His Perfect Wife Strikes Back

194 Losing Leverage

During my stay in the hospital, I received many greeting cards and gifts from strangers. They piled gifts for the baby in front of the hospital or at the nurses' station, and a few fanatical fans even pretended to be nurses sneaking into the ward to see the baby. Fortunately, the fanatics were spotted by the doctor on duty and called the police, who quickly took them away.

To prevent this from happening, Frade picked me and my baby up from the hospital in the middle of the night and took us back to the manor. Frade also put guards around the manor to keep out outsiders, leaving Mark in charge of all security, and Liv came to accompany me.

Frade was on the move for us to leave the United States. This time he didn't entrust anyone but himself. He didn't tell me that he had met with those people. But from his tired face after each return, I can guess that our departure would become a distant dream.

When Vickie learned of Frade's plan, she decided to go to Italy herself, because most of the heads of the Italian Mafia family knew her. She thought it would be better for her to ask them for help than Frade. Frade had to agree with Vickie and they left for Italy three days earlier. Before leaving, Vickie went to visit her great-granddaughter and put the emerald necklace her mother had left her around the baby's neck. When Vickie kissed the baby on the cheek, this little baby smiled at her.

Ever since Frade and Vickie left, I feel like this huge house has suddenly become a lot quieter. Luckily, Liv was with me every day, and she would take the baby with me to the sun, talk to her and make her laugh.

At night, when I was getting ready for bed after a shower, my phone received a text message from an unknown number, so I opened it to see what it was about.

'Open your computer, my Rose.'

It was a text from Daley, so I went to my study, turned on my computer, and clicked on the dialogue box as he had told me to do.

'How are you?-Daley'

'Everything is fine.'

'How's my baby? Have you named her yet? -Daley'

'She's very healthy. I haven't named her yet.'

'What about Emma?-Daley'

'Emma sounds good. I'll think about it.'

'Can I see the baby video?-Daley'

So I sent him a few videos about the baby, and after a while, he sent me a message.

'She's cute and beautiful like you. This baby is a gift to me. Thank you so much, Eva. - Daley'

I didn't reply. He and Frade both thought the baby belonged to them. Perhaps the truth was cruel to one of them, and it was better to keep it a secret.

'I want to hear your voice. —Daley'

'Now?'

'Yes. I'll send you a URL so you can download it and talk to me. - Daley'

Three minutes later, I downloaded the voice-over software from the web address he had sent and signed up through the account he had sent. On the other side of the computer, he sent me a voice request. I put on my headphones and clicked to receive the voice request.

"Hey!" Daley's calm voice came through the earpiece, reminding me of the moment when the white rose bloomed.

"Why didn't you just call me?" I asked.

"I can't," Daley said, "Your father imposed sanctions on a lot of Mexican businessmen and politicians recently, and my name unfortunately appears on his list. To prevent his people from spying on me, I can not call you directly."

"Forgive me for not following the political news lately," I said. "I've been focusing on the baby every day."

"You have to be careful. Maybe he's listening to your calls," Daley said. "I heard Vickie and Frade went to Italy?"

"So you were spying on them, too?"

"No. My relatives in Italy told me," Daley said. "I suppose you want to leave the United States?"

"Yes." I didn't hide it. After all, he had guessed.

"If you need my help, I can help you in Mexico," Daley added. "I want you to come to Mexico."

"You know Frade won't approve," I sighed. "And I don't want to go."

His bitter, embarrassed laughter came over the earpiece. After a moment of silence, he said, "About the recording, I'd like to say..."

"When are you going to give it back?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't."

Daley's words struck me, and then he went on, "Mickle thinks Mexico is responsible for the drug epidemic in the United States. He thinks that just building a wall is not going to work, and expanding the war is going to solve the problem."

"What do you mean by expanding the war?" I asked.

"It means there could be a war," Daley said in a heavy voice, "His decision upset Mexican officials, who didn't want a war. So they wanted to negotiate with Mickle, and my business depended on them. So..."

"So you're in the Mexican camp, and you've got something about Mickle." I knew what he meant, "If I'm right, Mexico's bargaining chip with Mickle is the recording, right? If the negotiations fail, are you going to release the recording or give it to Mickle's competitors?"

"Maybe."

"You used me again." My tone was cold.

"I'm sorry," he said. "That's why I want you to come to Mexico. I'll help you and the baby."

"Shut up, Daley," I said, and ended the call.

A dialogue box pops up on the computer screen: I'm doing this not only for myself but also for you and Emma!

Emma! When did I agree to give my baby that name? Angry, I shut down the computer.

I finally realized that Daley would never return my mother's recording, and I lost my bargaining chip with Mickle. What was I supposed to do?

As I lay awake at night, I turned on my cell phone to distract myself from the nagging questions.

Facebook sent me the latest entertainment news and talk shows. I wasn't interested, so I turned them down. It wasn't until I clicked on the latest political news that I saw the news about the new president, Mickle.

The latest tweet was about Mickle's recent signing of a news release on the use of force in the Middle East to fight terrorists.

Because of the union's opposition to Mickle's decision, many workers staged public demonstrations and even clashed with police. As a result, union representatives were arrested by police for disturbing the peace.

I saw Joan's name on the list of those arrested. My God, she was telling the truth.

I read a comment from a political commentator who thought Mickle would be the craziest president ever and that the use of force in the Middle East was just the beginning.

Warmongers, he said of Mickle.

When I put down my cell phone to go to bed, the housekeeper called me. He told me that there was a guest outside who wanted to see me.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"She won't give her name, only that she's a friend of Joan's," said the housekeeper.

Joan's friend?

"Tell her to wait for me in the living room," I said. "I'll be right there."