Novel ✪ Memory Corruption (R-18) (Book 1 and 2 Finished) (Book 3 on release now)

Chapter 8


After a handful of visits, Lion ended up conquering a bit of her trust, and she felt more at ease about talking with him about how much she missed Ryan and longed to get out of that place. He, in return, revealed he was a cop undercover. Since he had spent months pretending he was one of Daniel's followers by now, he almost didn't fear the possibility of getting caught anymore. At some point, they both were a solace to each other, feeling like they were the only two sane people in a house of maniacs.

She didn't know how, but he got selected to protect her more often, especially for checking her room, which granted them about half an hour per day of privacy to talk.

During one of those encounters she found out Lion was one of Simon’s best childhood friends. The FBI agent had dated his sister, Bianca, for five years or so, and the couple had split in a mutual peaceful realization that they envisioned opposite things for their futures. The girl longed to travel the world and become an actress, while Simon dreamed of getting married, having kids and staying home with them as much as possible.

Lion had first met Ryan by chance. He was sitting at a Starbucks with his sister when the agent suddenly jumped out of his stool, then arm locked and immobilized a guy that had just started to order his drink at the balcony. His first impression was that Ryan was the aggressor and his reaction was to get to his feet and take his gun, then announce that he was a cop, and that the agent should back away from the customer and put his hands in the back of his head. To his surprise, it turned out that the guy wasn't there to have a coffee, but to rob the place. Somehow Ryan had managed to listen to the exchange between the cashier and the bandit, who had announced the robbery in a low murmur. Since they were in Lion's precinct’s jurisdiction, he was the one who took the bandit into custody, but Ryan insisted on supporting him, since he would have to report his own actions.

When Lion and his team were preparing to leave, Bianca approached them and shyly tried to talk to Ryan, but he acted very coldly and told her he had no idea who she was, then complained about her disrupting his work. She tried to make him remember that when they were very young, about a decade before, he had given her her first kiss and they had made out, a lot, during a trip in England. He had stared blankly at her and said that whoever she was, she hadn't been remotely remarkable to him, and should get “the fuck out” of his way.

Clearly feeling hurt, she walked away from him, but drove to the precinct with Lion, since the initial plan was for him to take her to college after their coffee. While she waited for the arrest to be processed, Ryan kept ignoring her existence completely, but the more she stared at him, the more she fell for him and fantasized about how they were perfect to each other, remembering that they had similar tastes and opinions, but especially remembering how kind and caring he had been by the time they were together, even if it only lasted a week or so. She had fallen head over heels for him during the time she had spent in his arms in Europe, and was feeling everything coming back at once, probably due to the side effects of recently breaking up with Simon.

When Belle asked how Lion knew all those details, he told her he had a hard time convincing her to let Ryan go when she had come back from her trip and it wasn't so different that second time. His sister confided in him about all her heartbreaks and, although he tried to be a good brother and support her, he didn't want her to even think about the dark eyed cop, let alone wanted to ever see them together.

He told Belle about how she had come back from Europe with hopes of meeting the boy again, and how he had helped in her unsuccessful quest to look for him in every social media. When Lion joined the NYPD, one year later, she pestered him for months, trying to convince him to investigate and give her Ryan's address and phone number.

-It was a pain in the ass, really. She was like: oh, nothing is gonna happen, no one would know, ‘cmon, you have a system for that, why can't you be a nice brother! -Lion rolled his eyes, but it was plain to see that he missed his sister a lot. -She gave me the cold shoulder for almost a year, and, when she turned eighteen, I told her she should give up, respect the boy's privacy and my job. I might've gone a bit too far when I told her she should be trying to find a job and a real man, instead of stalking fourteen years old boys. I never saw her cry so much, before or after that.

It was due to Bianca's heartache that Simon had approached Ryan and eventually became friends with him. The whole story sounded very confusing to Belle, but Lion didn't seem to find anything unusual in it.

Belle had lots of questions to ask, but their chat was rudely interrupted by the other knight who came in to check why Lion was taking so long to come back. He parted without giving any signs of acknowledging her presence and she pretended they had never shared a glance.

