Then my phone beeped again—a new text. Be careful, Bianca. You can’t trust anyone.
The text was from the number Jakob had called me from the night before. I deleted the text and closed my eyes. Why was he tormenting me? What more did he want from me? Then another text came through. I grabbed my phone angrily, ready to give Jakob a piece of my mind, but this time it wasn’t from him.
You looked so peaceful last night as you tossed and turned in bed. Maybe next time I’ll stay and keep you warm.
I stared at the text message and frowned. Why was Jakob sending me text messages from two different numbers? Why was he calling me and threatening me at the same time? It didn’t make any sense. Unless Jakob hadn’t been lying when he said he hadn’t sent that text. My body felt cold as I remembered something he’d said about Steve—Jakob had been confused about Steve’s going crazy as well. That hadn’t been a part of his plan. And if that hadn’t been a part of his plan, then someone else had a role in everything. And I needed to find out who that was.
Maybe Mattias wasn’t the mastermind after all. Maybe it was David. After all, what did I really know about him?
four
“Bianca!” I could hear Rosie banging on the door. “Open up.”
I walked to the door and opened it slowly, staring at her for a few seconds before she pulled me into her arms.
“Oh, Bianca,” she said in a soft tone.
“Why didn’t you just let yourself in?” I mumbled against her shoulder, happy to finally be with someone I trusted.
“I let myself into the building but didn’t want to just come into the apartment in case I scared you. Oh my God, Bianca, what happened to you?”
“I don’t even know where to start.” I sighed and closed the door. “Let’s sit down.”
“What were you talking about when you said someone kidnapped you? What’s going on, Bianca?” Rosie’s voice was frantic as she gazed at me. “You’re freaking me out.”
“I don’t really know what’s going on.” I bit my lower lip. “Do you still have my handbag from the night in the bar?”
“Yeah, I brought it with me. I thought it was weird you left it.” She looked thoughtful. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I just believed the bartender. I didn’t think you would do something like that, but I figured maybe you had a few drinks and got carried away and you know . . .”
“You thought I just needed to get laid?”
“Yeah.” She closed her eyes. “I know that’s not you, though. I know you wouldn’t hook up with a guy you just met. Well, not unless he’s absolutely gorgeous.”
“Do you remember I told you I thought the Bradleys had something to do with my mother’s death?”
“Yeah.” She frowned. “Why?”
“Mattias Bradley kidnapped me.”
“No way!” Her eyes widened in shock.
“Did you bring your Balenciaga bag with you?” Yes, it was still slung over her shoulder. “Did you take out my papers?”
“What papers?” She frowned as I pulled the bag off her arm and opened it eagerly, my heart racing. I dug my way through her makeup and let out a sigh of relief as my fingers felt the slickness of the plastic bag. She hadn’t taken it out. I pulled out the bag and rifled through the copied documents I’d hidden, feeling as if I’d just won the lottery. “You still have them.”
“What are they?” She sat down next to me and frowned as I held the pages next to my heart.
“Documents that prove that the Bradleys were involved in my mother’s death and that I’m a rightful owner of Bradley Inc.”
“No way!” Her jaw dropped. “Really?” She looked annoyed at herself. “I really need to start cleaning out my purse more regularly.”
“Well, I don’t know exactly. . . . I mean, I need to speak to my father’s attorney to see what legal rights I have, but I’m pretty sure these documents make pretty damning evidence.”
“Wow. And I had them all this time and didn’t even know.” She shook her head and gazed at me in shock. “These are the originals?”
“Oh, no.” I bit my lower lip. “The originals are in a safe place, my security-deposit box. But I’m not going there to retrieve them now; someone is still trying to scare me off.”
“You’re scaring me, Bianca.” Rosie’s face was white. “Why were you kidnapped and how? And what do you mean someone is trying to scare you off?”
“When we were at the bar, someone drugged me or something. I woke up after I passed out in the back of a car with a man. And then we were taken to a deserted island and left there. I thought he’d been kidnapped as well, but he hadn’t—he was the one who planned it. Rosie, Mattias Bradley kidnapped me! I read in the newspapers yesterday that Bradley Inc. is merging with some other company, and I think I was kidnapped so I couldn’t stop the merger from going through. I think they were scared I’d stake my claim on the company, and as a major shareholder, they couldn’t do anything without me.”