The Billionaire's Setup

by Marie Higgins

  “Why did you do that?” Bailey asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Trip me.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like I could trip you when I’m sittin’ in the middle of the bed.”

  “Well... well, maybe you mentally tripped me.”

  Nicole chuckled rudely. “Oh, you won’t believe in ghosts, but you’ll believe in mental telepathy?”

  Bailey shrugged. “It could happen.”

  “So can ghosts!”

  Shaking her head, Bailey made it to the counter without tripping again. She unwrapped the plastic from the Styrofoam cup and lifted the water pitcher. Just a she started tipping it, the water gushed out, knocking the cup from Bailey’s hand and spilling on her cashmere jacket.

  Bailey screamed and dropped the mostly empty pitcher. She held out her hands like touching her wet clothes might melt her.

  Nicole held back a laugh, even though she really wanted to belt it out. “It appears you are quite clumsy this evenin’.”

  She huffed. “It’s because I’m hungry for decent food, and I want real company.”

  “There’s the door,” Nicole pointed in the direction she referred to, “don’t let it hit you in the butt on the way out.”

  “You are just so mean. I don’t need to take this from you.” Bailey moved to the door, but before reaching it, it swung open and smacked her in the face. She stumbled backward, holding her nose.

  Gasping, Nicole straightened, looking for Victoria. She was sure the family ghost was pranking Bailey.

  “What the crap?” Bailey said, holding her nose, which thankfully, wasn’t bleeding.

  Nicole still watched out in the hallway until she finally noticed a familiar face peek around the doorframe. Victoria grinned, teasingly.

  Nicole chuckled and scooted to the edge of the bed. “Bailey, I want to introduce you to Victoria Carrigan. She’s a relative of ours.”

  “Ha, ha. Very funny.” Bailey rolled her eyes as though she didn’t believe, but she still backed away from the door.

  “Victoria?” Nicole motioned her hand toward the ghost. “Why don’t you come in and join us? And... if you’re able, can you make your presence known to my cousin?”

  Victoria moved into the room and closed the door. Bailey screamed and jumped, moving around the bed. But Nicole knew her cousin couldn’t see Victoria yet.

  “I don’t believe she can hear me.” Victoria frowned. “I’ve already tried talking—”

  “Who is that?” Bailey’s voice lifted and trembled.

  Nicole looked at her cousin in surprise. “Did you hear Victoria?”

  “I heard... another woman’s voice.”

  Excitement filled Nicole. Finally, her cousin was starting to believe. “Yes, that’s Victoria.”

  “But... I don’t believe in ghosts.”

  “Tell me, Bailey, how do you explain someone trippin’ you and then the water pitcher dumpin’ all over you when you just tipped it a little? Not to mention,” she pointed toward the door, “who opened and closed the door just now when I haven’t left the bed?”

  Bailey released a small sob of helplessness. “I... don’t know.”

  “There is no reason to be afraid,” Nicole told her cousin. “Victoria is nice, and at times, she loves to tease.”

  “But... she’s dead,” Bailey whispered.

  “I know.” Nicole nodded.

  “Where... is she?”

  Nicole pointed toward the door again. “She’s still standin’ right there.”

  Nicole studied her cousin’s face for signs of seeing Victoria. Silence filled the room as the seconds ticked by, but soon, Bailey’s eyes widened. She blinked several times and even shook her head. Her gaze was now directly on Victoria. Bailey’s mouth dropped open.

  Victoria smiled wider and gave Bailey a small wave. “Hello.”

  Bailey’s face lost color and she screamed. She spun around and ran... right into the wall before crumbling to the floor.

  “Oh, dear...” Victoria said sadly. “I’ve never done that before. Was it wrong of me to enjoy it so much?”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Thankfully, Bailey’s face might sport a few bruises, but nothing was broken. Once Nicole helped her cousin into her room and put her to bed with a bottle of wine, Nicole returned to her room and to her own bed. Victoria was gone, which was a relief.

  As she listened in the quiet room for Nolan’s footsteps, the hours ticked by and Nicole’s eyelids grew heavy. She lay on her side, facing the door. Please, Nolan, come home now!

