19. Viktoria
19
VIKTORIA
I slowly regained consciousness. My mouth felt like cotton balls had been stuffed inside, and I winced at the headache pulsing through my brain.
What happened?
Cracking my eyes open, I found myself staring at a gilded ceiling. A wreath of gold lilies circled a gleaming chandelier, pure five-star elegance, but…
What is this? Where am I?
Soft sheets caressed my bare legs. The mattress dipped gently when I planted my hand to sit up. I blinked the spots from my eyes and saw I’d been dumped in a gorgeous bedroom decorated in a mixture of antique and contemporary pieces. It didn’t look lived-in—a guest room, maybe. But whose guest room? Where? Nothing about this made sense.
A plastic cup filled with water sat on the nightstand. I grabbed it and guzzled it down to the dregs. Slapping the cup back down, I peered at the digital clock. 7:38 p.m. I’d been knocked out the entire day.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, grimacing at the dirt streaks marring the ivory sheets. Whoever had taken me hadn’t changed me out of my torn cocktail dress or cleaned me up in any way. Somehow, that made me feel better, though it did nothing to quell my rising panic.
Those men…who were they?
I couldn’t breathe. They hadn’t found Lee, had they? Why had they taken me? Who did they work for?
“Hello, Viktoria.”
I lurched off the bed at the familiar voice. I whipped around so fast my knees nearly buckled. “Katrin?” Shock blanked my mind, and my hand flew to my throat. But as my shock faded, the picture started to make sense. The clues had all been there, if I’d cared to see. Katrin grilling me on my travel plans, calling Aleta when those plans changed. Preying on my insecurities to get me to come to the fashion show and lure me from the plane?—
“Why?” I dropped my hand and moved to the end of the bed. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear. My best friend had tried to kill me. I couldn’t make it make sense.
Katrin sighed deeply. “It’s your fault, really.” Her expression softened—with regret? Or was that just what I wanted to see? “If you weren’t such a stickler for rules and regulations, we’d never have ended up in a situation like this.”
“What are you talking about?” With my shock fading, my anger flared. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Our fathers,” Katrin snapped. “If it wasn’t for you, they’d still be running a very profitable—if not exactly legal—business on the side, and both our families would get to stay rich.”
“Stay… what ?” I shook my head, refusing to believe my father would participate in anything illegal.
Katrin moved closer, her perfume filling the air. “A little corruption is hardly a big deal. But when that Marks account you were chasing fell through—and you spent so much time fretting over it, trying to figure out what had gone wrong—Jon Aronsson grew a conscience. Or rather, he lost his nerve.” Her eyes flashed. “He figured Marks found something, doing his due diligence.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “That’s why Marks backed out?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But your father sure thought so. And he decided that he needed to clean up his act.”
My lungs burned. I gulped a deep breath.
“I couldn’t see it,” I whispered. “And it was right in my face.” How many times had I come to my father with some inconsistency, some accounting error? And how many times had he brushed me off? Don’t worry, I’ll handle it. I’ve got something better for you.
Katrin’s voice hardened. “ We don’t have the option of shifting our focus into another division like you’ve done. We’ve been making less and less money while your business has grown.” Hatred thickened her tone, turned it ugly. “Our business is failing, and it’s all thanks to you.”
I almost laughed. Had I honestly envied this woman? Ached to be more like her?
“What about all your…ethical fast fashion?”
“Not even ethical, and it’s still losing money.” Katrin’s lip curled. “The simplest solution was to go back to how we were. My father, your father, our business…”
“Without me.” I swallowed dryly. “You did this for money.”
“I did,” Katrin said. “But now I have you, maybe you don’t have to die. I can coerce your father. Dangle your safe return in exchange for our previous deal. But this time you’d be part of it. Help our profits soar. And once your hands are dirty, too?—”
“Like hell I’d help you.”
“Then I’ll kill you myself.” Katrin smiled. “Which do you want to be, rich or dead?”
Nausea settled in the pit of my stomach. Nothing of the girl I grew up with remained in this heartless, self-centered woman. And my father…the man I’d worked myself to the bone to please and impress…the man who’d expected me to put my family and the company first… That he would participate in something that would jeopardize it all shocked me to the core. I’d barely had any kind of life, always afraid of causing a scandal, and he was the one living in shame and dishonor. He’d been so greedy and short-sighted, he’d risked it all for money. Money we could live without, or earn legitimately, if he’d been patient. I would’ve brought him the profits he’d craved. I’d been well on my way when the Marks deal had fallen through.
It just wouldn’t sink in. I needed Lee. I needed him to hold me and help me process this betrayal.
“How did you find me?” I asked, mostly to stop the whirl of my thoughts. “After I jumped, I mean. You had men right there.”
“The bracelet,” Katrin said. “My idea.” She patted her chest. “It had a tracker woven into the braid, but it broke off. My men were searching in the wrong area until you so kindly called out.”
I cringed. Lee would be so disappointed. He’d been right to question how well I knew Katrin. He hadn’t trusted her or her security, but I had fought against hearing him out. I wished now I’d asked him what he’d sensed—what I’d missed in my stubborn refusal to see the truth.
“I can see your mind churning.” Katrin pointed at my head. “Do you think someone’s coming for you?” She smirked. “Unlikely. No one knows who’s been after you except for your father, and he can’t tell the authorities without confessing his own illegal activity. He’s as guilty as we are. Guiltier, maybe.” Katrin’s smirk widened. “Are you thinking about your caveman? Picturing him bursting in and saving the day?”
My scalp crawled, but I kept my mouth shut.
“Think again.” Katrin’s eyes twinkled. “Your father fired him. I made sure he did. Even if Lee survived the jump, he’s on his way home. He’s not coming for you.”
A cold spike of grief lanced my heart. I couldn’t imagine Lee running after me all on his own. Not with those last words he’d flung in my face prior to the explosion. He’d made it clear he never wanted to see me again. If I wanted out of here, I’d have to get out myself. Then I’d run after him . I’d make him listen, and maybe, just maybe?—
“Don’t waste your time dreaming of rescue.” The light dimmed in Katrin’s eyes, turning them ugly. “You need to start coming up with reasons I should let you live. Because right now? The odds aren’t in your favor.”
“Katrin,” a new voice said, a voice I knew well. “I have Jon Aronsson holding for you.”
“Aleta?” I whirled to face my assistant. Aleta stood in the doorway, head turned away. “You aren’t sick?”
Dear God, how deep does the betrayal go?
“No.” Aleta’s expression hardened, and she lifted her chin.
Katrin dismissed Aleta with a wave of her hand. “I had her tell you that so she wouldn’t be on the plane. That way, she could spy for me without putting herself in danger.” She paused at the threshold and peered over her shoulder. “Take this time to think about what you want to do.”
I bridled. Monster . This woman had killed innocent people just to stay rich—the pilot, the copilot had gone down with the plane, and their blood was on Katrin’s hands. Yet she showed not a shred of remorse.
“Think about it,” Katrin said, and she turned to go. “Then we’ll decide whether you live or die.”