nearly blacked out from dizziness. I drained the rest of my glass, trying not to splutter water all over myself.
“Have you got any place to go?” Ethan said. The way he asked me made me instantly suspicious. He was on Kristin’s payroll, and I didn’t trust him an inch. I needed to get Daniel out of Kristin’s clutches, but how? One thing was for sure: Kristin Jürgen had some sort of ulterior motive tucked up her sleeve. If she really was his wife, I assumed she stood to inherit his entire estate, the value of which didn’t even bear thinking about. Daniel was a billionaire. He played it down, never alluded to his wealth, nor boasted about it, but everyone knew that his father had left him a vast empire that had mushroomed from a car parts’ industry to God knows what other investments and companies. Daniel was a savvy, smart man, and I could only imagine how clever he’d been with his investments.
“I’m fine, Ethan. If you just let me sit here for ten minutes while I gather my stuff. Please, go back to your desk, I’ll be okay.”
“Let me know if I can do anything for you.”
I watched Ethan as he made his way back to his desk. I lay my suitcase flat on the floor, unzipped it and rummaged through my belongings. I needed my $25,000 Bellagio chip because my bank balance was pretty low. I’d have to find a hotel to stay. Food, et cetera. Thank God Daniel had taken me gambling because, I reminded myself, the big contract for The Dark Edge of Love that I had been negotiating with my agent Cindy Specktor and the producers, was still not signed. If the job didn’t go ahead—and with the way things were with Daniel it looked as if it wasn’t going anywhere—I hardly had a penny to my name. Luckily, the chip was still tucked at the bottom of my makeup bag. I wondered if Kristin had seen it, would she have pocketed it?
I sent a text to Star; I didn’t want Ethan to hear what I had to say about Kristin. I sent the same message to Pearl Chevalier, despite what her assistant had told me; that she and Alexandre were AWOL and would not be taking calls for two weeks during their “no contact” vacation:
URGENT! Daniel woke up from his coma. He was fine. His sister-in-law Kristin Jürgen is his new neurologist and has kidnapped him and induced him into another coma. Please believe me, I am not imagining this. She drugged me and is dangerous. They say she is Daniel’s wife. I think she wants to kill him. Help! Please call me back.
I pressed SEND but when I re-read the text I realized how nuts I sounded. Even Star would think I’d lost the plot. So I added another text for Pearl. Maybe this would grab her attention:
P.S. Kristin Jürgen has stolen your pearl necklace.
3
Daniel.
“Y OU REMEMBER, HONEY, don’t you?” Her voice is sickly sweet as she sponges my immobile body. I am floating on a raincloud, almost as if I can see her from above. But the lump that is my torso, legs and arms like appendages that are nothing more than blocks of wood attached to my being, are immovable. The person lying here is not me.
And yet it is. There is nothing I can do. Nobody can hear my inner screams.
I am shaking my head, yet my head is not moving. I’m yelling “No!” Yet no sound is emanating from my lips, nor my throat. “ No, I don’t remember, you bitch, because what you’re telling me is a lie !”
“We got married, Daniel. You were very, very inebriated. You remember? You came up from New York to spend a weekend here, have some fun. We went out for dinner. You ordered the most expensive wines on the list and had the sommelier running around like a blue ass fly trying to please you. Where was it we ate? Joël Robuchon’s, wasn’t it?”
“Stop lying!” Again, my lips sealed as I mentally shout. We had a brief dinner to discuss Natasha’s various charities, but nothing more. I went home. We parted ways.
As if reading my mind, Kristin says: “You just can’t remember a thing, can you, you stubborn
“Have you got any place to go?” Ethan said. The way he asked me made me instantly suspicious. He was on Kristin’s payroll, and I didn’t trust him an inch. I needed to get Daniel out of Kristin’s clutches, but how? One thing was for sure: Kristin Jürgen had some sort of ulterior motive tucked up her sleeve. If she really was his wife, I assumed she stood to inherit his entire estate, the value of which didn’t even bear thinking about. Daniel was a billionaire. He played it down, never alluded to his wealth, nor boasted about it, but everyone knew that his father had left him a vast empire that had mushroomed from a car parts’ industry to God knows what other investments and companies. Daniel was a savvy, smart man, and I could only imagine how clever he’d been with his investments.
“I’m fine, Ethan. If you just let me sit here for ten minutes while I gather my stuff. Please, go back to your desk, I’ll be okay.”
“Let me know if I can do anything for you.”
I watched Ethan as he made his way back to his desk. I lay my suitcase flat on the floor, unzipped it and rummaged through my belongings. I needed my $25,000 Bellagio chip because my bank balance was pretty low. I’d have to find a hotel to stay. Food, et cetera. Thank God Daniel had taken me gambling because, I reminded myself, the big contract for The Dark Edge of Love that I had been negotiating with my agent Cindy Specktor and the producers, was still not signed. If the job didn’t go ahead—and with the way things were with Daniel it looked as if it wasn’t going anywhere—I hardly had a penny to my name. Luckily, the chip was still tucked at the bottom of my makeup bag. I wondered if Kristin had seen it, would she have pocketed it?
I sent a text to Star; I didn’t want Ethan to hear what I had to say about Kristin. I sent the same message to Pearl Chevalier, despite what her assistant had told me; that she and Alexandre were AWOL and would not be taking calls for two weeks during their “no contact” vacation:
URGENT! Daniel woke up from his coma. He was fine. His sister-in-law Kristin Jürgen is his new neurologist and has kidnapped him and induced him into another coma. Please believe me, I am not imagining this. She drugged me and is dangerous. They say she is Daniel’s wife. I think she wants to kill him. Help! Please call me back.
I pressed SEND but when I re-read the text I realized how nuts I sounded. Even Star would think I’d lost the plot. So I added another text for Pearl. Maybe this would grab her attention:
P.S. Kristin Jürgen has stolen your pearl necklace.
3
Daniel.
“Y OU REMEMBER, HONEY, don’t you?” Her voice is sickly sweet as she sponges my immobile body. I am floating on a raincloud, almost as if I can see her from above. But the lump that is my torso, legs and arms like appendages that are nothing more than blocks of wood attached to my being, are immovable. The person lying here is not me.
And yet it is. There is nothing I can do. Nobody can hear my inner screams.
I am shaking my head, yet my head is not moving. I’m yelling “No!” Yet no sound is emanating from my lips, nor my throat. “ No, I don’t remember, you bitch, because what you’re telling me is a lie !”
“We got married, Daniel. You were very, very inebriated. You remember? You came up from New York to spend a weekend here, have some fun. We went out for dinner. You ordered the most expensive wines on the list and had the sommelier running around like a blue ass fly trying to please you. Where was it we ate? Joël Robuchon’s, wasn’t it?”
“Stop lying!” Again, my lips sealed as I mentally shout. We had a brief dinner to discuss Natasha’s various charities, but nothing more. I went home. We parted ways.
As if reading my mind, Kristin says: “You just can’t remember a thing, can you, you stubborn
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