Surprise Delivery(89)

But, the conviction in his face when he said it – no, he knows.

“How in the hell can you possibly know who Aurora’s father is?”

He chuckles softly. “When you have the sort of money I do, you’ll find that there isn’t much I can’t have – including supposedly private information,” he smirks. “You think I don’t have eyes and ears at St. Francis?”

I look at him, utterly horrified that he knows as much as he does. If he figured this out, what else is he willing to use against me? To me, it’s just one more example of the danger I’m in, as far as having Aurora taken from me.

Because of his wealth, Henry can make sure Duncan’s name is never officially put on the birth record, leaving my daughter to grow up without a legal father. Because of his wealth, he can access private information that’s not supposed to be available to the public. And because of his wealth, what can I do if Duncan opts to sever ties with me and take Aurora?

Nothing. About all I can do in that situation is sit back and let it happen. Up against somebody with unlimited resources, I will lose every single time. No matter how much fight or moxie I have in me, I can’t afford to wage the kind of legal war that would be required to take on a man like Duncan Clyburne and come out on the winning side of the battle.

“You bastard,” I say softly. “You unimaginable bastard.”

He shrugs it off and smirks at me. “Wealth has its privileges and its advantages,” he says. “You’d do well to remember that.”

“As if I could ever forget it,” I snap.

“Good, then you’re under no illusions about what I can and can’t do.”

“You can’t tell him,” I say. “You just can’t. He doesn’t know.”

“Oh, I know he doesn’t. And shame on you for not telling him,” Henry sneers. “But you can believe me when I say that your secret will be very safe with me so long as you abide by the terms of our arrangement.”

My head is spinning, and everything suddenly feels absolutely surreal. I feel like I’m walking through a nightmare and I can’t wake up from it.

“W – what arrangement?” I ask.

Henry opens up his briefcase and takes out a stack of papers. Closing the case again, he sets the papers down and taps his finger on them, looking at me the entire time.

“I took the liberty of having my lawyers draft up this document. It’s all full of legalese – half of which, I don’t even understand. But you don’t need to concern yourself with all that anyway,” he says. “The upshot is that in exchange for you leaving town and taking the baby with you, for you getting out of Duncan’s life – permanently – you will receive one million dollars up front. And you will receive ten thousand dollars in child support payments every month until Aurora turns eighteen. You will also be set up somewhere else. In a location of your choosing. A home will be leased for you and your child – you’ll both be quite comfortable, I assure you.”

I stare at the man in stunned disbelief. I cannot believe he’s actually offering to pay me off to turn my back on Duncan – Aurora’s father – and never see or speak to him again.

“This deal is contingent upon you breaking off all contact with Duncan,” he says. “And never contacting him again. If you fail to hold up your end of the bargain, there will, of course, be legal ramifications.”

He taps the contract with his finger again to emphasize his point.

“This contract is fully legally binding, Alexis,” he says. “So, if you choose to sign it, then violate the terms of it, you will face serious repercussions.”

There is such a complex stew of emotions swirling around inside of me that I can’t make heads or tails of anything. I just can’t believe any of this is really happening. Who does this? Who pays somebody off to stay out of their brother’s life? What kind of a cold, unfeeling, manipulative, and controlling bastard do you have to be to do something like this?

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Henry clucks. “That’s where you’re looking at this all wrong, Alexis. I’m not doing this to you, I’m doing this for Duncan.”

“I don’t understand.”

Henry lets out a long breath. “My brother listens to his heart more than he should,” he says. “It leads him to make some very bad decisions –”

“Oh, and I’m a bad decision?”

He shrugs. “Let’s see, my brother falls for an unemployed single mother, who lacks an education or any sort of social refinement? It’s not exactly the best decision he can make.”

“You son of a bitch,” I whisper.

“I have to be a son of a bitch, Alexis,” he says. “Protecting my family’s name and our legacy is my job. And that job includes making some difficult decisions.”

“Yeah, this doesn’t seem all that difficult for you.”

“Well, some decisions are easier than others, I will admit,” he tells me. “Look, this has nothing to do with you, per se. You’re a beautiful woman. Stunning, really. And I’m sure you’ll be a terrific mother to your daughter. You just don’t quite fit in with our – social station. I’m sorry if that sounds offensive or insensitive, but it’s just the facts. It’s just the way of the world.”