“First of all, I know I have obligations, and I’ll fulfill those.”
Relief filled Larry’s face. “Good. I’ll get started on—”
“You misunderstand. I haven’t changed my mind. You’re no longer my agent, Larry. I’ll deal with the record label and what they want. I’ll find a new agent if necessary. But I no longer wish to work with you.” She turned to look at her family. “As for the rest of you, I’m not bankrolling your lifestyles anymore. I’m moving with Bain to Montana. I never wanted this life. I love creating music, but performing in front of huge audiences, all the publicity, the pushing myself to breaking point, it’s not something I want. I did it to please all of you. Because I thought I owed you. Because I thought that if I did what you wanted, you might love me. But my only worth to you was wrapped up in how much money I could make and that’s not right.”
She stared up at Bain. “I now know what it’s like to have someone actually love me. Someone who cares about me. Who puts me first. And it’s made me realize that I’ve never had that. You may keep anything I’ve bought for you, of course. But as of now, you’ll need to get jobs or live off what you have left in your accounts.”
“This is preposterous.” Her father jumped up and pointed at Bain. “This is your fault! We know you’re doing this because you want her money. I don’t know what you did to her, but I will find out.”
“This is all my fault.”
She frowned, glancing over at Larry as he shook his head, staring at her sadly. She tensed. Something was happening here. Something she didn’t understand. Larry looked far too happy for someone who had just been fired.
“What?” she asked.
“Bernadette, Frederick, I’m so sorry. I failed you both. You and your daughter.”
“What are you talking about? Failed how?” Arianna demanded.
“No, Larry,” her mother said sweetly. Her mother was only ever sweet when she was about to get her own way. Or stab someone in the back. “It’s not your fault. It’s ours. You are her agent; we are her family. It was up to us to look after her. Like we have done all our lives. But we thought she was doing better. Arianna, how long have you been off your drugs, dear?”
“What?” she asked, confused.
“Come now, you don’t need to pretend not to know what we’re talking about.” Her mother stood and walked closer. Arianna really wanted to step away, but she made herself stand her ground. She knew better than to show weakness. “Mr. Grady, I’m not sure what Arianna has told you about us, but I’m afraid you can’t really believe what she says. Not when she’s off her medication. She makes up wild stories about how we treat her. I bet she told you that we used to lock her in her room at night?”
“Preposterous,” her father stated. “We would never do that to our own daughter.”
She gaped at her father, betrayal hitting her hard. She knew they could lie. She knew they could be heartless. But she didn’t expect this.
“You did do that.” She turned to her sister. “Gabrielle, you remember that, right?”
Gabrielle kept her gaze on her manicure. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She sucked in a breath. She would not cry. Maybe her sister didn’t remember, she’d been a child.
“Arianna, dear, why did you stop your medication? You know it helps with the delusions.”
“What delusions?”
“I’m afraid our daughter isn’t very well, Mr. Grady,” her mother said to Bain. Her face was filled with fake concern. “She hasn’t been well for a long time, but she manages with the help of medication. You see, unlike what she probably told you we never wanted her to enter this career. We thought the pressure of being in the spotlight would be too much of her and our worries have come true.”
“What are you talking about? You pushed me into this.”
Her phone rang and Dominic stepped out of the room, speaking into it quietly.
Her mother shook her head. “Oh, Arianna, where did we go wrong?” She looked back up at Bain. “She’s had issues ever since she was a child. What was she? Six? Seven? When she stopped talking?” She turned to her husband.
“I was four,” Arianna gritted out.
Her mother ignored her. “We thought it was just for attention. Ari is our youngest and our neediest. Frederick worked a lot and I had taken on too many obligations. I didn’t notice soon enough that something was wrong with her. That’s when the nightmares and sleepwalking began. She had the best therapists and tutors. Gradually, she became better. But then she got it into her mind to pursue a career in music. We tried to protect her. But her problems returned. The pills help with those bad thoughts, Arianna. Remember? Doctor Jones said you had to remember to take your pills.”
“The only pills I’ve ever taken are for anxiety, not delusions.”
“If only that was true.” Her mother shook her head sadly.
No. No, this couldn’t be happening. Bain didn’t believe them, right? She glanced up into his face but couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He was giving nothing away.
“I want you all to leave. I’ve had enough of the lies. I don’t have delusions. I don’t take any other medication.”
“We can call Doctor Jones, have him explain to everyone,” her mother said. “But we’re trying not to embarrass you, dear.”
Right. Like they cared. They were trying to separate her and Bain so they could keep her under their thumb. What they didn’t realize was that she wasn’t going to let them bully her any longer.
“We have to tell them everything, Arianna,” Larry implored. “We can’t keep this up. Not with the police involved. It’s against the law and I can’t keep lying for you.”
“What are you talking about now?” That sick feeling in her stomach was growing. She wanted them gone.
Bain squeezed her hand and she reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. He wasn’t going to abandon her. He wouldn’t believe her parents over her.
She felt the room spin and she leaned her head against Bain’s arm. She wouldn’t panic. There was nothing they could do to her.
