CHAPTER FIVE
Addie
I didn’t even bother getting out of the car before dialing my brother’s number. Jonathan picked up in two rings. “Addie? Why are you calling me?”
Luke got out of the car. I wasn’t sure if it was to give me privacy or to just stretch his legs but I appreciated the privacy. “What do you mean why am I calling you? Mom and Dad just held a press conference about me being kidnapped. Thought you would be happy to hear it’s not true.”
“Of course, it’s not true,” Jonathan said. “You didn’t know?”
I felt a lump form in my throat. Part of me had known my parents were involved in this but I didn’t want to admit it to myself. “Know what?” I asked. My voice felt hoarse.
“The kidnapping was staged. A lot of the polls indicated Mom and Dad are seen as soulless, unempathetic career politicians.”
“The public is pretty perceptive sometimes,” I said dryly.
He sighed. “Yes. I won’t deny that. But they needed to gain favor. So they hired a team of actors to kidnap you and detain you so they could cry in front of the cameras for a few days.”
I felt a flash of anger at the thought. I thought my parents had bought me a car and let me go driving because they were finally willing to accept that I was an adult who deserved independence. But it was really part of their plan to stage a kidnapping? And they didn’t even tell me about it?
“Addie, are you there?”
“This was the day after my birthday,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m supposed to celebrate my birthday today. That was the compromise, right? I smile for the cameras on my birthday and then I can have today all to myself. That’s always been the case.” It felt like such a stupid reason to be upset, but it felt like my parents broke a promise to me after making a thousand speeches a year about never breaking a campaign promise.
“I’m sorry this happened,” he said. “I told them it was a bad idea. But at least you’re not really kidnapped, right?”
I remembered the scene in the gas station between Luke and the cashier. Luke definitely wasn’t an actor and I didn’t think the man from the gas station was either. “They’re not telling the full truth,” I said. “Luke didn’t kidnap me– he saved me and he’s being set up. Can you find out the truth of this?”
“What are you talking about? Looki, Addie, I know our parents do fucked up things, but they wouldn’t actually have you kidnapped. That’s insane.”
“I saw the news and everyone’s saying Luke kidnapped me, but he didn’t. He saved me from other people being kidnapped.”
“Wait, are you saying a random man stepped in and took you away from the actor’s Mom and Dad hired? Jesus, Addie.”
I sighed. This was impossible. “Can you please talk to Mom and Dad for me? I need them to stop setting up Luke.”
“It sounds to me Luke actually did kidnap you.”
“Then why do I have my phone? Isn’t taking away the phone the first thing kidnappers do?”
“Not everything is like the movies, Addie. I knew you shouldn’t have watched those cop shows when you were younger. They filled your head with bad ideas.”
I gritted my teeth. Even Jonathan treated me like a child sometimes. It was frustrating being the youngest. “I’m telling you that Luke didn’t kidnap me. He saved me from real kidnappers. He’s been protecting me.”
“Are you sure? You haven’t always been the best judge of character.”
“How would you know?” I muttered. I hadn’t been allowed to meet people outside of Mom and Dad’s social circle for as long as I could remember. Even going to school, all of my classmates were the sons and daughters of politicians, billionaires, and diplomats, and I was only allowed to hang out with the children of their political allies. How could I learn how to be a good judge of character when all of the opinions were made for me?
“I’ll talk to Mom and Dad only to tell them you were really kidnapped. Just be careful of this Luke guy. He sounds like bad news.”
I remembered how he grabbed my hand in Chase’s office and calmed me down. He was one of the few people in this situation who was actually good news.