The first thing I thought was that Kiki won't go with us. It should have paled in comparison to her next words, but that's what ran in my mind. I wanted Kiki and her bodyguards to scare Kate's ass. Or maybe beat her up. Which was wrong, I mean she was a girl. But if we talked about gender equality, it should be equal in all levels, right?

"What do you mean?" Bella hissed, standing up abruptly.

"Your father, Alard has nothing to do with this." Kiki repeated herself.

"How are you so sure?"

"How are you so sure?" Kiki emphasized 'you', asking the question back to Bella.

She took a step back, her face twisted into a stressed frown. "Didn't you hear the recording? My papa is paying that bitch to--"

"Hold it right there." Kiki raised her hand, stopping Bella's words midway. It was like a fight between two alpha females, and we, poor starved bystanders could only wait for it unfold. "Tyler?"

"Huh?" I straightened when she called my name.

"Play the recording again." She turned back to Bella. "This time listen to it carefully."

I did as she asked. Bella had forwarded the audio message to all of us, so I turned on my phone and hit the play button.

-you complied easily-

Kiki took the phone out of my hand and hit pause. Shaking the phone in front of Bella, she said, "Your friend. She went willingly."

"No--"

"Shh!"

"Giulia won't do that!" Bella insisted.

"You're wrong. I would have done the same." She sighed. In a low voice, that only Bella could hear (and unintentionally me because I stood so close), she said, "If it meant saving my love from pain, I would have done the same."

Heat rose up my cheeks at the private confession. Was it the correct time to take a step back and give them their room? I didn't do anything, instead Bella gulped giving Kiki a hopeful look which was adorable in a way.

"You think she did this for me?"

Kiki patted Bella's head. "Do you really doubt that?"

Bella shook her head, a smile on her lips.

Kiki played the recording again, forwarding it to the last part.

-pay me. That bitch's father. Wilson, come-

"What did you hear?" Kiki smirked.

Bella frowned at the question, taking her time to answer. The contents were so clear that I answered instead of her. "Kate said about Bella's father paying her."

Kiki smiled as if I had just proven her point. "Listen carefully, Tyler. She says he will pay her. Not that he has. Why do you assume that her father approached her, and not the other way around?"

"But that doesn't make sense."

"Enlighten me."

"How would she know about the pen drive if someone didn't help her?" I asked. She wouldn't be having prophetic dreams about scandalous pen drives, would she?

"I haven't thought that far. But if Alard had anything to do with this...Bella and Giulia wouldn't be in this country anymore."

"What do you mean?" Bella narrowed her eyes.

"Do you really think he would let a meagre girl threaten her daughter and her girlfriend?" Kiki's tone carried much contempt, unable to believe that Alard might stoop down to this level.

"If not my father, then who did it?"

"Ask Kate yourself."

*****

Park. They were in a park. Not the deep in the woods or on the outskirts of the city wilderness thing. It was a damn recreational park around the corner of our hotel. It was not the place that would come into your mind when you thought of a kidnapping episode. They should have been at a dark, musky, old building, crumbling down behind a dark alley with no existence of human population within three kilometres of its radius. They should have been holding Giulia hostage in a filthy stinking room, with sinister expressions on their faces, and playing with a knife as if a toy. We would have gone dressed up in black and with bodyguards for backup. There would have been a showdown, and one of us might have got shot, but Bella and Giulia would have been reunited in the end.

But no (of course).

That scenario only happened in the movies. For now, it had to be a park with bright flowers, greenery, filled with couples, small kids playing Frisbee, and old people doing exercises. I wanted to laugh at the situation. On a mental note though I thought, that if it ever came down to taking someone hostage, I would be much cooler than this.

Just then, a boy whipped past us on his skateboard. He grinned at Bella, but then did a double take and went on in the direction he came from.

It made sense.

The trail of bodyguards behind us made me purse my lips. It was even more ironical. They looked as out of place as a historical character in a science fiction set. People stopped to stare at us. Kids pointed at the men, laughing at their gleaming black sunglasses in the cloudy weather. Me? I wished that they wouldn't do that. An angry crew of bodyguards following me was a no-no.

It had boiled down to Brandon, Bella, a dozen bodyguards and me. Kiki, Sarah and the other half had stayed back on account of paparazzi and Sarah had Leonard to answer to when he came back. Kiki's presence stayed with me without her being physically present. Her words were stuck in my head. They repeated over and over again as if on a loop. There was something I was missing, a core piece of information. It was another one of those on the tip-of-the-tongue moments. I felt that the minute I realized that piece of information everything would start making sense. But as important as it was, I couldn't remember and that made my stomach churn. Which was ought to be a bad premonition, because me being this restless didn't happen that often.

"Stop," the bodyguard leading the way said. We did what he asked.

A flick of his hands, and the others shuffled out of their rank and encircled the area. The majority of the civilian population in the area stared with a confused or an amused expression. Had I been them, I would be packing those picnic tables and be on my way. The crime rates must be pretty low in this country.

"They're about twenty meters away from here." He pointed in a direction. The road curved so we couldn't see what was ahead. "You'll be under surveillance, no need to worry."

