Chapter 39

The idea that Richard could hurt him was unbearable, but until he had the diamonds, I feared Alejandro would get more and more desperate, and eventually, Richard would figure out that something was wrong.

Alejandro got ready at the speed of light. His every movement increased my anxiety until he left. Lost in thought, I took a quick shower and put my clothes back on. I then proceeded to the kitchen to look for Dolores, but instead, what I found was Elena by the entry door, luggage in her hands. I did my best to keep a stoic expression and hold back the shock and anger I felt, even as I felt my stomach drop.

"You are still here I see," she said.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly, unwilling to waste my time on pleasantries.

"I am waiting for Alejandro. We are going to California," she answered with a smile that made me want to smack her out of existence. "From the look on your face, you didn't know we had plans," she added, enjoying her victory, knowingly stabbing my heart with every word.

"He seems to have forgotten about you," I said with a smile, in an attempt to save face. "He already left."

"What?" Elena, disconcerted, fumbled through her purse until she found her phone. She placed a call, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Alejandro," she said, her perverse smile back. "Donde estas? No se suponía que íbamos a ir al aeropuerto juntos? Ya, ok, entiendo…es que no sabía que tenías que ir tan temprano. Ok, not a problem. I have the later flight, so I'll see you at the hotel tonight," she said, emphasizing her last words as she looked at me to make sure I heard and understood. I did.

"Just a misunderstanding," she explained as she hung up. "My flight is later than I thought."

"Or he's trying to avoid you. He did tell me you guys used to date, you know. It seems like you need to learn how to move on."

Elena laughed, but I could tell I had hit a nerve.

"I don't know what he told you, but I have known Alejandro since we were children, and we were always in love. Sure, he experiments with girls like you every now and then, but he always comes back to me. I dated David, but I always wanted Alejandro. After all, I am the one by his side, and sooner or later, he will realize that he has to get rid of you. You are a liability for him and a temporary adventure," she said, lifting her chin.

I struggled to keep my cool, the seed of doubt growing inside of me.

"What do you mean?"

"Alejandro tells me everything, sweetie. I know who you are."

"I don't know what you are talking about," I lied, my voice slightly shaken.

"You are the daughter of the man who killed his brother. How do you think Alejandro would ever be able to do more than amuse himself with you? How could he ever love you when the man who raised you murdered his brother in cold blood? That is all he thinks about when he is with you. Hurting you hurts Richard."

I had to find every strength I had in me not to pass out. She knew everything. Alejandro had confided everything to Elena. I was at a loss for words. Elena's words had erupted a volcano inside of me. I kept a cold face, but inside I was drowning, and Elena was standing there, that nauseating smile on her face, basking in her victory. I could only hide so much.

"Well, I see you are well informed."

"Yes, I am. I was even at your party with him when you got taken."

I felt like I had been hit by a bulldozer.

"If it was up to me, I wouldn't be here," I said. "I'd be back in California, and since you know everything, you know I am only here because he wants me here."

I was grasping onto straws, trying to hide my distress. I felt betrayed. Alejandro had embarrassed me, humiliated me to the lowest level. I was just a toy to him, a girl he enjoyed for the moment. And he had humiliated me by letting someone like Elena, a woman he clearly was attached to and respected, know exactly what place I occupied in his life.

"He is using you to get revenge, idiota. Why else would he sleep with you? He would never love an American girl like you, not when he has me, a true native, who grew up with him, who understands him."

Elena's audacity and vulgarity irritated me to no end, but everything she said made sense. Otherwise, why would Alejandro have told her so much? I wanted to disappear, run anywhere, as far as I could. But Elena was staring at me, measuring my reaction, and for the sake of my pride, I had to play the game, even if I was dying inside.

"I am not going to fall for your tricks. I know what game you are trying to play, and trust me, I am too much woman for you to ever be able to make me feel anything but sympathy for you. Have a safe trip."

I walked away, doing my best to control my trembling hands and the tears that threatened to embarrass me further. I went to Alejandro's office, the closest room I could find. I needed to be alone. I wouldn't let Elena see me cry. But as I got to the office, I realized that Elena wasn't ready to leave. She headed to the living room, leaving her luggage by the door. Great, that bitch was going to stay here. I was desperately hoping to find Dolores, but it was clear that she wasn't in the house.

I locked the door behind me, letting myself fall on the floor, my heart broken, feeling defeated. How could I have ever thought that Alejandro wouldn"t feel some contempt toward me? Would he ever be able to not see me as an extension of Richard, in some shape or form, after what I told him?

I knew he was attracted to me. Perhaps he even cared for me. But I was never supposed to be with him. I was an accident that he dealt with as best as he could. I didn"t know what to make of his words. I felt foolish and stupid for even daring to consider that Alejandro and I could be more than an unfortunate situation.

Whatever it was that we had, I was not sure it could survive when we got back to our real lives. I didn"t see how we could possibly overcome all that had happened and whatever was to come for us. I didn"t see a path to happiness. I just couldn't really understand what he would gain from how he treated me and saving my life.

