Chapter 20
CHAPTER
I CLUTCHED MY BELLY. For a second I thought I might throw up.
“Oh God … oh no … what’s happened? Is Ellie okay?” My hands were shaking.
In the background I heard shuffling and a muffled voice say, “Mom, stop it, give me the phone.” Then, loud and clear, the two most wonderful words: “Hey, Savvy.”
I let out a huge breath as a tear escaped one eye. “Ellie, oh my God. Your mom just about scared the life out of me.”
“Sorry about that. She’s still pretty upset. I am too, to tell the truth.”
Ellie told me the story quickly. She’d been walking home from the bistro the night before when a man popped out of the shadows of a dark side street. He’d grabbed her and pushed her against a wall.
He had a ski mask on, so she hadn’t been able to see his face, but in a low, menacing voice, he’d asked her just how tough she thought she was.
When Ellie tried to squirm out of his grasp, he warned her that she and her friends better “mind their own business” or something “unfortunate” might happen to them.
Then he wrestled her purse off her shoulder and ran off.
I stopped at a nearby city bench and sat down for a moment to catch my breath. “Oh my God, Ellie. Are you okay?”
“Physically, I’m fine. I’m just still kind of freaked out. I couldn’t sleep at all last night.”
“God, I don’t blame you. I can’t believe that happened. I’m so sorry.”
“Hold on a sec, Savvy, I’m going to walk outside for a minute.” I heard footsteps and the opening and closing of a door in the background. “Okay. Listen—are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
I sighed, my breath quivering as another tear fell. “That this was Madison?”
“Yeah. What else could this guy have meant by me and my friends needing to mind our own business? It has to be that I connected you with Robert, right?”
“Yeah, could be … when I talked to Max last night, he already knew that I’d talked to a lawyer.”
“How?” Ellie said. “I thought the spying had stopped!”
“Apparently not,” I said with a bitter edge.
“I should have made Max tell me how he knew, but …” Ugh.
You were too distracted by his almost-kiss.
I shook my head, disappointed with myself.
“Are you staying with your parents?” The Parkers lived in Brisbane, about fifteen minutes south of the city—much closer than my mom.
“I did last night, but I’m about to leave. I should really get back to work tomorrow. Do you want me to come by?”
“Yes, that would be great. I’ll cook for you! Actually … who am I kidding? How does pizza sound?”
“Sounds perfect. See you soon.”
Back at my apartment, I immediately went to my fridge, where I had pinned Robert’s business card. I dialed his number as I paced around my living room.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Robert—it’s Savannah Mitchell, Ellie’s best friend.”
“Yes, of course. Hi, Savannah.”
“Listen—things have gotten worse.”
I explained to him everything that had happened in the past few days—finding out Melanie Daniels was from the same city as the Clarks; Max somehow knowing I’d consulted a lawyer, then trying to sweet-talk me out of it; and Ellie being ambushed by a scary stranger on her walk home.
“So, I wanted to check in with you, and see if you still think the certified letter is the best way to go—and if it is, how fast can we get that going?”
“Yeah …” Robert’s voice trailed off, then he went silent.
I frowned—something in his voice wasn’t right.
“Savannah, I’m so sorry all of this is happening. And I wish I could help … but unfortunately, I can’t.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well … I didn’t realize Madison’s mother is Nora Clark.
My firm’s managing partner called me into his office yesterday.
Nora Clark’s real estate firm has engaged our services.
The law firm I work for is now representing her company.
” He sighed. “My boss said I am to have nothing to do with any cases that involve either the Clark or Hunter families, as part of the agreement.”
“No …” I breathed, my voice breaking. My legs started to feel numb.
“I don’t know how she found out that I had been talking to you, but clearly you hit a nerve.” I could tell he felt terrible about it, but he had been put in an impossible situation—once again, thanks to Madison and her family.
Damn it! She had won—again.
“I’m going to ask around and see if I can get you a recommendation for another attorney.
I want to help you, Savannah. I can see why this is such a nightmare.
The Clark family, they’re powerful in this area.
I’ll be back in touch, if I can. Otherwise, I’m sure there’s a decent legal aid society there in the city. ”
I closed my eyes. Screwed again. Surprise, surprise. “Thanks, Robert. I appreciate it.”