When Lion wasn't appointed to protect her, or couldn't come in without seeming suspicious, she would spend her time exploring every inch of her room, not only checking for cameras and wires, but also trying to find anything that could be used as a weapon, in case she really needed it, or a way to escape that place.

Her efforts were in vain, though. Daniel was careful not to leave anything with which she could harm herself. Even the mirror was made of plastic, not glass, and the maids would take back the knives as soon as she finished her meals.

Besides the door, which was guarded 24/7, the only way out would be a balcony, but it had bars all around it. Daniel had made a point of explaining that he had had it made that way solely for the purpose of stopping her from jumping down, saying that he knew the devil could tempt her into ending her life once it realized it wouldn't have a choice but to leave her body.

Although the bars gave a prison-like sensation, the sun had been surprisingly uplifting, even though before spending days without it in her cell, she had never really enjoyed being under it, so she got used to spending a couple of hours there, everyday.

Belle felt for those poor women who were away from the sunlight for too long. Vanessa had told her they were allowed to go out to a garden when Daniel came to select what he called “golden sheeps”, but she doubted a couple of hours every one or two months were enough.

She knew that the girls were subjected to blood tests periodically, probably to ensure they wouldn't carry some kind of sexual disease that could harm the reputation of the palace, so she guessed they also kept their other physical needs, like vitamins, in check.

Belle asked Lion about it, and he admitted that he tried to avoid at all costs knowing too much about the plates, since he often felt the urge to blow up his cover to intervene, especially when he saw a man abusing one of those women there. He explained it was tricky to keep clean of committing a crime undercover, especially in this situation, when he couldn't report back to the committee and ask for directions and help to arrest those people.

When Belle inquired about how they had come to end up without communication with the FBI and the police, Lion groaned and looked down.

-It's complicated… -He made a face that let her know that regret had already overcome any other feeling he could have about that subject. -In short, my mission was just to get a confession from one of Daniel's lieutenants and report back… But turns out they ordered me to kill the captain of Area 7 due to some arrests at Bronx 40th. Just the order would be enough to put those kids behind bars, but they didn't know a thing, so we'd only burn our chances to get to someone that was really worth our investments...

With the committee's permission, he pretended to execute the cop, who was taken under protection right away, but when he was on his way to report the success of his mission to one of Daniel's minions, he was forced at gunpoint to get inside a car, and when he realized there would be no turning back, he was already inside a jet with other men, landing a few hours later at the palace's private airport. They had stripped him and taken his phone, watch and clothes, giving him new ones. Fortunately, that night he wasn't wired, because they had an ambush planned for Daniel's men at the meeting point, but since he was taken far away from the place, the police couldn't have stopped them from taking him.

After getting visits from knights who certainly were completely loyal to Daniel for three days in a row, Bob finally made his first appearance.

He searched her room with much less attention than the others, never moving a single piece of furniture. Instead of focusing on his work, he occupied his time with asking Belle about her day, and checking if she needed something.

-Why is it Bob? -Belle blurted after a while.

-My codename? -He lifted one eyebrow, pulling up a chair to sit. -Why do you ask?

-It's just that the others have animal names: Lion, Coyote, Pelican, Raven, Wolf, Tiger… You're the only one who got a normal nickname…. I was curious. -She lifted one shoulder.

-It's Bobcat. But I hate it and people here get along with me, at least most of them do, so when I present myself as Bob, they usually call me that. Only that asshole and a few jerks call me Bobcat. -He made a face but smiled at the sight of Belle's eyes opening wide and turning her head immediately to check around them, as if someone could hear him cursing Daniel. -It's a stupid way of dehumanization, anyway. He thinks everyone here is dumb and doesn't know exactly what he's doing. But we do. Some of his followers do, too.

Belle had already concluded that calling the girls by numbers was a tactic to dehumanize them, making it easier for the men who abused them and kept them prisoners not to remember they were people with feelings, seeing them instead as numbers with no deeper meaning.

But now Bob was offering her a different point of view. She had thought the nicknames were meant solely to separate them into groups, like Lion had told her, and to hide their true identity from one another, in case there were moles. But it seemed like there was more to it. The guards, too, were being induced into not seeing one another as human beings. Thinking about that, she could only guess the intention was to keep them apart from each other, in a way that, in case Daniel needed them to turn their partner in or even help execute him, like it had been done to Coyote, there would be no room for empathy.

