“Injured is not dead,” he said, his eyes blazing. “I thought for sure I had him at that stupid Thunder thing. But the fog was so thick, I almost slipped and went into the waves myself. I had a tight hold of a tree to keep from being pulled into the ocean.”
Chelsea remained silent, wondering what Frank meant by that. Theo had never told her about almost falling in the water at what she assumed was Thunder Hole.
“Then, you had to go and take his car and get in an accident. It was supposed to be him who lost control when the brake fluid spilled out.”
“Brake fluid? You had something to do with my accident?”
Frank paced back and forth, hands in his pockets like he was discussing a business deal. “I cut the brake line. Thought I did a decent job, considering I’ve never worked on a car before. The internet has everything these days. When that didn’t work, I had to follow him around a bit and get creative on that cliff path. Unfortunately, his friend was too close and managed to save him before he fell.”
“It was your fault Theo had that accident on the Precipice.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you. They found the hammer I used to sabotage the metal rungs.” He shrugged. “Your hammer. But killing someone wasn’t what I trained for, so I’m not very good at it. It’s too risky hiring someone else.”
“But you don’t have to kill him, Frank. Please,” she cried, tears rolling down her cheeks. “We can get a divorce, then I’ll sign it all over to you.”
Turning swiftly, Frank stalked over to her and leaned on the back of the chair. “Don’t you understand? That isn’t going to work. Even if we could convince your husband to do that, without tossing me in prison, he’d still owneverything.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your father had you under control most of the time, but he also knew that occasionally you had lucid moments and did stupid things. Like take up with a park ranger while attending a funeral. He knew that if you ever found out about the codicil, you’d likely divorce me. He couldn’t take a chance that your new husband would be the right man to run the company.”
“What codicil?”
“The one that said your husband got control of the company and all assets, and that even if you divorced him, he’d still remain in control and have ownership. So even if the ranger divorced you, he’d still get it all. Everything. I worked too hard these last years to lose it all now.”
Chelsea sunk deeper against the wall. “So you planned to court me and marry me. What if I didn’t want to?” She had a feeling she knew the answer.
“That’s what your medication is for, Chelsea. To keep you calm and compliant. No one would ever question your behavior since it’s how you’ve been the last five years. Longer, even. Poor Chelsea, so like her mother. Everyone would think I’m as wonderful as your father. Keeping you safely at the estate instead of locked up in an institution somewhere.”
“I can’t believe you did all this. You knew my father was drugging me. How long? How long have you known?”
“A few years now. I’ve worked for the company for over ten years, but it was only the last four that your father began training me to take over for him. We were planning to have me start courting you soon, but then he had a heart attack and died. The will had already been amended. I thought we were all set.”
“Did you know he stole my baby? Were you in on that?”
Shaking his head, Frank said, “No, though I have a feeling that’s what made your father start thinking about changing his will. The fact you had gotten away from him long enough to have a fling and get pregnant scared him, made him try harder to keep control over you.”
“Now, you plan to do that, too.”
“My plans will depend on you, Chelsea. How much you cooperate. For now, you need to have something to eat. I got some donuts earlier and some coffee and tea. Most likely cold now, but it’s something.”
Walking over to the table, he opened up a paper bag and pulled items out. “Do you want sugar in your tea? They gave me a few packets.”
“No.” She didn’t want him touching her drink. Wasn’t sure he hadn’t already put something in there. But she was hungry and thirsty. The donut he brought over was a simple glazed, and even with her hands tied, she still managed to eat it and drink some of the tea. The way he smirked told her she’d made a mistake drinking. She pretended to have the whole cup, then when he wasn’t looking, poured the rest behind the mattress. When she finished up, Frank took her trash and tossed it on the table.
“Your life with me will be easy, Chelsea. You’ll never have to work and can do anything you want. Around the estate. Like before.”
“How is that a life? Being drugged all the time. I barely remember the last four years of my life. Frank, you can’t do this. Take as much money as you can and leave. I won’t come after you. Please, don’t do this. Theo must be looking for me by now.”
“Sure, he is.” Frank laughed. “If I hadn’t sent him a text saying you were going back home. I’ve ignored all his tries at contacting you. Hopefully, he’ll get the message.”
“You sent him what?” Oh, God, would Theo believe the texts like he had before? No, no way. “So, you’ll take me back to the estate and forget about this place.”
“I will, yes.” His smile turned evil. “But not until I get your husband out of the way. I’ll need to wait until dark. Easier to dump his body into the ocean without tons of tourists around. I’ll have to kill him here first. I don’t imagine he’ll cooperate by allowing me to kill him near the water.”
The tea must have had something strong in it, even though she’d only had half of it. Her eyes wouldn’t stay open, and the fog had begun to roll in thicker than ever. “What are you going to do?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Lure him here. Send him a text saying you changed your mind but got lost on your way back. He’ll come to rescue you, then I’ll get rid of him.”
