Christina’s POV

The next morning, I slept really hard until almost noon. My phone buzzing on the nightstand woke me up.

I groaned and reached over to feel the mattress beside me. Empty. The sheets were cold. Hudson was already gone.

The phone kept ringing. I finally opened one eye, grabbed it, and answered without looking.

"Hello?" My voice was rough and scratchy. Great.

"Christina, it’s me."

I woke up completely, I pulled the phone away and looked at the screen.

Daniel.

Great. Someone from my past I didn’t want to hear from.

"Why are you calling me?" I asked, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Can we meet? I need to tell you something."

Oh no. That never means anything good.

"What?" I asked carefully.

"It’s about your kidnapping," Daniel said. "What really happened isn’t what you think. Can we meet?"

I got out of bed, suddenly wide awake. "Where?"

"Near your studio. The café on the main street. I’ll wait there."

He hung up before I could respond.

Daniel sounded sincere. Even desperate. But Hudson’s investigation already showed Niall and Franklin did the kidnapping. Could there be more to it?

Daniel and Niall never liked each other. Maybe Daniel knew something Hudson didn’t.

Akira was uneasy in my mind. "I don’t like this, Christina."

"Me neither," I said, going to the bathroom to wash my face. "But if there’s more, I need to know."

"Then bring help. Call Hudson."

I thought about it as I got dressed. But if Daniel saw someone with me, he might run.

Besides, we were meeting at a public café downtown. Daylight. Lots of people. What could happen?

"Bad idea," Akira muttered.

When I was ready, the driver took me to the studio. I went through the café door, hearing a bell ring. I smelled coffee and pastries right away.

I saw Daniel right away at a corner table by the window.

Wow. He looked terrible.

A white bandage covered his forehead. He had messy stubble on his jaw. His eyes were red with dark circles. His clothes were loose like he’d lost weight. I almost didn’t recognize him.

"Christina," he said, standing up nervously when I came over.

I nodded briefly and sat across from him. "You said you had something to tell me. So talk."

He played with a napkin, tearing it into small pieces. "I’m sorry."

I understood right away. My stomach dropped. "You lied."

"No, no, what I’m going to tell you is true," he said quickly. "I’m sorry about something else."

His unclear words annoyed me. "I just want the truth about the kidnapping. Get to the point."

He looked at me, his face showing conflict. "Niall was involved."

"I already know that," I said, frowning. "Hudson found that out weeks ago."

"No, you don’t understand." Daniel whispered. "Niall was the leader. He planned it all."

I sat back and crossed my arms. "Go on."

"When Franklin got out of prison, he asked Niall for money. Franklin had dirt on him. Some blackmail." Daniel’s hands shook as he talked. "So Niall made a plan. He decided to go after you."

I felt cold.

"You married Hudson," Daniel said. "You could get to all Franklin’s money. So Niall and Franklin teamed up. They made a fake recording where Franklin pretended to confess to Niall. It was fake so Niall could contact you, get close and make you trust him. That’s how they kidnapped you so easily."

My hands became fists under the table.

Daniel breathed shakily. "They knew they couldn’t fight Hudson directly. So the plan was to take you overseas where Hudson couldn’t find you. Having you call Hudson was just fun for them. A mean trick. They wanted to give you hope, then take it away. Niall thought because of your past, he could make you love him again."

I felt sick.

"Then he’d make you write a will giving him everything," Daniel said quietly. "Then you’d die in an accident. And Niall would get everything."

I sat there, thinking about what he said. I felt numb.

The Niall I loved in high school was gone. But hearing how carefully he planned to trick and kill me still hurt.

"Do you know where Franklin is?" I asked flatly.

Daniel said no. "He disappeared after you were saved. But I know where Niall is."

When I didn’t answer right away, Daniel got upset. "Don’t you want to know where he is?"

"No," I said simply.

Daniel looked confused. "What?"

"I don’t want to know," I repeated.

After I was saved, Hudson’s people took Niall to question him. By now, he wasn’t my problem.

Hudson chose me over Genevieve. I could do the same and cut all ties with Niall.

"Thanks for telling me," I said flatly, standing up.

But as I got up, Daniel talked again. "Christina, I’m sorry."

That was his second apology. Something in his voice worried me.

Before I could ask what he meant, he jumped forward. His hand came up with a small can.

He sprayed something right in my face.

My vision got blurry right away. The café spun around me.

"What—" I gasped, stumbling back. My bag fell to the floor.

My legs collapsed. I reached for the table, but my hands wouldn’t work. Everything tilted.

Akira growled in my mind. "Fight it, Christina!"

I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t listen. My arms and legs felt heavy.

Through the blur, I saw Daniel’s face above me. He looked torn and guilty, but he didn’t stop.

Someone shouted. A woman screamed.

But it all sounded far away, like I was underwater.

The last thing I felt was strong hands grabbing me, pulling me away.

Then everything went dark.