Page 92 of Game of Revenge
I wanted to punch him, but instead, I focused on forcing myself to eat the lovely fruit bowl Martha had put there for me, even if the fruit tasted sour in my mouth.
“I know you tried your best,”
I lied. I needed him to think I was as stupid as before. It wouldn’t be wise for him to think that I was mad. I needed his full trust, and I frankly wondered if he had doubts about how my abduction really was, considering I had spent a few months away. After all, I came home with no bruises, showered, and in clean clothes.
“They would have hurt me if it wasn’t for you making sure that I was in one piece. I think they knew you would make them pay if they touched me or hurt me. Thank you, Richard. I won't forget what you did for me, that you gave your money away to save my life,” I said, angry tears shining in my eyes.
“You are welcome, child,” he said, grabbing my hand, a satisfied smile on his face.
I resisted the urge to pull my hand away. Instead, I gave him the most thankful and loving smile I could muster. I wanted to yell, “Murderer!” at him, but that wouldn’t help.
“Hey, honey,” a voice said from behind me.
When I turned around, George was there with Iris, Chloe, and Keisha. Tears ran down my face as I rushed into the arms of my friends. It felt so good to wrap my arms around them. I reluctantly left their embrace to hug George, who kissed me.
“I am so happy you are okay! I was worried sick. I can’t believe those savages kept you for so long!” said Iris in her usual high-pitched voice, wiping tears of happiness off her face.
“I can't believe you were gone for so long,” whispered Chloe, the strongest of us, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her face.
Keisha hugged me again in silence, her shoulders shaking. I wanted to grab them by the hands, go to my room, and tell them everything, but that might put their lives in danger, and that would force me to admit out loud that meeting Alejandro had changed everything for me.
“I will be working from my office,” said Richard as he got up. “Oh, I almost forgot, Amelia, on Friday, I am hosting a small dinner here to celebrate your return.”
“That’s tomorrow!” I screamed, horrified at his insensitivity.
“Yes, but I can’t really cancel. I have a very important investor coming, so it's two for one.”
I wanted to scream, the lump in my throat threatening to choke me. Iris looked at Richard, her mouth open, Chloe muttered something under her breath, and Keisha shook her head, shocked by his indifference. George, on the other hand, was avoiding my gaze, refusing to be on my side—as usual.
“Don’t you think it’s way too early for that, Richard? I haven’t even been home for a day!”
“I know, but I've had this one on the books for months, and this guy is hard to pin down. I know it’s very soon, but the sooner you get back to your normal life, the better. It will do you good to socialize and see other people. And it will be a very small family affair, really,” he explained as he walked out of the room under my angry stare and Chloe’s slit eyes.
“What a fucking asshole,” said Chloe once he was out of sight.
“Every time I try to see the good in the guy, he disappoints.”
“Some people are just fucking bad, Iris. I have been telling you this. That fucking guy wasn’t trying to get her. I hired an investigator, you know,” said Chloe, grabbing my hand. “But wherever those fuckers had you, it was impossible. Not a trace.”
“And now this jackass wants to throw a party. That is so ridiculous,” said Keisha, fuming.
“Well, in his defense, this is important for the development of the company—”
George stopped talking after I glared at him, flames in my eyes. But as I thought more on it, a dinner was just the right distraction I needed to sneak into Richard’s office and steal the diamonds.
Iris, Chloe, Keisha, and George stayed with me for a couple hours. I had to feign interest in whatever story George was telling, but having my friends there made things a lot more bearable. Their presence also was delaying further what promised to be a very uncomfortable conversation between me and George.
It was three in the afternoon when my guests left and gave me some space. I needed to put some order in my life and distract myself from the fact that this highly coveted investor was probably Alejandro.
I turned on my laptop and started going through my emails. I only cared about reaching out to the hotel in New York. I was supposed to have started working with them weeks ago. They had heard about my kidnapping from what I could tell by the emails. I decided to call Clyde, who was the person who had hired me. It was a very pleasant call and served as practice for what I would tell people when they asked how I was and about what I had been through.
Clyde told me to take as many weeks as I needed; the job was still mine if I still wanted it. He understood I needed time to deal with life, considering where I had been for the past few months. I was extremely relieved to hear that.
Now I at least had a plan for after I gave the diamonds to Alejandro. After all, the arrest of Richard so soon after my kidnapping promised to be a scandal, and I didn’t want to deal with what would happen.
I would make sure to be out of town as soon as Alejandro had the diamonds. I would go hide some place where I could be at peace and could think, and when I was ready, I would move to New York and never look back.
I had called Alejandro a couple of times already. We needed to plan the next steps, and I needed to know if he was attending the event. The third time, around eight in the evening, someone finally picked up the phone.