Maybe it was all a game to him. Maybe he didn't believe what I had told him about my relationship with Richard. Maybe he did sleep with me for revenge. I wanted to hate him. But I also couldn't let anything happen to him.

If only I could leave this place and never come back. Give him his life back, keep him safe. Get as far as I could before I lost whatever shred of strength was left in me. Before I gave him my heart.

Elena would be willing to help me if it meant I would be away from Alejandro. The only way Alejandro would let me go is if he didn't have a choice and if he thought I would be safe.

Regardless of whether he wanted me to be his, it was clear that he didn't want to be responsible for my death either.

I had revealed that I knew where the diamonds were, but that only protected me against Mathias. I needed something else, to force Richard's hand, to force him to "rescue" me.

If this situation was a normal kidnapping, in which the abductors were asking for a reasonable ransom and, more importantly, if that information were to go public, Richard would have no choice but to make sure I came back alive. It would ruin him if people knew he didn't do everything he could to save me.

I contemplated my plan for what felt like an eternity. I wasn't afraid, but the idea that I would stop seeing Alejandro hurt me to no end. I only found strength in knowing that I was going to do what was best for him, and if I didn't leave, I would end up falling in love with someone who would never be able to truly love me back.

Determined, I got up, wiped my tears, rinsed my face with cold water, and walked to the living room. Elena was sitting on a chair by an outlet, charging her phone.

"I have a proposition for you," I announced as I slowly walked to her and sat on the couch.

I felt calm and collected, with the type of coldness and detachment I had when I was focused on a task, any feeling or doubt put on pause for later.

"Why would I do anything for you?" asked Elena, straightening herself to face me.

"Because you want me out of your way, and because I have a life and a fiancé to go back to."

Elena seemed a bit skeptical, but I gave her a slow, determined smile that seemed to put her at ease as she lifted her brow.

"In case you need some convincing…I don't know if Alejandro told you, but I know where the diamonds are."

Elena shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She clearly was surprised by this piece of information. I found strength in Elena's shocked face. I would manage to get her to do exactly what I wanted.

"Even though he knows that, he insists on keeping me here with him, to protect me. My stepfather, after all, doesn"t care about me, and if he finds out that I know where the diamonds are, he will have me killed without a doubt. As a matter of fact, he already tried for less than that. He tried because he didn't want to deal with the issue. That's how Alejandro got shot. He was protecting me."

I felt a bit of guilt, seeing her start to get angry, but Elena deserved it. Plus, if she did help me, she would get what she wanted—Alejandro all to herself.

"But I know Richard more than anyone else. If it were to get out to the press that I was still alive, and that my kidnappers are asking for something like a mere two million dollars for my ransom—a relatively trivial amount for someone like Richard—he would have no choice but to pay it to guarantee my safe return."

"Mathias wouldn't allow that."

"He would if we made a deal with him. I know where the diamonds are, but Richard doesn't know that, and I am the only person who can get close enough to Richard to get the diamonds for Mathias. If Mathias guarantees Alejandro's safety and gives him the proof he needs against Richard to avenge his brother, I will get him the diamonds. I hate Richard as much as the next person. And since Richard tried to kill me, I think Mathias will believe my genuine hatred for that man. More importantly, they are all in a bind right now. They have no choice."

"Why would you want to help Alejandro?" asked Elena, standing up.

"I already told you. I miss my life. I miss my freedom. And I have a fiancé waiting for me. Alejandro won't let me leave. This is the only way to force his hand, get me back safe to my home, and get Alejandro the video."

Elena remained silent for a few minutes, deciding what to do with that information. But I knew that if she wanted Alejandro as much as she seemed to, she would do anything to get me out of that house.

"Okay," she said. "Where do we start?"

I explained my plan. Elena took a picture of me against a wall, holding that day's newspaper. The plan was to send a copy of that picture with a letter asking for two million US dollars to Richard and leak it to the press in California. Richard would have no choice but to pay, and Alejandro would have no choice but to return me to him. Simultaneously, Elena would tell Mathias about the plan and present it as Alejandro's plan so that Alejandro would not be harmed as a traitor.

Elena had provided me with both her and Mathias's cell phone numbers in case I ever ended up needing them. I wanted to slap Elena, but I had to admire her strength and dedication. She was efficient and embraced the idea with no fear. I recognized a bit of myself in her. I was jealous of her.

Alejandro had reminded me so many times about how different I was and how he saw me as a spoiled brat, even if he tried to take it back later. But with Elena, he could have it all—someone who had grown up with him, embedded in the same culture he had assumed for a while that I had rejected. I couldn't bear the thought, but I knew Elena was the perfect woman for him. Not me.

When Elena finally left, I went to the ocean, where I could cry and pretend that I wasn't. My heart was destroyed. I felt like I couldn't breathe and that I was dying inside. The burning sun on my skin temporarily distracted me from the pain that was threatening to take my life.