Nora and the girls had the kyanine extracted from them, but they were just ladies after all, so needed the rest to recuperate. Armond had a lot to deal with, so he had no time for me. In that case, I took up the job of caring for Nora and the girls.
I was going to call Anthony and tell him about my situation, but it couldn’t get through. He must have set up call forwarding. I gave up after a few tries, then I tried to call Emery, but my phone was taken by the female officer when I was in Venria. I lost all my contact, and I forgot their numbers, so it was impossible for me to call them.
Nora and the girls were almost all healed up after a week. Armond was done with his affairs too, and the girls moved into the villa the night before our return.
The brush with death seemed to have taken Nora’s lively attitude away. Tabitha and Laurel refused to speak, while Tessa kept reciting mantras as usual. Noticing the awkward silence around the table, Laurel said, “We can go back home tomorrow, guys. Let’s drink to it.” She raised her glass and smiled at us.
Nora looked surprised, but she raised her glass and looked at me. “We owe our lives to Sienna this time. She saved us all. If it weren’t for her asking for Mr. Murphy’s help, we would have been shark food by now.”
“Yeah.” Tessa stopped reciting her mantra and smiled at me. “All thanks to Sienna. A toast for her. Bottoms up, girls.”
Everyone raised their glasses and finally started to chat. Good. At least the ice is broken.
Everyone started chatting, and Nora huddled closer to me. “Are you friends with Armond?” she whispered. “Are you related to the Stanhopes, Featherstones, and the Moores?”
Her barrage of questions stunned me, and I paused for a moment. “Not an easy question to answer, so I refuse to say anything, Nora.”
“Why? Worried we might be a hassle?” Tessa grinned.
I answered a moment later, “No. I just think it’s hard to explain. We’ve been through life and death. I won’t think of you guys as a hassle.”
“Oh, stop right there. The girls were the ones who have been through life and death with me, not you. You relied on men and your connections along the way, and you were never hurt, so give me a break,”
Tessa mocked, but she was telling the truth, so I took no offense.
I smiled awkwardly, trying to continue the conversation, but I was at a loss.
“Tessa, that’s rude. We wouldn’t have survived if not for Sienna’s connection with Mr. Murphy. Don’t look the gift horse in the mouth.” Nora glared at Tessa angrily.
Tessa sneered. “You think I’m the one who’s looking the gift horse in the mouth? The horse was never there to begin with. Do you really think she’s the one who saved us? She could have stopped the surgery in Venria if she wanted to, but no. This hypocrite only ‘helped’ us after Abe stuck that thing in us. That caused unnecessary pain, and I bet she’s just trying to win our favor.”
Tabitha frowned, upset. “You could have gone off on your own when we landed if you didn’t want her help. But I believe you went to Sienna’s room one night and showed her the scar, obviously begging her to help. Do you really think she owed you?”
Tessa had no good retort for that. Her face turned red with anger, and she frowned, ready to rebuke, but Laurel quickly stopped her, “Calm down, guys. Let’s talk this through. We don’t have to fight. It’s pointless. And we’re all safe and sound, and that’s a cause for celebration.”
Everyone fell silent, and Tessa stood up. “I’m full. You guys go ahead.” Then she went upstairs.
Tabitha and Nora said nothing, while Laurel looked at me and shifted the topic, “Are you going straight to A City after you go back, Sienna?”
I nodded. “Yeah. I want to see my daughter.”
“You have a daughter?” She was surprised. “But you look so young. How old is your daughter now?”
“Five. Almost six, actually.”
They looked at one another, and Nora threw me a look of curiosity. “So you’re married? Does Armond know about it?”
That question was weird, but I nodded. “He does.”
“Huh?” The girls were stunned. “He knows you’re a married woman, but he’s still that nice to you? Is he sick in the head?”
“Didn’t know hotties like him love young MILFs.”
