Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Evan kept his promise to give Abby space. He did not call the following morning, appear at her apartment, or use Sadie to ask how long she intended to remain angry.
His only message arrived shortly after nine. He told Abby that his attorney had received a request for the photographs attached to Hudson’s petition and asked whether she authorized their legal teams to share information directly.
Abby answered yes. Evan acknowledged the permission, then left the conversation there.
The restraint should have made thinking easier. Instead, Abby noticed every hour in which she did not hear his voice and every ordinary moment she would normally have shared with him.
At lunch, the baby pushed one foot beneath Abby’s ribs hard enough to make her gasp.
Abby reached for her phone before remembering that they were not speaking.
She sent the photograph of her distorted stomach to Sadie instead.
Her sister replied that the baby appeared to be attempting an escape through the wrong exit, which made Abby smile despite herself.
The article had spread beyond the local business site by afternoon. A second publication repeated Hudson’s allegations and added that Evan’s company was seeking a major investment while its founder faced questions about his personal conduct and potential ethics violations.
Abby’s attorney advised her not to read the comments. She followed that instruction until a coworker sent her a screenshot of someone calling Evan an opportunist who had attached himself to a wealthy family dispute.
The description would have been absurd before the hospital rollout. Now that Evan’s work had become visible, strangers could place ambition at the center of every choice he made.
Abby closed the message and returned to the contract on her screen. She lasted eleven minutes before walking into the restroom, locking herself inside a stall, and pressing both hands over her face.
She was still angry with Evan. The anger did not make it easier to watch Hudson distort his character or threaten the company he had built long before Abby became part of his life.
Her phone rang while she stood at the sink washing cold water over her wrists. Her attorney’s name appeared on the screen.
“Has something else been published?” Abby asked after she answered. “I stopped checking an hour ago.”
“Makayla Kessler is in my office.” Her attorney lowered his voice. “She brought a phone, a laptop, and several recordings she says concern Hudson’s petition and the articles.”
Abby gripped the edge of the sink. “Did she tell you what’s on them?”
“Hudson’s messages with the person who supplied information to the reporter.” He paused as a door closed near him. “There may also be evidence that he deliberately contacted members of Evan’s board and misrepresented the relationship timeline.”
“How did she get it?” Abby asked as she looked at her reflection beneath the bright restroom lights. “Hudson doesn’t leave his phone unlocked.”
“She says the laptop belongs to her, and his messages synchronized to it after he used the computer last week.” Her attorney’s tone became more careful. “Makayla wants to speak to you before she signs a statement.”
“Why?” Abby took a paper towel from the dispenser and dried her hands. “Telling the truth shouldn’t depend on whether I meet with her.”
“I said the same thing.” Her attorney released a quiet breath. “She agreed to provide the evidence regardless, but she believes you should hear one of the recordings before we give it to Evan’s legal team.”
Abby thought of Makayla in the library courtyard, wearing a hotel uniform and defending a man she no longer seemed able to respect. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
Makayla sat at the end of the conference table with both hands wrapped around a paper cup of water. A laptop, two phones, and a thick envelope were arranged in front of her.
She had changed out of her hotel uniform but still wore the same flat shoes Abby remembered. Her hair had been pulled back hastily, and a fading bruise darkened the inside of her forearm.
Abby stopped when she saw it. “Did Hudson do that?”
Makayla glanced down and pulled her sleeve over the mark. “He grabbed me when I tried to take the computer.”
“Have you reported it?” Abby asked as she remained beside the empty chair. “You need to photograph that before it fades.”
“Your attorney already did.” Makayla looked toward the door to the adjoining office. “He offered to call the police, but I haven’t decided yet.”
Abby sat across from her. “Why did Hudson use your laptop?”
“He sold his.” Makayla rubbed one thumb against the cup’s paper seam. “He said he needed the money for an attorney, though Julia is still paying the lawyer handling the paternity case.”
“Julia knows about the filing?” Abby asked as disappointment moved through her. “She told me she supported whatever boundaries I needed.”
