Shadow of Love (12 page)

‘
We can start with why does it affect her if you decide to raise hell about me, or we can discuss how I plan to involve her in my plans for Sophie, whichever you prefer.’

‘
You sound as if you have a perfect crime all planned out and ready to be executed, James.’ She watched him wearily, her face defeated. It must have finally sunken in that he wasn’t joking.

Yet, his satisfaction was marred with something akin to shame and guilt. He bit his lower lip, angry with the girl who had managed to shake his certainty about what he was doing, his sudden desire to be anything but a villain in her eyes coming at a most inconvenient time.

‘
I’m not the criminal here,’ he answered. ‘But, as always, not all criminals get punished for their crimes. Some of them escape the arm of justice and walk away unharmed, leaving behind death and destruction. But he who sows wind reaps the storm. Isn’t that so?’

‘
I gather that you consider Marlene a criminal?’

He watched her eye him with calm composure, her lovely face impassive and cold, and he had to admire her fighting spirit.

‘
What crime is she guilty of, then?’

‘
How about murder, Emily? Killing an innocent man whose only fault was loving her and trusting her with his life. How about accusing him of rape and assault on her daughter and refusing to see reason in face of all the facts she had right in front of her eyes?’

He watched her face grow paler as he spoke, each word diminishing her a bit more, until there was nothing left but utter misery and pain.

‘
Do you know what I’m talking about or should I refresh your memory?’ he asked finally, his voice rougher than he intended.

‘
How… how did you know?’ She looked at him differently, he thought as he watched her huge eyes go over his face with an almost child-like helplessness. ‘I mean… what happened, it’s private, and it happened a long time ago. And I’m quite certain my stepdad never mentioned any family. He said he was all that was left after his parents died years ago, and he was the only child. Who are you?’

The last question, loud and raw hung between them like some kind of biblical dagger ready to swoop down and punish the non-believer.

‘
It doesn’t matter who I am.’ Every cell of his body rebelled against telling her more. He didn’t want her to know his life; seeing her eyes soften with pity would be unbearable. Instead he supplied her with the bare minimom, aware of the necessity to provide some kind of explanation at least. ‘I knew him a long time before he made the mistake of marrying Marlene.’

‘
He never mentioned anyone,’ she repeated helplessly, her strength visibly deflated. Which was exactly what he wanted, wasn’t it? To see her family shaken and on their knees, just as Steve Masden was at the end of his life. Then why wasn’t he enjoying any of this?

‘
So, what is it all about?’ She seemed to have shaken off some of her weakness, her voice stronger. ‘Some kind of revenge? What do you want to do to Sophie? I swear, the moment you leave here, I’m picking up the phone and letting her know what’s going on. You’ll have to gag me first, if you hope to get away with it.’

‘
Admirable loyalty. Thanks for the idea, but I don’t really think I’ll have to go to such drastic measures, so why don’t we start?’

He could tell she knew he meant it, her stilled body and wide-open eyes following him as he walked over to her large bay window to lean against the white painted wood of the frame. He knew he must have looked even more foreboding, his swarthy looks and dark clothes standing out against the soft, cream-colored curtains.

‘
What stops me from telling my family you’ve come up with some kind of a scheme, James?’

‘
Money, mostly.’ His enigmatic remark puzzled her, the delicate, elegantly arched eyebrows rising in surprise.

‘
Money?’ She repeated, her face confused. ‘I don’t understand. Do we owe you some money?’

He noted her saying ‘we’ and felt reluctant admiration for the way she stood up for her family after all the less than perfect things that had happened to her since their arrival. He wondered if she would be so eager to protect them once she knew the whole truth?

‘
Not as far as you know, no.’ He watched her with the smug expression of a cat toying with a mouse. ‘Did you know that Marlene put your restaurant on the market?’

He could tell that her gasp of surprise was genuine. He felt a short swift stab of remorse, realizing what a crushing blow it must be to her, given the history of the place.

