was looking the wrong way, which had me chuckling, “Try looking out the other side, you goofball” the twins said in unison, and Xander hurried over to the other side of the yacht, “a very small island, with some sort of old tower at the top” Xander said, ‘That’s right, and it belongs to us, welcome to Isola di Serpentara” Sebastian said.

“Hey Seb, why does the sign say, trespassers will be shot” Xander said in a serious tone, and keeping a straight face the whole time, “What” Sebastian shouted and he jumped up to have a look, then realised he had been tricked once more, with all of us laughing. “Not very funny cousin, not one bit” Sebastian complained.

“See that watch tower, it was built in around 1640 AD, we have some stone masons, who are carefully restoring it back to what it use to be, and they have done a magnificent job too” Louis said to Xander, “wow that’s is like, well over 375 years old, that is ancient” Xander said surprised, “That it is, and that is why we needed to restore it, and protect it, so hopefully it will last for another 300 or so years” Sebastian replied.

The stonemason’s boat was gone, so we presumed that they would be back tomorrow, as we stepped onto the jetty, once the yacht was tied off, and we headed up the track, so Xander can have a look at the island and the watch tower. “What are you going to do with the island, if it is a wildlife protected area?” Xander asked, as we approached the door of the tower, “We will keep people off the island, and protect it as best as we can. Eventually, I will employ some keepers, to watch over the island, when we are away” Sebastian replied.

After viewing the watch tower, we walked towards the far end of the island, passing over the cleared area, that would not have anything on it, as Sebastian had thought he would, and on our return journey, Xander stopped in the middle of the cleared area. “This would make a great spot for a keeper’s cottage” he commented, and Sebastian smiled, “In deed it would, lets discuss that over some afternoon tea back at the yacht” Sebastian replied, as we continued on.

After some discussions, we as a family decided that a simple two bedroom cottage, with solar panels on the roof, and a small wind turbine, for power supply, two poly water tanks that can be filled from a hose and pump from the yacht, to supply fresh water to the cottage, and a biodegradable toilet system for all human waste, and the grey water from the sinks will be used to water plants around the cottage.

We decided that the cottage would have a steel frame, that it will be bolted down to the rock surface, and will be double insulated, with double glazing, to keep the temperature inside comfortable all year round, and that the outside panels will be fire resistant corrugated iron sheeting, coloured grey green, to fit in with the shrubs and other plants on the island.

After some searching online, we found the ideal cottage that fitted the specifications for the island, but it is made in Australia, so Sebastian decided to call them early tomorrow, so as to reach the company before they close for the day, their time, and arrange for the cottage to be built, and put on a cargo ship, to be sent to Italy.

When the cargo ship finally arrived a few days later, it set it’s anchors on the Eastern side of the island, as instructed by Sebastian. We went onboard the cargo ship to check out our new floating home, and as expected levels one and two are in three sections, so they can be assembled under water, one piece at a time, but what really annoyed Sebastian was that the other four levels were in two sections, instead of 4 separate sections, which put his plans of having the administration above the water.

I suggested that we look at other possible locations, and as I stepped over to the side of the lounge and looked out, I could see that the water was fairly deep just between he larger rock and the island. Sebastian, come and look at this, we may have a solution” I said to my husband, and I pointed the area that I thought was deep.

Twenty minutes later we had a diving team in the water, and they swam over to just south-east of the large rock, and they reappeared five minutes later, and swam over to the jetty to shout out the report of depth of the water in that area. “It is 8.5 metres sir, and it is on a quite large shelf, with a gradual slope down on the edge” the senior diver said to us.

We sent out a small boat with a depth ranger, used usually for finding fish, and it was confirmed that there was an are of about 180 metres diameter, just 320 metres from the pontoon that links the large rock and mooring jetty, to the island, which is perfect, although it would mean that the top section of the tower would be clearly visible from the main island of Sardinia.

It took a total of four days to get the lower two levels into the water, with the three sections on each level connected up and secured to the ocean floor, once that was done, the 3^rd level was added, with the top one metre of it being just above the surface. When it was connected, all the water that is in the elevator and stairwells were pumped out and dried, which took another three days to complete, to ensure that there would be no sea water remaining to cause any rust.

With level 4 at just above sea level and two more levels above it, we continued to work to put the complex together, so that the ship can get moving to its next cargo job. In all, it took just under two weeks to get he tower completed and fully operational, with electricity, working generator, pumps and elevators, all the way to the top of the tower, where a flashing red light signals a warning of the tower being there at 11 metres above the sea, which is far lower than the highest point on the island, where the watch tower is located, just 400 metres to the South.

