Fortune

by Megan Cole

  Sapphire hesitated. ‘What made it start again, Simonetta?’

  ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ There was no way Simonetta was telling Sapphire about her debts. To her surprise, however, Sapphire leant across and held one of her hands. For some reason, Simonetta found her eyes filling with tears. She blinked them away furiously.

  Sapphire gave her a little smile. ‘My mum always tells me that we don’t have to let our past control our future.’ She squeezed Simonetta’s hand gently. ‘All the stuff that happened at home, you can move on from it. I can help, if you like.’

  ‘Help? You have no idea about my life!’ Simonetta retorted. ‘You, sweet little Sapphire, you have it all!’

  ‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ Sapphire said quietly. ‘My dad Bill — and I do still think of him as my dad — died when I was little. It’s just been me and Mum ever since and we’ve never had much money. We’ve had to struggle for things.’

  Simonetta looked at her, in cross frustration. ‘How are you so goddamn happy all the time then?’

  Sapphire sighed. ‘I’m not always happy, believe me. But I don’t think being rich or being beautiful can bring you happiness. It might sound cheesy, but it’s about finding out who you are and being happy with yourself.’ She hesitated. ‘You can get help, you know. There are people you can talk to. And if I can do anything—’

  ‘Why?’ Simonetta interrupted rudely. ‘Why would you want to help me?’

  Sapphire looked at her. Simonetta was deliberately challenging her, trying to push her away. ‘No matter how much you hate it, Simonetta, we are flesh and blood. I care what happens to you.’

  A funny expression came over Simonetta’s face. ‘Believe me, I am the last person you want to help. You are too nice for your own good.’ She put her fingers to her lips warningly. ‘We never had this conversation, remember.’

  Sapphire watched as her half-sister shimmied off, looking as though she hadn’t a care in the world.

  That afternoon Brad had organised a sightseeing trip for the three of them on his luxury yacht. Sapphire had been half looking forward to it, half dreading being under Brad’s radar, but just before lunch she started to get painful stomach cramps. Her period, always erratic, had come a whole six days early. Not sure whether to be upset or relieved, Sapphire told one of the maids that she was feeling unwell and went back to her bedroom to try and sleep it off.

  A few hours later she opened her eyes. Sleep normally helped and her period pains had completely gone. She put aside the hot water bottle one of the staff had kindly brought up for her and sat up. Through the open window, she could see the sun was still high in the sky. Sapphire decided to get changed and take a walk around the estate to stretch her legs. Maybe I’ll see Cam, she thought, hopefully. He hadn’t seemed as angry the last time they’d bumped into each other.

  As Sapphire set off, she wondered if her head had ever been so full of concerns before. As well as her upset at what had happened with Raphael and Cam, there was now Simonetta to worry about. Her half-sister had seemed so poised, so sure of herself. Never in a million years would Sapphire have thought she was suffering from bulimia, but then who knew how people were behind closed doors? Even though she had promised Simonetta not to say anything, Sapphire felt torn. Simonetta was clearly too proud to ask for help, but there was no doubt she needed it. You gave her your word, Sapphire. She’d never speak to you again if you told someone. For the time being, Sapphire had to respect Simonetta’s wishes. At least Simonetta knew she could come and talk to her if she wanted, not that she expected her to.

  Weirdly, Raphael was creeping into her thoughts more and more. As she didn’t have his mobile number, she’d even thought about ringing the main house at Casa Eleganza and asking Tito to get him to contact her. She was still desperate to explain that she wasn’t like Jessica, that she’d never meant to hurt him. Memories of their kiss kept flooding into her mind — his cool lips against hers, the electrifying feelings that had run through her. She still couldn’t believe Raphael had made her feel like that. Raphael? But she was totally, one hundred per cent head over heels for Cam. Wasn’t she? ‘Aargh!’ Sapphire said aloud, running her hands through her hair. What a horrible mess!

  ‘Sapphire!’ a voice called out. She turned to see Madison tottering towards her on ridiculously high wedge heels. ‘There you are! I’ve been looking for you.’ She flashed a smile. ‘I told Brad I’d come see how you’re feeling.’

  Sapphire had a feeling Madison had really come to impress Brad and not out of the goodness of her heart, but she didn’t say it. ‘Yeah, I’m feeling a lot better, thanks.’