I hung up and fell onto the couch. I hugged a pillow tightly to my chest and rocked back and forth. Then I pressed the pillow to my face and let out a loud, guttural scream.
Half an hour later, Ellie walked in, followed by the pizza delivery man. I set the pizza down on the kitchen table and crushed Ellie into a monster-sized hug.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” I squeezed her tightly despite my belly doing its best to get in the way.
“Thanks, babe. Me too.”
As I grabbed some paper plates and carried the pizza into the living room, I told Ellie the latest unfortunate news—that Madison’s mother had thwarted any chances of Robert helping me.
“What? I can’t believe that! I’m so sorry!”
“I know. I just keep getting screwed, every which way I turn—and now you’re getting messed with too.
” The two of us sat down and dug into the pizza.
“He said he’s going to try and find another lawyer to put me in touch with, but I’m guessing anyone else’s advice wouldn’t be free. I may need to try a legal aid society.”
We were clearing our trash from the coffee table a short while later when Ellie accidentally caught her shoe on the corner of the living room rug.
She stumbled backward and slammed against the wall, her head barely missing the corner of my fireplace.
She hit the wall hard. Before I could even react, the vase of flowers sitting on the mantle tipped forward, hit the floor, and shattered.
“Oh my God—Ellie, are you okay?”
“Damn, that hurt!”
I held out my hand to help her up. Ellie clutched her lower back where she’d slammed into the wall, then cringed at the sight of all the broken pieces of clay strewn around us. “Crap, I’m so sorry about your vase!”
“Oh, who cares about that.” I waved it off. “I don’t even know why I kept it—it’s the one Madison gave me after I first met her.”
“What’s that?” She pointed to something on the floor amongst the shards.
“What’s what?”
“That tiny black thing.” Crouching, Ellie picked up one of the larger pieces of the broken vase. The outside of the vase had a floral design etched into the clay. She extracted something small, round, and black that was nestled inside the shard, at the center of one of the flower buds. “This.”
I took the tiny object out of her hand—and my heart instantly started pounding. “Oh my God.” My other hand flew up to cover my mouth. “Ellie, I think this is a nanny cam.”
“What? Are you sure?”
I held it up to the light. “Look—it’s a tiny lens.” Perfectly positioned to watch me in my own damn apartment.
“Holy shit.”
I turned it over and over in my hand. That psycho.
I felt dazed and lightheaded. “This is how she’s always one step ahead of me.
” My voice was flat and monotonous as I stared at my hands numbly.
“This is how she knew everything I was eating in the beginning—remember that? And how she knew about the first meeting with Pedro Torres’s team …
and my twenty-week ultrasound … and that I was having dinner with your family and your cousin Robert, the lawyer.
” Blood was rushing to my head as the implications sunk in.
“Ellie, that woman has had a camera in my apartment this whole time!”
I paled as I realized that meant she could have been watching the day Max came over and watched the ultrasound DVD, and the other night when he came to ask me about the lawyer—the nights we almost kissed.
“Savvy … this is …” Ellie seemed just as stunned as I was.
Then another thought slammed into me. “What if this isn’t the only one? What if there are other cameras?” I started pacing around the room in a panic, my frantic eyes searching high and low.
“That’s it,” Ellie said. “I’m taking you to my place.”
I stopped pacing. “What?”
“I said, you’re coming home with me. You’re not staying here.” She put her hand on my back and gently pushed me toward my bedroom. “Come on, pack some stuff and let’s get out of here.”
I obeyed. She was right—I had to get out of there.
“This will be fun—it will be like we’re roommates again!” she said.
I smiled weakly.
The next morning, I was working at my desk when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see Sam and Meredith. Sam had a friendly smile on his face; Meredith’s was a little pinched, but at least it wasn’t the icy glare I’d gotten used to.
“Hello, Savannah. How are you doing?” said Meredith.
“Good morning! I’m doing well.” I kept my own smile firmly in place, trying to channel capability and confidence.
“Savannah, we’d like to pull you off the Sampson account, and have you focus solely on the Torres campaign for now,” Meredith said.
“I’d like you to put together a schedule of promotion ideas leading up to the restaurant opening.
If you can get that to me within the next forty-eight hours, we will review it together and make adjustments before the meeting with the chef’s team on Monday. ”
Yes! My smile widened. “I would love to. I’ve actually already been working on some ideas. I’ll have an excellent outline ready for you by Thursday.”