  Gradually, sleep overtook her, and she drifted off into her movie-type dreams. This one was strange, though. All she could see was a woman’s hand writing in a book – or journal. Just as if Nicole was watching the movie, her vision zoomed onto the words being written.

  I spied on William the other day. He is so handsome. Even though he was holding Victoria at the dance hall, I imagined it was me. I would look much better in his arms. Victoria is rude and uncaring. It would be much easier for me to make William like me if Victoria was out of the picture.

  Earlier this morning, I snuck into the kitchen when nobody was looking, and took the rat poison from Matilda’s cupboard. I’ve put the poison in Victoria’s sherry bottle, and I’ll make certain she drinks it right before her wedding. From what I’d read, it’s quick acting, and with any luck, she’ll be dead before she marries William. The doctors will never know what killed her. That woman doesn’t deserve to live. Getting rid of her will make this home much happier.

  I think I just heard Victoria come in the house because she’s yelling at someone. Then again, she’s always yelling at someone. Soon, she’ll march upstairs and start issuing instructions for us maids to help her get ready for the wedding. I really hope this will be the very last day that she yells at innocent people.

  I’m going to stop writing for now, and I’ll hide this journal in my secret spot until after the funeral. Then, and only then, will I work on making William fall in love with me.

  Nicole could only see the woman’s hand as the maid tucked the book in a small cubby inside the wall. A picture was placed over the secret spot before the maid quickly left the room. From what Nicole could see, the room was much smaller and darker than Victoria’s room at the B&B.

  Slowly, the dream widened, and Nicole could see Victoria’s room and the maids scurrying around, trying to get Victoria ready for her wedding. The woman’s voice was loud as it carried from an adjoining room while she yelled at her servants. One maid passed a vase of flowers on Victoria’s small table and gingerly brushed her fingers across the petals. Another maid scrubbed a cloth along an old-fashion pair of shoes, polishing them up for the mistress. Missy returned from the bathing chamber, holding some clothes. She looked at one of the other maids and rolled her eyes.

  Once Missy took care of the muddy clothes, she slowly stepped toward another table in the back of the room. Sitting in the center of the table were a bottle of sherry and an empty goblet. She stood still as if waiting.

  “Missy?” Victoria’s voice called from the adjoining room. “Bring me a glass of sherry, please. I need something to calm my shaky nerves.”

  A vicious grin stretched across the maid’s face. “Yes, of course.”

  Although Nicole knew the moments before Victoria’s death, watching it actually happen made her jittery. She wanted to scream at someone to stop the young maid, but yet, nothing could be done to keep the past from playing out.

  Missy carried the goblet carefully into the bathing chamber and Victoria took a few sips before setting it on the floor. Soon, Victoria was out of her bath and was wearing a bath robe as two other maids dried her hair. Missy snatched the glass from off the floor and took it back into the main bedroom.

  “Oh, Miss Victoria,” one of the maid’s said. “You’ll be the most beautiful bride.”

  Victoria grinned. “Indeed, I will. Every unmarried woman in attendance will be green with envy. Magazines will want to interview me
and take pictures of my one-of-a-kind wedding gown.”

  Nicole rolled her eyes. That woman was sure full of herself.

  Victoria requested a second glass of sherry, but this time she gulped it down quickly. Nicole had to admit, her ancestor did look very beautiful. But then, aren’t all brides supposed to be lovely?

  Victoria shifted back and forth on her feet, twisting her hands. She swayed slightly, but then caught herself. She touched her fingers to her forehead.

  “Are you all right, Miss Victoria?” Missy asked.

  “Of course I’m not fine,” Victoria snapped. “Can’t you tell how nervous I am? I’m getting married, for heaven’s sake.”

  “Yes, of course, Miss Victoria.”

  Suddenly, there was a shift in the atmosphere inside the dream, and... Nicole was now Victoria standing in her room, feeling anxious. But there was something else Nicole could feel. It was as if an evil darkness surrounded her.

