Page 118 of Secrets, Lies and Love

“How so?”

“I forced her to get pregnant by the Greek man,” he says, and I feel like vomiting. “She would be tied to him forever, giving me money every time I ordered it. When you killed Sue that day, Cecily...”

“I didn’t kill her.” I try to remember any news item about her being pregnant when she died, but I’m sure I haven’t read anything about it.

“Who cares?” he says, rolling his eyes. “I’ve seen that you’re sensitive, so okay, I’ll change the way I express myself. Whenyou didn’t die that day, Cecily, and instead sent Sue to the depths of hell, you sent the son of Dionysus to his death as well.”

He’s smiling, and I’m more scared than ever.

“The newspapers didn’t report anything about a baby.”

“The man is a tycoon, owner of a TV station. They must have hushed it up. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Now you will be the one to provide me with a good life.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I’ll be honest because I think we’re already friends, okay? I wasn’t going to give you back; I was going to kill you. Even though I don’t really like this violence thing, I wanted revenge. With what you just told me, the game has completely changed because I know you have a lot to lose. I need you alive. I’ll release you. You’re going to go to him and win him back, because eventually he’ll forgive you for lying about Keith. When you are settled again, you will sustain me for the rest of my life. We’ll both be fine,” he says, running his index finger along my arm. I try hard not to cringe. “Who knows, maybe we can be more than friends after the baby is born? Not before, I’m sorry. I don’t like pregnant bodies. They are deformed. It’s kind of disgusting.”

I stare at him, silent, terrified for so many different reasons that I feel like I’m about to faint. “What if I say no?”

“Why would you do that? We both want to survive. Now, here’s some motivation: what do you think Dionysus will do when he finds out that you were involved in Sue’s death and killed his other unborn child? You are a smart girl, but just in case you can’t see the whole picture, I’ll tell you. He will have you arrested as soon as the baby he is expecting is born. That will stay with your child and you, in jail, for the rest of your days.”

I don’t believe him. Any expert who investigates the accident I suffered will be able to prove that it was Sue who hit me, and not the other way around. Anyway, there’s nothing to connect me to her accident.

However, today I got to know a scary side of Dionysus. A cruel nuance of his personality. He sent me away without thinking twice.

I mentally review the information Cage just gave me.

Sue was pregnant.

Voluntarily or not, his heir was killed in a situation in which I was involved. He will never forgive me. He will take our child from me if he knows the truth.

“We have a deal?” he asks.

“Yes. I don’t wanna go to jail.”

“Good girl.”

I close my eyes because I can no longer pretend in front of this sick person; I’m afraid he’ll find out what I’m thinking.

Misinterpreting my silence, he says, “You need to rest, darling. I’m going to leave you here for another forty-eight hours. Just long enough for the Greek to become worried, desperate to get you back. Then I’ll let you loose on the city. After all, we don’t want anything to happen to the baby. He is our golden goose.”

I hadn’t intended to sleep, but apparently, I ended up dozing off. When I wake up, there is the sound of footsteps and screams. Doors slamming. Men giving orders.

Cage talks to me, but I don’t understand anything. I feel numb, like I’m in a parallel reality.

I open my eyes and see the frightened face of my kidnapper. Something is wrong.

I try to get up, but I have no strength. He must have drugged me again because suddenly everything goes dark.

Dionysus

CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

Some hours later

“Where did they take him?”I ask Odin on the phone.

“He is in police custody now,” he says, still sounding upset, and I know why.

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