Page 161

"What do you mean?"

"In restricted circles they call her the black widow. She's been married three or four times, and all her husbands ended up dead under mysterious circumstances. All within a short while of the marriage, too. I hear Meester's been trying to find her another husband for a long time, but no one is brave enough to marry her."

"She sounds interesting." Sisi grins. "I want to meet her."

"And you will. We're heading to your brother's tomorrow morning."

With a rough understanding of the island and the hospital, we call it a day.

"I didn't realizethe basement had a different entrance," Sisi says, her arm tightening on mine.

We'd compiled all the information we could find about the hospital, so now the only outstanding issue is planning the attack.

I'd spoken with Nero on the phone last night, and while he'd had some minor issues with Meester's daughter, he'd assured me he'd be here today and we'd be able to jumpstart the plan.

"I think Marcello sealed the entrance from the house," I reply, telling her about the rather dissolute history of the basement. "He probably didn't want Claudia or Venezia to venture there by accident."

Heading to the back of the house where a trap door leads to the basement, I feel the hairs on my body stand up, my head whipping around in the direction of the roof.

One step and I have Sisi thrusted behind me just as a bullet hits me straight in the forehead.

A paint bullet.

My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. Not when Sisi swats my hand aside, plopping herself in front of me and laughing to her heart's content.

"You're all blue," she can barely speak as she bends over, holding onto her stomach, tears at the corner of her eyes from too much laughter.

As if this wasn't enough, the basement door opens to reveal Marcello and Catalina followed by Adrian, all chuckling at my expense.

But if Adrian is here…

I look up just in time to see Bianca jump from the windowsill of the first floor, landing on her feet and smirking at me.

"You." I grit my teeth, unable to even muster any type of retort, since who's going to take a blue man seriously?

The paint is smeared all over my face and dripping down my suit, making me an official honorary smurf.

"Well," she starts, an amused expression on her face, "you got your wish." She shrugs, casually strutting back to her husband. Or is it her former husband?

"When did I ask to be painted blue?" I mutter dryly, raising my hand and wiping some of the goo from my eyes.

Sisi is still laughing by my side, but when she sees that I'm not exactly amused, she quickly takes out a napkin, helping me get some of this shit off my face.

"Oh, I don't know," Bianca rolls her eyes dramatically, "maybe when you called me sobbing and asking me to kill you stealthily, so that you wouldn't see it coming?"

I frown.

"I did that?"

"You're a moron," she immediately replies, whipping out her phone and playing a recording.

Just put me out of my misery, B! Before I do something worse… Like go after her.

I swallow, embarrassed to be put on the spot like that, since that is clearly my voice. And though I have no recollection of that particular incident, I can wager a guess as to when it could have happened.

"I was under the weather," I mutter, but she has to take it a step further and play another recording.

One where I'm actually crying.