“So it had to be one of those four that leaked it.”
“Or sold it,” added Leslie.
Sarah looked at her, exasperated. “What am I supposed to do now? I don’t know who to trust. Do you think one of them was just talking too much, or do you think that,” she swallowed, “someone actually knew what they were doing?”
“Your friends don’t seem stupid, Sarah. They know what’s at stake. The backstory about how you and Jon met would have brought a good chunk of money. The wedding date and venue weren’t revealed, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t leaked along with the other, and the two together could fund a small country.”
“Why wouldn’t they reveal it if they had the information?” Sarah asked, but realized the answer the second the words left her lips.
“Because they want exclusive pictures that would bring in even more money.”
Sarah didn’t know what to say. She thought her friendships could withstand the money temptation.
“Jon’s dad, Zander, has a sister Jon hasn’t spoken to in years, Aunt Mara. She lives in Van Nuys. She sold a story about how Jon didn’t regret the accident because he was jealous of Jack. It really hurt Jon. She made up all kinds of other stories too and sold them over the year after Jack’s death. There was just enough personal information in each story to give them some credibility. Jon finally figured out it was her and confronted her. She denied it, but when Jon and his dad cut off all communication with her, the stories slowed and eventually stopped.”
“His dad’s sister?” she questioned. She’d never heard of Mara. She definitely wasn’t on the wedding guest list.
“As far as Jon is concerned, she’s dead. She hurt him so badly that I don’t think he will ever forgive her. He already blamed himself for Jack’s death. He tortured himself enough on his own that he didn’t need the world condemning him as well. It was pretty bad—so bad that I didn’t know if Jon was going to survive.
“What made you think that?” It was kind of a strange thing to say.
“He was drinking a lot, out at the clubs every night. There were always women around. His life was utter chaos, pretty destructive. That’s when the media started labeling him as a man-whore. He kind of was, but never as bad as they made him out to be. Then one day he missed a call time and almost got fired from the film. Isaac tracked him down and got him to the set. He was a couple of days late, though, and the director really raked him over the coals. If they hadn’t been so deep into the film, they would have replaced him.” Leslie drank some juice from the small bottle and added, “I didn’t work for him then, obviously, or that never would have happened. After that incident, he realized he had to take some control over his life and he stopped going to clubs. He stopped drinking in public. It just fed the problem…and he’s never missed a call time since.”
“He was filming Third Rung, right? With Amy Richardson?”
“Yeah, she broke up with him the day before he disappeared. I guess he wasn’t ready to see her at work the next day. I don’t think he was very serious about her. It was just a combination of all the pressure he was under. Everyone has a breaking point,” concluded Leslie.
“Hmm…” Jon admitted that he never told his parents about the baby, so Sarah wasn’t sure if Leslie knew. She didn’t want to explain the details, if Jon hadn’t told her. She could imagine how alone he felt. He was dealing with the loss of his brother, the one person he confided in the most, and the loss of the baby that Amy had aborted. With someone feeding the press, he couldn’t trust anyone. No wonder he was so messed up.
“The clubbing…the girls—I just assumed it was his way of working through the death of his brother. I didn’t realize someone in his family was selling him out and making all his problems worse. I’ve never heard of Aunt Mara.”
“She’s dead,” Leslie said with a chuckle. “Jon’s a pretty forgiving guy, but I think once someone crosses that line, it’s hard to forgive.”
Just then Jon walked in, setting his keys and phone down on the counter and opening the refrigerator. “Forgive who?” he asked.
“Aunt Mara,” answered Sarah, scrutinizing his face for a reaction.
“I don’t need to forgive her. She’s dead,” Jon said matter-of-factly as he pulled a gallon jug of milk out and set it on the counter. Sarah looked at Leslie with a questioning expression. Jon poured the milk into a glass and placed the jug back in the fridge before continuing, “Why are you talking about her?” He glared at Leslie.