Bob also confirmed that the knights were divided in groups by their behavior during the recruiting tests, adding up to Lion's theory. When she asked how he knew that, he said he knew a guy that had taken part in one of the classification boards.

-You know the guy too, I know him by the codename Fox, but you probably know him as Corey. -He pointed out, picking one of the apples Daniel had brought to her that morning, and taking a big bite on it. Belle did her best to hide her change of mood. -Calm, rational, disciplined knights are most likely to be selected to the Feline's group. Violent, reckless, self-centered knights are set in Canine's group.

-What about the birds? -Belle tilted her head.

-Those are the ones Daniel fears might stray. The ones who show some weakness during the recruiting but were too deep already to be discarded. Or the ones he fears might turn against him. Of course he doesn't tell them or the others about it, but the message gets through and the other knights unconsciously keep an eye on them… He communicates like that, through dog whistles, making stupid speeches, criticizing through jokes, complimenting through rewards… -Bob tossed the stem and center of the apple inside the trash bin at the corner. -I believe that most of those who are made into Birds were lured by the money and some of the ideological speech rather than by the act of power… I think that, when the time comes, they will be the first branch to break and give in, I don't believe any of them will be willing to die to protect Daniel. Don't believe many will join us either.

He scratched his neck and creased his forehead, waiting for her to process the information.

-There's two other groups with which I hope you'll not have any contact with… The Primates and the Reptiles. -Bob grimaced. -The Primates are supposed to be the balance between smart and strong, but I'll tell you, Daniel lost control of it a long time ago. There are stupid guys there, really, daft as a brush. But since they are taught to think they are better than us, and Daniel treats them as if they were, they are dangerous. They might kill you, if they decide you didn't say good morning with the proper amount of respect, and will expect to get away with it. I thought they would take down the place without our help, by accident, by starting an inner war on their own. I'm still waiting.

-And the reptiles?

-Bodyguards. Usually Primates who outranked other Reptiles. This can happen, someone goes up, other comes down, between groups. -He smirked. -I like to think Felines are above Canines, but we don't know for sure. Fox was Primate and was downgraded to Feline when he failed to kill a cop, so… I guess I'm right.

He shut up when he saw her mood drop, although she guessed he didn't know why it had happened and she wouldn't tell. She decided to leave her anger toward Corey behind for now and keep her task of gathering information.

-What about the nurses? -She wanted to lead him into talking about Destiny, but didn't know how to do it without raising suspicions. -And the doctors? What about the cleaning staff and maintenance crew?

-Well, thank God, it's pretty hard to find nurses and doctors who share his ideals and are willing to go through the tests he requires to bring them here, so… He's short of them. -Bob smirked for emphasis. -Right now, he only has one doctor. He killed his other one.

Belle gasped. She had already thought it was disturbing that Daniel had killed Bill and Coyote, on top of Samantha and her baby, but now Bob was telling her as if it was the most natural thing in the world that Daniel had killed another person.

-Why did he do that? -She wanted a reason beyond the fact that Daniel was clearly mentally ill.

-To be honest, I would've killed that guy myself if I had had the opportunity. He was the one who planned and implemented the experiment with the babies. But when they started to lose babies, especially on the first few days after birth, Daniel got impatient and they had an argument. Things got ugly, and this was the chance for my boss to infiltrate a new doctor. -Bob shrugged. -Turns out it was obvious to anyone but those imbeciles that without breastfeeding at least during the first months, the babies would get weak and die. They also took time to realize that they needed more than just having their diapers changed and milk shoved down their throats… I don't believe it got a lot better, but at least our doctor is succeeding in keeping them alive. And the women too, but I don't have much to talk about them, really…

-Wait, are you saying that that old man who punctured my eyebrow is your friend? -Belle tilted her head. The man had treated her with a mechanical posture, as if he was a robot without any feelings.

