Page 91 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 2
"Conspiracy to commit murder."
"What are you talking about?"
"They're saying it was her. Because of the speech she gave. Because of her relationship with Tyler."
Fuck."Stay with him." I walked past Mason.
"Hey," Mason said and caught my arm. "We both know it was Isabella. I'm going to prove it." He handed me an envelope that was already opened. It was a manila envelope. The same kind Isabella had been sending me. It was addressed to me.
My hand shook as I pulled out the note inside. It was written in the same font as all the rest.
"I was aiming for you."
I couldn't seem to stop shaking. "Where did this come from?"
"Melissa went to pick up your mail. This was in with everything else. That was the last evidence the police needed. They think she put it in with the rest of your mail. I opened it because James had told me about everything that was going on. I thought you needed to see it."
"She's trying to kill me."
"And I'm not going to let that happen. Go talk to the police. And then I'll work on getting Melissa out of jail. Penny, you have my word. I'm going to take care of this." He put his hand reassuringly on my shoulder.
"Don't leave him."
"I'm not going to leave his side until you're back."
I glanced once more at James and then ran out the door. Isabella had been trying to kill me. The guilt I had already felt weighed even heavier. My best friend was not going to go down for this. Tyler wasn't going to go down for this. Isabella was going to pay. Even if I had to kill her myself.
I recognized the detective that had tried to talk to me a few days ago in the hospital waiting room. And standing right next to him was Officer Daugherty, the detective that wouldn't take us seriously at the precinct. They were both talking to James' father.
"Penny." James' dad put his hand on my shoulder when I reached them. "Penny, we're taking care of this. Go back to him."
No.Everyone was "taking care of this." Yet, Isabella was still out there. And my best friend was in jail.
"You said you had a few questions for me," I said to the detective that had tried to question me before.
He glanced nervously at James' father and then nodded his head. "Yes. We wanted to talk to you about your friend, Melissa Monroe."
I dug my nails into the palm of my hand to distract me from my anger. I was going to lose it. I tried to take a deep breath, but it just made me even more upset. "You mean the fact that you're here to apologize for arresting the wrong person?"
"Besides for Tyler Stevens, she's our lead suspect in the threats and shooting..."
"Suspect? Isabella is the lead suspect. Why isn't anyone listening to me?"
"Is it true that Miss Monroe threatened to kill James during her speech at your reception?"
"What? No."
"And I quote, 'I will literally kill you if you hurt her. So stop doing it. I'm serious this time.' " The detective stared at me.
"She was joking." I thought about what Melissa had said during the rehearsal dinner. How I should be enjoying it while I could because it could disappear in an instant. I knew she didn't do it. But she had been saying weird stuff. What if Tyler had been in on it? What if he had told Melissa? What if she had known this was about to happen?No.They were just twisting my thoughts.
"Given the circumstances, we have to take her threat seriously."
"And what about Isabella? Why don't you take my concerns seriously given the circumstances?"
"We talked to Isabella this morning," Officer Daugherty said. "She's on vacation in Maine. She wasn't even in the state this weekend."
"And the only person who verified that was the person she's currently having sex with? Check your sources."
