The Lion's Den(114)

“They’ll never know. The malware doesn’t make any changes. It only allows remote access and download. And from what I understand, guests are allowed to use the desktops on board.”

“How will I communicate with him while I’m on the trip? I assume we can’t email or talk. How will I know it’s working, or if something’s going wrong?”

“He’ll set up an email in another name. A friend of yours, someone you would be emailing anyway to tell about your trip. You’ll send each other coded messages this way, messages that appear to be about the weather or food.”

That sounded complicated. “We can’t just use apps?”

“No. And you’ll need to wipe your phone of anything personal. We can’t be sure he won’t have trackers installed on your phones once on board.”

“Jesus.” I bit my lip, turning over the idea. “So I just go on the trip like everything is normal. Wear this watch and click on some link. No one will ever be the wiser.”

She nodded. “Simple.”

But it wasn’t simple. I’d have to spend a week cooped up on a boat in a foreign country with Summer. Granted, it wouldn’t be just any boat––it would be a luxury megayacht, likely with plenty of room to get away from her. Wendy and Claire would be there as well, and surely Summer would be on her best behavior in front of John, her mother, and all her friends? It certainly wouldn’t be the fun girls’ trip I’d imagined when she’d first extended the invitation, but perhaps the week could be…doable. “Then what? When is he planning to blackmail his father with all this?”

“Once Raphael feels he’s gathered enough material, he’ll meet with his father and force the turnover of the company.” She looked into my eyes. “Belle, don’t worry. He’ll do his best to make sure your friend never knows you were involved. The confrontation will be after you return, and he won’t make a move until he knows he has enough to make it stick. This isn’t all on you. If he doesn’t get enough evidence from the boat trip, he’ll find other ins, other ways to get more information.”

“So I’m not totally necessary.”

“You’re his best bet,” she said. “He can’t play dead forever. Time is of the essence, and you’ll be in a place to give him access to the information on all his father’s servers. It’s unlikely there won’t be enough evidence to follow through with the plan.”

It was true I had a personal stake in Eric coming back from the dead before the authorities suspected foul play and Summer pinned his disappearance on me, so agreeing to this plan could be beneficial for my interests as well. “How will I be safe, afterward? Once John sees the feed from the watch, he’ll know it was me.”

“That’s the whole point of the blackmail,” she assured me. “He won’t dare touch you because if anything ever happens to you, all the videos and other information will be released.”

I nodded slowly. I knew that John was a horrible person doing damage to the world on a daily basis; I believed in Eric’s cause and knew that in addition to it benefiting me personally, I’d be doing my part to actually make lasting, positive change—a chance I might never have again. But this was my life, the only one I had. Did I want to stake it on this? “It’s a big risk.” I exhaled.

“There will be money in it for you. You just need to name your price.”

Oh. “Can I talk to…Raphael?”

She took out her cell phone, hit dial, and put it to her ear. “I’m here with Belle. She has some questions for you.” She passed me the phone.

“Hi,” I said, my heart in my throat.

“Hi.” I thought I detected a smile in his voice. “She told you everything?”

“Yes.”

“Will you help me?”

I sighed. Would I be able to live with myself if I didn’t? “It’s a lot.”

“I know. But I also know you can handle it. You’re strong, and you’re a damn good actress. If you can manage to put everything that’s happened out of your mind for just one week, pretend you’re still her friend––the watch and the link will do all the rest.”

His voice was so close, I could almost imagine his breath in my ear. “Can I see you?” He was silent for a moment. “Hello?”

“I’m here. I…I’m not in Mexico anymore. I’m…a lot farther away. Probably better if you don’t know where. George doesn’t, either. But after it’s over, I won’t have to hide anymore.”

“I talked to your brother a few days ago,” I said. “He told me nothing was out of order at your apartment.”

“So either he’s lying or John cleaned it up,” he said.

I hadn’t thought about the possibility of John cleaning it up. “He said there was no reason to suspect foul play, but that I should stay out of it for my own safety. I got the feeling he knew a lot more than he was letting on.”

“Of course he does,” Eric said. “He’s in France now, staying with our grandmother near Saint-Tropez. If you have a chance to see him while you’re there, take it. See if you can find out what he knows and where his loyalties lie.”

“What about your grandmother? Whose side is she on?”