-He's with us, but he's not my friend. -Bob frowned. -But, yeah, you can trust him. And Fox too, he's a cop, you know, so I wouldn't say he's a hundred percent trustworthy, but for our cause, he's good enough. And the man has quite a pair. He's gonna get on trial as soon as he completes his mission, if he lives till then… I wouldn't be surprised if he got on death roll. He commited crimes to gain Daniel's trust that will probably cost his badge and drag his ass to jail, in case he gets caught.

Belle didn't point out that Corey was no undercover cop, or that he was, in fact, someone who had directly betrayed Ryan's trust. She didn't yet know if she could trust Bob completely, and if he trusted Corey, it could be bad for her to get between them, so, instead, she just changed the subject and paid attention to every information he provided until he had to leave, also being careful not to say anything that could harm her in case Bob told Corey.

In his rare visits, Bob helped her understand why people obeyed Daniel. Most of those who had enough power to take him down were simply using him. Politics and judges were using his followers to re-elect through his influence, and, in exchange, make it easier for him to operate without much interference. Corruption schemes, involving millions of dollars, made it even more appealing for those women and men who were supposed to protect citizens from people like Daniel, through law and justice. Businessmen, entrepreneurs and investors were using his relationship with politicians and his mob manipulation skills to profit and direct their products to his public, becoming almost monopolies. Religious leaders were gathering worshipers who would blindly follow them and were also getting financial support for fast expansion.

But there were also more obscure motives, like the human traffic, that at first had beem exclusively meant for building a new generation, like an army with their ideals, but in reality became a sanctuary for macabre sexual entertainment. Bob had heard about a plan that it would eventually also serve for human organ's trafficking and other cruel purposes.

As days passed, Belle missed Ryan even more, and hearing stories about his past made her feel closer to him and she felt a bit less lonely when she talked about him. So whenever she found another excuse to ask Lion to come in, she would encourage him to talk.

-So you're older than Ryan. -Belle crouched to help him remove the rug, so he could check the floor under the bed.

-Yeah, four or five years. Why? Don't I look older than him? -Lion turned to check on her and raised an eyebrow. -It's been a while since the last time I saw him, but I remember he was a very good looking guy.

-He is. But I think he looks a bit older than his age, especially when he's grumpy… -She bit her lower lip, feeling a sting in her chest when she remembered the times Ryan shoved their age gap on her face. -But when he smiles or laughs, he looks younger, he looks my age.

The look Lion gave her was strange, as if he pitied her, but before she could ask him why he was staring at her like that, he nodded and looked down.

-I believe in you. Before we met, my mother met him and his sister. They were kind of friends… My mother was a nurse at the hospital where she stayed during her treatment. She told me the staff and doctors loved to watch them interact, that they both laughed and joked almost all the time. She also said the interns and younger nurses were all enchanted by him, because of the way he treated his sister, all kind and considerate. If I hadn't heard it directly from my own mother, I guess I wouldn't believe it. -He smiled. Belle creased her eyebrows. It was the first time she heard about Magda being hospitalized. Neither Ryan nor the psychologist had ever mentioned any health issues. When Lion noticed her confusion, he added cautiously. -I assume he told you about his brother's death… And about his sister's cancer? He told me about it, even though we've only met a couple of times, there's no way he wouldn't have shared that with you…

Belle just nodded and looked away, under the pretext of checking behind the curtains.

-When he told me about it, we were in a bar with Simon and a few other friends, it was about a year after I met him… I would guess it was five or four years ago. We were talking about dealing with death. My team had this horrible situation, a shooting in a school… He was there to check if there were connections with a terrorist group the JTTF was trying to track, although he didn't yet know that Daniel was the one who was leading it. We had to inform four parents about their kids and… He stepped in and dealt grandly with it, really, saved my ass. The man achieved the perfect balance between empathy and apathy. He didn't show any signs of weakness but said all the right words. -Belle listened to it with great interest. She had always thought of Ryan as someone that had no feelings for anyone alive but his parents, Magda and maybe herself. Hearing Lion tell her about him having empathy toward strangers who had lost their children made her love him even more. -And then, when I said I couldn't imagine a greater pain than losing your own son, he told me about his brother, and his fear about going through that again. But you must know about that better than me.

