“ ‘But not the truth’? Did he say ‘but the truth might not be’ or did he say ‘but not the truth’?” My mind was swirling a hundred miles a minute. What did that mean? And which statement had he actually spoken? If he’d said “but the truth might not be,” then the information in the papers might be valid. However, if he’d said “but not the truth,” it seemed to me that all of the answers I’d come up with might be false. “The answers are in the papers” indicated that clues were in the papers he’d given me, but maybe the clues weren’t as straightforward as I’d thought them to be.

“I don’t remember. I have to go. I’m sorry.” She hung up.

I held the phone to my ear for a few seconds, hoping that she hadn’t really hung up. I needed to know more. What did Larry’s comment mean? What did he know? And more important, where was he? Had Jakob kidnapped him as well?

“What’s going on, Bianca?” Rosie touched my shoulder, and I turned around slowly. I looked at her, but my eyes couldn’t focus on her face. I wanted to be alone. I needed to go through the papers again. I had to have missed something. The answers are in the papers, but not the truth.

All of a sudden I wasn’t so sure of the conclusions I’d made by reading all the papers my father had left for me. Things weren’t adding up, not the way they should be. I needed to analyze the information the papers held. My brain was throbbing with a dull excitement. There were answers to be found, and I was going to find them. I had to do this for both my mother and my father. There were too many questions and I wasn’t going to sit passively by and wait for the truth to hit me on the head. I was going to figure this puzzle out.

Why had Jakob let me go before the merger had been finalized? Why had Steve turned rogue? Where was Steve? And where was Larry? What did Larry’s message mean? Who had been in my apartment the night before? Was Jakob the one sending me the threatening texts as well? Had Mr. Bradley had my mother killed because he wanted to gain control of the company? All of a sudden, everything that had seemed so simple seemed weak and hazy. I’d thought this was just about proving that Jeremiah Bradley had stolen my father’s shares and had my mother killed. I’d been naive enough to think I could just get the information I needed and move on. I’d gone into this whole thing thinking it would be easy gaining access to the company through David. Whom had I been kidding? I was swimming with sharks, sharks that ate fish like me for breakfast.

“Bianca?”

I blinked at Rosie, feeling cold inside. My arms had goose bumps and a hollowness was in my soul. My brain rattled as the unanswered questions knocked against my skull.

“Sorry. He wasn’t in,” I said quickly, and walked back to the couch.

“Oh, that’s it?” Rosie looked surprised. “You seemed to be having a longer conversation than just that.”

“She said that he had a message for me, but she couldn’t remember it.” I sank onto the couch and offered Rosie a weak smile. I wasn’t sure why I was lying to her. Something about the whole situation made me feel too uneasy. Too many holes were appearing in what I thought I knew. I wanted to stew on it all first. I felt guilty as I stared at her furrowed brows. I could tell that she didn’t believe me. “I’m feeling slightly tired.” I yawned and stretched. “I think I need a good night’s sleep.”

“It’s still morning.” She stared at me unblinking.

“Well, a midmorning siesta, like they do in Spain.” I paused. “Well, maybe not technically a siesta, but you know what I mean.”

“But you’re not Spanish.”

“I just need a rest. I’ve had a long week, Rosie. What with being kidnapped and all.” I offered her a weak smile, but she stared at me with no answering look of understanding.

“Bianca, you’ve just been kidnapped. You’ve had sex with the man that kidnapped you. You lost your dad recently. You’ve been through a lot. I really don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“How can you be sure that Mattias won’t kidnap you again?”

“Well, he let me go. . . .” I shrugged.

“Why, though? Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know.” A sick feeling hit my stomach and I felt the danger of my situation spreading through me. He had to have let me go for a reason. It didn’t make sense. Unless he fell for you, a small voice in my head whispered to me. I frowned at the little devil in my head. She was getting my hopes up and that was the last thing that I needed.

“It just doesn’t sound plausible, Bianca. Why would someone do that?”

“Sherlock Holmes said that it only has to be possible, not probable,” I muttered obstinately. “If something is possible, it can still be true.” He could like me for real, he really could.

“You’re confusing me.” She plopped down next to me. “What’s going on, Bianca? What else happened to you? Where were you?” She touched my shoulder. “Let me help you.”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m sorry. I’m just so tired. Thank you for coming over. Come back for dinner?” I gave her an apologetic smile and yawned. “I just really need to sleep for a few hours. My brain has been in overdrive and I’m physically and mentally exhausted.”

“I have a date tonight,” she said hesitantly. “But I can come—”