Swept Away: Resolution Part 10

"If my father is really still alive, then I'm sure he didn't disappear for fun." Jakob closed his eyes. "We just have to be prepared for whatever happens. We have to stick together."

"I love you, Jakob. I'm not going anywhere." I grabbed his hand and brought it to my heart. "You're in here, Jakob. You're in my heart, and nothing is going to change that."

"I might be in here as well." Jakob moved his hand to my stomach and rubbed.

"Jakob." I blushed and shook my head. "I'm not pregnant."

"You can't know that for sure." He laughed and was about to say something else when my phone buzzed with an incoming text.

"It's Blake. Penny's here."

"You ready?"

"I'm ready." I nodded and took a deep breath.

"All right, let's go, boss." He nodded at me, and we walked out of the bathroom. A man was standing outside the door, and he gave us a knowing look as we walked out. I wanted to tell him that no, we hadn't been having s.e.x, but I knew that would have made us look even more guilty. So I settled for glaring at him as we pa.s.sed.

Heading toward gate 50, I scanned the cl.u.s.ters of seats, looking for Penny or Blake. Finally I saw him at the end of a row, his laptop on his lap. Two seats away sat Mrs. Renee.

"It's her," I muttered to Jakob as we walked. "s.h.i.+t, Mrs. Renee really is Penny Case!"

"Remember what we agreed in the car," Jakob said lightly. "You'll approach her by yourself. She'll be less intimidated."

"I know." I took a deep breath. "I've got this."

"Don't let her panic, and don't let her get paranoid," he reminded me. "She was so nervous when you met her by yourself, and she was even more anxious when we went back together. Whatever she knows is scaring her, so much that she's leaving the country."

"I don't know that I can calm her fears though. Maybe I'm not the right person for the job."

"I know you are. You know what we need to find out, Bianca. You've got this." Jakob stopped by the bookstore as we'd planned earlier while I continued walking toward Blake and Mrs. Renee. I casually sauntered down the row of chairs, leafing through the Cosmopolitan magazine I'd purchased earlier. There was an article about the top ten s.e.x moves for women who wanted to take charge, and I dog-eared the page for later. Hey, I bought the magazine, might as well get my money's worth.

"Mrs. Renee?" I said in feigned surprise as I stopped in front of the older lady, her white hair looking frizzy and wild.

"Bianca?" She looked up at me with wide, displeased eyes. "What are you doing here?" She looked around to see if I was with anyone and frowned up at me. She started fidgeting with her bag, and her movements were making me nervous.

"I'm on my way to Paris. I wanted to get away for a week, see the Eiffel Tower, eat some chocolate croissants . . ." My voice trailed off awkwardly.

"You have money for that?" she asked suspiciously as I sat down next to her. I could feel Blake staring at us as he typed away on his laptop.

"Funnily enough, yes," I said, clearing my throat. "So what has you going to Paris? I'm surprised you're not staying in New York for Larry's trial."

"I, uh, I'm . . ." She looked down at her lap as she mumbled, and I leaned toward her.

"Can I talk frankly with you, Mrs. Renee?" I asked softly. "One woman to another?"

"What do you want?" She looked up at me, a nerve in her face making her right eye twitch.

"I need your help," I said softly and urgently. "I need you to tell me everything you know."

"Know about what?" Her face went white, and I saw her checking her watch. I looked at the time on the departures board, and my heart started pounding. I only had thirty-five minutes until boarding. I needed to get the information I needed from her before that.

"I know you're not married to Larry," I said quickly. "I know your name is Penny Case. I know you're Oliver Case's little sister. I know you're Steve's aunt. Please stop." I grabbed her arm as she made to jump up. "I don't want to hurt you or put you in harm's way. I just need your help. I need you to tell me what you know. I need to figure out what's going on here."

"I can't." She shook her head. "There are people watching and recording. Always."

"Not here." I shook my head. "No one is watching and recording you here."

"They are always recording." Her eyes were wide.

"Please, Penny. They've got Steve involved in this. If you don't want to help me, won't you help Steve?"

"I didn't know in the beginning." Her voice caught. "I didn't know how evil they were. They're monsters."

"The people watching you and Larry?" I questioned, remembering she had talked about monsters before.

"No." She grabbed my hand. "Larry and his friends are the monsters."

"You have to tell me everything you know. I don't want to be caught up in all of this."

"Oliver was a good boy." She sighed. "Different, but good and smart. He was so smart. My mother loved him. She thought he was a baby Einstein, but Father, my father hated him. He didn't understand him. It was different in those days. No one was into those sort of things."

"What sort of things?" I frowned. "Being smart?"

"He was my best friend, you know." She looked at me with a sad face as she ignored my question. "I never had many friends when I was growing up, but Oliver was always there for me. He always listened. He took care of me after he graduated. I wanted to be an actress. I thought I had talent. Of course I didn't though. Every girl my age wanted to be the next Marilyn Monroe. I thought I had a chance. Oliver supported me. Sent me money every month." She rubbed her forehead. "I thought he was happy. Thought everything was going right for him. He hadn't had the best college experience. He'd fallen in love, but been rejected."

"I didn't know that," I said softly, wanting to say enough so that she would know I was listening, but not too much to stop her from talking.

"I don't think many people did." She continued as if talking to herself. "His first friend was your father. He thought your dad was a stand-up guy until he stole Angelina away from Jeremiah."

"Sorry, what?" I frowned. "Did you say my dad stole my mom away from Jeremiah Bradley? As in, my mother used to date Jeremiah before she dated my dad?"

"Yes." She looked surprised. "You didn't know?"

