I Married a Billionaire: Lost and Found(47)

We parked on a low level and got out as quietly as we could, walking slowly up the ramps. My heart was beating thunderously in my chest. As it turned out, I needn’t have been nervous - not at that moment, anyway. We seemed to spot her long before she spotted us, tucking something into her purse, framed by the lights of the city that were starting to switch on, one by one.

And then, she turned and saw us.





CHAPTER FOURTEEN





"I knew it," I shouted, practically spitting venom. But Flo just had a smug smile on her face, and I realized after a few moments that I looked like the crazy one. I took a deep breath and shut my mouth.

"Well done," said Flo. She was still smiling, arms crossed.

"It’s so sad," said Daniel finally, softly. "After all this time, you’re still trying to…do what, exactly? Ruin my life?"

"Oh no, honey." She looked so unnaturally calm that it sent a shiver through me. She was putting on the same play-act she’d been using for years when we were co-workers, fooling me into thinking she was normal. "No, you did a pretty good job of that on your own."

"I didn’t do anything," Daniel forced out, through gritted teeth.

"Sure," said Flo. "Not this time. Not in a way that’d get you caught."

"So this is supposed to be some kind of twisted justice."

"Sure. However you want to think about it." Flo rolled her head to the side until a vertebra popped. "Doesn’t matter to me, one way or the other."

"Clearly," I said.

Flo laughed, turning and starting to walk away from us. "If you were about half as smart as you think you are, you would have figured out by now that I didn’t do this for fun."

Daniel took a step forward. "What does that mean?" he called over her.

Flo stopped, but didn’t turn around. "I’m not supposed to say," she replied. "But, hey. What the hell. I already cashed my paycheck." She turned, coming back towards us. "That’s a metaphor, I was paid in unmarked bills. It was very James Bond. They don’t call it corporate espionage for nothing."

"They don’t call it ‘investment fraud’ for nothing," Daniel corrected her. "You’re going to jail, Florence, is there any part of your mind that comprehends that fact?"

"Do you want to know who hired me, or what?" Flo was starting to look irritated. "I was planning on being in Rio de Janeiro by now, so you’re kind of f*cking with my itinerary."

"Someone hired you?" I repeated.

"Yes," she replied, irritated. "It was supposed to work as a red herring, and I gotta say, it was pretty goddamn good, wasn’t it? You never suspected for a second." She tittered. "But I guess they underestimated my burning desire to let you guys know just how wrong you are about everything."

"They?" Daniel said, taking a threatening step towards her. She giggled again.

"Your old friends," she said. "Do I really have to spell it out?"

I blinked. Daniel looked like he’d been punched in the gut.

"Wait," I said. "That doesn’t make sense."

Flo raised an eyebrow at me. "Doesn’t it?"

I was shaking my head. "No," I said, more firmly and calmly than anything I’d said up until that point, because for once I had the upper hand. "I know for a fact that you didn’t meet with the plaintiffs from the old lawsuit until well after all of this happened. So whoever bankrolled this from the beginning…was either you, or somebody you’re not telling us about."

Flo made a face. "Fine. It was close enough to the truth. But if you think I’m spoon-feeding you any more than that, you’re nuts."

Daniel was looking from one to the other of us, completely slack-jawed. I realized I hadn’t exactly kept him in the loop about my own personal investigation; no wonder he was confused. Oh well, I could catch him up later.

In a moment, two things happened simultaneously - Daniel started reaching into his jacket pocket, presumably for his phone, and Flo’s hand snaked into her purse as she snapped:

"No. Drop it."

I had to blink a few times before my brain processed what I was seeing, in the darkness. Flo had a gun. And it was trained on Daniel.

Daniel raised his hands, slowly, dropping the phone and letting it clatter to the concrete. Flo started walking backwards, her aim unwavering. I felt like there was ice water in my veins, and there was absolutely nothing I could do besides stand there and watch as she disappeared into the darkness.

As soon as she was gone, Daniel retrieved the pieces of his phone and began to walk briskly in the other direction. I followed, already dialing 911 on my own phone as I jogged after him.

It was difficult to explain to the operator, especially as out-of-breath and shaking from adrenaline as I was, but once I mentioned the name a few times they sent a car in pursuit and asked us to come down to the station. We spent a few surreal hours under the flickering fluorescent lights, clutching our instant coffee and trying to explain what the hell was going on. I had to take the lead most of the time, and I could feel Daniel’s eyes fixed on me intently as I slowly admitted all the things I’d known about, all the things I’d done without telling him. But even when we were left alone, all he did was rest his arm on my shoulders or gently caress the back of my neck with his fingers. I supposed after being held at gunpoint, anything I’d done barely even registered on the "minor betrayal" scale.