Bella nodded, and he stepped back. The three of us, feeling small and alone all of a sudden, walked ahead. Removal of the heavy baggage behind us was a relief and vulnerability on its own. And I concluded that I missed it.

We rounded the corner. Bella fisted her hands, and I wanted to offer to hold her hand to give her some comfort. But Brandon held one of mine in his hand and unless we didn't want to look like a trail of kindergarteners holding hands (or worse), I let the opportunity slip.

The aura around us deepened. Anxiety, anger, relief all loomed in one whirlpool of emotions. Two heads- one bent and the other one relaxed- popped out of the bench in front of us. For a minute, I stared at the two figures. It was not a representation of a captor and victim, but I couldn't read much of their bodies because it was hidden behind the stone bench which stood facing away from us.

Bella was not the one to dilly-dally, and with a hastened pace, she called out, "Giulia!"

Heads turned. The relief of Giulia's unharmed face washed through me. We caught up to Bella who was running, Brandon faster than me but not leaving me behind.

"Bella!" Giulia cried out, running as well to close the distance faster.

It was a relief to know she wasn't bound or gagged, because that would have seriously pissed me off. Short of running into Bella's arms, Giulia stopped. Kate stood up, her face pulled into a smirk, her arms crossed across her chest.

The rage I felt for her was maddening.

"Giulia." Bella breathed.

Giulia didn't make eye contact with her. Instead, she shied away from her, meeting my eyes for a second, then looking away.

"No." The sole syllable out of her mouth made a pit of ice in my stomach.

"What?" There was a tone of incredulity in Bella's voice.

"What are you doing here?" Giulia frowned, taking a step back and shaking her head.

"What am I doing here?!"

"Why are you here...?" Giulia choked. She was conflicted. A step back and then a step forward. On an impulse, she snapped her face away, hiding the emotions dancing on her face. "Go away."

"What the hell?" Bella was furious.

I stared at Kate. She was grinning. Grinning like this was her favourite soap drama going on. Heat boiled inside me at her snarky attitude. I kept it in, more concerned about Giulia before I went on to her.

"How did you know I was here?" Giulia asked.

On the other side, Kate's grin went even wider.

I planned to ignore it, honestly. But then Kate pulled out her phone, and started recording them.

That was it for my patience.

Nostrils expanded, I took in deep breaths, but it was of no use. Before anyone could stop me, I stalked towards Kate. Her attention elsewhere, I took my chance and went on behind her. With a finger, I tapped on her shoulder.

She turned. Before she could register my presence or make sense of the situation, it was too late. I curled my fingers, and knuckles out, punched her straight on the face. Her scream was deafening. She clutched her nose which had been the centre spot for my punch. The phone was still in her hands, shaking as she rubbed her nose.

I gritted my teeth, and swallowed the pain that rose up my knuckles. Whatever I had done, it had attracted attention away from them to us. Brandon ran towards me, his face masked with concern and anger. I winced, waiting for his scolding on my impulsive (was it?) action.

He pulled me away from her, completely ignoring her-and her screeching self -hurling insults at us. "You bitch!" Kate shouted. Her nose wasn't bleeding. Though the pain on my hand meant it must have hurt her five times more.

On the other side, Brandon took my hand and blew on it. "Tyler, shit, shit, does it hurt?" he asked, concerned etched on his face.

I wanted to laugh. The pure rage in Kate's eyes mirrored my own from a few minutes ago.

If she wants a fight, I am up for it.

She couldn't do anything. Not because she didn't want to- but because as soon as Brandon pulled me away, Giulia was on her.

"You told me you will shut up when you get the money! Why did you send her a false audio?!" Giulia spat and kicked, but didn't touch her.

I couldn't believe my ears. Kate had sent us the audio? But it was from Giulia's phone! A look at the fuming Giulia and I saw no trace of any pockets or her purse, or her phone.

Manipulative bitch.

Giulia shouted again, this time in French. But Kate had collected herself. She caught Giulia's hand and twisted it, showing no mercy. Her lips pulled back into a sneer, as she took out her anger on the weakest one of us. Bella ran to help her, but Kate put her hand up, warning us to not to come any closer.

She couldn't do much. Or more that we didn't let her do much. With the speed of light, we were surrounded by dark figures. Our tensed bodies relaxed.

At first, Kate didn't see them, still holding Giulia captive. But Giulia did. With newfound courage and assuredness, she snapped her hand away from Kate's hold, taking consequent steps back and falling into Bella's open arms.

"What the fuck?" Kate shouted, her eyes scanning the bulky bodyguards guarding us. Her glare landed on me and her sneer came back on.

"They're with us." I smirked.

"You're making a mistake," she said. Her head stood stall, and I could see the gleam of a drop of blood from her left nostril. Contrary to what I had thought, it made me feel satisfied instead of churning my stomach about what I had done. My revenge had been too far postponed, so finally taking it was sweet, but nothing I wanted to continue doing it.

"Are we?" I spoke back.

I glanced at Bella and she nodded for me to go ahead and talk to her.