Sarah held up the magazine, flashing Jon the page with the picture of the cabin. He joined her at the breakfast bar and exclaimed, “Damn, I was hoping we could use your parents’ lake home later this summer.” A look of disappointment crossed his face. “I guess that’s out now.”
“It gets worse. Here.” She handed him the magazine, flipping to the cover.
Jon skimmed the cover and then opened it to the article. When he was finished reading, he looked up into Sarah’s eyes with a wary face. “Well, at least we know for sure.” He scratched his face as if contemplating what to do. “Do you think the venue got leaked?”
Sarah shrugged. She didn’t have a clue how they could know for sure whether the wedding information was sold or not.
Jon tapped his finger on the picture of the cabin. “So…is Megan the Aunt Mara?” They both knew that the information in this article was knowledge that was never shared on a phone, in an e-mail, or in a text. It was information Sarah shared with her friends in person a long time ago.
“I don’t know. I can’t believe any of them would do it.”
“It had to be one of them.” He said it a little too unemotionally, as if he expected it all along.
“I know it wasn’t Jessica or Jeff. Jessica complained about someone calling the house, making Mom all upset. They said they were from People Magazine, but they weren’t. They wanted to interview with Mom and Dad about what it was like to have a daughter engaged to a mega star. Did you know they discontinued the house phone? We had that number all my life.”
“A mega star?”
“Is that all you got from my whining?”
“I’m sorry they had to sacrifice their landline. Destruction follows me everywhere I go.”
“It’s OK. Even Mom admitted the only people who called that line anymore were political parties and universities looking for alumni donations. I think they were happy to get rid of it.” She didn’t want him to feel responsible for the treachery. It was one of her friends. She had to accept that. “So how do I confront them? What should I say?”
“Be honest with them. Tell them how much the betrayal has hurt you, how much trouble it’s caused. Hopefully one of them will confess to it.”
“And if they don’t?”
“Then we play detective. This kind of information is worth some coin. Do any of them have more money than usual? Or are in need of money?”
Sarah thought about Jon’s question. She didn’t think any of her friends were in such dire need for money that they would stoop this low. Jeff and Jessica were always talking about needing money—for their wedding and for a down payment on a house—but she was certain they wouldn’t sell her out. Besides, she’d told Jessica much more than the other girls, and none of what she had shared with her alone had been leaked. “It wasn’t Jessica.”
“If you don’t think it was Jessica or Jeff, then what about Megan? We never really found out how Liam’s information about his brother’s intervention got leaked. We kind of just dropped it when you found out the guy who gave her the new phone put a stalker app on it. How did the press end up with the story? I think she’s the most likely candidate. Maybe she hooked up with the connections he already set up, or maybe she’s back with him.”
Megan’s ex, Chase, was definitely unscrupulous enough to sell the wedding story to the press. But Megan would have had to have gone along with it, and Sarah didn’t think she would do it. Megan was never one to sell out for money. She had a couple of offers for graduate fellowships in
the fall—a full ride at Princeton and one at UCLA. Both offers had stipends, but she still wasn’t sure if she would take either of them. She didn’t feel obligated to the schools just because they were willing to pay for her education. She never acted like she needed money. She was always satisfied with what she had. Even though she didn’t seem to need money, Chase used to be able to talk her into anything, and maybe he had talked her into this. She could have been selling them out all along and that’s why she never complained about needing cash. Sarah’s mind was spinning.
Then there was that picture, right there in the magazine. Sarah remembered posing for it. It was at her graduation party with all her friends and family at the house she got for her graduation. She and Jon stood in the center with Alli, Jessica, and Jeff encompassing them. Sarah could see the house in the background. Over Jon’s head perked bunny ears from Sarah’s cousin Ronnie’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter’s fingers. Someone, probably her dad, was holding her up behind Jon, enabling the photo bomb. She didn’t remember who took the photo at the time, but Megan was the only one not in the picture. She must have been the photographer; otherwise, she would have been in the picture.