  Now Nicole could feel everything Victoria was feeling, and the twisting in the stomach was different from just nerves. There was a filmy aftertaste in her mouth, which Nicole knew was the cyanide mixed with the sherry.

  The air felt cold, and all the excited voices from the servants slowly disappeared, even though Nicole could see them laughing and chatting. The poison was beginning to work, Nicole knew it.

  “Missy...” Nicole yelled out. “Did you kill Victoria because of William?”

  In the dream, Missy’s head snapped toward Nicole. Her eyes widened and the orbs grew dark.

  “You, Miss Carrigan,” the maid said in a grated voice, “should not be here. You are trying to ruin my happy ending.”

  Nicole gasped in disbelief. “How can you have a happy endin’ when you’re already dead? You’ve already won. Victoria is dead because of you. So, how can I ruin anythin’?”

  “Oh,” Victoria groaned in the dream as she walked toward the door. She staggered against the wall briefly. “I don’t feel too good.” She brought her hand to her head. “I’m sweating.”

  “Miss Victoria, you are just nervous,” Missy said sweetly.

  “Stop it, Missy,” Nicole snapped. “You don’t need to do this again.”

  Missy’s head fell back as she cackled a loud laugh. “Don’t you see? I’m not doing it to Victoria again. I’m doing it to you, Nicole! You cannot make it right in your time. I will stop you, just like I stopped Victoria.”

  Nicole noticed her surroundings. She now stood at the top of the long, winding staircase – the exact stairs where Victoria’s life had ended. Nicole’s heart pounded uncontrollably. She hadn’t drank anything this evening, so how could she die the same way as Victoria?

  Missy cackled again, sending chills down Nicole’s spine. Her body was helpless to move on its own. Missy’s ghost must have some kind of hold over her.

  “Oh, yes, Miss Nicole, you are going to die soon.”

  NOLAN TURNED OFF THE television and yawned. It was nearing one-thirty in the morning and his eyes were finally drooping so that sleep could enter. He’d spent the day driving around and doing his own tour of the historic towns in the area as he tried to get his mind off Nicole, but it was impossible. How could he just stop thinking about the woman he’d fallen madly in love with?

  Only time would be able to help him with that problem.

  He climbed out of bed to get a drink of water from the fridge. On his way back to bed, he heard a door slam in the hallway. His thoughts stalled. Why would someone slam their door? Unless it was that pesky Victoria again.

  When he reached the bed, he heard Nicole’s voice in the hallway, talking to someone. He tip-toed to his door and pressed his ear against the hardwood, but he couldn’t hear anything. Nicole’s voice drifted down the hall. But the tightness in his chest let him know something was wrong with her voice. She sounded like she was scared.

  He cracked his door open and peeked down the hall. He could see her standing at the top of the stairs, just as she’d been the other day when he’d caught her talking to Victoria. However, this time was different because Nicole was frightened. She’d never sounded like that when talking to her ghost.

  Nolan left his room and cautiously moved toward Nicole. She didn’t turn her head to look at him. Instead, her stare was on the stairs. He could see the side of her face, and she resembled what she’d looked like this morning while walking in the middle of the street as cars swerved to miss hitting her.

  “Nicole?” Nolan called out but she didn’t acknowledge his presence.

  “Missy, just leave me alone!” Nicole shouted. “I won’t let you do this.”

  “Nicole?” Nolan lifted his voice as worry grew inside him. She must be in another dream again. She stood on the top stairs wearing only an oversized tee-shirt for her pajamas, her body gently swaying back and forth as if trying to keep herself from going down the stairs.

  Quickly, Nolan grabbed Nicole’s arm. The beat of his heart hammered in fear. “Nicole, look at me.”

  He tried to pull her away from the steps, but there was an invisible force fighting him. There was no way Nicole’s slender frame could be that strong. The air around them was suffocating and cold. This was not the presence of Victoria.

  “Let her go,” he growled, raising his voice.

  Suddenly, the lights in the hallway started flickering, all at different speeds. The strain on his eyes made him want to shield his gaze and not look, but he couldn’t fall to temptation. Nicole needed saving, and he would do all he could to be her rescuer again.