  ‘Time of the month?’ Madison asked, putting on a sympathetic smile. ‘You have seemed really moody the last couple of days.’

  Sapphire shook her head, smiling; Madison couldn’t help but be a bitch. You kind of had to hand it to her for consistency.

  ‘So, where you off to?’ Madison asked.

  ‘Just for a walk,’ Sapphire said.

  Madison’s eyes twinkled. ‘Would that walk include going past the recording studio?’

  ‘No!’ Sapphire said hotly. How did Madison know these things?

  Madison tinkled with laughter. ‘Oh come on, sweetie! It can’t just be a coincidence you’re heading that way.’

  ‘I told you — I’m going for a walk.’

  Madison gave her a knowing smile. ‘Well, if you were planning a little visit, I’d go now. I’ve just seen Cam’s manager and his flunkies drive off somewhere. I mean, that guy never lets Cam out of his sight, does he?’

  Sapphire tried not to show her sudden surge of hope.

  Madison smiled. ‘I’ll leave you to it! I can go and sunbathe in peace now that I know you’re OK.’

  Don’t lay it on too thickly, love, Sapphire thought as Madison tottered off. She wouldn’t put it past Madison to have set her up, making her walk right into the lion’s den. Still, no harm in trying…

  As she approached the studio the coast was clear, no gorilla-type minder guarding the door. Maybe Madison was telling the truth after all. Looking left and right, Sapphire ran up the steps, adrenalin pumping. She found herself in a small reception area. Still no Larry. Leading off to either side were two glass-fronted rooms with signs saying “Studio One” and “Studio Two” on the outside of the doors.

  Studio One was in darkness, but Sapphire’s heart did a little flip when she saw Cam, standing in a little booth adjoining Studio Two. He had headphones on and was singing into a large microphone hanging down from the ceiling. Next door, in the actual studio, two men nodded their heads and fiddled with buttons on a complicated-looking mixing desk.

  Sapphire edged closer. Cam looked different — his dark, spiky hair had been shaved to a grade two all over. It showed off his bone structure and strong, muscled neck, making him look sexier than ever. Sapphire suddenly felt an intense yearning for him, wanted him to take her in his arms again and kiss her.

  The booth was soundproof, but Sapphire’s curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to hear Cam. Quietly, so as not to disturb them, she opened the door to the studio and stood in the dim light at the back. Cam’s voice, husky and raw, filled the room. The track he was singing along to seemed oddly familiar to Sapphire.

  One of the men waved his hands. ‘OK, good, Cam! Now let’s try the chorus again. One, two, three…’

  As the beat started up again, it all started to fall into place.

  ‘Yo girl! Now listen up. The brightest star, the richest sunrise, nothing compares to your glitter

  Jewel. Hey Jewel

  Colours fade when you enter a room, birds lose their chatter

  Jewel. You listening to me honey?’

  Even with the changes, it was obvious. She didn’t know how, or why, but Cam had stolen her and Raphael’s song. There was no way it could be a coincidence. He started singing the next line and blood started rushing through Sapphire’s ears.

  But just as there is light, you bring with you dark<
br />
  Taking all around down with you…

  Sapphire leapt forward, anger flooding through her. ‘You stole it! This is our song, mine and Raphael’s! We wrote it, not you!’

  Both sound engineers spun round in their chairs. ‘Jesus, what is this?’ exclaimed one, who had a gingery goatee beard. ‘Cliff, call security.’ Ignoring him, Sapphire ran over and banged on the glass partition. Cam looked across, the shock clear on his face.

  ‘You stole our song, Cam!’ Sapphire yelled. ‘Why would you do such a thing?’

  Cam paled for a moment, and then he recovered himself. He shot her an uneasy grin. ‘Hey, Sapphire,’ he said. ‘Is this some kind of joke? I really have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  Chapter forty-four

  Brad frowned. ‘You’re making a very serious allegation.’ Sapphire had found him in his study, a massive room with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over the ocean.

  ‘Brad, I swear to you it’s true!’ she said. ‘Raphael and I wrote “Jewel” together at Casa Eleganza. Cam must have overheard it somehow and decided to use it.’

