Chapter 5
Chapter Five
M itch was only twelve hundred words into the day’s work when his phone rang. He checked the screen. He didn’t recognize the number at first, then he realized it was the attorney, Peter Looper. Mitch quickly answered. “Hello?”
“Mitchell Ripley?”
“Yes, this is he. Peter, right?”
“That’s right. From Barnes, Looper, and Strauss. I’m glad we were able to connect so quickly.”
“So am I.”
“This isn’t going to be easy, Mitchell. I want to be upfront about that.”
“Call me Mitch, please. Why isn’t it going to be easy?”
“Ms. Keeler is claiming that your son abducted her daughter.”
Mitch’s blood turned to ice in his veins. “You’ve got to be kidding me. That’s a lie. She kicked them out.”
“We know that. But it’s her word against his at this point and courts often favor the mother.”
Mitch’s stomach roiled with an ill feeling. “What do we do? How do we fight her? Is this going to be a long, drawn-out thing? Will she be able to take Ruthie away from us?”
“We fight her through the courts. Yes, it could take some time. The courts don’t move at the speed we’d like, unfortunately. I don’t believe she’ll be able to take Ruthie away from your son at this point, but if she gets a court order, that could change.”
This wasn’t good enough. This wasn’t the result he wanted. “There has to be another way.”
“Legally, this is the way, Mitch. I’m sure it’s not what you want, but we’re bound by law to go about these things in a certain way.”
“Are we, though?” He was no longer thinking with his head. His heart had taken over. His desire to protect his son and his granddaughter was paramount. They would not lose Ruthie. “What about a settlement?”
Peter seemed to hesitate before responding. “There hasn’t been any request on her behalf—”
“I don’t care. I’m saying let’s offer her money in exchange for sole custody. Addison didn’t even want to have the baby. She wanted nothing to do with Ruthie. Didn’t lift a finger to take care of her after she was born.” Mitch sat back in his chair, a head of steam motivating him. “Everyone has a price, Peter. I know Addison does. Fame and money are the two things she craves most. You can see that for yourself on her social media.”
Another few moments of silence. “You’re talking about buying a baby, Mr. Ripley. That’s not the kind of business we engage in.”
“I am not talking about buying a baby. I’m talking about settling with Addison for whatever amount it takes to get her to agree to Kyle having sole custody.”
“I’ll have to discuss this with my associates. I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Peter hung up.
Mitch tossed his phone on the desk, frustrated. He stood up and strode to the windows, putting his hands on his hips as he glared out. He didn’t know why he was so angry. He’d known in his heart this was going to be a fight.
He had to tell Kyle. Hiding any of this from him would serve no purpose. Kyle needed to know what he was up against. Especially if Addison decided to go public with this. Things would get ugly very fast if she did that.
Mitch felt like punching something. Instead, he sighed and leaned his head against the glass. He stayed that way for half a minute or so, thinking, then he straightened and went to find Kyle.
He was in his room, the door slightly open. He was at the desk, sitting in front of his laptop, working away.
Mitch rapped his knuckles on the door. “Hey.”
Kyle turned. “Hey.”
Mitch stepped into the room. “Sorry to interrupt, but I just talked to the attorney.”
“And?” Kyle’s eyes were bright with anticipation.
Mitch shook his head. “It’s not great news. Addison is claiming you abducted Ruthie.”
Kyle paled. “What? That’s not true. She kicked us out. How can she lie like that? Never mind, I know how. I swear it’s not true.”
“I know it’s not. She knows it’s not. But she’s decided to make things hard.”
“What do we do? Is she going to try to take Ruthie?”
Mitch tried to stay calm, for Kyle’s sake. “What we’re going to do is fight.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “As for Addison taking Ruthie, I don’t see how she can. I believe this is all a ruse to get money out of me.”
“Has she asked for any?”
“Not yet. But I think she will. Soon. Has she contacted you?”
“I’m not sure.” Kyle glanced at his laptop. “I’ve got WorkMode software running and my phone’s on airplane mode so I wouldn’t be distracted while I worked. Let me check.” He grabbed his phone, tapped the screen a few times, then shook his head. “Nothing yet.”
“Check her social media. See if she’s said anything there.”
More screen tapping and some swiping. “No, nothing there, either.”
Mitch took a deep breath, then let it out. “I suggested to the attorney that we go straight to the settlement, offer her some money, and he accused me of trying to buy a baby. We might need a new attorney.”
“We need a shark,” Kyle muttered. “Because Addison is clearly out for blood.”
“Seems that way.” Mitch rubbed the back of his neck, thinking about what the next best step was. “You don’t have any documentation of Addison not wanting the baby or refusing to help with her or anything like that, do you?”
Kyle squinted like he was thinking. “I might have some texts. I’m not sure. I can look through them. Do you think they’ll help?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. But if we end up before a judge, having proof that she didn’t want Ruthie and didn’t want to take care of her, or that she told you to take Ruthie and leave, that would go a long way in our favor.”
“Should I text her now? Ask her why she said I abducted Ruthie?”
“No. I don’t think you should have any contact with her just yet. Not until I talk to the lawyer again. Or find a new one. We need to be careful. I don’t want to give her anything she can use against you.”
“All I want is Ruthie safe and secure, here with us.”
Mitch nodded. “So do I. We’ll get there. I just need to figure out how to do that, so we never have to worry about Addison ever again.”
“I’ll go through my texts and my emails, see if I have anything useful.”
“Okay. That’s a good start.” Mitch looked at Kyle’s laptop screen. He was working on his book, Cold Blue Murder , polishing it to send off to Lucinda, Mitch’s agent. “How are the revisions coming?”
“Good. I should be done in a day or so. Maybe sooner. I’ve gotten into a pretty good rhythm.”
“You and Ruthie going to be all right here by yourselves this afternoon?”
“Yeah, no problem.” Kyle narrowed his eyes in obvious skepticism. “Are you really going to adopt a dog?”
“I don’t know. Do you think I shouldn’t?”
“No, I think it’s a great idea. Be good for you. Dogs are great. And I think Ruthie will love it.”
Mitch smiled. “I think so, too. It’ll be good for her to grow up with an animal.”
He just hoped she was here to have that experience.