Larry gave her a false look of sympathy. “I wish I didn’t have to do this, Arianna. I know you’ll feel betrayed by me. But we can’t continue on with this lie.”
“What lie? There is no lie!”
She heard voices behind her. She recognized Caleb speaking but she couldn’t focus on him right now. Larry had something up his sleeve. One last play. And she just knew it wasn’t going to go well for her.
“Oh, Arianna. I guess it’s up to me to come clean.” He turned to Bain, straightening his shoulders. “There is no stalker.”
Her mouth dropped open. The silence in the room was suffocating. Her heart raced so hard she felt ill.
“What are you talking about? What do you mean there’s no stalker? Those letters. . .”
“Oh, Arianna,” Larry said with false sympathy. He turned back to Bain. “You can’t blame her. If I’d known she was off her meds, I never would have agreed to this. I shouldn’t have agreed to it anyway. But I didn’t know it was all a fabrication until she handed me the letter before the concert. I told you that I found it in her dressing room. Truth is that she gave it to me to pretend to find. She told me to go to the press with it.” He turned to Dominic. “You saw her give me the letter while we were in the dressing room.”
“I saw her give you a piece of paper, but I didn’t see what was on it,” Dominic said gruffly.
She frowned. “That was a list of things you wanted me to sign off on for the concert organizers.”
“Please stop lying, darling,” her mother said. “You’re only hurting yourself.”
“Arianna invented a stalker for publicity purposes,” Larry declared. “She sent those letters to herself.”
“What the fuck!” Caleb exclaimed.
“I did no such thing.”
“You cannot blame her,” Larry said to Bain. “She sometimes has delusions when she’s off her medication. She may wel
l have convinced herself that this stalker is now real.”
She’d never wanted to hurt someone more. “You lying asshole! I don’t have fucking delusions and I never made up the stalker.”
Larry sighed. “Arianna, we both know you’re lying.”
The words made her gasp. Her legs wobbled. Even worse, though? Bain let go of her hand. He believed them? He couldn’t believe them!
She saw everything slipping through her fingers.
“This time, things have gone too far, Arianna,” her mother said. “You involved these nice men. You involved the police. Of course, Larry should never have agreed to help you.”
“I was wrong. But I care about Arianna a great deal. I wanted to make her happy.”
A slow clapping filled the room. She spun and saw Caleb standing there. His face was granite, but his eyes were blazing with anger. “What a command performance. You know, Lars, you and the wicked witch here should go into acting. You could take that comedy routine on the road.”
Relief flooded her. At least someone believed her. But Bain. . .she turned back to him, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead his gaze was on Larry.
“Caleb,” her mother spat out with thinly-veiled dislike. “I didn’t know you were back in the country. Aren’t you living in some third world hellhole?”
“Third world hellhole?” an accented voice drawled.
She turned toward the voice. How had she missed them? Well, she guessed these were special circumstances so she could be excused for being a bit distracted. Wolfe and Aleki flanked Caleb who stood, glaring at her family. But behind and to their right stood four truly gorgeous men with coffee-colored skin and dark hair.
She wasn’t sure which one had spoken, but when she looked them over, they all reacted differently. The first one stood tall and straight, his glare directed at Larry. His brother next to him was scowling at her mother. He was slightly shorter, but much thicker with muscle. The next brother grinned and winked as her gaze moved over him. He had longer hair; it lay in a shaggy mess that was really quite adorable. The fourth brother wasn’t looking at anyone. He’d half-turned to glance out the window, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the room.
“Did you hear that, Kassim?” the smiling one said.
“I did,” the first brother replied. “Funny, I thought we were the second wealthiest country in the world.”
“Well, our bank account did dip below fifty billion the other day,” the grinning one said. “Perhaps that’s why this bitch thinks she can look down on us.”
Her mother gasped. Whether over being called a bitch or hearing how much the brothers were worth, she wasn’t sure.
“Who are you?” her father demanded. “This is a private conversation.”
“Arianna, tell these people to leave,” her mother demanded. “I’m sure you don’t want an audience for this.”
“Arianna, my offer still stands,” Prince Kassim offered. “Our private jet can be ready within thirty minutes. You are welcome in Escana for as long as you like.”
“A private jet?” Gabrielle asked, smiling at the four brothers. “I wouldn’t mind visiting Escana.”
“You weren’t invited.” Surprisingly it was the fourth brother who spoke, the one who hadn’t even seemed to be paying attention.
Gaby gasped, unused to being rejected.
“The invitation is for Arianna,” Kassim added coldly. “Not anyone else in her family.”
“And if anyone is going anywhere, it’s the four of you,” she told her mother.
She let out a breath, trying to slow her racing heart. She just wanted them to leave. Their lies had cut deep. It showed how little they truly cared about her.
“I have proof,” Larry stated.
“What?” Bain barked.
“I have proof. That Arianna made up her stalker.”
“That piece of paper she gave you could have had anything on it,” Dominic told them. “It’s proof of nothing.”
“What about proof that she wrote it? I saw her do it. On her laptop. The other letters are probably there too.”
“What are you talking about? Why are you lying?” Tears threatened and she fought to keep them at bay. Her entire body shook with reaction.