Tears started to prick in Sarah’s eyes. She couldn’t help it. How could she do this to her? They were like sisters. She thought Jonathan was the only one who could break her heart. She was wrong. This betrayal felt as if she was literally being stabbed in the back, and each line in the article was a twist of the knife. Had all they had been through over the years meant nothing to her?
“Maybe Megan is the culprit. But how will we know for sure?”
“You won’t unless she confesses. We have to confront her. We need to find out if she told the press when the wedding is. If the media knows the date and the venue, then we need to add even more security to assure the wedding doesn’t turn into a circus.” Jon wrapped his arms around her, and she melted into him. The comfort of his protecting embrace was just what she needed.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Sarah
BITTERNESS BURNED IN Sarah’s blood the more she contemplated Megan’s betrayal. She’d spent the entire night—a long, sleepless night—going over the evidence in her mind. It had to be Megan. It all started with her. Jessica had said that Chase had been back at the rental house several times in the last week. Maybe he was helping with the sale to the tabloids. They were probably working together. She could never say no to him before. What made Sarah think she could do it now?
Sarah knew she wouldn’t have time to fly to Minnesota and talk to Megan in person. She and Jon were supposed to be leaving for the Caribbean tomorrow. They had rented an entire island for three weeks—two weeks before the wedding for prep and one week after for the first phase of their honeymoon. They were going early to help with the groundwork just because they could. Sarah still hadn’t finished packing yet.
She needed to call Megan and tell her she knew it was her and that she wasn’t going to put up with the deception any longer. She needed to uninvite her to the wedding. She turned the phone over and over in her hand as Jon wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on top of her head.
“It has to be done, Sarah. I’m sorry she had to be a casualty of our life,” said Jon in a firm but sorrowful voice. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, but his comfort did nothing to prevent the swell in her eyes and throat. She grasped his hand that was around her waist and squeezed it before pulling away.
“This isn’t your fault. She did this. It was her choice.” Sarah slid her finger across the phone’s screen and made the call. As the phone was ringing, she strode to the counter where the magazine sat displaying the evidence.
“Hey, Megan. I was wondering if you saw the latest tabloid about Jon and me.” Sarah’s hand shook as she spoke.
“I saw it yesterday. I couldn’t believe it. How did they get all that?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“You’re blaming me for this?” Megan’s voice sounded surprised, but yet not.
“I just want to know what you told the press about the wedding. Is the date and location going to show up in next week’s issue?”
“I didn’t tell the press anything about your precious, exclusive wedding. I just don’t get why you assume I’m the culprit.”
“Where do I start?” Sarah paused and looked down at the magazine, trying to remember the most damning evidence. “The article quoted a source close to me as saying I was terrified Jon was the father of Mia’s baby, not because he would leave me, but because she would always have her clutches in him. It stated my exact words—the words that I told you.”
“We all talked about how nervous you were about Mia’s baby and how manipulative you thought Mia was. Jessica, Alli, and I all talked about it. I shared everything with them. I’m sure Jeff heard it all, and your mom, too. Why am I the only one ever accused of selling information to the tabloids? Is it because of Chase? Well…I’ve talked to Chase and I’m not convinced he was selling you out. He showed me his stock portfolio and his bank account online. He doesn’t need the tabloid’s money. He’s got more money than he knows what to do with.”
“Maybe he just did it for fun then.”
“Or maybe he bought me the phone because he cares about me and it had nothing to do with you and Jon. Not everything in the world revolves around you. You act like you’re the only ones who have a life.”
“No, we don’t have a life because someone keeps selling us to the press…Megan. What about that picture you took at my graduation party? You were the only one that wasn’t in the picture, and it’s right there…in the magazine.”
“What picture? I don’t remember taking any pictures. I don’t have any pictures from that party on my phone. If you think I would do that to you, then you don’t know me. I can’t believe you think that of me.”
