Free Hearts of Glass (The Glass Trilogy Book 3) by Arianne Richmonde

Why is your team of doctors on her fucking side? I thought that was the whole point! That you could move mountains, that you could make Kristin Jürgen fucking disappear!”
    Elodie was silent. “I agree, I thought they’d be more active . . . more, as you say, ‘on our side.’ After all, my mom’s paying them enough. Shaking off this doctor-sticking-up-for-other-doctor bullshit is more complicated than we thought. They simply refuse to cast any malpractice blame on their colleague Kristin.
    “And what about the chimps? Isn’t that proof enough she’s a monster?”
    “No proof.”
    “WHAT?”
    “ We have clandestine proof, we know the lab was hers, but technically, legally—and hey, legally, by the way, we have no leg to stand on because we were breaking into someone else’s property without a warrant—Kristin’s in the clear. No rent, no ownership, nothing states that the premises are hers.”
    “What about Remy? We can prove she was paying him to abduct me, and where he took me. Right next door to her freaking lab!”
    “That’s another problem. Remy’s gone MIA. He’s not picking up his phone. Not at his apartment. Nobody’s seen him.”
    “How do you know his phone number? He never gave it to you.” As I said this, I remembered what Elodie’s day job was, not to mention the moonlighting. “Crap,” I said, “he’s missing , really?”
    “Not looking good.”
    “Oh my God, I pray he’s okay.” I was hoping that Remy had hit a bar somewhere, and was simply conked out on someone’s couch for the night. My mind wandered to Kristin’s other illegal wrongdoings. “What about Natasha’s will? You got any news on that? The forgery handwriting experts?”
    “Kristin’s been given the all clear on that, too. They say the will is genuine.”
    “ Really ? And these are experts you trust ?”
    “They’re supposedly the best.”
    “Damn, this woman’s clever.”
    “That’s what Alessandra says. She still refuses to believe Kristin’s innocent.”
    “And your mom? What does she think?”
    “There are some jealousy issues going on. She’s accusing Alessandra of having been Natasha’s girlfriend and still being in love with her.”
    “But Natasha’s dead! How can she be jealous of a dead woman?” I realized she wasn’t the only one jealous of Natasha . . . I’d nursed my fair share of that green-eyed disease also.
    “Yup, I know. That’s my mom for you. This information’s between you and me, by the way, Janie.”
    “My lips are sealed.” I had visions of two unquenchable flames in a raging lesbian bonfire: hot-bloodied Italian actress Alessandra, and poison dart-eyed Sophie. Plates flying around the room? Smashed furniture? Scary . . .
    Elodie exhaled a pent-up breath that spoke of exhaustion and exasperation. “Look, I need to get off the line and locate Remy.”
    “Good luck, I so hope you find him. Look, my friend Star’s here and is keen to help, but I have to get going to the hospital.”
    “I know Star. I’ve got her number. I’ll call. Well, good luck to you, too, at the hospital. By the way . . . a warning, just so you know . . . ”
    Scalding adrenaline pumped like liquid molten into my heart. “What?”
    “Daniel’s mom? She really likes Kristin. Adored Natasha apparently.”
    “Didn’t she know that Natasha was in love with another man? That her marriage to Daniel was a joke?”
    “Nope. His mom thinks that she was the perfect wife for Daniel.”
    “So basically, in everyone’s eyes—except for ours—Kristin Jürgen and Natasha Jürgen are fucking saints?”
    “Looks that way.”
    “So who’s there right now at the hospital with Daniel?”
    “His mom, Kristin, our doctor, Doctor Nadil, and the usual nurses.”
    “I need to get there immediately.”
    “Janie, be careful. Don’t get yourself kicked out of there. Remember, you are not ‘family,’ and until Daniel wakes up, it’s at their discretion to let you visit.”
    Silence