Chapter 55 MEETING

Chapter 55 MEETING
Tehila 

The hotel looked like something from another century and that made me feel even more out of place. 

I kept my hand on my stomach as I walked through the entrance. 

The recording device felt hot against my skin even though I knew it was no bigger than a button. Agent Roth was somewhere in the lobby pretending to read a magazine. Lucas was across the street watching through binoculars. Cole and Mercier were in a van half a block away listening to every word.

I was not alone but I felt alone.

The concierge approached with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "Mrs Ross?"

"Yes."

"Please follow me. Your party is waiting in the Rose Room."

We walked through corridors lined with paintings and antique furniture. Other guests glanced at me as we passed. Could they see the fear written all over my face?

The concierge stopped at a door carved with roses. "Enjoy your lunch."

He opened it and walked away before I could respond.

The room was smaller than I expected but beautiful. The water was so blue it looked fake. White sailboats dotted the surface and swans glided near the shore.

Sienna sat at a table by the window. She wore white. She looked like she belonged in a magazine.

She stood when she saw me. Her smile was warm and completely terrifying.

"Tehila." She walked toward me with her arms outstretched. "I am so glad you came."

She embraced me like we were old friends. Like she had not tried to destroy my life. I forced myself not to pull away.

"We have so much to discuss." She gestured to the table. "Please sit. I took the liberty of ordering for both of us. I hope you do not mind."

I sat down slowly. The chair was cushioned and comfortable but I could not relax. 

Sienna poured water from a crystal pitcher. "How are you feeling? The pregnancy must be getting more difficult."

"I am managing."

"And traveling all the way to Geneva in your condition. You must be desperate."

I met her eyes. "I want this to end."

"So do I." She sipped her water. "Which is why I am glad we can finally talk like adults, without all the drama."

A waiter appeared with two plates. Salad with some kind of cheese and walnuts. I was not hungry but I picked up my fork anyway. Sienna did the same.

"Geneva is lovely this time of year," she said. "Have you had a chance to explore the city?"

"Not really. I have been focused on other things."

"Of course. Trying to prove I am some kind of monster." She smiled. "How is that going?"

I set down my fork. "I know who you are and what you have done."

"Do you?" She leaned back in her chair. "Tell me what you think you know."

"I know about Helena Montgomery. About the money you stole before you became Sienna Montgomery."

Something flickered in her eyes but she kept smiling. "You have been busy."

"I also know about the shell corporations. The fifty million dollars you have been moving through Swiss banks."

"Money I earned." Her voice stayed calm. "Money from my divorce settlement and my investments. They all ll perfectly legal."

"Earned through fraud."

"Prove it." She picked up her champagne glass. "Oh wait. You cannot. Because everything I have done has been within the law. 

I felt the recording device against my skin and reminded myself to stay calm and get her to reveal something

"What about Dalton?" I asked. "Was poisoning him within the law?"

"I did not poison anyone. The flask you claimed contained Arsenic could be poison by anyone. Dalton loves me, I can’t hurt him."

I was sweating.

"Because he did not know what you were doing."

"Or because I gave him something you never could. SYou were always so focused on your feelings. Is it any wonder he looked elsewhere?"

"You are trying to make me angry."

"I am telling you the truth. Dalton was unhappy with you long before I came into the picture. I just gave him permission to admit it."

"And then you poisoned him."

"I love him." Her voice cracked just slightly. 

"Then why are you running? Why are you planning to leave the country with a new identity if you have nothing to hide?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Who told you that?"

I had revealed information I should not have had. 

"Does it matter?" I asked. "The point is I know, and soon everyone else will too."

Sienna was quiet for a long moment. Then she picked up her phone and typed something quickly.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making sure we have privacy." She set down the phone. "Tell me who is helping you. Who gave you that information?"

"No one is helping me. I figured it out myself."

"Liar." She stood up and walked to the window. "Someone told you about my plans."

My heart was racing now. This was going wrong. She was supposed to confess, instead she was putting the pieces together faster than I could control.

"I want to make a deal," I said quickly. "I want to protect my child from this mess."

"Your child." She turned to face me."You have been trying to destroy me since Daton’s fell sick. Spreading lies and turning people against me."

"I have been trying to expose the truth."

"The truth is you are a bitter woman who cannot accept that she lost.  And now you are here in my city trying to trap me."

The room felt smaller. The air felt thinner. I reached for my water glass but my hand was shaking.

"I am not trying to trap you. I am trying to end this."

"By wearing a wire?" She gestured to my blouse. "Did you really think I would not notice? I have been doing this for fifteen years. I know when someone is recording me."

My blood went cold. She had known from the beginning.

I pressed my hand against my pocket where the panic button was hidden. But before I could reach it Sienna pulled a phone from her purse.

She turned it toward me and showed me the screen.

It was a photograph taken this morning. It showed Cole and Lucas standing outside the apartment building where we had met with the Swiss agents.

"I know exactly who you have been working with," Sienna said. "And I know exactly what they want from me."

She swiped to another photograph. This one showed Agent Roth sitting in the hotel lobby. Reading magazine and pretending to be a guest.

"Your backup is predictable. Did you think I would not have people watching?"

I could not breathe. Everything was falling apart.

Sienna leaned forward with that terrible smile still on her face. "Before we discuss terms there is something you need to see. Something that will ensure you never cross me again."