“Hello?” A groggy voice answered the phone.

“David, it’s me, Bianca.”

“Bianca?” He sounded surprised. “Where have you been?”

“What do you mean?” My face flushed with anger. “You’re the one who set it up.”

“What are you talking about?” He hissed.

“The kidnapping,” I whispered into the phone.

“Bianca, you should know something.” His voice was low and panicked. “My brother, Mattias, was really angry when . . .” he started, and then the phone went dead.

“Bianca?” Jakob’s voice called through the door, and I froze.

“Yes?”

“Are you in there?” His voice was low, and I couldn’t tell if he knew that I’d heard him.

“I’m just going to the toilet.”

“Do you want to have a bath together?” His voice was soft.

“No, it’s four a.m.” My voice trembled as I looked around the bathroom, trying to figure out what to do.

“That doesn’t matter to me.”

“I’m tired, and I’m feeling sick. I’m just going to sit in here for a few minutes. Go back to bed, and I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

“You’re sick? Open up the door and let me take care of you.”

“It’s fine.” I bit my lower lip to stop it from trembling. “I tried to call room service to bring me some pills, but the phone died.”

“That’s the problem with being on an island—service isn’t always reliable,” he answered, and my face went white. “Let me in, Bianca.”

“No!” I shouted, unable to keep the fear out of my voice. Silence filled the air as I waited for Jakob to respond to me. It seemed like minutes had passed, and I wondered if he had just gone back to bed. My heart relaxed for a little bit as I closed my eyes and walked to the door. Maybe I’d be able to sneak through the room quietly and escape from the front.

“You know, don’t you, Bianca.” His voice was soft and deadly, and I stood still in my tracks. My hand on the handle of the door froze as I realized how close I had come to walking right into his trap.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice was nothing more but a whisper, but I was certain that he heard me.

“You heard me talking.” He sighed. “You weren’t meant to hear that.”

“You lied to me.” I took a step back from the door.

“I think we need to talk. Please open up.” He banged on the door hard, and I could hear him trying to open it. “Please open the door, Bianca.”

“You lied to me!” I shouted, and looked around the room for something I could use as a weapon.

“You said you trusted me.” He banged the door harder and more frantically, and I felt my insides starting to panic. I had made a mistake. I had trusted the wrong man.

“Who are you, Jakob?” I screamed, while looking around for a way to escape. “Why didn’t you call the police to tell them we were kidnapped?”

“I already told you why.”

“Because those who are meant to help us may do more harm than good, right?” I cried out as I realized what a dumbass I’d been. The reason Jakob had given me the day before for not calling the police was almost the same thing that the man had told me on the phone after the fake policeman had entered my house.

“Open the door, Bianca!” he shouted, and I could see the handle rattling. I could feel myself starting to grow hysterical. The whole situation was so ironic; it had been Jakob himself who told me appearances could be deceiving. I hadn’t realized that he’d been talking about himself.

“We just made love, Jakob. You told me you were starting to fall for me, but it was a lie, wasn’t it. Was this all a ploy to trap me?” I tried to focus on breathing in and out as I felt myself on the verge of a panic attack.

“Let me explain, Bianca.”

“So you can lie to me again?” I screamed. “You nearly killed a man.” My words were loud and incoherent, and I could hear him trying to bang the door down. “Were you that worried that I was going to steal your family money?” I cried out, my heart breaking.

Everything I thought I knew about Jakob and my time on the island was an illusion. None of it was real, and now I needed to ensure that I survived whatever his master plan really was. I’d made it off the island, but I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it out of the hotel room. Until I saw the window. It was large, and I knew I could fit through it if it opened all the way. The only problem would be if there was somewhere for me to go once I made it out of the window.

I grabbed a bathrobe from the back of the door and pulled it on, fumbling with the window latch as I hurried to open it. I looked outside and breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the balcony. Clambering onto the windowsill, I stared at the rattling door one last time before I leaped. The last words I heard Jakob shouting were “To find the truth, one must be prepared to do anything, Bianca. One must be prepared to do anything.”

“I don’t think so, Jakob.” I whispered as I eyed the balcony across from ours. There was only about two feet between the two balconies, and I knew that I had to climb up and jump if I wanted to escape. I climbed up and took a deep breath as I was about to jump. I needed to hurry if I was going to escape Jakob. He’d remember the balcony pretty quickly and then it would be over for me. I needed to jump and make a call. As long as I could call Rosie, I knew everything would be okay. If I got access to a phone, I could tell everyone that I’d finally come face-to-face with Mattias Bradley.