7
I followed Adrian through the door of Bennett Manor, and there on the sofa, looking utterly relaxed, was Bella. Adrian and Jonah each played their part: Adrian brought over a plate of cut–up fruit and fed Bella piece by piece, while Jonah sat by her feet, grinning with his big toothy smile as he massaged her legs.
If they had tails, they’d surely be wagging them by now.
When Adrian turned and noticed me, his expression turned stern. He grabbed a file from the coffee table and threw it in my face. Rising with a towering, intimidating presence, he glared at me.
“Vanessa! I can handle you throwing a tantrum, but harming Bella? That’s unforgivable!”
“You set up that fake kidnapping just to get my attention? If something happened to Bella, you’d be rotting in jail!”
Theet down.
753
11:11 AM
<
I bent down, picked up the scattered pages, and read through them, unable to hold back a laugh. It was just a statement from the kidnapper, nothing more. If Adrian had even the slightest bit of faith in me, he’d look into the bank account used to pay the kidnappers and realize I was innocent. But people only see what they want to see.
Bella, sensing my reaction, sprang from the sofa and gripped Adrian’s sleeve in a
panic.
in
“Adrian, I’m fine, really. You don’t need to get so worked up… It would be horrible for Vanessa to end up jail…”
Before she could finish, my hand lashed out, slapping her hard across the face.
The crack of the slap echoed through the entire room. Bella stood there, stunned, as if unable to process what had just happened. Everyone else was frozen in place too.
Adrian snapped out of it first. Fury filled his eyes as he grabbed my throat, his grip tightening.
Fighting to breathe, I twisted and struggled, looking up at him with contempt.
“You think that flimsy statement will put me in jail? You’re a fool if you think the police would fall for that.”
The words seemed to hit a nerve; his hands tightened, and I felt my air slipping away. The darkness started closing in, let a smile creep across my face.
yet
couldn’t help but
