And potentially other men?
And she had a lover?
And she was married to my father?
Oh. My. God.
Oh. My. God.
Oh. My. God.
“I pleaded with her not to burn Niels’s house down.”
Potter knew?
“I told her such a rash decision would not only be criminal, it would expose us and make us vulnerable.”
Dear God.
“But no, Thana wouldn’t listen. She wanted revenge so bad, she flipped the middle finger to the consequences… and to her partners in crime––us.”
Nausea churns in my stomach at Potter’s shocking revelations.
“In the meantime, her offshore accounts were lined with money she diverted from Niels upon your request on top of the money you paid her for her willing participation in your demonic plan.” He lets out an audible sigh. “How greedy can you get?”
Apparently, a lot.
“Thana’s reaction made no sense whatsoever since she didn’t even love Niels. She was using the poor bastard.”
I knew it all along.
“She played him like a fiddle, and then she robbed him of the last thing of value he possessed. She should’ve been joyfully skipping all the way to LAX when she was served those divorce papers, not plotting to further destroy Niels.” He lets out a derisive laugh. “Stupid, stupid cunt. Get out of town. Lie low. Shut your fucking trap. Enjoy your payout money. End of story.”
The woman is evil.
“I told you from the get-go, Thana was volatile. But you didn’t care because you were so intent on getting your hands onNiels’s hotel at any cost. There are other family-run hotels in prime locations in New York.”
This conversation explains so much.
“Right, not like that one,” Potter says. “Not located in a heritage building. I hope you’re happy now. One, Phoenix König owns the Villiers Grand, not you. Two, you didn’t get your hands on the pussy you so desperately wanted to fuck since she belongs to King König. He gets to enjoy fucking her ass, you have to make do with your new eighteen-year-old girlfriend and the rest of your harem.”
Shock reverberates through me.
“I still have my suspicions about that speedy marriage, but it’s too late now,” Potter says. “And three, Thana––your slutty pawn––just became a liability. She was charged for arson.”
She was?
“I might have to disappear for a while.” Potter keeps talking. “It’s not going to take much for her to sing like a canary to save her own skin or lessen the severity of her sentence, Ripley. The police are going to link Thana to you, Brock, and me, and our plan to sabotage Niels. Then, they’ll keep digging. It won’t take investigators long to find out you make a habit of playing God by getting a pawn to weaken the position of a family-owned hotel you set your sights on so you can swoop in like a Goodman white knight savior and offer to buy them out at a discount, knowing full well they’re desperate.”
Jesus Christ.
“You have enough money to buy your way out of this cluster fuck of a mess, Ripley. I don’t have infinite funds. No way am I ending up in the slammer.”
I have to warn someone.
I end the recording and place my phone back into my crossbody bag. I take a step back, but bump into something.
Shit.