Did Bain believe this bullshit? Surely not.
Maybe he thinks I lied to him the way his ex-wife did.
Caleb leaned a hand on her shoulder, and she waited for Bain to say something. He was incredibly possessive. But his gaze remained on Larry.
“Show them, Arianna,” Larry urged.
“There’s nothing to show.” This was all so preposterous.
“Then you won’t mind proving it,” Larry said smoothly. He opened her laptop. The screen came up, asking for her password.
“You don’t have to,” Caleb murmured to her. “Let me get rid of them.”
It was tempting. So tempting.
But she couldn’t help but feel like Bain might always doubt her if she didn’t prove that she was telling the truth.
“I have nothing to hide. Here.” She walked over, unlocked her computer and opened up her documents. She froze. What the fuck was that? Under recent documents there was a new file. Labelled Letters.
Larry came around and put his hand on the small of her back. She thrust his hand away. “Don’t touch me.”
Bain stepped up, forcing Larry to take a few steps back. Relief flooded her at the move. Maybe she was imagining things. Maybe he had drawn back because he’d gone into bodyguard mode.
“Easy, man. I wasn’t going to hurt her. I care deeply about Arianna.”
“Sure, you do,” Caleb mocked.
“Well, what is that file, Arianna?” Larry pointed at the one labelled Letters. Now she wished she’d never opened her laptop. She didn’t know what the file was, had never seen it before but she knew what she was going to find in it.
“I never put that file there,” she said hastily, looking over at Bain. “It’s not mine.”
He gave her a slight nod. Did that mean he believed her?
“Arianna, please, we know it’s not your fault, darling. Just let us help you.” Her mother walked up next to her and opened the folder. Inside there were three documents. She knew what was going to be on them before her mother even clicked on them.
No. No, no, no.
Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs. Nausea bubbled in her stomach and if it wasn’t for Caleb wrapping his big arm around her waist, she thought she might have lost her balance.
“I didn’t write those.”
“They’re on your laptop, darling,” her mother pointed out. “How else would they have gotten there?”
“Someone planted them.”
“And who would do that? How would they do that?” her mother asked.
She had no idea. She just knew that somehow, someone had. She glanced over at Bain, desperate for some sign he believed her. He frowned at the letters, going through each one. Then he turned to look at Dominic. They held some sort of silent communication.
“So who delivered them?” Bain asked. “Because that sure wasn’t Arianna.”
“She told me she paid someone to deliver them,” Larry said. “And that she gave him a card to gain access to this level.”
She felt so hurt at their betrayal she couldn’t even speak.
“You need to leave now,” Dominic stated firmly.
“Excuse me?” her mother exclaimed. “We are Arianna’s family. She is obviously ill. She needs our help. We are not leaving here.”
“You have no right to be here,” Dominic told them. “You’ll leave now, or we will call the police. I’m sure you don’t want that.”
Her father stood and took hold of her mother’s arm, quietening her. He said something in her ear that no one else could hear.
“Fine. We will go for now. But we will be back. Of course, you will be paid in full for your time here. I’m just so sorry my daughter wasted your time.”
“Don’t come back,” she told them.
“I’m not ill,” she spat out. “And I’m not the liar here. All of you are. Do you really think this will get me to change my mind? To continue to support you all? It won’t. All it’s done is really shown me your true colors. I knew you were all selfish. I knew that you didn’t care about me. But deep down, there was always hope that you loved me. That’s gone now. Now I know that you don’t love anyone but yourselves. Larry, you’re still fired and from now on, I no longer have a family.”
Her mother gasped. “Oh, the hurtful things you say.”
“You cannot do this, Arianna. You need me!” Larry’s face was red, his hands were clenched into fists. “I made you who you are!”
“No. I did,” she said quietly. “I’ve had enough of you trying to manipulate and control me. All of you. Now go. Before I have you thrown out.”
“Come along, Bernadette.” Her father glared at her. “Just ignore her. You know she’ll change her tune once her boyfriend dumps her and runs.”
Was that what was going to happen? Bain was going to believe them over her?
Her family left, with Larry in tow. Suddenly, Bain appeared in front of her.
“Bain. . .I. . .you can’t—”
He took hold of her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Stay with Caleb and Dominic. Do not leave the apartment. I’ll be back soon.”
Then he was gone.
“Easy, Squirt.” Caleb wrapped an arm around her, walking her over to the same sofa where her family had just sat and eviscerated her.
Holy hell. Had that really happened?
“Wolfe, get her a drink,” Caleb ordered. “Aleki, get on her laptop. See how the hell they managed to get those files onto there.”
“I’ll be back, stay here with Caleb,” Dominic ordered her.
She nodded, feeling numb with shock as Caleb sat with her on the sofa, his arm around her shoulders.
But it should be Bain holding her. Bain who was looking after her.
Why had he just left? Where was he going? Would he be back?
“Why would they lie like that?” She was dimly aware of three princes taking up seats around them. The fourth one, the one who hadn’t seemed that interested in what was going on, remained by the window.
Daddy's Angel (Montana Daddies Book 7) Page 22
