Home Is Where The Heart Is (Revenge)

Suspicion

Grayson Manor, Hamptons

"Come in quickly!" Emily took Nolan's arm and pulled him into the house before he could say welcome to her. "Thank you for coming so fast!"

"It sounded terribly dramatic what you babbled on the phone." He frowned questioningly. "Victoria was kidnapped?"

"If it were no more than that." She hustled him over to the study and then closed the door. "Here we can talk undisturbed."

"Okay, what's wrong?" He dropped into a chair.

"Daniel received a letter that revealed that Victoria was kidnapped," she told him. "He and Charlotte went to the airport to pick up Conrad's casket and to discuss details with the priest for the funeral service afterwards. And I stayed at home because... "

"My deepest sympathy!" Nolan interrupted Emily's rant. "I've learned from the news of Conrad's death."

"It's okay." Emily made an impatient hand movement. "So, where had I stopped? Oh, yes, I stayed at the house because I had to take care of Julian. And then the doorbell rang and Rosa, our house maid, told me that a gentleman wanted to speak to me." She took a deep breath before she continued. "It was my father."

"What?" Nolan exclaimed incredulously. "David is back?"

Emily nodded. "And he stole the blackmailing letter."

"Wait." Nolan was scratching his head. "I think I can't follow you anymore. What did David want here?"

"I left him a message on his mailbox. I thought he was responsible for the crash, but he swore to me that he had nothing to do with it."

"And you believed him?"

"Yes, I believed him," she admitted. "But then I had to leave him alone for a while, and when I came back, he and the letter were gone."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do now?" Nolan asked frowning.

"Before Daniel left the house, he had warned me not to tell anyone that his mother was kidnapped." She sighed and put a strand of hair behind her ear. "He'll freak out when he learns I told David! Especially now, of all times, where we just got together again!"

"You and Daniel... you're together again?" Nolan asked surprised.

"Oh, yes, I forgot to tell you." Smiling, she held out her left hand to him that he could take a look at her rings.

"Wow!" Nolan raised his eyebrows. "We were just a few days apart from each other, and now you come back home happily married." He grinned. "Have you told him about the baby by now?"

"Of course." She nodded proudly. "We have sworn to tell only the truth from now on."

"Okay." He frowned thoughtfully. "Now I know why you asked me for help. You want me to lie for you."

"No." She shook her head. "No more lies. I thought you might have an idea where my father could be. You were friends after all."

"That was a long time ago." Nolan thought for a moment. "Tell me everything, every detail of your conversation with him. Don't leave anything out. Maybe I have an idea then."

And Emily told him about her suspicion that Conrad's kidnappers might have something to do with the crash of the jet and about David's reaction when she showed him the blackmailing letter. "He was frozen in shock and pale in his face. As if he had just seen a ghost."

"Maybe he had," Nolan muttered. "Or, he had a sudden flash of inspiration about who might have kidnapped Victoria."

"From just viewing the blackmailing letter?" Emily asked, then shook her head. "I think that is very unlikely."