"But she won't listen to you, right?"
"Yeah, kinda like when I had to have your bags packed."
"Touche." I blink slowly, then continue. "So, basically, the original plan hasn't worked. You said that if he couldn't find me, he'd lose interest. But the opposite has happened. It's getting worse for my family because he can't find me."
Garrett nods. "I'd say that's an accurate assessment."
"Do you think he wants us both?"
"Based on the letters, he only wants you."
"So he's threatening to hurt everyone Mom loves if I don't come out of hiding? Is that it?"
I know by the look on Garrett's face that it is.
"Shit," I say. "That's why she doesn't call me. That's why she was freaked out when I showed up at their house. She was afraid."
"She's pushing you away to keep you safe."
My eyes fill with tears. "But what about the girls? She'd want to . . ." And then it hits me. What she's been doing. "Oh my god."
"What?"
"Mom's plan is just like mine. Only she's using the press to help her."
"I'm not following," Garrett says. His and Cooper's faces are mirrors of confusion.
"The stories in the press. The rumors of the affair with her bodyguard. Tommy and Millie cheating. She's setting it up so that when she leaves Tommy, people will expect it."
"She's leaving Tommy?"
"I think so. Remember when you told me that for witness protection sometimes you make the family believe that the witness is dead? Same thing. I don't think Tommy has a clue. She wants his reaction to be real."
"Why would she leave Tommy?" Cooper asks. "And how would it change what's going on with Vincent?"
"She can't pretend to be dead, so she's doing the only other thing she can. She's leaving them. She'll get the girls to France and then leave them with James. Think about it. She's scary skinny. Tommy's affair is driving her to drink or do drugs. She's not stable. She's leaving Tommy and he'll get custody of the girls."
"Shit," Garrett mutters as he quickly recovers from the shock of it. "I knew she agreed to France too easily."
"She wants them safe. But then what?" I ask. "She checks into rehab? Lives by herself? Or maybe even something bolder. Like, maybe she didn't really cancel the To Maddie, with Love press tour." I'm thinking out loud, now.
Garrett shakes his head. "I was under the impression she cancelled the tour. If she's going, she won't have security."
"And maybe that's what she wants. She told me it was all her fault. If she wasn't who she is, then her children wouldn't be in danger." I stop and look Garrett dead in the eyes. "I asked Cooper this question, but I'd like your opinion. What do you think would happen if I walked into Vincent's production office and asked to audition for the role?"
Garrett winces. "I really don't think that's a good idea."
"I know, but why? What could he do? Give me the role?"
"Well, if he's caught off guard by it, there's no telling what he would do. Sociopaths like to plan. They are obsessive in their planning."
"Right, but what happens when things don't go according to their plan?"
"They become more unhinged, mentally."
"Would it cause Vincent to just react? And more importantly, if he couldn't plan, would he start making mistakes?"
Garrett nods. "Their behavior becomes unpredictable. Which is bad. But, yes, if pushed, one would assume he wouldn't be as careful."
"That's exactly what I want. And I'm pretty sure it's what Mom wants."
"Excuse me?"
"I want him to start making mistakes, so we can send him to jail. And I think Mom wants him to kidnap her for the same reason."
Garrett holds his head like he has a headache. "I thought my job was to keep you both safe."
"I know what I'm planning to do is risky. I'm hoping you and Cooper will help to contain that risk."
"So tell me this plan."
"Well, assuming that I'm probably right about Mom, the first thing we need to do is convince her to stay in France. You just can't tell her the part about me."
"What is it with you two?" Garrett says, shaking his head. "I thought you wanted everything out in the open?"
I smirk at him. "Well, maybe not everything. So, I have a three-pronged approach. I want to attack Vincent from all sides. He needs to know what it feels like to start losing the things he loves. First, his business. Brooklyn and I are going to work with someone his dad knows to start a hostile takeover of his production company. We'll form a bunch of shell corporations-probably foreign, so that Vincent doesn't know who's behind them. We recently discovered that he's heavily leveraged. And, more importantly, so is his company."
"What will buying his company accomplish?"
"Do you know why he's heavily leveraged?"
"No."
"Because he's personally financing a large portion of the remake of A Day at the Lake."
"Your mom's movie," Cooper states.
"But he doesn't personally own the options. The production company does."
"And if he loses his company-" Cooper says, as Garrett finishes his thought. "He loses the movie."
"Exactly."
Garrett nods. "I like that, actually. It will give him something else to focus on."
"While we focus on him."
"How?"
"I know you used to follow him, but I want more. I want inside knowledge. So, I looked at his company website last night and I have an idea. His personal assistant is in her mid-twenties and single. Based on her social media, she's a regular at a bar called Reggae. I was thinking you might have another employee like Cooper. Young. Good-looking. They become friends. She talks about her job. About her boss."