“She knows he wants his paternity established.” Makayla shook her head. “He didn’t show her the petition before it was filed, and she refused to pay after she read what he said about you. Hudson’s been telling everyone his mother approved because she paid the first retainer.”
Abby looked at the laptop. “Show me what you found.”
Makayla opened a folder containing dozens of screenshots. “He used my computer to log into his messages because he dropped his phone in the sink. I heard notifications after he went to bed and thought he was talking to another woman.”
“Were you looking for proof he was contacting me?” Abby asked as Makayla selected the first image. “You knew he had been trying.”
“I knew about the letters.” Makayla’s mouth tightened. “He said they were required for the custody case because he had to prove he tried to preserve the family. I wanted to believe him.”
The screenshot showed a conversation between Hudson and a public-relations consultant who had once worked for the Covington company. Hudson instructed the consultant to emphasize Evan’s violence, Abby’s pregnancy, and the timing of the two broken engagements.
Leave Makayla out unless they ask, Hudson had written. She distracts from the story. The useful version is that McDermott assaulted me and moved in on Abby while she was vulnerable.
Another message contained the name of the reporter who published the first article. The consultant confirmed that the reporter was willing to receive the court filing before it appeared in the public database.
“Hudson leaked his own petition,” Abby said as she scrolled through the exchange. “He filed it so the allegations would look official.”
“He wrote most of it before he hired the attorney.” Makayla pushed the thick envelope toward Abby. “Those are drafts he printed at the hotel business center. I found them in our apartment.”
Abby did not touch the envelope. “How did he know Evan’s board had advised him not to discuss our relationship?”
Makayla opened another screenshot. The consultant had sent the allegations to three people connected to Evan’s funding round, describing the matter as information they should consider before investing.
One of the recipients forwarded the message to Evan’s board and told the consultant that the company would follow its attorney’s advice. Several hours later, the consultant wrote that Evan had agreed not to comment publicly for forty-eight hours.
“The recipient was trying to warn the board,” Makayla said as Abby read the chain. “Hudson’s consultant treated the answer as inside information and sent it back to him.”
“Then Hudson emailed me before Evan could explain.” Abby sat back in the chair. “He created the pressure, waited for Evan to react to it, and used the reaction against us.”
“That was the plan.” Makayla turned one of the phones over but did not unlock it. “He thought you would end the relationship if Evan seemed ashamed of you.”
Abby looked at her. “Did Hudson say that, or are you guessing?”
“He said it.” Makayla placed the phone between them. “I started recording our arguments after I lost my job. He kept changing what he had said, and I needed proof that I wasn’t imagining it.”
She pressed the screen, and Hudson’s voice entered the room. The sound quality was uneven, with running water and dishes moving beneath his words.
“Abby doesn’t tolerate humiliation,” he said on the recording. “She’ll forgive almost anything if you let her believe it was done for her, but she won’t stay where she thinks people are embarrassed by her.”
Makayla’s recorded voice asked what would happen if Abby defended Evan. Hudson laughed and said Abby had never defended anyone once public embarrassment became involved.
The claim was false, yet Abby understood why he believed it. Hudson had mistaken her objections to his cruelty and public scenes for fear of being judged.
On the recording, Makayla accused him of trying to recover Abby because he wanted access to the baby and his parents’ approval. Hudson denied wanting Abby back, then contradicted himself within the next sentence.
“I want the life I was supposed to have,” he said. “Abby comes with that life. She’ll remember that once McDermott chooses his company over her.”
Makayla stopped the recording. Her fingers shook as she placed the phone on the table.
“There’s more,” she said as she looked at the cup in front of her. “The next part is about me.”
“I don’t need to hear him insult you.” Abby pushed the phone back several inches. “I already know how he speaks about you when you aren’t there.”
“You need to hear what he intended to tell the court.” Makayla pressed the screen again before Abby could object. “It affects the affair timeline.”
Hudson’s voice returned. He said that if the petition created questions about the hotel, he would claim Makayla had pursued him for years and manipulated him by threatening to expose private messages.