‘
You’ve got it wrong,’ she said, shaking her dark head in defiance. ‘She wouldn’t do such a thing. Not in a hundred years. And even if she wanted, she couldn’t. It belongs to me, too, so it can’t be sold without me agreeing to it.’

‘
A hundred years is a bit of a stretch,’ he said pleasantly, his lips lifted in a sarcastic smile. ‘Try a few weeks instead. The restaurant wasn’t officially on the market, but Marlene did put it up for sale through private channels, using her own real estate agent. A man who seems to be on his way to become the next Mr. Marrows, as far as I know.’

‘
That’s absolutely insane.’ She bit her lower lip, her eyes huge. ‘As I said, they can’t do it without me, and I haven’t heard a thing about the so-called market listing. You must have gotten it wrong.’

‘
But I didn’t.’ He reached into his pocket and produced a single white sheet of paper, folded neatly in two. ‘Here, I printed it out for you. Somehow I expected you to doubt my words.’

She took it from him with her fingertips, carefully avoiding any physical contact. For a second, she hesitated to unfold the crisp, white paper, as if afraid of what she was about to find inside. Which meant that the truth was finally starting to sink in, he thought, as he watched her read the listing.

‘
That can’t be.’ She looked up to him, her eyes confused and helpless. He wanted to comfort her somehow, he realized, the slight trembling of her lips resonating deep inside him in a better, purer part of his soul he didn’t even know he still possessed.

‘
That simply can’t be.’ She put the paper on the coffee table, where it remained, white and extremely visible.

‘
It’s happening, Emily.’ He squashed his protective instinct and forced himself to stick to his script. His big part was coming up, and he would be damned if he messed it up. ‘Or rather, it
was
happening, until someone put an extremely generous offer on the restaurant and snapped it off the market earlier today.’

‘
Who?’ She started again, sudden realization dawning upon her as she watched him smiling at her in barely veiled triumph. ‘You. You did it, James.’ Anger painted her cheeks red as she came closer. ‘You bought it, didn’t you? But you know what? It doesn’t matter, because I haven’t signed anything, so it isn’t valid anyway. You will have to cut your losses and disappear just as fast as you came. Rest assured, once Sophie finds out all that, she’ll dump you faster than you can count to three.’

‘
They didn’t need your approval, Emily.’ Patiently smiling, he saw her pale again. ‘If you ever cared to read your father’s will, which I think you have only discussed with your family’s lawyer, you would find the clause that allows Marlene to forgo any consultation and do as she pleases.’

‘
A clause? What kind of a clause, and how the hell would you know about it in the first place?’ She was so agitated, he could see her pupils dilate, her eyes almost as dark as his.

‘
The real estate agent was concerned about your say in the sale, of course.’ He dashed her hopes with his practical comment. ‘So, he asked Marlene about that. She was only too happy to provide him with a detailed explanation and a copy of the will that states clearly, in case of financial distress that might compromise the family’s lifestyle, she can make the decision to sell the business at any time. Neither you nor Sophie have to agree. It had been drawn at the time both of you were minors, and since your father passed away before you reached the age of maturity, it still stands today. I’m sure he would have changed it eventually, since it was only meant for the time-being, but unfortunately he didn’t live long enough to do so.’

‘
Why would she do it?’ She was looking positively sick, her face as white as her pristine sofa. ‘We have no financial problems. Well, there is some issue with finding money for the renovation, but it certainly doesn’t count as distress. The lawyer must see that. And I can’t believe Marlene would keep it from Sophie and me.’

‘
She didn’t.’ He saw her eyes cloud with sudden understanding. ‘Sophie knew about the idea, as well. Supported it, to say the least. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who decided to keep it from you, not her mother. As for the lawyer, I guess that once he had seen her expenses for her medical treatment and such, he had no doubts about the urgency of the situation.’

‘
Her hospital stay is covered, I know that. And so is the extra treatment she had been receiving,’ she protested weakly, her voice shaking. ‘I know, since I’ve dealt with most of the paper work. And for the other services, Marlene has a private account she’d been using.’

