Chapter 05

 

Natalie's pov

We ate dinner at a quiet restaurant across the street from the Grand Crest Hotel. Grandma Hartfield ordered fish. Evan's mother ordered a salad and complained about it the whole time.

When the plates were cleared, I put down my fork.

"Grandma, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, darling."

"Were you happy? Knowing what Grandpa Hartfield did? Knowing about his other family?"

Her smile disappeared. Evan's mother stopped chewing.

"That is family business, Natalie," Grandma said. Her voice was cold now. "Why are you bringing up old ghosts?"

"Because I do not want to live a lie like that." I took a deep breath. "I do not want to marry Evan. And I have proof that he does not want me either."

Evan's mother laughed. "Proof? What proof?"

Grandma folded her napkin. "The invitations have already been sent, Natalie. Three hundred guests. We will not become a laughing stock."

"My grandfather's last wish was for me to be happy," I said. "Before he died, he told me something. He said if I ever needed help, I should come to you. He said you were the most honest person he knew."

Grandma's hands went still.

"Please," I said. "Just look at the proof. Then you can decide."

She looked at me for a long moment. Then she stood up and picked up her bag.

"Show me."

We crossed the street. Thunder walked at my side. Evan's mother followed behind us in her loud heels, saying this was a waste of time.

In the hotel hallway on the seventh floor, a young woman in a staff uniform was waiting by the elevator. Hannah had set this up.

The girl handed me a key card. Her hands were shaking. "Room 715. Make it quick, okay? If my manager finds out, I am dead."

"Thank you," I said.

She ran off.

I stood in front of the door. I could hear voices inside. Ruby's high laugh. Evan's low voice.

I took out my phone and pressed record.

Then I opened the door.

Ruby was standing in front of the mirror in a short black leather skirt. Evan was lying on the bed with a bandage across his nose. Neither of them saw us at first.

"Do you like this skirt, babe?" Ruby asked, turning around. "Better than Natalie's boring clothes?"

"Babe, Natalie is a chore," Evan said. "If it was not for her parents' shares, I would never even look at her. You are the only one I want."

Grandma Hartfield made a sound like someone had punched her in the chest.

Evan's mother pushed past me. "Evan!"

Evan sat up so fast he almost fell off the bed. Ruby screamed and grabbed a pillow to cover herself.

"Grandma!" Evan's face went white under the bandage. "This… this is not what it looks like! We are rehearsing for a play!"

"A play," Grandma said.

"Yes! Ruby is helping me with my lines!"

Evan's mother turned to Grandma. "Mother, they are just friends. It is not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" I said.

Evan's mother looked at me. "Natalie, they are not married yet. Young men make mistakes. I promise you, after the wedding, I will make sure he behaves."

I stared at her. "So cheating is fine, as long as the ring is not on his finger?"

Nobody answered me.

"I always knew the Hartfields had low standards," I said. "But this is just sad."

Evan's mother saw the phone in my hand. Her eyes went wide. "Are you recording? Delete that. Now!"

She reached for it. Thunder stepped between us and showed his teeth. She jumped back like she had touched fire.

"Here is what is going to happen," I said. "I want my parents' shares and money back. All of it. Or this video goes online in five minutes."

"Those shares belong to us, you gold-digging witch!" Evan's mother screamed.

"No. They belong to my parents. And my parents are gone. So they belong to me."

Evan jumped off the bed. "Natalie, babe, let's just talk about this…"

"Do not call me babe."

He stopped.

Grandma Hartfield had not said a word. She was holding on to the door frame. She looked old. Older than I had ever seen her.

I made my voice softer. "I will make it easy for you. I do not even want the shares. Give me fifteen million dollars in cash, right now, tonight. I will sign the shares over to the Hartfield Group. Otherwise, your family name is ruined by midnight."

"You cannot do this," Evan's mother said.

"I already did. The video is backed up in the cloud. If something happens to my phone, my friend posts it anyway."

The room was silent. Ruby was crying quietly into her pillow. Evan looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor.

Then Grandma spoke.

"Give it to her."

Evan's mother spun around. "Mother!"

"I said give it to her." Grandma stood up straight. She would not look at Evan. "I have lived with one liar in this family for fifty years. I will not watch this girl do the same."

She walked out of the room without another word.

Two hours later, I sat in Hannah's car in the parking lot of the Hartfield family bank. Thunder was in the back seat. Six big black bags were in the trunk.

Hannah looked at me. "You got it?"

"Every cent."

She let out a long breath and laughed. "Natalie, I have never seen anybody do anything like that. Ever."

"I could not have done it without you. I owe you."

"You do not owe me anything. That jerk had it coming." She started the car. "So what now? Paris? A beach in Mexico? Shopping?"

I looked out the window at the dark sky. In a little over two months, that sky would open up and never stop crying.

"Hannah, listen to me. When the world starts going crazy, I need you to answer my calls. Every time. Okay?"

She frowned. "What does that mean?"

"Just promise me."

"Okay. I promise. You are so weird tonight."

When I got home, I locked every door. Then I touched the bags, one by one, and watched them vanish into my stone.

I picked up my phone and called the supplier.

"Hello?"

"It is Natalie. I need to place a new order."

"More rice?"

"No. Medicine. Antibiotics, painkillers, surgery kits, and insulin. One and a half million dollars' worth. Deliver it to my warehouse by Thursday.”