Page 70 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"What do you mean?"

"I was wondering if he was one of the two people I heard talking on the yacht about handling you. Do you think Victor could be using you in some way?"

"Some of his actions have been questionable," Ethan admitted. "Like his refusal to see Andrew as a potential criminal. It made me wonder if Victor and Andrew could have been working together. If he'd hired Andrew to steal the paintings and cover up the theft with a fire."

"A fire that cost him a lot of money?" I questioned. "Why would he have done that?"

"I couldn't come up with a good answer to that question, so I let that theory go."

"What about Bennett? Maybe you're chasing the wrong person. Bennett seems at odds with his father about his position in the company. He told me he hates his dad's collection. I bet he would enjoy taking something away from Victor that meant a lot to him. Paula might feel that way, too. She doesn't seem happy with Victor's plans to live on the island."

"You've got a lot of ideas going on in your head tonight, Lauren."

"It's easier to think about paintings and thievery than to remember what happened to me today. Every time I let myself go back to that moment when I had to fight my way to the surface of the ocean only to realize that the yacht was moving away from me…" I shuddered as I blew out a breath. "It sends a wave of panic through my body. I know I'm not going to drown now. I'm not going to die in the ocean, but it still makes me sick."

"That's understandable, Lauren. I can't even imagine what you went through."

"I really thought it might be over for me. The water was cold, and I'm a strong swimmer, but I couldn't have floated on my back forever." I shivered at the memory.

"I wish I'd been on that trip, that I could have stopped you from having to experience that, Lauren."

"Well, what I need you to do now is help me figure out what's happening. I need to stop whoever is trying to hurt me. I'm pretty sure they've tried twice, and I don't want the third time to be the charm. I told Andrew to ask Allison to leave the island, but he doesn't think she'll go. And he refused to ask Victor to send her away. He said it wasn't his place to get into Victor's business, which I understand, but I really need her to be gone."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow, see if I can get a better sense of what she's up to."

I felt an immense relief at his words. "I would really like that. Thank you."

"It's the least I can do. What are you up to tomorrow?"

"We have to do a photo shoot at the spa. Nothing bad could happen there, right?"

"Maybe stay out of the sauna," he suggested. "I don't like the idea of you in a heated room with a door that could be locked."

"I hadn't thought about that."

"A massage, facial, getting your nails done, that's all good. Maybe leave the Jacuzzi and sauna for another time."

"I will. Good night, Ethan."

"Get some rest. I think you're going to need it."

After I ended the call, I put my phone on the nightstand, still too tired to go through all my text messages. I flipped through several channels, looking for a distraction, finally settling on an old sitcom with very loud canned laughter.

As I watched the show, I felt very much alone and very worried about my future. I'd fought so hard to survive my fall into the ocean. I thought I'd be safe when I got back on the boat, but I didn't feel safe. I felt like I was waiting for something else to happen, something bad, something I probably wouldn't expect, and I was terrified that my husband might be part of whatever was coming next.How could I have gone so fast from love to fear?How could I be thinking that my own husband might be trying to hurt me?

I blew out a tense breath, trying not to get too worked up. I had no proof Andrew was responsible for anything that had happened to me, and both times he had come to my rescue.

But my mind kept adding up all the odd things I'd learned about Andrew, all the small moments recently when I'd seen an anger, a hardness, I'd never seen before.

My phone buzzed, startling me with an incoming call from a number I didn't recognize.

"Hello?" I said tentatively.

"Stop trying to get rid of me," a woman said. "It won't end well for you, Lauren."

"Who is this?" I asked, even though I knew.

"You know who it is. You're like a cat, aren't you? You have nine lives."

---