Belle pressed her lips and nodded. She didn't know. Ryan had never really talked about his brother's death in detail, much less about Magda facing cancer. She had fooled herself into believing that they were intimate, but in truth he hadn't really shared much about his past with her. He knew all there was to know about her. She knew only a small portion of him, the part he had allowed her to.

-It's funny to think about it… I hated him for a good part of my life. I thought he was a heartless scumbag. -Lion sighed, then quickly added at Belle's outraged expression. -Obviously I don't feel like that anymore, I respect and admire him a lot now. But he hurt my sister. Today she's fine, she is married and my nephew must be born already… Still, she was a mess by then.

Lion explained that the episode in Starbucks happened when Ryan was still in the NYPD, right before he was promoted to Sargent. They worked in different precincts, but had already bumped into each other during some joint training and events. He explained Ryan had an extraordinary reputation, because of his sharp mind, remarkable numbers and his exquisite networking skills.

-When it came to getting information, Desmond was insanely good. He would make a few calls and have someone looking into whatever we needed, and a few minutes later we would have an arrest without any room for doubt. He was also quick with planning and executing ambushes. He memorized numbers and images like no one else. -Lion sighed and shook his head. -My captain had his number on speed dial, as did the former Director. Everyone knew he had a temper, and he did have a few enmities, but I know it was a hell of a shock for anyone who ever worked with him, to learn about his death…

Belle looked down, afraid he could read something on her face. Lion grimaced and looked away.

-If the rumors are slightly true, I can only imagine how painful it must be to you, to talk about that, I'm sorry.

Belle felt half relieved, half guilty. It was nice to know that word hadn't spread, even among the policemen, about Roy being the one who had died in his place and that he had actually lived as her husband for almost an year, especially considering the possibility of some cops, like Corey, being so close to Daniel. It was good to get confirmation that not only didn't they know that Ryan was alive, but also had no clue about them being a couple for months.

Still, she was trying to conquer his trust and expecting to be able to trust him, starting their friendship based on a lie. Even then, she didn't have any intention of telling Lion the truth, even though it made her feel like she was betraying him.

-How did you get over your bad impression about Ryan? -She decided to take him back to the main subject. -And Simon, what about him?

Lion explained that after the Starbucks’ situation, his sister got really upset. Since they still met regularly with Simon, it didn't take long for Ryan's soon to be partner to get word about how he had treated his ex, so he too, as much as Lion, fed hatred toward him.

At first, when Simon was transferred to JTTF and learned through his new coworkers that the man had a fiancée, he guessed it had been an act of faithfulness to his lady, not a simple demonstration of disregard and disrespect toward Bianca.

He found it disturbing though, that the few times he heard the man mention his fiancée, mostly at the bar on the rare occasions the teams bumped into each other during free time, Ryan sounded like he was fed up with the woman. No one else seemed to feel like that was an issue. On the contrary, his teammates were absolutely savage when referring to her and Ryan would even intervene when things started to get out of hand, although to Simon it didn't really seem like his opinion would land too far from theirs.

-Besides, he was well known for being a bit too harsh, of course nothing that could really get him in trouble, but unnecessarily rude to most criminals he would bring in. He was never caught doing anything wrong, but people don't usually confess crimes so easily, we knew he had a method. -Lion raised an eyebrow. -We knew it was an unconventional and most likely morally questionable method. Maybe even illegal. But it worked, so no one really looked into it…

Belle nodded, but looked away. She remembered very well the night Ryan had confessed he had killed men and made it look like they had suicided.

-When Simon told me about all that, we were both a bit relieved that Bianca hadn't caught his attention. I had met his fiancée once, and she was absolutely gorgeous. She walked and acted like a model. It was hard to think that anyone in their right mind could be fed up with a girl like that. -His smile vanished when Belle made a face, and he rushed to explain himself, misinterpreting her reaction. -Don't get me wrong, you're beautiful, I'd say even as much as her, but she was more my type, you know?

Belle just shrugged, unable to tell him that she didn't care about his opinion on her appearance or Samantha's, but that every time she thought about the woman, the image she would see was a bony terrifying walking corpse with deep black eyes, not a gorgeous woman. Lion sighed and shook his head slightly, but resumed the story.