"No." I shook my head. "I had no idea."

"That's why they set your dad up." Penny rubbed her forehead and sighed. "I didn't think it was a good idea, but who was I to say anything?"

"What do you mean they set my dad up?"

"The inventions." Penny said matter-of-factly. "That's why they were all in your dad's name."

"Why?" My breath caught.

"They wanted your father to be imprisoned for theft. Oliver had all the original patents and paperwork. Jeremiah wanted to teach your father a lesson about stealing from him."

"My father never went to jail though." I frowned. "I don't understand what you're saying."

"Bianca, are you okay?" I heard Jakob's voice next to me, and I wanted to scream as I gazed at Penny's once again stoic face.

"I'm fine." I glared at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Who else is here?" Penny's eyes darted around the gate area.

"Just me." Jakob answered before I could mention Blake.

"Why are you here?" Penny said, frantic now. "I didn't tell her anything. I promise."

"It's fine, Penny," I said softly. "He's with me. He's on our side."

"The Bradleys look out for the Bradleys." She looked into my eyes with a panicked expression.

"I'm not here as a representative of the Bradleys, Penny. I'm here for Bianca." Jakob sat next to me and grabbed my hand. "I know I shouldn't have come, but I didn't want to leave you here sitting alone. Not after what happened yesterday."

"What happened?" Penny asked frantically.

I explained quickly. "Steve and Rosie tried to take me to go and meet someone, but they didn't tell me why."

"Steve's a good boy," Penny said with a frown. "I failed him." She pursed her lips and mumbled something to herself.

"What did you just say?" I asked her softly.

"I said that I regret the day I ever introduced him to Roma."

"She's Larry's daughter, isn't she?"

"Yes. A monster from a monster." She sighed. "I didn't see the signs. I didn't believe until it was too late."

"Until what was too late? What happened?"

"Like I was saying, it all started when your mom left Jeremiah for your dad," Penny said with a hint of blame in her voice.

"Your mom dated my dad?" Jakob looked at me in shock. "Before she dated your dad?"

"She was just explaining that when you interrupted us." I put my hand on his thigh and squeezed it, hard. The last thing I needed was for him to freak Penny out and make her clam up. Not when she was so close to telling me everything she knew.

"Yes. It was quite the scandal." Penny nodded. "Apparently, Jeremiah was extremely upset by the betrayal."

"So my dad loved Angelina Walker?" Jakob said thoughtfully.

"Oh, no." Penny laughed bitterly. "Jeremiah Bradley didn't do love. In fact, he didn't even particularly like Angelina, but he knew that Nick did. From the first time he laid eyes on her, Nick was in love. That's why Jakob started dating her. He wanted to be in a position of power over Nick. He wanted to show Nick that he was number one."

"What?" I gasped. "That's awful."

"That was Jeremiah. On the surface, he was the nicest, most welcoming person, but he always had another motivation. He was born with a hidden agenda."

"How do you know all of this?" Jakob asked with a frown. "Did you grow up with them?"

"I'm sure Oliver told her," I said quickly, but Penny shook her head.

"Actually, no, it all came from Larry," she said with a twisted smile. "That's always been his problem. He's got a big mouth. He lets certain things slip that he shouldn't. Oh, he hid the big things, but I'm not dumb. I could figure them out."

"Larry told you?" I prodded, hoping she would go further in her conversation.

"They called them Beauty and Charm," she said.

"Who?" Jakob's voice was tense.

"Larry and Jeremiah."

"No, who did they call Beauty and Charm?" Jakob questioned, and my heart almost stopped as I realized that that wasn't the first time I'd heard that term.

"Angelina and Nick," she said impatiently. "Angelina was beauty, and Nick was charm. The perfect couple." She shook her head. "But nothing's perfect, is it?"

"That's what one of the notes said," I interrupted, and looked at Jakob. "'Beauty and Charm. One survives. One is destroyed. What are your odds?'" I blinked up at him. "That can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"I don't believe in coincidence." His eyes looked into mine intently. "Whoever sent you that note chose those words on purpose."

"Yes, it has to have a deeper meaning."

"Who could have sent it?" Jakob said, and I shook my head.

"Maybe Larry? Or Jeremiah?" My voice sounded weak even to my own ears.

"Jeremiah twisted up everything. And everyone," Penny interjected. "I wish I'd never let him mentor Steve."

"Why did you get with Larry?" I asked her softly, not understanding how she could still be protecting the man she called a monster.

"I didn't realize he was bad when I met him. He was saving me. Oliver had died, and Larry appeared out of nowhere. He told me he was one of Oliver's best friends and that Oliver had been murdered by powerful men. He told me they would come after me next, but if I left with him, he could protect me. I believed him." She shrugged. "I didn't have any way to support myself after Oliver pa.s.sed away. I never made it as an actress."

"But what about Steve? Who looked after him?"

"Steve was with a foster family." She looked away from me, and I could see shame filling her eyes.

"Even before Oliver died?"

"My brother wasn't a good father. And I was too selfish to take him on. I regret that now. Maybe he wouldn't have so many issues."

"Issues?"

"He's crazy," she said with a straight face. "I tried to help."

"How did you try to help?" Jakob asked softly.

"I sent a letter to Jeremiah Bradley. I told him what I knew. I knew some things, you know. Some things that could ruin him. I wanted a million dollars. I was going to give it to Steve."

The letter! "What happened?"

"He told me he was going to look after Steve. He told me that he'd treat Steve like his own son. He told me he'd love Steve like his own. I thought that would be good. That's what Oliver would have wanted. It would have made his heart soar."