Shoving those thoughts aside, I grab a messenger bag and drop the two bottles into a zippered compartment. Then I move on to pick out my clothes for the day. After twenty minutes of hesitation, I settle on a basic white blouse and skinny jeans, deciding the rest is too complicated to navigate. I’ve spent years in my thrift shop clothing, and I’m almost afraid to touch some of the nicer items. It comes back to me not deserving things like this, and I can only imagine what Narcissa would say if she saw me now.
After showering and braiding my hair, I wander into the kitchen to find Lisbet has already set out an assortment of items on the table.
“Is it okay to eat in here?” she asks with a curious gleam in her eyes as she studies me. “Or do you prefer outside?”
“In here is fine.” I offer a smile. “You’ve already set the table.”
“It’s no trouble to change it,” she says quickly.
“I’m happy to eat inside,” I insist.
After a minute of hesitation, she nods and then points out the array of food she’s gathered. Fruit, yogurt, cereals, and bread.
“Thank you very much, Lisbet.” I give her an awkward little bow because I’m honestly not sure how I’m supposed to address her. Nobody has ever waited on me like this before, and I feel a little guilty that she has to. “This looks amazing.”
“Let me know if I can get you anything else,” she says, the tightness in her features loosening up a bit. “His Royal Highness left a phone for you as well. Just there.”
I pick up the familiar cell phone and take a seat. Lisbet disappears, and I bring the screen to life, noting that it’s fully charged. I wonder if Thorsen has been through my phone, but then again, it only makes sense that he has. He knew about Charlotte, obviously from my list of contacts, which really only consists of her and Olivia.
While breakfast looks delicious and my stomach is already rumbling, I’m anxious to get my phone calls in while Thorsen’s still in a giving mood. Who knows what the weather will be like when he returns today?
The first person I call is Olivia, and she answers on the second ring.
“Ella?” I can practically see her smile through the speaker. “Is that you?”
“Yes, it’s me.” I smile back even though she can’t see me.
“Oh, my God. What on earth is going on? I’ve been getting deposits every day. Is that really from you?”
I pause for a moment, considering the best way to answer this question. “Yes, I’m… working for someone,” I explain. “And it’s a two-month contract, so you should see plenty more where that came from.”
“Ella, I can’t even begin to thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“I don’t want you to say anything.” I reach for a slice of bread and add it to my plate. “I just want to make sure the animals are taken care of. That’s all.”
“Well, thanks to you, they have food in their bellies,” she says. “And if things continue at this rate, I should be able to pay off the vet bills in a week.”
“That’s great news.” I sigh in relief. “You’ll be able to keep things going then?”
“If this continues, then yes,” she answers cautiously. “But I have to ask, Ella. What kind of job are you doing where you’re earning this much money every day?”
I break off a corner of the bread and crumble it between my fingers. I don’t want to lie to Olivia, but I can’t exactly tell her the truth either.
“I can’t say much about it. Only that I’m working for a wealthy man, who’s been very generous.”
There’s a pause on the other end of the line, and Olivia’s voice is filled with obvious concern when she speaks again. “Is it legal?”
“Yes.” I swallow.
“Are you keeping any money for yourself?” she asks.
“I really don’t need very much.”
“Ella,” she scolds. “You have to keep something for yourself.”
“The only thing I want is Alfred,” I tell her. “Please just take care of him for me until I can see him again.”
“He’s not going anywhere,” she assures me. “He misses you very much.”
“Thank you, Olivia. I should let you go. I have to call Charlotte too while I can.”
“Okay,” she agrees. “Check in as soon as you can. You know I worry about you.”
“I’ll be in touch.”
“Oh, Ella.” She stops me before I hang up. “Can you at least tell me the name of the ship you’re working on? Just in case I don’t hear from you, or if there’s an emergency?”
My eyes dart around the room, seeking out inspiration for a ship name when it hits me. “God of Thunder.”
“Huh,” she murmurs. “What an unusual name.”
“I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay, darling. Take care of yourself.”
After I hang up, I video call Charlotte and explain things all over again. But she’s not quite so easy to convince. She can smell a fishy story from a mile away, and she makes me promise to keep in touch with her weekly, no matter what. Guilt eats at me when she tells me how worried she’s been. But what’s even more concerning is that she went to the house to check on me, only to discover that Narcissa and the girls are gone.
They couldn’t possibly be out looking for me, could they?
I dismiss the idea as ridiculous, and as soon as I hang up with Charlotte, I try to call the manor. But true to Charlotte’s word, the phone just rings and goes to voicemail. It doesn’t make any sense, and the more I think about it, the more confused I get.
Narcissa doesn’t have any other family to speak of, so where would they go? It’s a question that disturbs me all the way through breakfast. But given that I don’t have any answers, I decide to put it aside for the time being and focus on what I need to do while I still have my phone.
Pulling up an incognito browser, I type Nerium Oleander into the search engine and wait for the results to pop up. After reading through the first few paragraphs, I conclude that it’s a flowering shrub, which only adds to my confusion. Why would Thorsen have this in a bottle? Is it some kind of a liquid concentrate? And what is he planning to do with it?
After searching through a few more articles, the answer sends a shiver down my spine. The oleander plant is known for its cardiotoxicity, and I suspect the concentration in that blue bottle is likely fatal. I don’t even know how to begin processing that information.
The first initial thought I have is that he must intend to use it on someone, but I quickly dismiss that as a crazy notion. Thorsen drugged me to bring me here, but there’s no way he would actually poison me. Or anyone else for that matter. But the alternative is something too dark to consider.
And then I recall that note in his calendar after he sends me home. Aokigahara Forest. When I first saw it, I thought he was going on a holiday. But what if it isn’t? What if it’s something so sinister, my mind can’t even admit the possibility?
“Thor?”
The phone in my hand clatters onto the table as I discover Calder standing in the entryway, and we both freeze.
“I was looking for Thor,” he says, his eyes darting away.