-Then, I guess less than one year later, Desmond joined the FBI and was almost immediately recommended to join the JTTF. Simon’s boss, Chief Riviera, had just assumed the team and was short in numbers, so when she heard that a man who had already been working with the NYPD team was available, she called Simon and asked about his impressions on agent Desmond. -Lion shrugged and raised his eyebrows. -She already had his stats, she knew he had what she was looking for in the professional field… She needed Simon’s opinion about scruple, moral, trustworthiness...

Belle pressed her lips. For what she had heard until then, she couldn't expect Simon to say anything good about Ryan to Sandra. Yet, Ryan had gotten the job, so, either her impressions were wrong, or something really unusual had happened.

-As I bet you can guess, Simon didn't think twice before telling her everything about how Desmond had treated Bianca and how he believed he treated his fiancée. He also told her about his worries that Desmond could have connections with organized crime and that he could be achieving his success through those connections. Still, Chief Riviera not only appointed him to the team, but also paired him with Simon. He was furious at first, but as they worked together, their bond became stronger than ours, really. I don't know what Desmond had, but… His friendships were solid. Riviera loved him, Simon loved him, it's something you don't see often.

-But what about your sister? Didn't Simon confront Ryan about it?

-He did. It's curious, actually… Desmond had no problem admitting that he knew very well who Bianca was and that he remembered everything they did and said in England. -Lion gave her a bitter smile and shook his head. -The son of a bitch thought it would be, quote, “easier for her to get over her platonic expectations” if she believed he was a, quote again, “complete asshole that didn't give a shit about her”.

Belle scoffed and shook her head too. It did sound like something Ryan would say or do. He had terrified her on the first night she had spent in his house, under the same pretext.

-He was a good man… -Lion sighed. -He deserved better than dying this way. He deserved better than getting caught in this situation. And someone told me he believed Daniel was the one who killed his fiancée, in person. Desmond had to deal with all sorts of accusations, from arranging her murder to being inept in preventing it from happening. That monster needs to be stopped. I hope I live to see him and his followers pay for all they did.

They fell in silence, both nodding their heads slightly. Belle could have told him the truth, that Ryan was alive and that she was eager to help him send Daniel and his followers to prison, but there was no reason to take that risk. She needed to be rational, she needed to think before every move and make sure that everything she did had a motive and was worth the risk for a greater gain.

She was not a defenseless child. This time she was gonna be patient and careful, but bold. There would be no more uncalculated moves like the one that had led her to being kidnapped. She would do things smart. She would do things the way Ryan would.

 

Tqqqqq for update
But a lot of information.. Im getting nervous..i know long story to come but really interesting to have this for a while.. Way to go keep it up

 

I love long chapters
Poor Belle she has no idea about Agatha’s existence and assumed that Lion was referring to Magda when he spoke about Ryan’s sister.
It’s a tough realization for Belle to know that the intimacy she shared with Ryan was mostly physical , heck even his work buddies seem to know about Agatha!
It will be interesting to see how Belle will react if and when he will be more open with her. I hope that we won’t have to wait too longer before they reunite.

 

I remember that ryan want to open about himself to belle..so after all the chaos i hope they will reunite and ryan will tell her everything. And agatha seem to like belle too. But waiting for ryan and team to ambush daniel palace seem to be loooong journey cuz now already 4 month..gosh poor belle..hope she strong enough and ryan too

 

Dear readers,
I was wondering... Is it clear that the first chapter happens after those events that I'm narrating from there on?
I mean, did I manage to illustrate that it's a flashback of sorts? =.

