Chapter Eighteen
Hailey
The screen above the fireplace comes to life, and Marlena actually squeals. “Oh my god, you’re all together! Look at you!”
She’s clapping her hands like a kid at a birthday party. “I’ve been watching the feeds all afternoon and I just—I can’t get
over it. The three of you. In one room. This is even better than I imagined.”
Knox stands rigid beside me. He’s been pacing the cabin for the last hour, checking windows and door frames he’s already checked
twice, burning off the restless energy of a man who’s used to solving problems and can’t solve this one.
“Mr. Bishop.” Marlena turns her attention to him, pressing both hands to her chest. “I have to say—I pulled your service record
after my team brought you in, and wow. Just wow. Two Bronze Stars? That thing in Fallujah?” She fans herself dramatically.
“I got a little flushed reading it, if I’m being honest. Very heroic. Very sexy.”
“Get to the point,” Knox says flatly.
“So direct! God, I love military men.” She shivers theatrically. “That commanding energy. The discipline. You can just tell
he’d be incredible in—” She stops herself, waving a hand. “Sorry, sorry. Staying focused. My therapist says I have attention
regulation issues. We’re working on it. She’s a wonderful woman, Dr. Knight. Very nonjudgmental. She’s been helping me with
my impulse control, which, honestly, is the only reason I didn’t have my team bring Knox directly to my bedroom.” She winks
at the camera. “Growth mindset.”
I exchange a look with Liam. His expression says what the actual fuck more eloquently than words ever could.
“Anyway! Business.” Marlena claps once, shifting gears. “I’ve given you time to settle in, process your feelings, maybe hash
out some of that delicious tension I’ve been sensing. But now we need to discuss terms. You know I want the diamond—obviously—and
here’s the fun part. I’m giving you a deadline. Christmas Eve at midnight. Ten days.” She holds up both hands, fingers spread.
“I find deadlines really motivating. Dr. Knight says I’m very goal-oriented. It’s one of my strengths. We mostly work on my
attachment style and my tendency to become obsessive about things I want. She thinks I’m talking about handbags.” She laughs.
“I mean, I am also obsessive about handbags, but that’s not really the core issue.”
She settles back in her chair, legs crossed.
“So! Ten days. Tell me where the Snowflake is hidden, you go free. New identities, travel money, my personal guarantee Viktor
never finds you. I’ll even write you a letter of recommendation if you want to get back in the game. I know people. Very connected
people.”
“And if we refuse?” Knox asks.
“Then I kill one of you.”
Her tone doesn’t change. Same bubbly energy, same pleasant smile. Like she’s explaining the specials at a restaurant.
“The other two can watch and reconsider. I’ll give you a day to grieve—maybe two, I’m not a monster—and then we’ll have this
conversation again. Hopefully with better results.”
The fire pops. Nobody speaks.
“I know, I know.” Marlena holds up a hand.
“You’re thinking, ‘Marlena, that seems harsh. Marlena, is murder really on-brand for you?’ And honestly?
It’s not. It’s really not. I don’t want to hurt any of you.
Killing one of you would be like—” She looks up at the ceiling, searching.
“Like using a Picasso as a dartboard. Like making a smoothie out of a first-edition Hemingway. Just—” She shudders.
“Senseless destruction of something irreplaceable. So you understand why I really, really don’t want to damage any of you.
Hurting you would hurt me.” She places a hand over her heart.
“It would set back my whole emotional wellness journey. I’d need extra sessions with Dr. Knight.
I’d probably need to increase my Lexapro. It would be a whole thing.”
She sighs heavily.
“I’ve been working on myself, you know? Learning to set boundaries, practicing self-care, asking for what I want instead of
just taking it. Well. Mostly instead of just taking it. Baby steps. Personal growth looks different for everyone. The important
thing is that I’m trying.”
I’m losing my mind. I have to be. Because this woman just threatened to murder one of us and then talked about her emotional
wellness journey in the same breath, and somehow both things seem equally sincere.
“Here’s what I need you to understand.” For just a second I see something cold underneath all that warmth. Something that
makes my stomach drop. “I’ve been waiting five years for this diamond. Five years of dead ends and false leads and watching
it slip away. I’m done waiting. So when I say I’ll kill one of you?” The smile comes back, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
“I mean it. I’ll cry about it afterward. But I’ll do it.”
Then, like flipping a switch, she’s bright again.
“But let’s not dwell on the negative! Let’s focus on the positives.” She starts counting on her fingers. “Beautiful cabin.