With the tower now fully constructed and operational, the cargo ship departed and now there was just the island, the ocean tower and the yacht, MV Huon, and we spent the next few days moving our belongings over to the ocean tower, as Sebastian had plans to use the yacht for luxury charters in the Western Med, from Valencia, Spain to Cagliari, on Sardinia, Italy, via the Illes Balears, so the yacht is reasonably close in case we need it.

With the mooring jetty being 3 ½ metres above sea level at high tide, it created a sort of safe small bay, with a 14-metre space between the rocks, to allow water to move freely between the rocks, and Sebastian informed the twins and me, that he had plans to have another jetty built a metre above sea level, following along the side of the middle rock, to provide an additional mooring area for smaller boats, that are no bigger than 20 metres long, and no higher than 3 metres above sea level.

Sebastian said that this would because he wanted to have two comfortable power boats, that can be used for regular patrolling the island, and be used to transport us between the ocean tower, the island and Sardinia, and still have all the comforts. The patrolling would be mainly be during the Mediterranean summer, when all the tourist that visit the area, which was not that far away.

On our first night on the Ocean tower, there was just the five family members, plus Mrs Cooper and her two nephews, Xavier and Wyatt, and we spent a good hour having a proper look around, now that the tower is all in one piece, before we stat down to dinner for the first time, with the dining room being on level 2 west, two to five metres underwater, and it was amazing watching all the sea life swim past us, as we ate.

The one that fascinated me the most was the sea rays, with their big wings, making it look like it is flying through the sea, and a cheeky seal that was fascinated at us sitting down behind the thick glass, and eating, while watching him play. Straight after dinner, the twins, Xavier and Wyatt disappeared somewhere, and the rest of us headed up to level 4, above sea level, to relax a little in the early evening.

After a while, I started to notice some lights flashing on then off, then in another direction it would do it again, and I eventually realised that it was going around in circles. “Sebastian, have you noticed those lights reflecting off the water?” I asked my husband, who was busy reading a business report of some kind, and he looked up and when he noticed the lights he jumped up and headed for the elevator.

A few minutes later he reappeared, grumbling under his breath, “They are adults, you would think they would behave like one” Sebastian said, as he sat down again, “Oh? Why what was causing the lights?” I asked, “I didn’t catch them at it, but I think it is my twin brothers and two certain staff members playing around with the lights, to make the tower look like a space ship” Sebastian replied, and I burst out laughing,

“I like their thinking, but goodness knows what the people of Sardinia will say” I said after calming down a little. When I woke early in the morning, Sebastian wasn’t in bed, so I quickly dressed and went searching for him, and eventually found him standing on the jetty, talking to the two stone masons in Italian.

“Good morning” I said as I approached, and Sebastian just grunted a reply, “Oh that doesn’t sound good, what is wrong?”
I asked, and Sebastian turned to face me, “Those no good twin brothers of mine, have half of Sardinia worried that we are being invaded by aliens” Sebastian replied before turning to the stonemasons, and resuming discussions with them, then headed back onto the yacht, no doubt to find the twins.

In broken Italian, I said good morning to the two men before following Sebastian back onboard, and I eventually found him shouting at Xavier and Wyatt, and soon after I arrived, Mrs Cooper appeared, having heard the ruckus that Sebastian was causing, and not long after, the twins appeared, and Sebastian started shouting at them too.

I decided to stay out of the way, since Sebastian was shouting in Italian, and I could not understand a quarter of what he was saying, so I retreated to our suite, to try and relax a little.

When there was a knock on the suite door about half an hour later, and it was Wyatt, who looked to have been crying, “Come in Wyatt, tell me what is happening?” I said to the house staff member and I stepped to one side to let him in. There was a long period of silence, before Wyatt began to speak.

“Mr Sebastian is very angry with us, he has informed us, that my Aunt, brother and I are to return to the house at Battersea, London, while the twins are being sent to the family house in Liechtenstein, and this ocean tower is to be removed from here, but Mr Sebastian is not sure what to do with it” Wyatt said beginning to cry softly again.

I stepped towards Wyatt, and pulled him into a hug, “We are sorry Mr Lewis, we didn’t mean any harm” he whispered, “Don’t worry about it too much for now, just be thankful that you still have a job, and I will have a talk with my husband, and see if we can straighten everything out” I said to Wyatt, and I felt him nod his head against my shoulder.

After Wyatt had left the suite, I thought about what I had learnt from Wyatt, and I too had come to a decision, and I began to pack a suitcase, in preparation for a long-distance journey, and I called for Wyatt when I was finished and ready. “Sir, you called” Wyatt said when he arrived, “Yes, where is Sebastian at the moment?” I asked.