  And yet, was the force fighting him stronger? What if he couldn’t win?

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Leave me alone!” Nicole screamed at Missy.

  While the maid laughed, Nicole could hear Nolan’s voice, as if he were coming from a tunnel. Something tugged on her arm, but she couldn’t see him. However, as warmth and comfort began to fill her, she was assured Nolan was here and trying to help.

  “Nicole, you need to wake up.” His voice was commanding.

  Although she knew it too, she was helpless to bring herself awake.

  “Sweetheart, I mean it.” His voice tightened. “Wake up... now!

  Nicole stared at the steps. In her mind, all she could see was Victoria tumbling down them. If the poison hadn’t killed her, a broken neck would have. Behind her, Missy was pushing her. Nicole couldn’t see it, but she could feel it. As Nicole tipped forward, Nolan’s grip on her arm yanked her back.

  “I mean it, Missy.” Nicole’s voice trembled. “Leave me alone.”

  “Because you are here, I’m not happy. It has been my goal since before Victoria died, not to let you snobbish Carrigan women live. And of course, now that you are here, you have no other choice but to do as I want.”

  “I won’t. I’ll fight you all the way.”

  “Stop trying to ruin my life.” Missy’s voice lifted higher, echoing through the hallways.

  “I’m not... and you don’t have a life, remember?” Tears welled up in Nicole’s eyes. She couldn’t give up, even though her weak body told her she must.

  “The Carrigans need to die!” Missy yelled in Nicole’s ear.

  “Wake up, sweetheart.” Nolan’s voice was also closer, and she heard it clearer now. “I got you, and I won’t let you fall.”

  The more warmth she felt from Nolan’s hold, the more Missy’s voice grew dimmer.

  The stairs seemed to stretch out, like a very long tunnel. Dizziness swam in her head as disorientation filled her mind. Everything she saw was twisted as if looking through a carnival mirror.

  Then she fell... but she wasn’t the one tumbling down the stairs. It was Victoria as she fell to her death in Nicole’s dream. She screamed and fell backward. Strong arms wrapped around her and her face pressed against Nolan’s muscular chest.

  “Shhh.” Nolan’s deep voice calmed her quickly. “I’ve got you.”

  Nicole’s head pounded, but she forced her eyes open and looked around. Both she and Nolan were lying on the floor by the edge of
the stairs. Nicole’s body shook violently, and Nolan’s arms tightened around her. She couldn’t hold back her relief, and she buried her face against his chest again and sobbed.

  “Shhh,” he kept saying as he rocked her on the floor.

  “I—I saw Victoria fall... and die.” Nicole’s throat was so clogged it was difficult to talk.

  How long they stayed on the floor, she didn’t know, but eventually, her cries quieted. She felt drained, but at least she was alive – and in Nolan’s embrace.

  She tilted back her head. He looked down at her face and gently wiped away her tears. “I want to go now.”

  Nolan nodded and stood, pulling her up with him. Her legs wobbled as they walked up the hall. Her legs buckled a few times, but he held her upright. After the third time her knees weakened, Nolan scooped her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way.

  Instead of going toward her room, he pushed his door open and moved inside. Her heart burst with love for this incredibly kind man. Inhaling, she breathed in his scent that lingered in the air. She never wanted to be without him – or his smell – again.

  He placed her on his bed and stepped back. The concern on his expression softened her heart that much more.

  “I don’t want you going back to your room,” he said. “Your dreams have been putting you in a trance, and someone needs to watch over you, constantly.”

  She nodded. “You read my mind.”

  He pulled back the blankets and sheet, helping her to climb into his bed. She relaxed against his pillow, feeling as if she could fall asleep right now.

  “Do you need a drink?” he asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  He moved to his fridge and brought back a cold bottle of water. She took it and sipped as he sat on the edge of the bed. He touched her leg now covered with the blankets.

  “Do you want to talk about what just happened?”

  Slowly, she shook her head. “I was dream-walkin’ again. But this time, I relived Victoria’s death.”

  “Who is Missy?”