Sam nodded. “It’s likely.”
Vivianne’s gasp sent her collapsing down to her couch. “What are we going to do?”
“Hand me your phone.”
The woman did as she was told. Sam held the letter in one hand and the phone in the other, punching Ellen’s number into the screen.
“Keep calm,” she said. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Let me do the talking.”
Vivianne held her breath as Sam dialed the number, placing the call on speakerphone. It only took a few rings for Ellen to answer.
“Why, hello, Vivi!”
All the air left the room. Sam kept calm as she asked, “Am I speaking with Ellen Perry?”
“The one and only. And who am I speaking to?”
Sam didn’t answer. “Is Bianca with you, Ms. Perry?”
A soft chuckle sent a chill down Sam’s spine. She could only imagine how Vivianne felt beside her.
“Why, as it so happens, Bianca did come to visit me today,” Ellen said. “She’s such a sweet girl, you know. Very polite. Very pretty. Such a charming young woman considering the family she’s been saddled with. Speaking of which, is Vivi with you? This is her phone, after all. I’ve been waiting for her to call.”
Vivianne opened her mouth to speak. Sam held up a hand to silence her. “Is Bianca still there? If she is, I’d like to speak with her. It seems like her phone isn’t working, and this is important.”
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary. Bianca and I are simply getting to know one another.”
The dread in Sam’s stomach intensified. She ignored it, just like she ignored the way Vivianne hovered around her like a mosquito. “Send proof that she’s with you and ‘fine.’ Then we’ll keep talking.”
“Oh, if you insist. Really, you should feel ashamed asking an older woman like me to exert herself so much. Hang on.”
Within a few seconds, a picture arrived on Vivianne’s phone. Sam attempted to hide the picture from her, but she was too slow. As Vivianne caught a glimpse of the photo of a scared Bianca, sitting in a dining chair, her hands cuffed to it, she let out a cry of despair that reached Ellen on the other end of the line.
“Is that Vivi?” she asked. “Wonderful! It’s you I’ve been wanting to speak with. So how about we work something out?”
Sam wasn’t expecting Ellen to be so cooperative. “What do you want?”
“If you come over, Vivi—alone, I must add—I will say farewell to Bianca and allow her to leave. I know she’s your favorite. I know you’ll do anything to keep the youngest, sweetest fruit of your husband’s loins from coming to harm.”
This is one twisted woman. A twisted woman with revenge on her mind. As a security professional, the last thing Sam wanted to do was allow Vivianne to go see her without protection. Or go see her at all.
But Bianca was in danger. And right now, if there was one thing Sam and Vivianne could agree on, it was that Bianca’s safety trumped everything else.
“All right,” Vivianne said. “I will come to you, alone. As long as you promise you’ll let Bianca go the moment I get there.”
“We’ll talk first. Then I’ll let your precious baby go, I promise. I’m so looking forward to seeing you, Vivi. I’m sure your daughter is, too. I’ll text you the address. I expect to see you here within an hour. Alone.”
The line went dead. Sam grunted in frustration. Vivianne went straight to despair.
“What do we do?” she demanded, shaking Sam by the shoulder. “Do we call the police? We have to call the police and tell them to go get my daughter from this madwoman!”
“No.” As much as Sam was loath to say it, the police would only cause more problems. “Ellen isn’t right in the head. She wants you, Vivianne. Bianca was just her ticket to get to you. If we call the cops, that might make things worse. Who knows what will happen if she finds out the police are on her doorstep?”
Sam didn’t say what she was already thinking. This is a woman who has carried a grudge for four whole decades. If Ellen feels she has nothing to lose?
Sam didn’t want to think about what the woman might do.
She grabbed Vivianne by the arms to steady her. “I have a plan. Do you trust me?”
Although it took more than a few seconds, Vivianne nodded, placing all her hopes, dreams, and desperation squarely upon Sam’s shoulders.
Sam took them unflinchingly. She was not going to lose another client, another person she cared about.
She was not going to let Bianca come to any harm.