I snorted. “Myincident? You mean when I was kidnapped.”
“Oh, honey.” The lines on her face deepened with her melodrama. “You don’t need to rehash it now. It’s important that you talk about it, but I think it’s best—” Her gaze swung to the doors again. “It’s best that you speak with a professional. Someone who can get you the treatment you need.”
If I didn’t know my mother better, I might’ve thought she was sincere. But this … this was her play, and she was the star.
“Do you want to do this now?” I prompted, nodding my chin toward the man trying to record this conversation discreetly. “Because what I have to say, you probably don’t want to go public.”
Monica shook her head dramatically. “Nothing you can say will change my love for you, Laikyn. You know that. I just want what’s best.”
“Do you?” I stepped closer. When I did, Rule and Jinx moved closer to me. “Do you really?”
Her hand went to her chest. “What does that mean? Of course, I do. You’re my baby, Laikyn. I don’t care how old you get, you’ll always be my baby.”
Her acting skills were stellar. Too bad she was tipping her head to the side, likely in an effort to get caught in the best light. That was Monica, always angling for the perfect pose.
“I know what you did,” I said harshly.
Monica shook her head. “Honey, we’ve talked about this. They’re filling your head full of lies about me. None of it’s true.”
I looked at Rule and Jinx. “I think she’s off her meds.”
“Like I said, Laikyn,” my mother continued, her voice loud enough to be picked up by that phone’s microphone. “We’ll get you help. There’s a hospital that’s got—”
I took a step back. “A hospital?”
She was far too calm, too calculating. “Yes.”
“A mental hospital, I presume?”
“Yes, dear.”
I canted my head and studied her for a moment. “Is there any chance you met Javier at this hospital?”
That name caught my mother by surprise, and she was unable to hide her reaction. Even that not-so-discreetly placed camera would’ve caught her soft gasp.
“Yes. I know what you did,” I told her, keeping my voice low. “I know you had me kidnapped. You thought the insurance company would pay you out. How much was their cut,Mom? How much of the fifty million were you willing to part with?”
Monica didn’t have a comeback, but I didn’t wait around for one, either.
“Take me home,” I told Rule and Jinx.
“Go on,” Rule said, stepping back so Jinx could take my hand. “I’ll be right there.”
I was seething as Jinx led me through the ballroom and out the front doors.
* * *
Rule
“She needs help, Rule. You know itas—”
“You can lay off the theatrics, Monica,” I hissed, nodding behind her.
When Monica spun around, Red Wally gave her a little wave with the cell phone he’d been recording the entire conversation with. I was prepared for this exact scenario after Jinx warned me about the lawyer Monica was marrying. Considering his history with getting parents custody of grown children and their fortunes, it dawned on me that Monica would have the same endgame. She wanted Laikyn’s money, and what better way to get it than to have her daughter deemed incompetent? So I’d had Red Wally sticking close by, prepared to record whatever confrontation Monica set up.
“We recorded the entire thing,” I informed her. “Including the part where you asked your friend over there to get it all on camera. So, if you attempt to modify your recording, I’ll ensure mine goes public. All of it. Including the information I ascertained about Javier Escobar. You remember him, don’t you, Monica? The guy you paid to kidnap your daughter?”
“I didn’t pay anyone,” she hissed.