“Mr Sebastian is currently on his way to Cagliari, to officially apologise to the officials in the island’s capital” Wyatt replied, “Very well, have the helicopter prepared to take me to Cagliari, so I can catch a flight to Naples, as I have some other business to deal with” I said to Wyatt, who dashed off to do as I asked, while, I took one last look at the suite, before heading up to the helipad, where a helicopter had just landed.

Within minutes, I was on my way to Cagliari, where I would be catching the 8.20 am flight to Naples, and from there I would be flying to Rome, and then to London, where I would have an overnight stop, before catching my next flight, back to Australia.

While waiting for the connecting flight from Rome to London, I sent a text message to my best friend, Kylie. “Hi Ky, I am coming home, I will be on tomorrows QF 10 flight, leaving LHR at 11.55 am, arriving in Perth at 12.45pm, can you meet me when I arrive, as I may come across some problems when I arrive, Love L”, and I was about to shut off my phone for the next flight, when I received a reply, “Sure thing, does anyone know that you are coming? Ky”, and I smiled, when I read this, “No, not even Seb knows, as we have had a major dispute, I will let him know before boarding the flight tomorrow, L”.

Meanwhile in Sardinia, it was after lunch time, before Sebastian arrived back at the Ocean Tower, and only the staff came out to greet him, which he was not surprised about. “Where is my husband?” Sebastian asked as he stepped inside from the top level of the tower, away from the noise of the helicopter.

“He has gone to the mainland do deal with some business, he flew to Naples via Cagliari this morning, sir” Xavier replied nervously, and Sebastian stopped mid stride, “Naples, what the hell is he doing? And where are my brothers?” Sebastian replied. “They flew to Cagliari, then onto Switzerland, as you instructed early this morning” Wyatt responded.

“Hmm, I see, well tell Mrs Cooper not to start packing yet, I have calmed down a lot since this morning, and I need to reconsider my plans. “Any idea when Lewis will be back?” Sebastian asked, “No sir, but it could be about a week, as he had a suitcase with him, when he left here” Xavier replied, and Sebastian stormed off, to find out more on what is going on while he was away.

When he entered the suite, he found nothing out of place, until he reached the bedroom, where he found Lewis’s wedding band, and his company credit card laying on the bedside table. Sebastian didn’t know what to do, so he just stayed in the suite, not wanting to be disturbed.

The next morning, Sebastian woke to the sound of his mobile indicating that it he had a text message, and he picked up his phone and saw that it was nearly midday, and that he had slept for nearly 14 hours straight.

“Sebastian, I am heading home to Australia, to face the authorities, and what ever punishment that I shall get. Yesterday was the first time I had seen you so angry, and it frightened me. Goodbye, and thank you for all the great times and memories we had together, please forget about me and find happiness with someone in Europe, Lewis”.

Sebastian read the message about six times, before a knock on the suite door brought his attention away from the phone, which he threw at the cupboard and smashed, just as Mrs Cooper walked in with a tray of food.

“If you are going to continue, to behave that way, then I am not interested in working for you any more, and that goes for my nephews too” Mrs Cooper said, as she placed the tray on the coffee table and began to pick up the pieces of the phone. “I am sorry Mrs C, I just had a message from Lewis, our… our marriage is over. Please stay, I need you more than ever” Sebastian responded, choking back tears and sounding very unhappy, as he came down the stairs from the bedroom.

“Very well, but no more nonsense, like what I saw yesterday and just now” Mrs Cooper said sternly before leaving. When I finally arrived in Perth, after a very long two days of travelling, and the only person waiting for mw was a smiling Kylie, and she gave me a long hung. “Welcome home, did you have a good flight home?” she said to me as we broke from our hug.

“Very long and tiring, Sebastian and I have separated, and I took economy for the flights from Italy to Australia, via Heathrow” I replied, “I am very sorry to hear that, you made a great couple. Now regarding your situation, a full investigation took place and the results of the investigation, was made while you were airborne, you have been acquitted of any wrong doing, in regards to the matter in Singapore, and if you want, you can have your knighthood and life peerage back, including the use of the house on Rottnest Island.

I have also received a text message from Sebastian, asking me if I know of your whereabouts, and I just replied that you are returning to Australia, to face the authorities regarding the matter in Singapore, that is all. He said to let you know, that the house in Kalbarri, and the tall ship tourist business are already in your name, and all Council rates, on both will be paid for by the company for ten years” Kylie informed me.

