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Once I have my glass, I drop into the chair beside Andries, automatically turning it to the side so I can keep an eye on the dance floor. Out of the corner of my eye, I know Andries is watching me, but I can’t take my gaze off Johan and Elise… especially with how low his hands are on her back. My anger must be visible in my expression, because after a moment, Andries chuckles.
“I told you that you were a fool,” he teases, but there is no room for humor in me right now.
“What the hell does that mean, huh?” I whip around to face Andries, who jumps at my sudden movement. “How am I the fool when he’s the one that’s leaving tomorrow? It sounds to me like he’s the fool, and I’m the man who went the distance.”
Andries scoffs, shaking his head. “Whatever, Dan, forget it. I was just joking.”
I’ve had enough, though. I’ve done so much for Andries lately that his obsession… no,allegianceto Johan has gone past the point of bothering me to being downright disrespectful. I’ve done everything in my power to give him an amazing engagement to the love of his life, and just because the woman that I love is his sister, he treats me like garbage and heaps praise on Johan, someone that he barely knows. It rankles. A lot.
“You know what, Andries? It’s very clear where your allegiance lies. If you knew why––” The truth about what made Johan want to leave almost slips off my tongue, but I clench my teeth together to keep the words inside and stand up instead, pushing my chair away with more force than I intended. “Nevermind,” I bite out, and if Andries says anything else as I storm away, I don’t hear him over the sound of my blood rushing in my ears.
Back in my suite, I can finally breathe, but I’m still so hot under the collar that I rush to the bathroom to splash water on my face. The cold helps to center me, so I repeat the action before grabbing the face towel to dry myself off with.
In the middle of wiping the water from my skin, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket, announcing a new text message, and pull it out absentmindedly. To my surprise it’s from Dad, even though we just spoke earlier today. He isn’t much of a text, either, so I’m quick to open the message and see what he has to say.
He’s sent me a YouTube link, then a second message as an explanation, which reads,Looks like your friend’s fiancée is back in the news.
My stomach drops, wondering what else could be going on with Roxanne. Clicking the link, I take the phone with me to sit on the edge of my bed and watch the video, which is a news broadcast. The anchor explains how the cabaret Bar Rouge is now officially closed for the time being while law enforcement carries out an extensive search of the premises. It turns out that the dubious actions of the dancer onstage is only the tip of the iceberg, and served as a red flag to make all eyes turn to the establishment. While looking into the dancer incident, cocaine was found in the dressing rooms, but even more alarming, some patrons admitted to the police that they had been sold cocaine by employees of Bar Rouge.
The clip cuts to an officer talking about the case while standing in front of the darkened Bar Rouge. He looks somber as he says, “Bar Rouge’s revenue streams are now being investigated as well. We think that most of their revenue may have come from drug trafficking and not legitimate cabaret services.”
The reporter on the scene asks if this information is just something from a tip or a real concern, and the officer frowns. “We have a strong suspicion that the cabaret is just a front for money laundering. We’ve tried to get in contact with the owner, Ms. Roxanne Feng, but communication has been minimal. There is still a possibility that Ms. Feng wasn’t a part of this trafficking, but until she complies fully with the investigation, it’s difficult to know for certain. It’d be much easier once we’ve interviewed her,” he admits, and the video ends there.
I sit in shock for a second, staring at my darkened phone screen. The video link is from one of the biggest news outlets in the country, and if they are reporting on the scandal, then there’s no doubt that everyone in our circle knows as well. Which means…
This means that there is no way Andries isn’t aware of the Bar Rouge scandal yet. He really is stringing Roxanne along, waiting for her to tell him the truth. Andries is testing his fiancée, that’s the only explanation I can think of. And while I can sort of understand his motives, I can’t help but think of how cruel this entire thing is.
Unsettled, I realize I can’t just sit here and mull over all this new information alone. I have to talk to someone, and while I want to share it with Elise more than anyone else, I did promise Roxie to try and get some information out of Andries. Knowing now that Roxanne can be in serious legal trouble, I’m well aware that she doesn’t have the luxury of waiting until we get back home to confess to her future husband.
The terrace has mostly cleared out, and while Andries and Johan are nowhere to be seen, Elise is sitting at the table sipping Limoncello and scrolling through her phone with an intense look on her face. I have a pretty good idea of what is on her screen, but I approach her, pulling up a chair next to her just to confirm. I know she doesn’t want to be involved in this disaster anymore, but I have to admit I feel better having someone else to share this with before I tackle it head-on. Like it or not, Roxanne is Elise’s future sister-in-law, and she has to be at least tangentially involved in everything with Bar Rouge moving forward.
Elise’s brows are drawn together, but when she sees it’s me joining her, her expression softens. I’m still annoyed at her for dancing so intimately with Johan, but seeing the affection on her face and the way she instinctively scoots her chair closer to mine does wonders for my bruised ego.
“You’ve made yourself scarce tonight,” she observes, taking a drink and looking at me over the rim of the glass.
“Can you blame me? Johan isn’t exactly my favorite person.”
“Yeah, I could tell from that lackluster toast.” We both laugh, Elise, shaking her head. “It was nice to see him, but it will also be nice to have you back to normal once he’s gone.”
“It will be good to not have to share your attention too, even if that makes me selfish,” I lean in, brushing the quickest of kisses over her cheekbone before moving back. The temptation to let Roxanne and Andries’ problems handle themselves and drag Elise back to my suite is strong, but I know we have to be adults and deal with this. “As much as I’d like to talk more about how sad Johan is now, we have other things to discuss.” I pull up the video Pops sent me and hand Elise the phone. She takes one look at the screen and doesn’t even start the video, handing it back as her smile fades.
“I know. Someone from school already reposted it on Twitter.” Her tone is grim.
“We have to make her tell him, or at the very least, find out if he already knows.”
She shakes her head. “No. I’m not getting involved.”
“Come on, El. You and your brother have all the same friends on socials. If you’ve seen the video organically, then so has he. There’s no way your brother doesn’t know.”
“And?” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, her expression neutral. “It’s none of my business.”
“Yeah right,” I snort. “El, you make everything your business, even if it isn’t even close to being so. Now that there is something that isactuallyyour business, like your brother’s fiancée having potential criminal charges getting ready to rain down, you’re going to pretend you aren’t interested? I know you better than that.”
“Every time I interfere in their relationship it ends terribly for me and everyone's feelings get hurt. I’m sitting this one out, Dan.”
“But I need your help,” I insist, but this girl is stubborn. “We have to find out what Andries knows.”
“I said no. Now, drop it, or I’m going to go find Johan to talk to.”