‘
Have you actually seen it?’ His eyebrows rose in a question that didn’t really need an answer. ‘From what I know, she’s blown away all of her money, not necessarily on the treatment, mind you. But, nevertheless, it’s all gone, and she had been tapping into the restaurant line of credit for a while now. Borrowing against the business, as you can imagine.’

‘
I know Marlene. She wouldn’t do it.’ She was on verge of tears, he could tell. ‘She might have a few vices, but she isn’t a thief. I should know. She took care of me for years after my dad passed away.’

‘
It doesn’t change the fact that she is a spender.’ He was amazed by her loyalty. ‘Have you ever asked yourself where did all this money come from? For the trips, cars, clothes, and anything else they both wanted? Or did you really think that Marlene had some never-ending source of cash in some mysterious account?’

He could see she was thinking, most probably recounting all those luxuries that the two women enjoyed so frequently, if he was to believe the reports he had commissioned. They were spending as if there were no tomorrow, Marlene’s weakened sense of judgment and Sophie’s taste for all things refined a dangerous and combustive combination.

‘
So, where does this leave us?’ She surprised him with her collected voice, something he had come to admire. ‘I gather there’s a purpose to this sordid story, right?’

‘
Indeed.’ Two could play that game, he decided, equally cool and polite. ‘You asked why I think you won’t go running to Marlene and Sophie the moment I leave your place. Of course, it’s my assumption, and you might surprise me. But if you do, I will not only back out of the deal I’ve agreed to with Marlene’s real estate agent, but I’ll also make it impossible to find another buyer. Before you ask if I can do so, I assure you that I can. You might want to get a second opinion on that, but it will be a pure waste of time.’

‘
Correct me if I’m wrong, but there must be something much more sinister behind your offer,’ she said suspiciously, her eyes glued to his face. ‘Buying our restaurant can’t be all there is to your idea of punishing us, James. You know just as well as I do, if not better, that Marlene and Sophie aren’t emotionally attached to our restaurant. I guess that’s where your engagement kicks in?’

‘
Exactly.’ He didn’t even try pretending anymore. She was way too intelligent anyway. ‘I don’t particularly like Marlene, but she’s not the one responsible for destroying Steve. Sophie created this hell, and she deserves to be taught a lesson she won’t forget.’

‘
A lesson? What do you mean?’ She was scared, he could tell, her eyes on his face as if he was the most terrible person in the whole world.

And he realized that he didn’t want her to look at him like that. Quite the opposite, really. He didn’t want to be the cruel man she must have come to detest and fear, but someone she chose to look at without that scared expression in her soft brown eyes.

‘
Nothing too dramatic,’ he said slowly, fighting the urge to explain himself to her right there and then. Because he wanted her to understand what motivated him. The thought that she saw him as some kind of psychopath with no feelings beyond revenge was driving him crazy. He wanted her to know how deeply he had cared for Steve and what he meant to James during those years of growing up and searching for his own identity. Steve was the guiding light in a vast sea of darkness, kind and supportive to the boy who was alone. He had believed in James and trusted him to become someone special, his trust and care the only ones James had received save for his mother’s.

‘
I want her to know how it feels to be ostracized and ridiculed. I can’t bring Steve back to life; neither can I make her really pay for what she did. I’m not in the position to do anything more than just cause her enough pain to feel a fraction of what he must have been going through at her bidding.’

‘
I’m not sure I understand.’ She watched him carefully, just the tiniest movement of her body telling him that she had marginally relaxed after his statement. Did she really think he was planning some kind of physical assault on her sister? Did she fear for Sophie’s life? He almost laughed at the thought, the bitter taste of disappointment rising in his throat.

‘
I intend to remain engaged just long enough for her to start planning her wedding and let all her glamorous friends know how happy she is. We will live the fairy tale, complete with the perfectly drawn-out plans for the most spectacular and lavish ceremony one can imagine. And then I will call it off, for reasons that will certainly put her into the spotlight. In not the most flattering way, I might add.’