“No, you don’t need to come back tonight.” I offered her a smile, not wanting her to see how relieved I felt. “I feel awful. I still don’t know much about your boyfriend or anything. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” She clasped my hand. “We can talk about it later.” She sighed as she stared at me. “I don’t know if I want you to be alone. What if someone comes back and tries to kidnap you again? What are you going to do now? I don’t want to just leave you.”
“I’m going to sleep and then I’m going to see if I can watch some movies and write some articles and get my mind off of this whole ordeal for a few hours.” Not that that would be possible. There was no way that I’d be able to just watch a movie, but I didn’t want Rosie to know that. I jumped up off the couch and Rosie stood up as well. I ran my hands through my hair and stifled a half yawn.
“I guess you do need sleep.” She stepped back. “I don’t want to just leave you by yourself, I just got here.”
“I’ll be okay. It was good to see you. I just need to rest, then I’ll be able to tell you everything. I just don’t want to go through all of it right now.” I smiled an apology. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Bianca.” She reached over and hugged me. “I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m the one who blew it. I’m going to make it up to you, I promise.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad to have you as a friend.” I squeezed her hand. “I’m not sure what I’d do if I didn’t have you in my life. You’re my best friend and I know I can always count on you.”
“Call me if you need anything.” She walked toward the door and then looked back at me. “And if you need to talk or figure anything out, I’m here.”
“Thanks, Rosie.” I got up and walked her to the door, then locked it behind her. I felt lighter once she was out of the apartment and I wasn’t sure why. I hurried back to my couch so I could look through the papers again, to see if there were any clues that I’d missed. I opened the plastic bag that I’d removed from Rosie’s purse and pulled out a stack of papers, still feeling unsettled about my conversation. Something she’d said had put me on edge, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something felt off.
“Get it together, Bianca.” I shook my head and tried to gather my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining things now. Maybe I was just feeling discombobulated due to everything that had gone on. My head was throbbing and my whole body was on edge as I sat there. It was as if I were still waiting for something to happen. I couldn’t relax and I had no idea what I was going to do next.
“The answers are in the papers, but not the truth,” I mumbled as I stared at the patent and corporation forms in my hands. “What answers?” I frowned as I stared at the words. Everything had seemed so clear when I’d first gotten the papers. My dad had been a partner. He’d been the inventor. He thought my mom had been murdered and the Bradleys had something to do with it. What, then, was wrong with this picture? What was I missing—and where had Larry gone?
The loud beeping of cars outside reminded me that I’d been tied up in the back of a car not long ago. And I still didn’t know why. I wanted to talk to Jakob. I wanted to—I stopped in midthought as I stared at the corporation papers one more time. The law firm that had drawn up the contract was Larry’s. Larry, my father’s attorney, had been involved with Bradley, London, and Maxwell. He’d had access to all the legal information. It struck me that he had to know a lot more than he’d let on. My heart racing, I reread the incorporation papers once again, and realized that the next best person I could talk to would be Maxwell, or someone related to Maxwell. I hadn’t had any luck finding any information on Maxwell, but I hadn’t spent much time trying to find him. I’d put all my energy into the Bradleys, and now it was time for me to expand my search.
I grabbed my phone before I could change my mind and called David.
“Bianca?” he asked, sounding surprised. “How are you?”
“I need to see you.” I didn’t hesitate. I couldn’t afford to be unsure or to hesitate. I needed to forge ahead with my investigation and ignore the fleeting panic that had settled in my stomach.
“When?”
“Are you free for dinner tonight?” I held my breath as I waited for his answer.
“You want to go to dinner?” His tone changed to one of expectation. A small smile broke out on my face. David was still interested in me. I could use that to my advantage. I wasn’t stupid enough to think that he liked me more than anything except as a potential conquest. I knew enough about men to know that they liked a challenge.
I softened my voice. “If you’re free, I’d like to chat.” I couldn’t afford to be too obvious.
“I don’t know.” He sounded unsure.
“You owe me, David. I trusted you. I want some answers.”
“I swear I didn’t know what Mattias had planned,” he said quickly, and I tried not to roll my eyes. Sure, you didn’t. I gripped the phone tightly. As long as he thought I wanted to know about Mattias, he might have his guard down about other subjects; especially if I brought them up casually.
“I’ve missed you. I was thinking about you on the island,” I lied. “I was wishing things could have been different between us.”