  Brad stared hard at her. ‘Cam’s one of the biggest up-and-coming music artists in the United States. Do you realise what you’re saying here? That he stole a song from you?’

  Sapphire nodded miserably. ‘I wish it wasn’t true.’ She was absolutely gutted. Cam hadn’t even run after her to try and apologise. Why would he do such a thing? He must have plenty of great songs of his own. He was just one big fake and she’d fallen for the whole famous pop star thing. She’d been so stupid!

  Brad sighed and ran his hands over his face. ‘I’ve spoken with Cam. He says “Jewel” is his song and he wrote it months ago.’

  ‘Then he’s lying!’ Sapphire said furiously.

  Brad looked at her. ‘Be careful who you call a liar, Sapphire.’ She stared at the floor, not trusting herself to speak. ‘Raphael’s not here to vouch for you, unfortunately,’ Brad said.

  A thought popped into Sapphire’s head. ‘Madison and Simonetta! They heard it. I recorded it on my mobile and played it to them afterwards. Simonetta even said she liked it.’

  ‘Do you still have the song on your mobile?’ he asked.

  Sapphire’s heart sank. ‘I looked for it the other day and I couldn’t find it — I thought I had saved it, but…’ She trailed off, a sudden sick feeling in her stomach. When her phone had gone missing that time at Casa Eleganza, one of them must have stolen it and deleted the song! Those complete cows. Sapphire’s shoulders slumped in defeat. She could tell Brad, but what was the point? She’d been stitched up yet again.

  From the look on his face, Sapphire could see Brad didn’t believe her anyway. ‘We need to sort this out once and for all,’ he said. He picked up the phone on the desk. ‘Hello, Tracie? Can you get someone to find Madison and Simonetta and bring them to my study? Immediately please, it’s urgent.’

  The minutes ticked by. Eventually the sound of footsteps could be heard down the corridor and, as Sapphire breathed out, she realised she’d been tense the whole time. Would Madison and Simonetta tell the truth? Did they really hate her that much? She glanced at Brad, but he was already walking towards the door. They hadn’t said a word to each other. He opened it. ‘Come in, girls.’ The two girls walked in, wearing kaftans over their bikinis.

  Madison smiled sweetly. ‘Hi, Brad, we got here as quickly as we could! We were just by the pool. Hi, Sapphire!’

  ‘I’m sorry to interrupt your afternoon,’ said Brad. ‘This won’t take a minute. We have a rather, er, delicate situation here.’

  The two girls looked from Brad to Sapphire with interest. ‘Oh?’ said Madison.

  Brad came round from his desk and leaned on it, arms folded. ‘Sapphire says that Cam has stolen a song that she wrote. She went to the studio and heard him singing it. However, Cam maintains the song is his. As I’m sure you are aware, Cam is about to release his debut album and any suggestion of plagiarism would be disastrous.’

  Madison’s eyes widened. ‘Oh, my!’

  Sapphire spoke, desperate to get this cleared up. ‘Madison, you heard me play “Jewel” to you by the pool, remember? I told you Raphael and I had just recorded it. You didn’t like it very much.’

  There was a deadly silence in the room. Prove me wrong, Sapphire willed. Tell Brad you heard it.

  Madison gave a sad smile. ‘Oh, Sapphire, I can’t believe you’d make up such a thing.’

  ‘I didn’t make it up!’ Sapphire exploded. ‘I played it to you! By the pool!’

  Madison looked at Brad, her face a mask of concern. ‘We were afraid of something like this happening. Ever since Cam dumped Sapphire, she has been talking about getting revenge.’

  Sapphire laughed in despair. It was outrageous. ‘I don’t believe this! I’ve never said such a thing!’ She turned to Simonetta. ‘You heard me play “Jewel” to you by the pool! Just after Raphael and I had finished it! Remember? You said that you liked it.’

  Simonetta’s face was completely blank. ‘You must be mistaken, Sapphire.’ Something uncomfortable shifted behind her eyes, but then it was gone again.

  Sapphire stood still, the blood draining from her face. She just couldn’t believe this was happening. How could one human being be so awful to another? ‘Simonetta, how can you do this?’ she asked. ‘We’re sisters. After everything we talked about yester—’

  ‘After what?’ said Simonetta, a hard look in her eyes.