"Inside information is always good."
"What we learn from her will help me decide how to proceed on the third prong of the attack. Garrett, are you absolutely positive that there won't be any breaches in security at the house in France?"
"We've fenced the perimeter of the property. 24-hour camera surveillance. Armed guards. It's like Eastbrooke, only better."
"Good, because the second prong of the attack will happen organically. The To Maddie, with Love publicity tour. The worldwide premieres. It all kicks off with the extend trailer premiere during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show."
"We assumed that's part of what sent him over the edge to begin with," Garrett tells Cooper. He turns to me and says, "So what's the third prong?"
"Me."
"No."
"Yes. We're going to let him see me. Everywhere. When the time is right."
"When will the time be right?"
"I'm going to audition for a role in Tommy's next movie and, if I get it, I'll be filming some scenes in New York City over Christmas break. They can make the crew sign non-disclosure agreements, so no one talks about my role until we're ready. They start filming the big action scenes that I would be a part of in March, so I thought that's when we'd announce it. Do a big press release. Flood the tabloids with pictures of me. I'll become a wild child in the eyes of the press, but it will all be carefully orchestrated. It'll look like I'm out and about all the time. Different guy on my arm in every picture. Drunk coming out of the club. Smoking pot. Skanky photos. Anything to get on the cover of a magazine. But all Vincent will know is where I was last night. Not where I actually am."
"And where will you actually be?"
"Don't laugh, but Cooper and I will be living on a boat."
"A boat?"
"Well, more like a yacht. There are some details we'll have to work out when the time is right, but no one tracks boats. Not like they do aircraft. So, in theory, I could drive, or maybe even helicopter, to where the yacht is, and sail to a different location. Never a night in the same place, basically."
"You've really thought this through," Cooper states, smirking at me. I think he might be proud.
"And what about Eastbrooke?"
"I promise that I'll stay here until March. So, what do you think?"
Garrett smiles at me. "I will admit, your plan has some merit."
"Oh, I forgot to mention that starting now, Cooper works for me."
"Is that right?" Garrett asks Cooper directly.
Cooper looks him in the eye. Man to man. And says, "That's right."
I breathe a sigh of relief. He hadn't told me his decision yet.
Garrett slips me a forged doctor's note. "Why don't you get back to school?"
I glance at Cooper. "You're going to stay here and talk, huh?"
They both nod, so I grab my keys and head to my car.
When I get there, I call my mom.
Surprisingly, she answers.
"Hey, Mom. I really need to talk to you. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Sure, honey," she says. "I'm just finishing up some packing."
"I'm glad you and the girls are going to France."
Mom gives me a little, "A-hem," in agreement. I know her. She doesn't like to lie.
"This thing with Vincent has been tough on all of us. You need some time off."
"I'm fine, Keatyn."
"No, Mom. You're not. And I know you planted all the stuff in the press about the affairs and about your health."
Mom lets out a big sigh. "Does Tommy know?"
"Not yet, but he will. Don't let this ruin your relationship. You have to stop lying to Tommy. And me. We can handle the truth. Seriously. And I am going to handle it."
"Keatyn, you're just a child."
"No, I'm not. My sisters are children. I met with Garrett today. I know about the breach in security. I know Vincent hasn't stopped sending you stuff. Scary stuff."
Mom starts to cry. "He . . . He . . . left black roses on the swing set. Four of them. One for each of the girls. He sent a photo of Tommy getting out of a car in the city, and it was photoshopped so . . . so that . . . Tommy had been shot in the head. I can't do this anymore. If he wants me, then he can have me."
"But that's the thing, Mom. He doesn't want you. He wants me."
"Well, he can't have you!"
"He's not going to. Garrett and I have a plan that takes you and the girls out of the mix. But I need your help. With the press."
"How?"
"I need you to announce that for your health and well-being, you're taking a break from the movie industry. If they ask where you're going or what you're doing, you'll have no comment."
"They'll ask about Tommy."
"That's an easy answer. Tommy will be filming Retribution in New York and you will not be joining him."
"Everyone will assume we're not together anymore."
"That's exactly what you wanted, isn't it?"
"Yes, but then . . ." Mom starts sobbing. "I've been trying to hold it together. But it's so hard. I've missed you so much, Keatyn. But I've been so afraid. Afraid he'd get my phone and find your number. Afraid someone would overhear me talking to you. I needed you to stay safe. You're my baby. And this is all my fault. I thought if I left the girls safe with James and went on the press tour that maybe he'd just take me instead."