Disillusioned

“No, not that I know of. Why?”

“We need to speak to Larry. Do you have his number?”

“I don’t know where he is—my messages just go to voice mail now.” I sat up as well. “When I spoke to him, his wife called a number from a pay phone. She wouldn’t let me have it. He hung up when I was speaking to him, and when we called right back, the line had been disconnected. I don’t know what happened, but he sounded really scared. I think he was trying to tell me that there was no Mattias as well.” I stared at Jakob, something bothering me. “But if he’s the one behind it, why did he sound scared?”

“He might have been on a pay-as-you-go phone.” Jakob licked his lips and I was momentarily distracted by the tip of his tongue as it glided back and forth. “If the credit on his phone ran out during the call, it would have disconnected and you wouldn’t have been able to get him on the phone again until he added more.”

“I never thought about that.” My mind was buzzing. “But it makes sense. I was wondering how a phone could just be out of service that quickly.” I played with my hair. “So he really was playing me then?”

“He knows all the secrets of the company, Bianca. He knew that there was no Mattias, of course he was playing you,” Jakob answered me, his face looking thoughtful. “He was really close to both our dads. I think he was a part of the corporation from the beginning.”

“Oh? I didn’t know that.” I paused. “Didn’t Blake say that the paperwork he found said that Larry started after Maxwell left? Oh, how I wish we could find Maxwell.”

“Yeah. I don’t know his whole story.” Jakob frowned. “I just know that my dad trusted Larry more than anyone else.”

“I guess that was good for your dad, not so good for anyone else.” I made a face. “I know my dad trusted him as well, but look where that got him. A dead wife, no shares in a multibillion-dollar corporation, and a horrible life.”

“It doesn’t make sense, though.” Jakob shook his head as he stared at me. “What did Larry gain?”

“Money, duh.” I looked at him for a few seconds, wondering if he was the right person to be investigating this with me. If he couldn’t even figure out what Larry was gaining from this, then what sort of smarts did he have?

“Yeah, so that’s obvious.” Jakob jumped up and ran out of the living room. I stared after him, wondering what was going on. He ran back into the room with the notepad and pen. “Money was his motivator when he was young, but what’s his motivation now?”

“He doesn’t want to go to jail.” I rolled my eyes. “He’s trying to scare me off.”

“No.” Jakob shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. If that were true, he wouldn’t have given you the boxes or the information in the first place. He also wouldn’t have given you warnings.”

“He’s the one who told David that I wanted shares in Bradley Inc. He’s the one who tipped David off that I was investigating.”

Jakob’s eyes narrowed. “He was, but why?”

“Like I said, to protect himself.”

“Yes, maybe. It doesn’t completely add up.”

“None of this adds up.” I sighed. “The fact is that I only got into the meeting because I used his proxy shares, so I didn’t even have access to be a threat or to seek out your brother until he gave it to me.”

“There has to be a reason he gave you your father’s paperwork and gave you those shares.” Jakob scratched his head. “He could have avoided all of this.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

“If he hadn’t given you the boxes and your dad’s letter, you never would have been suspicious of your mother’s death. You would have continued on with your life and gone about your business. You never would have wanted to meet Mattias or David Bradley. You never would have wanted to go to the shareholders’ meeting. You never would have wanted to investigate your mother’s death or your dad’s claims.”

“Yeah, so what’s your point?”

“So there was a reason you were given the boxes. Just like there was a reason I was told to go to the coffee shop.” He nodded his head in excitement. “We’ve all been set up from the beginning to play a part in some grander scheme.”

“What grander scheme, though?”

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “We have to talk to Larry.”

“I told you, I don’t know how to find him.”

“Let’s go and see his wife then. Maybe she’s heard from him.”

“I doubt she’s going to want to see me.”

“Then I’ll talk to her.” He jumped off the couch and walked toward his bedroom. I got up and followed him and watched as he walked to his closet, pulling out a shirt and pants. “You need to borrow anything?” He looked back at me.

“No, thanks. I have my own clothes, remember?” I shook my head and opened my bag.

“Oh, darn.” He grinned. “It would be nice to see you in one of my shirts again.”

“Maybe tonight.” I winked at him.

He walked over to me with a devilish look. “Promise?”

“Sure.” I giggled, feeling lighthearted as I flirted.

“I can’t wait to peel it off of you.”