“Ok, regarding the knighthood and peerage, you can inform the Governor General, that she can shove them where the son does not shine, and regards Sebastian’s offer, I don’t really care, and you can use the place as a holiday home, as far as I am concerned” I responded, and Kylie chuckled as what I said.

“I think I will put your response to the GG in a more civil manner, and it is what ever you wish regarding the properties in Kalbarri” Kylie said, as we collected my luggage, and I was processed through customs and quarantine, before Kylie drove me to her place, where I spent the next two days catching up on sleep and just relaxing.

When Kylie returned home from work later in the evening on my third day home, she was smiling, and I wondered what was causing this. “Remember the treehouse that your brother and his friends built on Christmas Island, well it appears that the Australian Army have decided that they no longer need it as their base, and the Australian Government, have set aside 5 acres of land, that the treehouse sits on, as Freehold land, and returned it to its rightful owners again.

I spoke to Jeremy this afternoon, to let him know that he is now the official owner of the treehouse, and that you are back in Australia, and he said that he would be transferring ownership of the land and treehouse to you” Kylie said to me, “Well that is a big surprise, I think I will head back over there, and spend some time on my own, to consider my future” I said to Kylie, “I think that would be a good idea” Kylie said to me.

A few days later, I received a call from my brother Jeremy. “Hello stranger, welcome back to Australia, I am glad that all that mess with the Australian Government is all sorted out, what are your plans now?” Jeremy said happily, “Well I thought I may spend a week or so on Christmas Island, and see how things are going there, and stay at the tree house” I replied.

“That is a good idea, especially with all the shit you went through with the government, in regards to the incident in Singapore, so what are your plans after that?” Jeremy responded, “No idea mate, I will wait and se what opportunities appear in the horizon, I am in no rush to get into some new project at the moment” I answered.

“Well, keep in touch, so I can help out where ever I can, as I said to Kylie, the treehouse is now yours, and I am sure that your nephew will wait to come and visit you in the holidays, he has been asking when you are coming back to Australia, and he was thrilled when I told him last night, that you are back in Western Australia” Jeremy said to me.

I ended up spending just a week in Perth, before flying to Christmas Island, and I was shocked at how bad things looked in regards to tourism and the condition of the island since last leaving the island, and I spent a good week looking around Christmas Island, before flying to the Cocos Keeling Islands to do the same thing, and taking note of everything that I saw, and taking plenty of photos, before combining it into a report, and sending it to Sebastian, to ask him if he would consider restarting assistance to the Indian Ocean territories, and restarting the air flights from Darwin and Broome to the islands.

A few days later I received an unexpected reply from the twins. “Dearest Brother in law, we are sorry to be the ones to tell you, of our delayed notice, that Sebastian was killed in a high-speed car accident in the Swiss Alps just over a week ago. As per his wishes, he was buried next to our cousin – Huon, on the Falkland Islands a few days ago, were we still are, as we are in process of winding up the sale of Douglas Farm, and the MV Southern Explorer, which has been based here for the past few years.

We are sorry to have not informed you earlier of Sebastian’s death, we realise now of our mistake in not informing you, or Reverend Davies and her son Kyle. When we have concluded business here, we will be returning to Switzerland, to wind up the majority of properties and ships that the company own, and we will be remaining there from then onwards.

You shall receive correspondence from our company lawyers in the near future, as you were still legally married to Sebastian, and his will states, that he has always wished to ensure that you lived very comfortably for the remainder of your life. Regards, Xavier, Louis and Joachim”.

I was shocked to learn that my ex husband was no longer alive, and I sent a message to Kylie. “I have just received news from the twins that Sebastian was killed in a high-speed crash in Switzerland last week, not sure how I feel about this” I typed before pressing the send button.

A reply came back soon after, “Yes I know, I saw it in the Business news online a few days ago, I am terribly sorry for your loss, and sorry I didn’t check on you as soon as I saw it online, do you want me to come over to the island?” and I paused for a few minutes, rereading the message, before sending a reply.

“No, I am fine, and the funeral was held a few days ago on FI, so there is no need for me to rush off anywhere”, “Oh ok, it’s a shame the twins didn’t inform you last week, take care and talk soon” Kylie text back, and I went for a walk along the beach to try and process all of this news.

Nearly a week later, I received an email from the twins. “Dearest brother in law, it has been decided that all asserts owned by our company, located in Australia, will be transferred to you, as your share of Sebastian’s estate. Those being, the main house on Grey Road, Kalbarri, the Tall ship tourism venture on corner of Grey and Cotworthy Streets, Kalbarri, the properties at 24-26 Grey and 23-25 Hackney Streets, Kalbarri, and 16-unit holiday apartment block on Coghlan Street, Broome, Lot 1 Fowlers Bay, Shark Bay Road, Denham, Bay Lodge, Shark Bay and Oceanside Village, Denham.

