Page 187 of Nine Months to Love

But maybe I didn’t see the whole picture. Maybe I only saw what I wanted to see.

Just like Olivia tried to tell me.

I close the journal and set it back on the desk. My hands are shaking again, damn near unusable. Olivia read this. She read my father’s words and believed them. She believed I was wrong about my mother. That I was the one who couldn’t see the truth.

I no longer know who’s right and who’s wrong.

I drift back downstairs. Taras is waiting in the foyer. “What now?” he asks.

“Now, I find her.”

“How? We don’t know where she is.”

“No. But I know someone who might.”

“Who?”

I don’t answer. I just head for the door.

“Wait, where the fuck are you going?” Taras calls after me. “Goddammit, Stef, I’m coming?—”

I stop and put a hand on his chest. “No. I need you here. Keep looking for Olivia. Track her phone, her credit cards, anything you can find.”

“Stefan—”

“That’s an order.”

He hesitates. Then nods. “Just don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

“Too late for that, my friend.”

I get in the Maserati and drive. My mind is blank. I can’t think about Olivia. I can’t think about the recording. I can’t think about my father’s journal.

All I can think about is getting her back.

Iakov’s street is quiet when I arrive. I check my watch. Six-thirty. He should be home any minute now.

I park across the street and wait. Ten minutes pass. Then twenty. Finally, a car pulls up. But it’s not Iakov. It’s Arielle.

She gets out, carrying grocery bags. She walks to the front door and fumbles with her keys.

I climb out of the car and cross the street. She doesn’t see me until I’m right behind her.

“Arielle.”

She jumps and spins around. “Oh my God! Stefan. You scared me.”

“I need to talk to Iakov.”

“He’s not here. He had a late meeting.”

“When will he be back?”

“I don’t know. Maybe an hour?” She combs her hair out of her face. “You can wait inside if you want. I was just about to make dinner.”

“That’s very kind. Thank you.”

She unlocks the door and I follow her inside. The apartment is warm and inviting. Smells like cinnamon and vanilla. She sets the grocery bags on the counter and starts unpacking them.