No one knows about this but me. I came here on my own.”
Bella wanted to scream again at the top of her lungs, but her throat felt scratchy from the last time she’d let loose. She bit down on her tongue and warned herself to remain calm. She took a giant deep breath, and said, “So now you’re here to blackmail me. You’ll give me the information you withheld if I don’t sue you. Do I have that right?”
Peabody nodded miserably. “Sadly, yes. But if you don’t agree, then I’ll deny it.”
“I could turn you over to the police right now.”
“Yes, you could,” Peabody said. “And I would still deny it. Where is your proof I said any such thing to you? I’m desperate, Mrs. Nolan. The entire staff, the partners are desperate. And our clients . . . I shudder to think what they will think or do.
“At least think about it and get back to me. I don’t want to keep you; you did say you had to go to work. I appreciate your talking to me at all. I thought for sure you’d slam the door in my face. I would, however, just like to leave you with a thought. The people who work for me at the clinic, most of them have been with me since we opened thirty years ago. They depend on their jobs, they have families. They have kids in school, kids in college, two of my staff have severely challenged children, and taking care of them is costly. They need their jobs. What happened was an honest mistake, no one person’s fault. That woman had everything she needed to steal your property. Please be honest with yourself even though you are hurting right down to your very soul. Please, get back to me once you speak with your attorneys. Thank you for your time; I can see myself out.”
And then he was gone, and Bella was alone to ponder the man’s words. He knew how to get in touch with the woman who stole her eggs, most likely Andy’s sister. It wasn’t the money, she didn’t care two figs about that, she just wanted her eggs, and Dr. Martin Peabody knew where they were. Give a little, get a little. Just the thought of a lawsuit was like a kick in the gut. She knew she didn’t have the stomach for that, and she did sympathize with the staff at the clinic.
Bella looked at her watch. She was going to be late. She sent off a text and asked the front-end manager if he still wanted her to come in since it would take her a good thirty minutes to get there depending on traffic, and she was already late to begin with. She was told to come in as soon as she could get there.
The urge to Lysol her tiny space engulfed her, but she shook away the urge and left the apartment, careful to lock the door. And then she put a loose thread at the bottom of the door. She’d read about that once in a spy novel. This way, if the thread was disturbed when she got back, she’d know someone was either in her apartment waiting for her with harm in mind, or someone had already been inside and robbed her. She wished she had done that at her old apartment before Sara Windsor Nolan had obviously invaded her space to obtain copies of all those documents she used at the clinic. Somehow, Sara had entered Bella’s apartment, probably picked the lock, then went through all her things and took what she wanted. God in heaven, how did Andy ever get a sister like Sara Windsor? That was the thing, though, she wasn’t a blood sister.
Bella shook her head to clear her thoughts. She did a final check of the hallway to make sure no one was lurking about, and walked to the elevator. The fine hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end, she could feel them move. Don’t think. Don’t think about anything. Just get through the day, then drive out to Pinewood, where she would be safe. Her safety right now was paramount. She didn’t know how she knew that, but she knew it as surely as she knew that she was standing on the corner waiting for the traffic light to change from red to green.
Bella stepped off the curb, thinking, My God, that’s why Myra Rutledge wanted her to