 

I think i understand a bit..but scare to admit about belle getting sick..im sad but no worries im just really into it..a lot of thing to reveal yet. Waiting in patient..i hope other have their opinion too

 

I miss you gibro

 

So far we know that lion's against Daniel. But in some paragraphs you're making us doubt if lion's actually on Belle's side or just trynna win her trust to plot against her. Like when he got selected more often to protect her and the chapter starts with him gaining belles trust after visiting her multiple times. Him spending more time with her without being doubted. Him not knowing about Ryan's existence.
Another doubt I have is why didn't Corey tell on Ryan. If Corey was one of Daniel's minion or even fact that he betrayed Ryan is enough for him to tell on Ryan right?? So is Corey trynna stand on both ships at a time?? And Bob did say that Corey is someone they could trust in this mission right. So this might sound super out of the plot but what if Corey has his personal grudge against Daniel just like Ryan. And got into Daniels trustworthy group by betraying Ryan??
I might be overthinking this

 

That's sweet =) I miss you too

If you're overthinking, Belle is, too. If you're not, then you both have plenty of reasons to think like that. =.

 

What does that mean?

 

That Belle is afraid, she doesn't know who she can trust, and she's trying to hold on to hopes that Ryan will find her soon and that she'll be able to help him.

Lion is friendly, but he that can mean both sides of it (trying to fool her or really being friendly), he is coming often and apparently not raising any suspicion (so either he's being protected by a friend or by an enemy), and then about Lion not knowing that Ryan is alive, he could just have been brought to the palace before the truth got to him, or the WPP required that nothing was revealed to the ones who didn't know it already, it wasn't explained yet).

Almost the same goes for Bob. He's also coming in and apparently not raising suspicions, and seems to be even more carefree about it than Lion. He's also an ally of someone Belle believes is an enemy (Corey).

Corey is the real Schrödinger cat here. He certainly haven't revealed about Ryan being alive or being with Belle, that's obvious. But why? So here's the thing: is Corey really against Daniel? If so, did he really betray NYPD and Ryan as Lion said and Ryan believed all along? And why does Daniel trust him as a right hand if that's not the case?

The first rule applies here: Belle will believe anything, either because she fears that it's true (like that everyone or some people are trying to fool her or are enemies) or because she wants too much for it to be true (that they are her allies and want to help her).

We'll only know if it's right or wrong to trust them or not to trust them when her decisions have consequences.

 

It’s clear that these are flashbacks for Belle. At the start of Book 3 Belle has been in captivity anywhere between 2 and 4 months. She also seems to have lost any hope of Ryan finding her. So if she is thinking that Lion or Bob are potential allies, either they were discovered, or they betrayed her or they haven’t found a way to help her. Physically she is in bad shape and time is starting to run out for her health. We haven’t had much of Ryan’s POV except for the chapter with Agatha.
Regarding Bob and Corey, they seem to be allies so are these the “two best men” that Riviera referred to in the meeting at the end of Book 2?
Question for our author @GiBro, did Ryan meet Bianca before or after Louise and when will we get more of Ryan’s POV? Also when will we know more about the ring box that Ryan kept in his study? I recall the author saying that it was central to the plot of Book 3? Will we also find out more about Ryan’s and Agatha’s father?

 

Perfect =)
About the two best men, the director names them both on the meeting chapter, and Bob isn't a policeman or agent, he's one of Vincenzo's men.
Ryan met Bianca before Louise. Ryan was either twelve or thirteen, while Bianca was between sixteen and seventeen. When Ryan met Louise for the first time, he was fourteen.
It's interesting that I just wrote about the ring yesterday =P it will take a while for the plot around it to enroll though.
I believe that everything that has to be said about Ryan's biological father will be said from middle to end of book three.

This book might become bigger than I was expecting =( there are plots I thought I would take one or two chapters to close but are taking more than that.

 

Wow its really exciting..i cant wait for next chapter

 

If you manage to print this book i really hope it will combine all the info thats its not in pov or chapter. It is ok?
And have an epilogue of ryan and belle

 

I'm sorry, I didn't get what you mean =\ you mean mixing Ryan's POV with the books? Ryan's sidestory would be released in a separated book.
I could add an appendix with the "calendar" and additional thoughts about the characters, but I don't know if it would be so interesting =.

 

Ooo..maybe i think about the info that is not in pov that you mention in thread. But i love all the info to be in the chapter of the book or pov. Tq

 

The bigger the better! Can’t seem to get enough of Belle and Ryan

 

I keep reading to ease..i know its hurt

 

Unfortunately the next chapters are going to be a tough read. But I trust our dear author @GiBro and the process.