Unforgettable: Book Three (A Hollywood Love Story #3)(47)
The plan sounded perfect—but there was one problem. Brandon, who went on several well-publicized dates with Katrina, discovered he couldn’t stomach her. She was a stuck-up, self-centered bitch. He didn’t want to go along with it. But this didn’t stop desperate Scott or Katrina. Katrina stalked Brandon and tried to cajole him, and with the help of Scott, informed the paparazzi and reporters about their encounters so photos of them together would appear everywhere along with articles about their “heated” romance. She even went as far as kissing Brandon in public against his will, which made the front page of many tabloids. Brandon was furious, but Scott advised him to ignore it. In fact, denying the relationship might have reverse consequences and convince the public it was true—that he and Katrina were an item. Sadly, that’s how Hollywood works.
But fed-up Brandon wasn’t deterred. On the day Katrina’s show was up for renewal, he threatened to call a press conference and set the record straight about his relationship with the reality star once and for all. Plain and simple, there was none. Terrified this revelation would end both her show and her career, Katrina drove up to Brandon’s house to try to convince him to not to talk to the press. At least not yet. She encountered him while he was jogging down the road to his house She jumped out of her car and confronted him. He refused to give in. The bitch refused to take no for an answer and went as far as physically attacking him; he warded her off. (That’s how she probably lost the Venetian glass charm). Incensed, she got back into her Mercedes, and after she started it up, she hit Brandon.
This is where things get murky. Knocking Brandon to the ground unconscious, Katrina freaked out. She called Scott in a panic for advice. She was insistent it was an accident. That in her agitated state, she’d accidentally put the car in reverse rather than in drive and hence had rammed into Brandon who was standing behind it. When Pops asked Scott if he thought Katrina had deliberately run down Brandon, he honestly didn’t know. Though he did say it was a possibility—the girl was insane. And with that thought in the back of his mind, he told Katrina to leave the scene of the accident. The last thing they needed was a murder rap. So, Katrina, who had no conscience and used her mother as an alibi, left Brandon bleeding on the street to die. And he would have if I had not discovered him.
There’s a saying—some people fall up. That’s exactly what happened to Katrina and Scott. They used Brandon’s coma to their advantage. After Scott forced me out of the picture by sending me to that remote Joshua Tree spa, “poor grieving” drama queen Katrina sat by Brandon’s bedside 24/7 and fed the hungry press her tears and fears of losing the love of her life. Her fiancé. Cunningly, Scott used Brandon’s Tiffany’s credit card to purchase her ten-carat diamond ring just before he was admitted to the hospital and then spun a story that they’d gotten engaged the night before Brandon’s horrific hit and run accident at his Hollywood Hills home over a romantic candlelit dinner. In addition to inviting the press to the hospital suite for exclusive interviews by Brandon’s deathbed, Scott encouraged Katrina to film segments of her reality series at the hospital. Overnight, Katrina went from being the girl everyone loved to hate to America’s sweetheart. And her ratings began to skyrocket.
The doctors didn’t think Brandon would make it, and if he did, he might be permanently impaired with significant brain damage as he’d suffered severe head trauma from his skull fracture. Scott and Katrina played right into this. Taking a chance, they believed they could convince Brandon and his doctors that he had lost his memory if he awoke from his coma. Sure enough he did—with a real full-blown case of amnesia. Much to the luck of both Scott and Katrina. How perfect! Since Brandon couldn’t remember a thing, it was easy to convince him that he was engaged to Katrina and had agreed to marry her in a live televised event. While he was in his coma, the two of them even forged his signature on sappy Hallmark cards and mushy love letters like the one Katrina shared on The Letterman Show to prove he loved her. The only thing they didn’t anticipate was that Brandon would start remembering things and start questioning his feelings toward Katrina. That he had none for her. His heart belonged to someone else. Yours truly.
When Pops shared this backstory over dinner with Brandon and me, we were totally blown away. It was so sick and twisted. Even the most brilliant writer couldn’t come up with a plot line so unpredictably complex and dramatic. I wouldn’t be surprised if some big shot movie producer optioned the rights. It made me angry. It made Brandon angry too. But it also made him sad. Scott had discovered him and been his longtime manager. His trustworthy manager and friend, so he had thought. Scott should have come forward with his gambling addiction. Brandon would have gotten him help and lent him as much money as he needed to get him off the hook.
“Why did Donatelli shoot him?” asked Brandon. Despite recovering his memory, he still had no recollection of the accident except for subconsciously remembering me coming to his rescue. His doctors told him he might never. It’s probably a blessing. Some things are better forgotten.
“Simple,” said Pops. “He missed his final deadline to make a payment to his loan shark. The Mob doesn’t tolerate excuses. A promise is sacred. Don’t deliver and die.”
The same fate must have awaited Conrad Kremins, the sleazy, in-debt sex shop operator who was shot along with Mama. Poor Mama just happened to be at the wrong place at the right time. The same with Brandon’s parents who met their untimely demise when Donatelli blew through a red light and rammed into their car.