“Julian… he’s not coming.”
Almost unconsciously, Jonathan reached for his phone.
“Hey, Jonathan, what happened to your phone? Why’s the screen all shattered?”
Marina stared at the spiderweb of cracks running through the center of his phone’s screen, confusion written all over her face.
The corners were perfectly intact–the fracture ran right through the middle.
“I picked at it myself last night, Jonathan replied offhandedly.
“What?”
If anything, his response only left Marina more puzzled, her brow furrowed in complete bewilderment.
Jonathan just shrugged and gave a quick, careless smile, the corners of his mouth growing colder as he dropped the subject.
In the end, just as Jonathan had said, Julian didn’t show.
The entire day passed with no sign of him anywhere. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air–no one could reach him, not a single call or message got through.
The Nevilles were frantic, the Frasers were beside themselves, and Susy was at her
wits‘ end.
Outside the church, Jonathan gazed at the sunset as the sky blazed with streaks of
crimson.
“Jonathan, do you know something? Do you know where Julian is?” Marina edged closer, her voice low and cautious.
“Yeah. I know.”
Jonathan’s answer only fueled her curiosity, but when she saw he had no intention of saying more, she decided not to press him.
They stood together for a while, watching the sun sink below the horizon. Then, out of nowhere, Marina asked, “By the way, where’s Niamh? I haven’t seen her all day.”
She’d wanted to ask for hours.
Even though she knew full well that Daniel had forced Niamh onto a boat, it didn’t
14.20
make sense for Jonathan to act like nothing had happened when Niamh had disappeared
“Niamh…. she’s with Julian.”
“What?!”
Marina’s face went pale with shock.
As night fell, The Grand Celestia was ablaze with light.
In Jarrett’s suite, someone had come to visit.
A woman.
“Aren’t you worried your precious Jonathan will notice you’re not in your own room?” Jarrett teased, a glint in his eye.
Arms crossed, Marina glared at him, her annoyance clear.
“Jonathan’s busy with The Thomas Group staff. He’ll never notice I’m gone.”
“Yeah, well, I have work, too.” Jarrett waved his iPad.
“Joker!” Marina snapped. “You set up this whole kidnapping. Didn’t you promise me nothing would go wrong? So why is Niamh still here? Jonathan just told me she’s with Julian—”
“She jumped off the boat and got away. What was I supposed to do? The woman’s more resourceful than I thought.” Jarrett offered a helpless shrug.
“And Daniel?”
“He’s dead.”
Jarrett gave no details–just that Daniel was dead.
Marina’s anger flared.
With Joker’s resources, if he could kill Daniel, he could have killed Niamh too.
“She’s lucky. The groom–to–be saved her. She’s alive, she hasn’t been taken away. Honestly, isn’t that better?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Marina shot him a skeptical look.
Jarrett grinned–a wide, almost innocent smile.
“Remember that photographer who’s been dying to make a fortune off Niamh? I know you’ve already contacted him. Well, now’s the perfect time to put him to use.”
23
14:29
Chapter 332
Marina’s eyes lit up at that, practically glowing with excitement.
Meanwhile, Niamh had slept through another full day and night in Julian’s seaside
villa.
After their conversation, she’d finally managed to calm down, her strength and spirit slowly returning.
But as secluded as the villa was, it was no true safe haven.
At the crack of dawn the next day, a heated argument jolted Niamh awake.
She’d barely gotten out of bed when a woman stormed in and slapped her hard across the face.
