Nate escorts me back to my old room and I can tell he’s unhappy. I’m not that ecstatic about things myself and wonder how on earth I’m going to deal with this?
As we part company, he surprises me by pulling me close and holding me tightly, whispering, “Please stay, Katrina. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Then come with me.” I look up at him and watch his eyes cloud with pain. “I can’t.” He pulls away and sighs. “The longer you stay, the deeper they pull you in. I have done things I’m not proud of just to fit in. To impress my dad, who I thought was someone to look up to. It turns out he’s just a wicked soul whose main driving force in life is money. He doesn’t care about me, just what I can do for him and for all her charm, Madelaine is no different. They are forcing us together to become mirror images of them and I don’t want that for you. Hell, I don’t want that for myself, but it’s too late for me. That’s why I didn’t want you to come back. I thought you were free.”
I feel bad for him. He has been caught up in something he had no control over and can see no way out. I want to help him so much and yet how can I? I need to make them pay for this and in exposing them, I take Nate down with them.
Impulsively, I nod towards my room. “Stay with me tonight.”
He looks surprised. “But…”
“No, please. I don’t want to be alone right now, and you’re the only person I trust. Nothing more than someone to hold when the world is in chaos around them. Please Nate, let me help you in return for helping me.”
He appears touched and I see a sheen of tears glistening in his eyes as he says gruffly, “Thank you.”
I grip his hand tightly and lead him into my room because I wasn’t pretending. I do want him with me because he is even more of a victim than I am.
As we lie in each other’s arms, we whisper in the darkened light about our fears. He confides how much he hates it here, his father and the whole situation. Like me, he was cruelly sent back here while they pretended to help him. When all along it was a carefully orchestrated plan to bring him in line. Our whole lives are one big plot twist and it’s up to us to break this cycle.
As we lie side by side, I whisper, “Tell me what you know about the foundation? Is there anyone else involved?”
“There are two more directors who live in Monaco. They head up the business side of the operation and arrange the fake paperwork and deal with the finances. Chester and Madelaine run the island and the sales side, for want of a better word.” He falters and I wonder what’s coming next. “There is something you should know before you make your final decision…”
I hitch my breath. “What?”
“Jenny is the daughter of one of the directors.”
“She is?”
I hold my breath as he whispers, “She was returned here the same way we were. When Chester told her what was expected, she went crazy. She fought against it and refused to repay her parent’s debt. She told Chester to tell her ghost of a father to stick his island because she was leaving and reporting them to the police.”
I say absolutely nothing because I can tell he needs to confide in someone and his voice breaks as he whispers, “Chester told me to take Jenny from the island as she wanted to leave.”
A feeling of dread is overwhelming me as I lie stiffly beside him, dreading the next words that may fall from his lips. “It was horrible, Kat. He told me I had to make sure she never made it back to the mainland. I was to return alone, and he directed me to the reef where the sharks dine.”
“What happened?” My voice is husky and my mouth dry, but I must know, even though he will probably confess to a murder, and my heart thumps as he says in a voice devoid of all emotion. “We argued. She was so angry and told me she was going to make sure nobody ever stepped foot on Catalina again. She would tell everyone she could about what went on here and I knew I had to act to save us all.”
“What did you do?” My voice is working but my heart is threatening to give out on me at any second and he sighs, “She was hysterical, so I struck her across the face to calm her down. It worked.”
He turns to face me, and I wish he hadn’t because even in the darkness I see them sparkle with triumph. “She fell, and it gave me time to increase the speed on the boat and take us out of view. By the time she recovered, we were out of sight and so I told her I had a plan, but she needed to agree to it. Her life depended on it.”
“What plan?” This isn’t going how I thought it would, and he smiles. “I told her that Chester ordered me to feed her to the sharks. That got her attention, and she fell silent. So, I explained there was a small beach on the other side of the mainland that I could drop her off at and she could call the number of a friend of mine who would help her. In return, she had to lie low and not tell anyone what she had discovered. I would work hard to bring this foundation down, but she had to agree to stand by me when it came to trial, if it ever did.”
“But why not let her tell someone? It would all be over by now, surely?”
“No, Kat.” He says in an urgent whisper. “They have it all covered. You heard them tell you your own story. They will have thought of everything, and I need to get proof they are selling children.”
“Surely the authorities could trace that back; you’re putting yourself at risk.”
“I’m not.” He looks animated as he says, “I have a plan that will bring this madness to an end and make it up to everyone affected.”
He laughs softly. “Jenny agreed with my plan and to make it look as if I’d done as Chester said, I caught a fish and gutted it with my knife. If he came to meet me, I would have the bloodied evidence and he would think I had disposed of the problem. I left Jenny on shore and gave her enough money and the number of my friend to help her and returned. I have enlisted help and we are currently gathering evidence, ready to tear this island apart.”
“Are you serious?”
I sit up and say in total surprise. “Who?”
He pulls me down and whispers in my ear, “Matty and Diana.”
“What?” I stare at him in shock, and he nods. “They’re not who you think they are. They are undercover operatives and were sent here to gather evidence. When I confided in them, it all came out and we have been working as a covert team together. Diana is translating conversations that Chester has with the other directors in Monaco. She’s fluent in French and the headphones are taped conversations that we have managed to record, courtesy of Matty’s skill in security devices. Diana is making notes of the guest’s details and sending the information back to Jenny, who is keeping records and acting as our eyes on the mainland. Diana has a phone and a personal VPN that can’t be traced. It helps to have friends in high places, which is why I know I’m doing the right thing. Soon we will have enough to take to the authorities and close this island for business and set us all free.”
He reaches up and strokes my face with a tenderness that I crave and whispers, “I’ll look after you, Katrina. I won’t let them hurt you. Trust me, everything will be ok.”
As I snuggle in his arms, I want to believe him so badly and I want to trust him. A large part of me does because everything he told me so far has a ring of truth attached and now I know I’m not alone anymore, I drift into a much needed sleep.