“She is?” Julia looks at me in total disbelief. “How do you know that?”
“Eric told me,” I say simply.
Yet Julia keeps creasing her brows in confusion. “But why would he tell you that exactly?”
“I guess to destroy us,” I say. “His son, Matthew, is completely in love with her,” I disclose. “So the more division Eric creates between us, the closer she’d get to him.” And despite knowing this is all a brilliant game for Eric, Petra fell for it instead of staying loyal to me. “Now that I know she’s on their side, I have no option but to limit my interactions with her.”
“But why has Petra sided with them so easily?” Mom asks, ruminating about everything I told her. “I don’t get it.”
“Because she knows I lied, she knows her mom was abducted, and she knows one of us killed her.”
Mom heaves a long sigh, before taking a sip of her tea. My answer seems to have rendered her speechless.
“That would explain why she doesn’t speak to us, then,” Julia points out. “She was so distant and cold at the funeral.”
“They have no evidence about the latter though,” Mom replies, still thinking about what I had just said.
“Correct,” I reply. “And Eric knows that.”
“Have you found something against him yet?” Julia asks, ruminating about our next move. “You were right—he didn’t waste time trying to talk to us once we arrived.”
“No, but I’ve got a few people searching…”
“You know what’s at stake,” Yara reminds me. “Jan knowing the truth is not an option.”
“And neither is me going to jail,” I snap back.
“Why don’t we simply take care of Eric?” Yara continues.
“Because I’ll be suspect number one,” I riposte. “This case is all over the news, Yara. If Eric dies, they will think it’s me.” I pause to take a breath. “And then Matt or Carice can just hand the report to Jan, anyway.” As I come to think of it, I say, “Maybe Jan knowing is inevitable at this point…”
“What?” Yara squeaks. “May I remind you that my name is in there?” She turns, facing me as I remain sitting on the armchair. “Jan knows his daughter and I used to hang out together. If he reads that report, he’ll know I was the one who took her to that party.”
“Well, maybe it’s time for everyone to take responsibility for their past mistakes, what do you think of that?”
“Alex,” Mom chides. “After everything we have done to protect you, this is how you thank us?”
“You were the one choking her,” Yara ripostes, having none of it. “Not me.”
But I reply just as fast, “And who was it that introduced her to MDMA, cocaine, and everything else?”
“Enough you two,” Mom steps in. Then turning to me she says, “At the end of the day, we have to admit Tess played well. She anticipated her death and made sure someone would continue to blackmail us afterwards.”
“Which means her death was totally unnecessary,” I tell them. “And who let her go in the first place?”
“Winter,” Mom mumbles. “At least our guards told us it was him. He drugged them, and while they were asleep, freed her.” She takes a deep breath before finishing her drink. The slight tap of her foot gives away that she’s on the edge. “I’m just glad Maud got me that nano-chip to put under her skin before she escaped, or else Tess would’ve told everything to Jan––and then Eric.”
Jeez! It’s the first time I hear Mom talking about the nano-particles directly. With concern laced all throughout my features, I add, “And these nano-particles, is there anyway they can link them to you or Maud?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” Mom replies, her lips twisting into a smile as she continues observing me.
I feel tempted to look away, but I don’t want to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“Don’t worry, we have already taken all of the necessary precautions at home. No one is going to bother us there.”
Then we all keep quiet as we observe Mom entirely engrossed in her thoughts––as if she’s plotting something within that mischievous skull. She rubs her fingertips together for a moment before continuing her spiel.
“We need leverage on that Eric––something strong enough that will make him drop the report once and for all.” Well yeah, duh, that I know. “Yara, when is the initiation ceremony in Venice?”
“Next Saturday,” she answers. “Why?”
“Do you think we can get a list of all the members attending?” Mom asks, her expression just as thoughtful. “If we manage to find anyone on that list who is linked to Eric we can have leverage on him.”
“I should be able to get that,” Yara tells Mom, before her eyes drift back to me. “Fortunately one of us is still part of the club and can save us all.”
Instead of going along with my sister’s remarks, I simply say, “I’ll put you in touch with my team. They should be able to help and identify which member can give us the most leverage.”
“Yara,” Mom says, her tone steady. “Be fast, okay? Time isn’t in our favor.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll have a copy of the guest list very soon.”
“When is your trial?” Mom asks.
“March sixteenth,” I tell her. “But Eric wants to give the report to Jan before that.”
“When?”
I give a glance at my watch. “In precisely eight days.”
“Fuck,” Yara utters, before taking out her iPhone and typing something on it.
Mom, on the other hand, does her best to conceal her astonishment at how short our time to convince Eric to drop the report is. “Well, let’s just hope one of his close friends is attending the ceremony.” Then she stands up from the sofa and Julia does the same.
“By Tuesday I should have the list,” Yara replies as we all start heading out.
I open the door, and my sisters are the first to step outside, then Mom stops in front of me and nods at my sisters, so they keep going.
Once we are left alone, Mom says, “It’s Valentine’s Day today.” I’m quite surprised that she knows that, but I keep my face just as unreadable. “Whatever is happening between you and your wife, you should put it aside for tonight.”
“I don’t know if it’s prudent.”
“Alex…” She reaches my cheek, stroking it with the back of her fingers. “Even in times of war, enemies can dine together.”
I wonder if Mom spoke to Petra about it, but I refrain myself from asking. Instead, I just smile politely and say, “I’ll think about it.”
To my surprise, as Mom and I reach the terrace, I find Petra surrounded by Carice and her horde of minions, while the rest of my family and Roy are on the other side of the terrace as far as they can get from them. The funeral has been over for two hours now and it’s already early afternoon, so why on earth are Carice and her friends still here? Even Father Thomas and the Bradfords already left.