Disillusioned (Swept Away, #2)(30)

“Fine.” I nodded eagerly and handed her some quarters. “Here you go.”

She took them from me and walked to the pay phone, looking behind her as she picked up the phone and quickly dialed. I watched as she talked into the phone and then waved me over.

I jumped up quickly and grabbed the phone from her. “Uncle Larry, it’s Bianca.”

“You shouldn’t be calling me, Bianca.” He sounded old and worried.

“They kidnapped me, Larry. They drugged me and kidnapped me. I deserve to know what’s going on.”

“You shouldn’t have gone to that shareholders’ meeting. I never should have gotten you that proxy access.”

“Why? What are they afraid of?”

“I’m sorry, Bianca. I’m responsible for a huge lie.”

“What huge lie? Did you know that Mattias was going to pretend to be Jakob and—”

“You met Jakob?” he cut me off, his voice keen.

“Yes, he’s the one who kidnapped me. David told him I was looking for Mattias. He’s Mattias, he—”

“Listen to me, Bianca, forget about Mattias Bradley.”

“How am I supposed to forget—”

“The clues lead you past Mattias Bradley.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mattias Bradley means nothing. He can’t and won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t understand, Larry.”

“Mr. Bradley senior, he knew what he was doing, Bianca. We all knew what he was doing. It was a game in the beginning. All of us thought it was a game, me, your father, Bradley, Maxwell. And then Bradley started cheating on his wife and things got complicated. It was okay at first, it was just random women—but then it was Maxwell’s wife and that’s when everything changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“That ruined everything.”

“I don’t understand.”

“None of us were innocent, Bianca.” His voice was lowered. “We all did things we shouldn’t have; even your father.”

“What did my father do?”

“You have a sibling, Bianca.” Larry’s voice dropped.

“What?” I shook my head in confusion. “No, that’s impossible. I’m an only child.”

“You have a sibling.”

“I don’t understand.” My head felt heavy as I stared at the phone. “How is that possible?”

“Your dad had another child.”

“What?” My voice rose. “No, he can’t have. He never told me he had another child.”

“He didn’t find out until later.” Larry’s voice dropped. “There are things you don’t know, Bianca. Things you shouldn’t know. You need to just drop whatever it is you’re doing. Your father made a huge mistake. One that he paid for dearly.”

“What do you know, Uncle Larry?” I leaned forward, my heart beating rapidly as I gripped the phone. “You need to tell me.”

“I’ve already told you too much.”

“How is this all linked? Why are you hiding? What do you know?” I paused. “Are they scared that I want money? Do I have a brother or a sister?” I rambled on, my mind whirling with a million questions.

“This isn’t about money. There are things you don’t know. Things that certain people will do anything to keep private.”

“And you know these secrets?”

“I know some of them. I don’t know enough. I had hoped you could find out. You need to look at the paperwork I gave you again. There’s something in there—” The phone went dead.

“Larry?” I asked frantically. “Larry?” I looked at his wife. “You need to call him back. The phone went dead. Call him back!”

She grabbed the phone, her face white as she dialed the numbers again. “It’s disconnected.” The fear in her eyes was impenetrable.

“Try it again, that can’t be right,” I demanded, and watched as she pressed the numbers.

“It says the number you’re trying to call is no longer in service.” Her voice cracked and she looked at me in hatred. “What have you done, Bianca? What have you done?”





eight


“Pick up the phone, pick up the phone,” I mumbled to myself as I listened to the ringing tones. “Come on, Rosie.”

“Hello.” Her voice was soft. “Bianca? Is everything okay?”

“No.” I gulped. “It’s really not.”

“Where are you? What’s wrong?”

“I’m in Riverside Park. I’m sitting on a park bench across from two elderly men and I think I’m about to lose it.”

“Why? What happened?”

“I spoke to Larry, my father’s attorney. He went into hiding because he’s scared of the Bradley brothers. He thinks they’re going to kill him. I’m not sure why. And he told me . . . I have a sibling.”

“What?” Rosie sounded shocked. “But you’re an only child.”

“What if my mom really did have an affair and gave the child up?” I closed my eyes. “Oh my God, I can’t even believe I said that. What is this craziness?”