Page 93 of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

"Because you were my way in." His voice was patient, like a teacher explaining something obvious to a slow student. "I could use you to get to Victor, and there were so many ways I could exploit the information I had acquired. I could blackmail him for money, connections, art. I could force him to use his power to get me whatever I wanted. But I wanted to go slow and find the right angle. I needed to see how close I could get to him without revealing what I knew."

"And that angle was the marketing campaign."

"Exactly. Having our wedding thrown by the Carrington group gave me the perfect opportunity to get on this island, to network with Victor, and to gain access to his gallery."

"How did you know Victor would go for it?"

"Once he saw your name, how could he refuse? You are his daughter. He could justify throwing you a wedding under the guise of business. It was the perfect plan."

I hated howgoodof a plan it was. "I still can’t believe how well you faked loving me."

Andrew shrugged. "I’m a patient man. The reward was worth the effort."

It was clear now that I was nothing to him. Just a job. A con. The means to an end." I clenched my fists. "You’re a terrible person, Andrew. I can't believe I was so blind."

"You wanted to believe in the love story, and I was damn good to you, Lauren. You really don't have that much to complain about."

My eyebrows shot up in amazement. "I'm cuffed to a chair. You're waving a gun in my face after lying to me for six months, and you don't think I have much to complain about?"

"You'll be fine if your father pays up. You can go back to living your sad, lonely, depressing life, and I will be a very rich man."

"Aren't you already rich? Didn't you rob Victor last night? I know there was a robbery, and I'm pretty sure you and your friends were the thieves. So, why are you still here? Why continue with the pretense today? What more is there to get?"

"The Heart of Eternity," he said flatly.

"I thought you took it last night."

"The stone in that case turned out to be a fake." Andrew's lips tightened. Victor thought he outsmarted me, but now I'll play my ultimate card—you. I'm going to trade you for the diamond. Then I'll disappear."

"What if Victor won't give you the diamond? What then?"

"He'll turn it over in exchange for your life. He has a soft spot for you."

I almost laughed at the absurdity of that statement. "Are you kidding? He doesn't care about me at all. He has never done anything for me."

"Except throw you the most luxurious wedding a woman could want."

"That was for the business, not for me."

"It was for you, too. Victor wanted to ease his guilt for not being there for you. Why do you think we were invited to all his private parties? And that last party gave me much-needed access to his house. I wasn't sure how I would plant the smoke bombs until I realized we were going to be there. All I had to do was turn off the lights."

Andrew was so sly, so conniving, and so evil…

How had I ever thought I'd loved this man? How had I ever believed he'd loved me?

His mask was completely gone now. This wasn't the man I fell for. But this was who Andrew really was—a greedy, ruthless thief who would do anything to get what he wanted.

"Did you know Allison took the file and went to Bennett? That she was trying to make her own deal?" I asked.

"I knew she was pissed I was marrying you and suspicious I had another plan that didn't include her."

"Which you did."

"I couldn't have her involved. She was too volatile, too reckless."

"She trashed our suite, didn't she?"

"Yes," he admitted. "I told her to back off after that. I agreed to introduce her to Victor if she stopped trying to mess things up between you and me."

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