Chapter 67
There is no word to describe the pain Nicholas Whitlock felt when he saw her text messages, one after another, come in and beg him for a response. His chest ached, nausea threatened to expel the contents of his stomach, and guilt overcame him. He tried to respond, and still, he couldn’t reach her despite her pleas. The only logical answer was she blocked him, but why do that and then continue to message him? She wasn’t sadistic like her parents; she wouldn’t torture him like that.
And then, it clicked.
One or both of her parents had orchestrated the whole scenario. There was no other explanation. He had to get to her and show her what they’d done.
As the plane began its descent, he received a message from his dad.
I took care of the problem.
A sharp inhalation of air.
What did you do?
What you wouldn’t.
In other words, he’d paid her off, and she’d taken the deal.
No, he couldn’t believe she would do that. She couldn’t abandon him before he had the chance to say how he felt.
As he made his way through the terminal, neither him nor Andrea registered that they crossed paths within ten feet of each other.
The drive to the Thornton estate was long, and it gave him plenty of time to think about everything that had happened leading up to this moment. Hesitation was his biggest enemy. He wouldn’t hesitate anymore.
His thoughts fell to her parents and to his father. All this happening at once was far too coincidental for him. Hopefully, their friends could figure it out while he focused on a plan to get her out.
The large wrought-iron gate came into view, and he knew he was close.
He approached the gate and pressed the intercom button, but it did not open.
An old, crackly speaker came to life. “Who is this?” a woman’s voice said. It was sickly sweet, like a bad performance from an amateur actor.
“This is Nicholas Whitlock. I’m here to visit with Miss Jasmine Thornton. I understand she’s been staying here.”
Silence for several long moments. “You’re not welcome here.” The sweetness changed into cold distance. “Please leave.”
“Wait!” he shouted at the speaker, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of vehicles approaching.
To his right, he saw what looked like a black side-by-side rapidly descending on him. As they got closer, he saw two men outfitted in security gear sat in the front seats. They stopped next to him. “This is private property, and you have been requested to leave. Please turn around now before we arrest you for trespassing,” the driver said.
“I understand you’re doing your job, but I need to talk to someone in there quickly. If you told her I was here, I’m sure—”
“Are you deaf? You were asked to leave nicely, so leave before we have to ask not so nicely,” the man in the passenger seat interrupted. Nick glanced down and noticed both the men had guns in their holsters. The Thorntons did not mess around.
He knew he wouldn’t have any luck getting through to the two men. After a short debate on whether he could slip through the gate and make it to the house before security caught up with him (he couldn’t), he nodded and reversed his car.
“I’ll try again some other time,” he said with a thin smile.
He pulled away from the gate and promptly headed to the nearest hotel he could find. He wasn’t leaving Jasmine behind, not unless she told him herself she wanted him gone. Nick paid for a month ahead and hunkered down, unsure how long he’d have to wait but ready to spend his entire fortune just to see her again.
In New York, Natalie, Morgan, and Merrick had turned Nick’s condo into a war room. All their phones were on the table, opened to their respective conversations with Jasmine.
“The day she arrived, she stopped reading our messages, but she didn’t stop sending. So they’ve got a stranglehold on her phone,” Morgan said.
“Obviously. And now all her social media’s gone, so that’s a no go,” Natalie said.
“Nick’s already in Georgia, but according to him, security is tighter than he expected.”
“And we’ve still got no leads on who leaked it from Astrid.”
Morgan’s phone began to ring with an unknown number.
“It’s Charles, Nick’s dad,” Merrick said. He looked to Morgan. “Don’t answer it.”
She pursed her lips, then picked up the phone and answered.
Natalie and Merrick watched as she listened to the voice on the other end. Her expression changed from bored to scornful. Her eyes went wide, and a smile of contempt lifted her face.
“Fuck you,” she said with a scoff and hung up. The number was blocked within seconds.
“What did he say?”
“He said any lingering investigations surrounding me will be dropped by the end of the week, and my condo would be mine again. He told me to thank Jasmine, if she ever talked to me again, that is.”
Natalie and Merrick looked at each other with concern.
“Why would he do that?” Natalie asked.
“Because she agreed to something. Best guess, knowing him, she’s not coming back, not of her own accord.”
The tension in the air was palpable.
“Do you think Nick will be able to convince her to come home? Should we go down there too?”
Merrick shook his head. “I need to keep an eye on Whitlock, and it looks like you two need to be ready in case her sister shows up. She might have some valuable insight.”
“So we’re just supposed to sit here and do nothing?” Natalie tried not to let the panic show on her face.
“Not nothing, no.” Morgan picked up her phone again. “I think we’ve got a suspect on who managed to get the story past Nick,” she said ominously. “Let’s see if Astrid can dig anything out of her dear old dad. Plus, Andrea has the most experience dealing with their parents. She’ll know better than anyone what will get Jasmine out.”
All of them looked at each other, the seriousness of the situation heavy on their minds. “It doesn’t matter what it takes; we’re going to get our girl home,” Morgan said with the confidence that had made her such a success before her father’s mistakes.
“For Jasmine,” said Natalie.
“For Nick,” said Merrick.