The Harrington Series Book#2: Naila's Misfortune

Chapter 22: Find Me A Thief

Since my fake arrest, I have stayed in bed, acted sad and traumatized by the ordeal of having being cuffed and dragged to a police station. I am playing on Stefan's emotions, manipulating his sympathy to work in my favor. I decline meals and the most painful part is that I even turned Bas away just to make it all very believable.

I miss my son but I am playing the long game that will give me everyday with him. Stefan is constantly checking on me, trying to talk me into getting out of my room but I haven't given him the satisfaction of the slightest smile. I am selling a lie... he has to buy it.

Viktor got released a day after me but he is no longer my bodyguard. Stefan has lost faith in him. I have a new one, a more serious guy with a huge build and as loyal to Stefan as a bloody dog. He ignores me when I spoke to him.

All I can think about is my next step. It is a big step.

I played with the diamond ring busking in its beauty. The only time I have seen such beautiful diamonds is when the Harringtons auction jewels. They have the finest jewels. Apart from being hoteliers, they collect and sell high end gems and jewelry. One particular one is Freya Harrington's princess cut diamaond ring. It is four hundred and fifty carats of diamond. It is a heavy thing, rumored to weigh slightly over a hundred grams. She wears it only when an occasion calls for it. I have always dreamed of having the ring on my finger. The dream of Cole Michael Harrington proposing to me would have come true if I met him at the train station. He would have bent  one knee to make my dream come true. But such dreams have proved to be a fairy tale given how my life had panned out.

I fit it for size. It fits snugly. It seems i'll need soap to take it off. I held it up so that it can catch the sunlight coming  through my bedroom window and when it did, it shone brilliantly. It isn't a Freya Nora diamond ring but it's fairly magnificent.

"I hope that won't deter you from holding up your end of the bargain." Merideth ruined my moment.

I struggled to slip it off before resolving not to. She came over to where I was seated and pretended to fluff my pillow. She kept herself busy tyding up my boudoir in one way or the other.

"I need a thief." I told her.

I have been thinking about my assignment. Stefan is a patient man but I have to prove myself to him. This is one of the three moves I need to make before check mate.

"Why?"

"I need to find Stefan a thief. Over one hundred thousand was stolen. I need to find out who did it."

Merideth told me that my room has a hidden camera but it only records video without audio. We can speak openly about anything without whoever is watching ever figuring out what we are up to.

"I don't know who did it. I'm focused on my mission not his agendas."

"Do you want me to get closer to him? Find me a bloody thief." I demanded keeping my three moves in mind.

"The only way to do so is to pin the blame on someone. I want to know you won't have a meltdown if he chooses to blow someone's brains in front of you."

"I can't afford meltdowns. I need a thief. Find me one." I stood my ground.

"Gregor, Stefan's accountant." She began. "For years now we've been looking into him. He has been repeatedly accused of sexual assault but his victims always refuse to testify against him."

I know the prick. He once spanked me when Stefan wasn't looking. He seems to be the perfect criminal. I will burn him without any sympathy.

"That's it?"