The Christmas Island Resort, with the 113 acres of land that it stands on, been made freehold land. Oceania House Estate on Cocos Keeling Islands, the lifetime lease of the house on Rottnest Island, the 20-year domestic Aircraft Hanger leases, located in Broome, Darwin, Diego Garcia Island and Christmas Island, ownership of the fleet of 6 aircraft, that are IOA - Indian Ocean Airlines, and the IOA administration building, on Coghlan Street, Broome.

As well as what is listed above, you shall also receive an operating budget of $3.2 million Australian for three years, to assist with restarting and operating costs of IOA, plus $1.4 million Australian, for three years, to be shared between the three Indian Ocean Territories, to assist with getting tourism boosted again, on Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling Islands and the Chagos Archipelago. Good luck in your future, regards Louis & Joachim Wagner.”

I was a little surprised by all of this sudden person wealth, and I was not sure what to do about it. Eventually I decided to make a visit to Kalbarri, to have a look, and refresh my memory of what I have there.

Arriving on a chartered flight from Perth, after flying back to the mainland, I went to the main house, where the cleaning lady had been keeping looking fresh, and having informed her of my impending arrival, she thoroughly cleaned the house and restocked the fridge of food.

After a good night’s sleep, I organised a hire car, and went for a drive around town, and I stopped at the new tourist accommodation that replaced the budget accommodation cottages, and the land behind it was now full of shady trees, and has a swimming pool and tennis court for guests to use, and I decided to keep these properties, as it was a good money earner and investment.

Next, I went to the tall ship tourist venture, and I found that it was looking very good, and after doing an online check, I saw that it was available for accommodation, as well as tours during week days, and I decided to donate this land and the tall ship to the community.

After three days in Kalbarri, and with the charter jet on standby still at the Kalbarri Airfield, I packed up and closed up the house, dropping off the keys to the housekeeper, and returning the hire car, before catching a taxi to the airport, where I asked the pilots to fly me to Broome, where I had booked one of the executive apartments that I owned.

When I stepped onto the plane, for the flight to Broome, there was a fresh copy of the West Australian Newspaper on the side table, and the front-page headlines caught my attention. “Former Indian Ocean Territories Administrator cleared of any wrong doing”, and reluctantly I picked up the paper to read the news article.

“Former administrator, Sir Lewis Shaw, Baron of Rottnest, was recently cleared for any wrong doing regarding an incident in Singapore, and he has had is knighthood and life peerage reinstalled. Sir Lewis, who was married to the late Swiss Billionaire, Sebastian Wagner, who was killed in a high-speed crash in Europe recently, has returned to Australia, and has been spending some time on Christmas Island, until he flew to the mainland the other day.

It is believed that since his husband’s sudden death, that Sir Lewis has inherited a 1/3^rd share of the Swiss private company, which his twin brothers in law, have the controlling 2/3^rd share, and that Sir Lewis now has a personal wealth of over $640 million Australian. Sir Lewis is believed to be travelling to parts of Western Australia, to visit his properties”.

“Fasten seat belts and prepare for take-off please” came the voice of the pilot over the PA, and soon the plane was in the air, and heading north to Broome. Once the plane had landed, he caught a taxi to the apartment block, and he checked into his booked accommodation, and as soon as the receptionist saw my name on the registration card, her eyes went wide, and she walked to an office behind reception, returning a few moments later with a man following her.

“Sir Lewis, welcome to Broome, since you own the property, you will not be charged for your accommodation or meals. Do you wish us to make available, one of our company vehicles?” the man said, who I presumed to be the manager. “Yes please, if that is not any inconvenience” I replied, “That is not a problem, we will have the BMW X5M made available for you during your stay. It is one of 2 BMW cars that we have for VIP guests” the manager stated.

“That sounds a little bit excessive, who decided on these cars?” I asked, “Your late husband did sir, after he bought the property two years ago” the manager replied, “I see, when I think I will be making some changes in regards to that, I think just one BMW will be enough, and we can add a Holden vehicle” I stated, “Err, we also have four of them, two Trailblazers, and two Colorado’s” the manager stated.

“Well, I suggest that we keep one BMW and one each of the Holden vehicles, and sell the rest” I announced, “Yes sir, I will arrange that for you” the manager replied, as the receptionist handed me my keys for my accommodation. Once I was settled in, I spent an hour just relaxing, before setting off to the IOA administration building, which was just a block away from the accommodation.