AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ria didn't know how to respond to that. Megan was too smart to be reassured by false promises.
A moment later, the door opened and a short, middle-aged Hispanic male strode through the door. He had black hair, bushy eyebrows and what could only be described as evil eyes. His smile was just as slimy.
Megan snuggled in closer to Ria as he sat down in the chair across from them.
"My little one," he said to Megan. "I've missed you."
Megan didn't say a word in return.
Valdez's gaze moved to Ria, and his gaze grew speculative. "Victoria. We finally meet."
She was shocked that he knew her name.
"I must admit I am rarely surprised, but you were quite clever. I had no idea Katherine had a sister. You never came to visit. And she never went to see you. You were not at her funeral. Yet, you felt compelled to go to the island and kidnap my niece."
"My niece, too," she said. "And she came willingly. I did not kidnap her."
"That's because you lied to her about me."
"I didn't have to lie," she countered. "I only had to tell her what her mother told me."
"And what was that?"
"That you were evil, that she feared for her life, and for the life of her husband and child," she said, refusing to let this man intimidate her. If she was going down, she was going down swinging.
Anger tightened his lips. "Katherine was never in danger."
"Really, not even when you killed her?"
He stared back at her. "Katherine was not supposed to be in the car that day."
Ria was shocked by his words. "So you admit you sabotaged the car?"
His gaze moved from Ria to Megan. "You should not have run away from me, little one."
"I want to live with Ria. She's my aunt, and I want to stay with her."
"You cannot. You belong to me."
"You can have my money," Megan said. "I don't care about any of it. Just let us go."
"Your money," he said with a sneer. "Do you think I need your money? I have plenty of my own."
"Then why did you take me to the island and make me a prisoner?"
Now that Megan had found her voice, she couldn’t seem to stop using it. Ria was afraid Megan would say too much. Then again, their backs were against the wall. At this point, Megan had every right to say whatever she wanted.
"I set you up in a beautiful home," Enrique said, anger in his voice. "You had everything you needed. And you were safe there, protected from my enemies. I did that for your mother."
"Don't talk about her," Megan said with fury in her eyes. "You killed her."
"I told you that was an accident. Katherine wouldn't listen. She was so stubborn and headstrong. She thought Reynoldo was the answer to her prayers, but he was nothing but a coward."
"My father was wonderful," Megan said defensively.
"I was supposed to be your father. Katherine was mine," he said forcefully. "I met her first. She came to the house at my request. Reynoldo stole her from me."
Ria was shocked at his words. Kate had never mentioned having a relationship with Enrique. Was he delusional? Or had her sister left out part of the story?
"You're lying," Megan said.
Apparently, Megan hadn't heard that part of the story, either.
Enrique laughed. "Such spirit you have—so like your mother."
"I want to go home," Megan said.
"And you will—with me." His gaze turned to Ria. "We just have to get rid of one small complication first."
Her heart skipped a beat. He was going to kill her. She knew that as certainly as she knew anything.
"The explosion was a brilliant plan," he said. "I almost believed that my niece had died in a tragic accident. But you left a clue behind—her bodyguard. When I saw him, I knew it was a setup. You should have been less squeamish and killed him. You might have gotten away with it. Or not." He smiled. "Imagine my joy when a friend told me that you had been spotted in San Francisco."
Her heart sank. Drew's friend, Tim. She'd been right to worry about the connection. But being right now didn't do any good. She should have followed her first instinct and left the city.
"How did you find me?" she asked, stalling for time. She needed to figure a way out of this impossible situation before Enrique killed her.