“What else am I supposed to think when all the evidence points to you? How could you tell them all my personal information? I told you all that stuff in confidence. You knew how important it was to me to keep it from the press. You ruined everything.”
They sat in silence for several seconds. Sarah knew she shouldn’t have expected Megan to admit it.
“Alli says you’re always sneaking off to talk to someone in private. What, you can’t talk to the tabloids in front of your housemates? I’m not the only one who thinks it’s you. Alli and Jessica have both told me you’ve been really secretive since Chase has been back in your life. And then there’s that whole ordeal with Liam.”
“OK…you caught me.” Megan’s voice rang of sarcasm.
“So you admit it?” Sarah’s voice shrilled.
“I’ve been talking to Chase…But just because I talk to him does not mean that I talk about you…and he never asks. I’m not the one that leaked the story about your week at the lake or any of the other crap. It wasn’t me. I don’t know who’s been doing this to you, but if you truly believe that I’m involved, then we’re not friends.”
“Well, that’s obvious. A friend would never hurt me like you did,” resounded Sarah.
“I don’t need to listen to your accusations anymore. I hope you and Jon have a wonderful life together,” she shrieked, and the phone went dead.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she turned to face Jon. “That couldn’t have gone any worse.”
“I guess we should just prepare for the worst-case scenario with the paps. We’ll tighten security. It will all work out, Sarah.” He placed a finger on each corner of her mouth and pushed up to make her smile. She looked into his gorgeous blue eyes and knew it would be OK as long as she had him. She forced a smile, and he pulled her against his chest, kissing the top of her head.
Even if she had a normal life, she could have still lost Megan as a friend. People drift in and out of each other’s lives all the time. Life is fluid, ever changing. This was just a change that would take some time to digest.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sarah
MOST OF THE GUEST
S had arrived yesterday, but the wedding party, her and Jon’s parents, and a few select people had been on the island for almost a week. Activities had been organized to keep the visitors busy until the wedding tomorrow. The happenings included snorkeling, parasailing, fishing, and of course just hanging out on the beach or at the pool. If inclined guests could even take mamba lessons.
The wedding party spent most of the afternoon, yesterday, snorkeling as a group and then joined the other guests for a traditional island barbeque on the beach. The bridesmaids and groomsmen, their significant others, and a few friends had stayed out talking and drinking until the sun began to peak over the horizon. It reminded Sarah of weekends at her parents’ lake cabin with a big group of friends telling stories and laughing in front of a fire near the beach. Someone had brought an acoustic guitar and since most of the groomsmen were musicians, there had been a lot of singing, too.
She tried not to think about who was missing from the group and why. It just made her stomach churn. Her cousin Ronnie would be filling Megan’s spot. The bridesmaids’ dress designer and her assistant flew in last night and would be fitting Ronnie into Megan’s dress this afternoon. Sarah wondered how it was going to work since Ronnie and Megan’s body types were completely different.
This morning, the twisting and turning of Sarah’s stomach had awoken her after only a couple of hours of sleep, and she dragged herself out of bed, not wanting to wake Jon as well. He lay gorgeously clueless to the growing agitation inside her. Sarah couldn’t pinpoint what was bothering her, but something was wrong. She could feel it. She’d sensed it the whole week. She’d barely been able to sleep or eat. She thought she’d concealed it from everyone, but then at the beach party last night as she unconsciously pushed her food around on her plate, Jon whispered in her ear, “You have to eat or your wedding dress is going to fall right off you. You need to leave me something to grab on to on our wedding night.”
Sarah ate what she could, not only to appease him, but because he was right. She didn’t want her dress sagging in all the wrong places. She tried to put the feeling of dread behind her. It was probably just nerves—the normal nerves every bride gets worrying about the world hearing how she face-planted on the white carpet as she walked down the aisle to meet her movie star groom. Every bride went through that, right?
Between the Lies (Between the Raindrops #2) Page 34