  Sapphire swallowed. A small part of her wanted to reveal Simonetta’s secret, but that wasn’t her style. She’d made a promise, and she was going to keep it. Even now. Maybe Simonetta couldn’t be trusted, but she was different. She looked away, tears welling up.

  Brad cleared his throat. ‘I think I’ve heard enough. Thank you, girls, you can go now. Sapphire, you stay behind.’

  ‘Brad, I—’ she started, but Brad held up a hand. His face was like thunder.

  ‘Sapphire, you’ve pushed it too far this time. I’ve given you so many chances, but you’ve thrown them back in my face. You’ve left me no solution but to send you home. I’ll get Tracie to organise your plane ticket back to London tonight.’

  Sapphire went to open her mouth, but shut it again. What was the point? She was sick of trying to prove herself. She was sick of this whole stupid thing. She just wanted to be a million miles away from this whole place, away from Brad, Madison and Simonetta. It had been a total disaster and she wanted to be home again, with people who knew and loved her.

  ‘Have you anything to say for yourself?’ Brad asked.

  Anger surged up inside her. ‘You know what? I have. I know you don’t believe me, but Raphael and I wrote “Jewel”, not Cam. I didn’t do a naked streak round Charlotte Island, somebody stole my clothes. And I don’t even like the taste of alcohol, so I don’t know what happened that night.’ Sapphire fought back tears. ‘I know I’ve disappointed you, but I honestly didn’t do it on purpose.’ Brad was looking at her, his face unmoved. Sapphire composed herself — there was no way she was going to start blubbing. ‘Thank you very much for having me as your guest, you’ve been more than generous.’ And with a sudden feeling of freedom, she turned and walked out.

  Madison could literally hug herself. It had all worked out so perfectly. She couldn’t believe how gullible some people were — as if Cam Tyler would have ever been interested in that lame-ass runt! All it had taken was a cunning plan to make out Sapphire was a complete slut and the rest had just fallen into place. She knew how the music industry worked; although Cam was fast on his way to becoming a household name, he wasn’t earning big bucks yet. The lifestyle that went with being a pop star — the entourage, the stylists, the chauffeurs — all came out of his own pocket.

  Once Madison realised he wasn’t mega-loaded, she’d kinda gone off him. Cam had told her in confidence and asked her not to tell anyone, and the only reason Madison hadn’t blabbed was because there was no one to blab it to, apart from Simonetta. But it had got her thi
nking. When she’d approached Cam and told him her idea — that she wanted him to seduce Sapphire and make out he was interested in her, Cam hadn’t taken much persuading. Madison had promised him that if he helped get Sapphire out of the way, she would give him a chunk of the money if she was chosen as Brad’s heir. They’d even drawn up a contract to make it official.

  When Raphael had stepped into the picture, Madison’s scheming had gone into overdrive. She had told Simonetta about the plan, and even brought her in on the deal. If she won, she’d give Simonetta and Cam a big pay-out. If Simonetta won, she’d do the same. Again, they’d made it official with a contract.

  And Brad thinks Simonetta’s the one with the business brain.

  After that, she’d asked Simonetta to go and see Raphael, to tell him that Sapphire was really into him but was too shy to do anything about it. All that had been left was to tell Cam to turn up and act hurt when he saw Raphael kissing Sapphire, and for her and Simonetta to take Brad on a walk along the beach at the same time. Lo and behold, slutty Sapphire had been exposed. Madison couldn’t have wished for it to go better.

  The phone had been a nice touch. Cam had asked her to get hold of some of Sapphire’s music, so he could listen to it and see if she was any good. As soon as Sapphire had played “Jewel” to them by the pool that day, Madison had known she’d struck gold. All it had taken was for her to take Sapphire’s phone and go see Cam. Cam had been blown away. ‘This has Number One written all over it,’ he’d said. ‘Madison, I have to have it. Who’s gonna believe Sapphire over me?’

  Madison had been impressed; she’d had no idea Cam could be quite so devious. Once he’d recorded it on to his own phone, she’d deleted the version on Sapphire’s phone as if it had never been there. Then she’d left the phone in an obvious place in the garden, where Sapphire could have easily dropped it. The only thing that Madison was pissed about was the fact she couldn’t tell anyone. She was a frickin’ genius.