The Billionaire Who Saved Me - Chapter 76: Chapter 76

I secretly hoped Elena wouldn't show up. She betrayed our friendship. Why should I forgive her?
But when I walked into the café, there she was.
Elena looked terrible, and it took me by surprise. Her eyes were puffy as hell, ringed with dark circles. She was still wearing the same wrinkled clothes as yesterday.
She smelled awful, a mix of booze and stale cigarette smoke.
She used to hate women who smoked. "Smoking women are no good," she'd told me once. "They're all trashy."
But there was a cigarette pack on the table, and the ashtray was filled with seven or eight butts.
When she saw me standing there, Elena shot up from her seat. "Kate, I'm so sorry..."
"Call me Ms. Gordon or Mrs. Knight," I snapped. "We're not friends anymore."
I sat down and waved over the waiter, ordering a latte. I wasn't about to drink the same thing as her. This was my way of drawing a clear line.
Even though I was angry, I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.
I couldn't stand looking at her guilty face or hearing more apologies. I forced myself to stay tough and said with a cold face, "Leave Richard alone. He'll never marry you."
"No, you're lying!" Elena shouted, grabbing another cigarette. Her hands shook so much that it took her several tries to light it.
She took a long drag and blew the smoke straight at me. I coughed and waved my hand, trying to clear the air.
"You already know the truth," I said. "Otherwise, why would you let yourself fall apart like this?"
"Stop talking!" she yelled. "I've sacrificed everything for him. I don't care who tries to stop me. I'm going to marry him."
Elena stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray. The burning tobacco singed her fingers, turning them red, but she didn't seem to notice.
I knew Elena. Once she made up her mind, nothing could stop her, not even if it meant ruining herself.
Even though she had been used to get at me, I still couldn't be mean to her. Elena was different. We grew up together, after all. I couldn't watch her keep slipping until there was no way back.
My heart softened again. "Don't be stupid. Richard's just using you to get to me. Can't you see that? The Knight family will never let someone like you marry Richard. Wake up, please."
But she took my honesty wrong. Elena glared at me, full of hate. "Katherine, you do look down on me. All that talk about being best friends. You've always thought you're better than girls from regular families, haven't you?"
Oh, no. I kicked myself.
I'd been so focused on trying to snap her out of it that I forgot how sensitive Elena was about her pride. I was going to try a different way to talk to her when she said something that shocked me.
"You're right," she said. "You're a rich heiress, and you met Mr. Mason Knight first. So what if I fell for him the second I saw him? I had to keep those feelings buried. Do you know how much it hurt every time I saw you two together?
"I tried so hard to hold back, but the harder I tried, the stronger those feelings got. I was jealous enough to go crazy."
Then her look softened. "That was when Richie showed up. He said he liked me, and I melted. He's your husband's brother, so I started to love him too because of that. He's really good to me—better than your husband is to you."
My head spun. I'd hoped Elena would see sense, but Richard had weaseled his way in.
Silly Elena. Just as silly as Madeline.
"Remember Madeline?" I said. "That poor woman killed by her husband? Do you remember how your best friend died? You're making the same mistakes as her."
I couldn't hold my feelings in anymore. Tears ran down my face.
Elena stiffened. "Why do I feel like I know you? Do you know Madeline too?"
I said, "I don't know her. But I know her ex-husband is a heartless jerk. Men will sacrifice women to get what they want. And women? They throw themselves away for men.
"I'm here to talk to you. If Richard came instead, you might not see tomorrow. Don't think I'm making this up. You're just a pawn to him.
"Leave him. Go far away. Never get in touch with him again. Otherwise, you'll end up worse than Madeline."
I took a card out of my bag. Delilah had given it to me. I was just passing it on.
"This has 700 thousand dollars," I said. "Mrs. Delilah Knight wants you to have it as compensation. Take it."
Elena jumped back like the card burned her, tossing it aside. "I don't want it. I don't want compensation. I want Richie. Tell Richie to come see me."
She wouldn't listen to any of it. Even mentioning Madeline did no good. She was dead set on finding Richard, and getting more worked up by the minute.
I could tell something was wrong with her. I wanted to take her to the hospital. But as soon as I said it, she blew up. "Katherine, that's too much. You can't buy me, so you want to hurt me? I'm not sick. I don't need a check-up."
With that, she grabbed the coffee pot off the table and smashed it hard against my head.
When I woke up, I was sitting in a chair. My arms were tied behind my back to the chair. Tablecloths had been torn into strips to tie me up. I tried to move, but the knots were tight. I couldn't budge.
My head hurt, but it had been bandaged up.
A new handkerchief was stuffed in my mouth. I couldn't make a sound, but at least it didn't feel too bad since it was fresh.
Elena had her back to me, dialing a number over and over. She was anxious, hitting redial nonstop while talking to herself, "Why aren't you answering? Richie, come on, pick up. I've got Katherine. If you don't, I'll kill her. Let's see how you explain that to Mason."
I noticed a broken phone in the corner. And the one she was using? It looked like mine.
From how things stood, Richard must already know Elena had kidnapped me. And the stuff she was muttering—she'd definitely said it to him before.
I was beyond tears. Richard'd love it if she killed me. What would he need to explain? In the end, she'd be the one in jail.
Elena was stubborn. As long as Richard didn't answer, she'd keep calling. At this rate, the phone would die soon.
Mason never called me during the day. By the time he noticed I was not home, it'd be dark. Stuck with Elena all day? Would I even survive that?
No. I had to save myself. My body was tied, but my eyes could move. First, I scanned the room.
One table, two chairs. The window was closed, so climbing out would be hard. Even if it wasn't, I couldn't. We were on the fifth floor. Jumping would kill me or leave me crippled.
The door was locked from the inside. If I moved the chair, she'd hear me for sure.
Forget trying to quietly untie the ropes. Elena's grandpa was a butcher. He was amazing at tying up livestock, and he taught her everything.
The knots she tied? Not even animals could get loose. I didn't stand a chance. But I couldn't just sit here without doing anything. What else could I do?