The conversation went in a weird direction, and I laughed. “Don’t think too much about it. He’s helping me out for something in return. I have something he needs, so this is nothing but a transaction.”
“Transaction?” Nora was surprised, and also flummoxed. “Is the thing he’s looking for worth the lives of five?”
“It’s a box my grandma gave me before she passed on. It’s a puzzle box. I have one, but the other one was auctioned off. He’s looking for this box, but I don’t know why.” I wasn’t sure who Armond was. His last name was Murphy, so I thought he was probably a part of the Murphys.
But if that was the case, why did he take the trouble to hold that auction in J City and sold off the box he had? If he wasn’t a part of the Murphys though, then why was he aiming for that box?
Nora rubbed her chin and nodded. “Rich guys like him like to waste their time on stuff we think are unnecessary.” She then looked at me. “Thank you, though. I’ll treat you to something good when we get back. You’re my friend now.”
I smiled, and Tabitha looked at me. “My wedding’s in October, but I don’t know if that’s going to change after what happened. You have to come if it’s proceeding as usual though.”
Laurel smiled. “Yeah, we’re besties now. Hey, I have an idea. Do you guys want to open a company?”
We were taken aback by that proposal, and Tabitha looked at her. “Don’t tell me you want us to be your partners.”
Laurel nodded incessantly. “I have been giving it some thought back in the glass room. I thought I’d open a company with you guys if I managed to get out alive, and I did get out in one piece. We’re going to work together for our whole life.”
Tabitha frowned. “You are so greedy! You just got saved from one hell, and now you want to bind all of us together?”
Laurel smiled. “I mean, we can do anything together after the hell we went through. We met by chance, and I want this friendship to go on. We come from different places, so we’re going to drift away if we have nothing to connect us. I don’t want that to happen.”
Nora found it amusing. “That so cheesy. That won’t happen. We can always chat online.”
“What kind of company do you have in mind?” I asked. “Any idea about where you’re going to establish it? What’s the company going to sell?”
Laurel gave it some thought. “I haven’t thought about that in detail. All I have is a rough idea, but I know where the company should be established— A City. Sure, it’s not the best city, but the infrastructure’s well established, and it’s developing well. It’s in a strategic location, and the weather’s perfect too.”
“I have an idea,” Nora said. “Why don’t you open up an inn or tea shop? We can gather round at any time for a little vacation.”
Tabitha nodded. “Good idea.” The girls kept on talking, while I looked at the second floor, and I went upstairs after some contemplation.
I knocked on Tessa’s door, but it took a while for her to open it. She was surprised to see me, then she asked, “Anything?”
“Let’s talk.”
She frowned and took a step back to let me in.
She was obsessed with Buddhism. The moment she was saved, she erected a Buddha statue in her room and started worshipping it. Tessa sat cross legged before the statue and put her hands together as she muttered the mantras under her breath.
“What do you want to talk about?” she said.
I looked at her and answered, “Do you really believe he’ll bless you?”
She looked at me from the corner of her eye and replied sternly, “I wouldn’t be talking to you now if he doesn’t.”
Well, that was one woman far gone in religion. I paused for a moment. “They said you live in A City. Laurel’s going to open up a shop there once we get back. Want to join us?”
“No,” she refused firmly.
I nodded. “I didn’t mean it, you know. I didn’t want to hurt you guys. I really didn’t. I never expected Dante to hurt you like that. I—”
“Enough!” she interrupted me and threw me a dirty look. “Do you really think you’re that noble, Stanhope? You keep looking down at us from a pedestal. Has anyone ever told you you’re one heck of a hypocrite?”
I looked at her, stunned.
She sneered. “I don’t think you even realized this yourself, but you’re a cold, selfish woman. And yet you keep trying to make yourself out to be some saint. You come from a privileged background, men fawn over you, and people would help you out no matter what. All you did was sit on your *ss and reaped the rewards. Ask yourself: have you ever gotten something through your own two hands? I knew it.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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