"Who told you to do this?" I spat, pushing aside the loose strands of hair away from my face and making a straight no-joke face. Brandon flanked my right side, crossing his arms and wearing a similar expression.

Kate didn't answer me.

"You." She pointed out Giulia and continued. "Give me the money and we are done."

"What money?" Bella snapped.

"She promised the pen drive in return of 100,000 Euros." Giulia covered her face with her palms, tired and weak. She sobbed. "My personal secretary will be transferring it any minute now. Why did you come?"

"Are you stupid?! Do you think she will really give it back to you?" Bella started out in a harsh tone but softened when Giulia cried harder.

Under the palms of Bella's hand, Giulia shook her head.

"Then why?" she whispered.

Giulia wiped her tears off, glaring at Kate. "She's selling it to a news channel."

Her words were a blow to my chest and everyone else's.

News channel?!

That type of scoop will score her in thousands of dollars. But still not as much money as Giulia was willing to pay to keep it hidden. Was Bella just another tool to get the highest bid? Looking at her smirk, and her body posture, I couldn't have guessed her greed more correctly.

"Giulia?" I spoke.

"Yeah?"

"Take my phone and ask your secretary to not do it." I threw my phone and Bella caught it.

"But—"

"Do it!"

Her fingers worked on the dial, trembling and uncertain. She cleared her throat and spoke, "Cancel the transaction."

It was done.

"Are you mad?" Kate laughed. Not receiving the money now, her expression turned sinister and vile. "You don't want to do this, do you?"

"It's done." I crossed my arms and shrugged.

I knew, behind me, the three of them were thinking about what the hell I was doing. Yet, they didn't want to take the reins in their hands and handle the mess.

"What can you do?" I incited her. "Nothing."

"Tyler." Brandon hissed from behind. "What are you doing?"

The direction of my conversation may be confusing for them, but I knew where I was going. "Tell me, Kate. Who put you up to this? You don't have enough grey matter in that peanut shell of your brain."

She huffed, taking my bait, and going red with my insult. "I don't have grey matter? That's laughable." Her stance turned prouder, and a queasy sensation filled my stomach.

She'll reveal something. I hung on to her every word.

"He's so stupid." She caught her tongue before she said anything else. With a smirk, she whispered, "Don't you want to know who that is?"

She cooed, trying to entrance us. I didn't give her the chance to complete her manipulation.

"No. We already have one idiot to deal with." My reply was delivered in a sickeningly sweet tone implying that I was talking about her.

"You'll fucking regret this." She took out her phone and dialled a number.

Our talks and insults had dragged on for too long, so I it was refreshing to see some action. A bodyguard stepped forward as if to stop her from calling anyone, but I put a hand up, stopping him from stopping her. I was ready to see this through this till the end.

The phone rang in our vicinity and she frowned, looking around. I followed her motion, and another bodyguard dragged a man with him, the ringing phone in his other hand.

He threw him to the ground, and the man kept his face down.

I laughed. We were a step ahead of her

"Looks like your disciple was caught."

Kate didn't answer me but ran to him, stricken. She tried to help him up, but he flinched, keeping his face down. Not able to keep the curiosity of who he was in any longer, Brandon walked over and held his face up.

We gasped.

"Roger?" I breathed.

He snarled, making Brandon snap his hand away from his face.

"He was behind this?" Brandon mused, an unbelievable expression on his face.

Kate was backing down, her steps retreating, and I took the opportunity to go heavy on her. She took a step away from us, but bodies lined up to block her way from running away from us.

"Stop following me!" she snapped.

"Then why are you running away?"

"You did a mistake. I was going to go easy on all of you and not sell it." She held up her phone, dangling it in front of me. "You just had to give me money."

I stared her right into her eyes, not believing a word she said.

"I am posting this." She warned, holding up the pen drive in her hands.

Our eyes went wide as the piece of trouble finally surfaced.

"Do it." I challenged.

Her finger pressed on an autodial number. I didn't loosen my stance. Bella stalked towards me, swinging my body to face her.

"Are you insane?" she hissed, her face boiling with anger. "You have no right to decide what's good for us. We will give her the money and go home."

"Will you?" I hissed back. Clutching her arm in a death grip, I twisted her body towards Giulia. "That's what you made her into! Weak and pathetic. How long will you hide your relationship and make her suffer?"

Bella took her hand out from mine, fire red with my accusation. "Do not butt into my—"

"I already have." I stated. "Remember Kiki's words. It's the time for truth."

"But I—"

"Hello?" Kate's voice made us turn and Bella silent. Hearing no more pleads from her; I took it as if she had accepted this fate.

I narrowed my eyes, trying to gauge who Kate was talking to. But my speculation wasn't required. With a smirk she continued, raising her middle finger at us.

"Sell it to the newspapers... Francis."

*****

A/N

If you're shocked or have any theories about why little lover boy Francis (French stick) is acting like this, then comment me your opinion!

NOTE: BWB TURNED ONE YEAR OLD YESTERDAY AND I TURNED TWENTY! Woohoo enjoy the celebration chapter! (yup, I published the first part on my birthday a year ago. we have a special connection.)

Aanchal xx