I hung up the phone without replying. We’d gone over the plan enough times, and it was so simple an idiot would have remembered every word.

I took a deep breath, steeling myself, and then intentionally stumbled down a nearby stairwell, out into the crowd of partygoers, plastering on my best devastated expression.

“Help!” I cried. “Somebody, Daddy, please help me!”

I’d been keeping tabs on where he was since I’d left Alan, and he came rushing to me almost as soon as I started causing a commotion. I gave him an exaggerated look of relief as he neared and ran over to him.

“Dad! I am so sorry, I tried to stop him, but—” My voice cut off with a hiccup as I wiped at my fake tears.

“Arielle, what is it? What’s wrong?”

His gaze ran over me, trying to find what was wrong, and seemed to zero in on my neck almost immediately.

“Gamble grabbed me and took your jewelry, Dad.” I touched my throat, as if to show proof. “I am so sorry. You need to call the police or something right away. I already saw him leaving.”

My acting probably wasn’t perfect, but my father was, of course, distraught over his lost, expensive jewel. The real gem was hidden in my underwear, and it was incredibly uncomfortable. It also felt wrong, having something that cost so much somewhere so intimate, but I just needed to keep it there for… a few hours.

Dad was furious. “Marc!” he shouted as he pulled out his phone. Marc himself was, of course, there in seconds; he always stayed within fifteen feet of my dad at parties. “Marc, the Heart is gone. I need you to trace the GPS signal while I inform the police. Do it right now.”

The gentle giant nodded and walked away quickly to consult with his security team. I wished I could have talked to him for what would probably be the last time, but I didn’t want to break character. Besides, my dad might overlook minor details, like my flawed acting, but I knew Marc would not.

After Dad got off the call with the police, I had an idea.

“Dad, why don’t you tip off the press as well? That way, he’ll never get away with this.”

Dad had a thoughtful look on his face, then nodded. “I have a few friends in the media houses. I’ll let them know.”

The party ended shortly after that—for me, anyway. Dad had matters to attend to, such as going to the police station to pick up his gem once it was recovered from that “fiend” Gamble. I was supposed to catch a ride with my assigned guard, but I managed to slip away in the confusion and take a cab back home.

The news didn’t take long to spread. News stations played the story on repeat, and I watched the clips on my phone. Gamble was caught red-handed with the stolen gem, and he threw a ridiculous tantrum as he was arrested and hauled off. I remembered the man that had given me nightmares when I was barely a teenager and felt some dark satisfaction, knowing he was going to suffer for what he’d done to me and what he’d tried to do to Alan and his brother.

Speaking of, I hurried back to my bedroom to pack. I had to be gone before my dad started to question where I’d run off to. A part of me felt guilty for just disappearing like this, not even leaving a note. But there wasn’t time to think one up, and I wouldn’t know what to say, seeing as I was doing this partly to spite him.

Maybe, sometime later, I could contact him.

I was filling a backpack with a few essentials I couldn’t live without when a knock on my door made me freeze. But I already knew who it was, because there was only one person it could be.

“What are you doing, Arielle?”

I sighed and turned around to find Marc at my door. No matter how gentle he was being, I knew a confrontation when I saw one. He’d probably figured it all out.

“I’m going to ask you to help me one last time, Marc.”

He sighed deeply. “Are you seriously thinking of doing what it looks like you’re doing?”

I smiled sadly and stepped forward to envelop him in a hug. It was pretty telling that he was the one there, and not my dad, but it was enough of a goodbye for me. I knew he wasn’t going to stop me when he let me pull out of the hug.

“Thank you, Marc. I’m grateful for your friendship and protection, but it’s time for me to leave. You don’t have to worry, I won’t be alone.”

He smiled, wary. “That’s what I’m afraid of. But fine. I wish you well. Try to keep in touch, okay? Let me walk you to the cab.”

He slung my backpack over his shoulder, took me by the arm, and walked me to the gate, where the cab I’d taken home was still waiting.

I left to join Alan and Leonard on the yacht, and the three of us took off toward the coast of Spain.