Page 68 of Broken Princess
“Sorry. Had some family issues up north,” Jamie replied. “I’m headed back to the city now. I’m needed at the White House, for obvious reasons.”
“Well, you’re needed here too. Do you have any idea what I’ve been dealing with since last night?”
“I’m guessing this is about the Keshari plane disaster?”
Mom let out a frustrated sigh. “Yes. His parents are furious. I just spent the last four hours arguing with them about a refund. They think they should get the whole ninety-six million back, purely because Darius was never actually able to use his purchase.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s not our fault his plane blew up.”
“That’s exactly what I said. The transaction was already complete when he boarded that plane, so we don’t owe them anything,” Mom said. “I offered to give them five million as a sort of goodwill gesture, but that’s all.”
“Did they accept?”
“No. I knew they wouldn’t. Something about losing honor in their culture. I only offered it in the first place to get them off my back,” she said smugly.
“I see,” Jamie replied. “Anyway… have you actually heard anything about the cause of the explosion?”
“My sources are telling me it was probably some sort of anti-fascist group. Used some sort of missile.”
“I heard the same thing,” Jamie said. “It’s a shame, isn’t it? Poor Willow.”
Mom sniffed. “Honestly, it’s probably a good thing. The Crown Prince was a real piece of work, so Willow would’ve been dead within a few months of her arrival in the Kingdom anyway. At least this way she died instantly. No fear or pain. Just a flash before she turned into a pink mist along with everyone else on that plane.”
“That’s true.”
“Also, now that this has happened, I don’t need to feel so bad about Logan. He’s grown quite fond of Willow over the last few months, so the idea of lying to him about that fake yachting accident actually made me feel a bit guilty,” Mom went on. “But now it’s not really a lie, is it? She really is floatingout there in the ocean somewhere, dead as a doornail.”
She let out a tinkling laugh, and I curled my hands into fists by my side. Fuck, I couldn’t wait to destroy her.
“Do you need me back at Lilith Hall after I’m done at the White House today?” Jamie asked.
“For a few hours, yes. We have another issue on top of the angry Keshari royals.”
“What is it?”
Mom sighed again. “One of the girls has gone missing, and it looks like a guard had something to do with it. I’ll need you to handle the situation, because I have to head home for a while before Chuck starts to get suspicious. There’s only so long I can claim to be out planning a charity ball.”
“Fuck. We’re having problem after problem at the moment.”
“I know, but don’t worry. It’ll blow over soon, and in the end, it’ll all be worth it.”
They started discussing something about the DOJ investigation into President Rutherford’s murder. I tuned them out and turned to Rowan.
“This proves you were right,” I said in a low voice. “Jamie really is one step ahead of my mom. She has no idea that Willow is still alive.”
Rowan nodded excitedly. “Yeah. Did you hear his voice when he asked her what she knew about the explosion? He sounded nervous, didn’t he?”
“Yup. He was obviously trying to figure out whether he was in the clear or not.”
“Right now, he thinks he definitely is,” he said with a thin smile. “We have to keep it that way until we find Willow.”
I frowned. “Well, we know he’s going to be back at the White House today, and after that he’s heading to Lilith Hall for a while. We could just follow him when he leaves, right? Then we can figure out where he’s keeping her.”
Rowan picked at a stubby fingernail as he considered my idea. Then he shook his head. “That won’t work.”
“Why?”
“Because we aren’t professionals at this sort of stuff. If we try to tail him, he’ll spot us a mile away, and we really can’t afford to rouse his suspicions at the moment.”