Gourmet food. Excellent wine selection—try the Malbec with the steaks, seriously, it’s an incredible pairing. And company
you clearly enjoy.” Her smile turns knowing. “I’ve seen the way you three look at each other. Very charged.”
My face goes hot.
“You’re insane,” Knox says.
“I’m enthusiastic. There’s a difference. Dr. Knight and I have discussed this. She says my passion for my interests is actually
a strength, as long as I channel it constructively.” She beams. “Which, again—strengths.”
Knox looks like he’s trying to solve an equation that doesn’t have an answer. Liam has his hand over his mouth, and I can’t tell if he’s horrified or trying not to laugh. I’m somewhere between both.
“I’ll check in again soon,” Marlena continues, glancing at something off-screen. “In the meantime, make yourselves at home.
Eat, drink, get to know each other better.” She waves a hand. “I’ll be monitoring—but not constantly. I’m not some crazy voyeur
sitting here watching you like a peeping Tom. God, can you imagine?” She wrinkles her nose. “That would be so invasive. So
pathological. Dr. Knight would have a field day.” She shudders. “What you three do with your personal time?” She mimes zipping her lips. “None of my business. I’m a collector, not a pervert.”
She pauses, tilting her head like she’s reconsidering.
“I mean, I might check in occasionally. To make sure you’re all still alive and cooperating. But if things get . . . intimate?”
She holds up both hands, laughing. “I am immediately muting and looking away. Promise. Boundaries are important. Dr. Knight
says healthy relationships require privacy and trust, and I want us to have a healthy relationship. Even if it’s, you know.
Kidnapper and kidnappees.”
She pauses again . . . something or someone is distracting her.
“Ten days!” She holds up her fingers again. “Christmas Eve at midnight. Use the time wisely.” She blows a kiss at the camera.
“Bye for now! Remember—try the Malbec!”
The screen goes dark.
For a long moment, nobody moves.
“She’s fucking insane,” Liam says.
I start laughing. I can’t help it—it bubbles up from somewhere hysterical, and once it starts I can’t make it stop. Liam stares
at me, then his mouth twitches, and Knox makes a sound that’s either a groan or a laugh, and suddenly we’re all standing in
our beautiful prison losing our minds.
“We’re so fucked,” I manage between breaths.
“Thoroughly,” Liam agrees.
The laughter dies as quickly as it came. Reality settling back in, cold and heavy.
Knox is already moving. “She said she’s watching. We need to find the cameras.”
He starts with the bookshelf, running his fingers along the spines, checking behind frames. Liam takes the kitchen, opening
cabinets, examining light fixtures. I scan the main room—the fireplace mantel, the decorative objects, anywhere a lens could
hide.
We search for twenty minutes. Every corner, every surface, every piece of furniture that could conceal surveillance equipment.
Nothing.
“They’re too well hidden,” Knox says, frustration bleeding through his words. “Professional installation. Could be pinhole
cameras, could be built into the walls. Without equipment, we’re not going to find them.”
“So we just assume she can see and hear everything,” Liam says.
“We have to.” Knox’s jaw tightens. “Every conversation. Every plan we make. She’ll know.”
The weight of that settles over us. No privacy. No secrets. Ten days of being watched like animals in a cage.
“You should eat something,” Knox says to me. “Keep your strength up.”
I shake my head. “My stomach’s still off from whatever they drugged us with.”
“Same,” Liam admits. “Feels like I swallowed battery acid.”
Knox nods slowly. “Yeah. Me too.”
None of us move toward the kitchen. The thought of food right now makes my insides twist.
“So.” Knox turns to face us, all traces of humor gone. “Now what?”
Liam pushes off from the counter. “We give her what she wants. Tell her where the diamond is, take the deal, disappear.”
“No,” Knox says.
“Knox—”
“Think about it. She lied about Viktor. She had to have manipulated you into bringing Hailey here. That whole thing about you retrieving the Snowflake—how did she know about that unless she set it up?” His jaw tightens as the implication lands.
“Everything out of her mouth could be bullshit, including the part where she lets us walk away.”
“She’s obsessed with us,” Liam says. “You heard her. We’re irreplaceable. She’s not going to destroy something she spent five
years trying to acquire.”
“She threatened to destroy it thirty seconds ago,” Knox counters. “With a smile on her face.”
“That was a negotiating tactic.”
“That was a woman telling us exactly what she’s capable of.” Knox takes a step toward him. “The second she has that diamond,
we’re loose ends. Three people who know what she did, who she is, what she’s willing to do. You really think she lets us walk
away with all that?”
“So what’s your plan? Die on principle?” Liam says. “I’d rather take the chance she keeps her word than guarantee she kills
one of us on Christmas Eve.”