Page 96 of The Alibi Club

“To the only thing worth celebrating.” Lorna poured two glasses. Jamie took one, and Cliff took the other. Lorna held up her water bottle. “To love, of course.”

They took a sip and Cliff shot Jamie a confused look, but they remained silent, hoping it would beckon Lorna to go on. It was damn good champagne.

Lorna slowly shook her head. “If I’ve learned anything in my fifty-five years on this planet, it’s that loneliness warps people. It’s an insidious sickness, too, because it happens slowly, so slowly that you don’t know it’s affecting you.”

She leaned against one of the burlwood tables and continued, “Duncan and I were kids together. We met when we were nineteen at on campus. I fell in love with the sweetest boy in the world. In college, we had big dreams. Duncan was there when email was created. I had a knack with people. Together, we had an idea to use technology and the delicate craft of matchmaking to create a new way of dating. And then, we brought the whole thing online.”

“TwinFlame,” Jamie acknowledged.

“Yes,” Lorna confirmed. “Of course, we had no earthly idea how perversely the original app would affect the world, and even us. My original intention was for it to be a thoughtful online meeting place, still guided by my hand, my personal touch bringing together the right people. But Duncan said that idea could not be scaled up. And he was thinking big. Too big. ‘Let people choose each other,’ he said. But we all know that usually ends in disaster. Most people have a hand in meeting the right person: a friend, a workplace, a doting mother, or a matchmaker. Left to their own devices, people pick the worst possible mates for themselves. You two, for instance. Terrible pickers on both of you.”

“Hey—” Cliff said defensively.

“That’s not fair,” Jamie retorted.

Lorna rolled her eyes and pointed at Cliff. “Need I remind you of Amber?” Then she pointed at Jamie. “And that putz, Chaz?”

“Did you put me in the path of Amber?”

“You do have a type, Cliff. And you performed exactly as I thought you would. People are not hard to predict.”

Cliff grimaced.

“Anyway, I told Duncan I didn’t want to be a part of creating a toxic cesspool of broken hearts, disappointed people, and meaningless hookups. TwinFlame had the potential to ruin modern dating as we knew it. I implored him to pivot to something more positive. But by that time, we were making so much money, it had become a beast of its own. It didn’t take long for all that power and money to change us. That was back in the days when I was naive enough to think the love we had was real, or even enough. How wrong I was.”

“Duncan left you,” Jamie surmised.

“Oh, he did much more than that. His ego became overwhelming. Started to think he was a king, invincible, as if nothing could touch him. And worst of all, he no longer saw me as an equal. He made me feel worthless. That kind of damage lasts. He was the person I loved most in the world. Ironic, right? I’m a purveyor of true love, but I found myself in a false one. His greed took over. There is nothing more devastating than understanding the person you have put your whole heart, life, time, sweat, and energy into doesn’t give a shit about you. Wouldn’t cross the street to pull me out of a burning vehicle. His apathy toward me, after all we had shared and built together, ignited a deep rage in me that I didn’t even know I had. What is the phrase? It’s a razor-thin line between love and hate? I have crossed it.”

Cliff considered this. “So, you wanted to hurt him.”

“If I’m guilty of anything, it was believing in the power of a love that was false. In my case, love turned into something else.”

“Revenge,” Jamie said quietly.

“Yes.” Lorna nodded almost imperceptibly. “But how can you hurt a man like Duncan Reeves? He can buy himself out of most problems, he can purchase anything or anyone he wants. So, I waited. It was only a matter of time before Duncan’s desire overextended his currency. Chanel and I instantly struck a connection and her friendship yielded information I needed. I pulled him hook, line, and sinker into this over-the-top gambit that left him completely and totally exposed.”

Cliff looked puzzled but also mesmerized.

“You two have been blessed with the gift of hardship. It teaches you how to survive, sharpens your senses, keeps you on your toes. Duncan has lost those skills. So, I gave him a gift: the gift of fear.”

“You stole the necklace and then tipped off the Brotherhood,” Jamie said quietly.

“I cannot confirm or deny that. Or whether Duncan has the necklace in his possession or not, but the Brotherhood thinks he does.” Lorna smiled ruefully. “And, judging by their reputation, he will be hunted down like an escapee from an Alabama prison by those zealots until they get their necklace back.” Lorna sniffed. “It’ll be good for him. A little hardship. The best part is that Duncan will have to face the fact that his own ego is what landed him there.”

Admittedly, there was no love lost on Duncan Reeves from Jamie’s point of view. Why did she care if Duncan lived under threat of prosecution or prison? She tried to reconcile her feelings but was having trouble with the whole theft part of the plan. She looked at Cliff, who seemed to be laboring under the same confused state. Though maybe only because Lorna’s plan had landed him in the slammer.

“So, we were just pawns in a game of revenge?” Cliff asked.

Lorna tipped the bottle of water up and took a decent swig. “Love is what makes the world go round. But it can also burn it all down. Consider me the embodiment of an avenging heart scorned by love.” Lorna bowed, like a ballerina accepting applause for her part on the stage.

Jamie felt a pang of anger. “You can’t get away with this.”

Lorna’s graceful mask slipped just then, and Jamie swore she almost saw something dangerous in her eyes at Jamie’s threat. “That’s my cue. I have to ask you to get the fuck off my plane.” Lorna turned back toward the cockpit.

“Wait! You used our loneliness against us!” Jamie shouted.

Lorna let out a short bark of a laugh and thundered back, “What else is it good for?”