Chapter 19
HUNTER
My insides are a wreck, but I need my brother to help me with the mess I have on my hands.
Jonah slides out from the backseat of my car. “I knew I shouldn’t have gone to that goodbye party.”
“It seems to me you wanted to go. Why else would you have Melanie’s favorite appetizer brought in?” I open the front door of my apartment complex.
Jonah follows. “I care about her, but that doesn’t mean I should hang out with her. She only rips my heart in two every time I do.”
“Then the good news is you won’t ever have to see her again after tonight.”
“Sadly, that’s not what I want.” He hangs his head as we step onto the elevator.
I hit the button to my floor, and we ascend. “You have it bad for her, don’t you, little brother?”
He rests against the wall. “I don’t even know how it happened. It’s like that first night I was with her, something opened up.”
“That’s one way of phrasing it.” My mind goes back to the night .
We were decorating the Christmas tree. A twinge of agony vibrates in my chest.
It wasn’t that long ago, yet it feels like an eternity. I thought I was getting my life in order, but now it’s like a puzzle that hasn’t been put together. All the pieces I need are there, but I have no clue how to get them in the right place.
The elevator doors open to my floor. I motion for Jonah to go first. “Do you think you’ll try to see Melanie before she leaves?”
“No. It would’ve happened tonight if I was going to get my shot. After that dickwad hit Dori, Melanie couldn’t focus on anything except making sure her best friend was okay.”
“Don’t be surprised. Those two are as thick as thieves.”
Jonah smirks in annoyance. “Dori had Jamison, so Melanie didn’t need to be stuck to her side.”
A stabbing pain jabs at my heart. I open my front door and go inside while trying to think of anything other than Dorothy and Jamison being together.
Jonah makes himself at home and marches behind the bar to fix us drinks. “Why did you ask me over tonight?”
My skin heats. “I need to talk to you.”
“I got that much, but why couldn’t we have had this discussion at the party?”
“It wasn’t the time or place.” I slide onto a stool on the other side of the bar.
Jonah pours us both a scotch. “Sounds serious.”
“It is.” I wait for him to pass my drink to me, then drain my glass in one swallow. “The paternity tests came back.”
Jonah stops what he’s doing and slowly nods. “And the results aren’t what you thought they’d be.”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand how I can be this baby’s father. It doesn’t add up.”
“The results really say you’re the dad?”
“They do.” I shove my glass back to him .
He pours me more and slides it back to me. “What are you going to do now?”
“I thought I’d have a chance of getting the board to change their minds about Dorothy, then when the tests proved I wasn’t the father, I could win her back.”
“But now?”
I wade through memories of the last year. Dorothy and I were strong in the beginning, despite being in a secret relationship. Everything changed when Jamison came on board. I knew in my gut something was transpiring between them.
Looking back on it, I wish I would’ve believed in our relationship and never ordered those damn video links. None of this would be happening if I hadn’t.
My stomach rolls. “I don’t see how that happens now that she’s thinking of moving to Miami, and Isabella will be singing from the trees she’s pregnant with Hunter Efron’s child. Hell, it will probably be front-page news by tomorrow morning.”
“Shit, Hunter. I’m sorry.”
“How did we go from owning the world on New Year’s Eve to this?”
“Things took a drastic change when Jamison got shot.” Jonah rests against the back bar.
“Do you think Dorothy would stay here if the board overturned the ruling?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. The way she stares at Jamison is like a woman deeply in love.”
My throat narrows. “I know. I saw it for myself tonight. She doted on him like he’d break if she left his side.”
Jonah takes a pull of his drink. He studies me for a beat while I try to find any hope that I can win Dorothy back.
“Don’t sugarcoat it, Jonah. Have you ever seen her look at me like that?”
“I can’t say I have, but I didn’t see you together until those two weeks over our break. Most of that time, she was mourning the loss of Jamison.”
I release a heavy sigh.
Was she ever really mine?
He tosses an apologetic gaze my way and then juts out his chin. “Do you think whoever shot Jamison could be someone her brother knows, or was that something you said to raise doubts in their heads?”
“I’ve considered it.” The letter I sent to our mother comes to mind. “If our mother takes the bait and comes out here to confront me, I’ll have my answer.”
“I still can’t believe you did that.”
“If Dorothy’s in danger, I need to put a stop to it.” I spin off my stool and trudge toward the window. “Let’s just hope I don’t get killed in the process.”
Jonah joins me by my side. “I don’t think our mom wants you dead.”
“No, she just wants my child.” I sit on the couch and run my hand down my face.
My chest cavity fills with iron and causes my heart to pound harder.
How did my life get so screwed up?
I was doing everything to right my wrongs, but I’m in no better situation than before. Actually, it’s worse.
Jonah sits beside me. He places his drink on the coffee table and rests against the arm of the couch.
“Now that you know this kid Isabella is carrying is yours, what’s your plan?”
I pull in a heavy breath. “I have no idea.”
“Do you want to be a part of its life?”
“I don’t know, but the thought of Isabella raising my child is enough for me to want to fight.”
“For?”
“For its safety. For it to have a parent who isn’t a gold digger.” I run my hand through my hair and scoot against the other side of the sofa.
“Those are valid concerns.”
“Maybe if I can show Dorothy I can be a good father and get her job reinstated, I’ll have a chance to win her back.”
Jonah reaches for his drink. “Don’t get involved with this baby if you’re using it as a way to win Dori’s love. It’s not fair to the kid.”
Is that what I would be doing?
The answer is a big fat yes.
I sigh. “You’re right. Besides, how can I love something I never wanted?”
Jonah analyzes me for a moment before taking a sip of his scotch. “Let me give you something to chew on before you decide.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Our mother left us, and we both know how shitty that feels. Our dad raised us and has stood by us throughout our lives. Decide who you want to be like for your kid and go from there.”
In a second, I know my choice. “Fuck, if you didn’t just hit me in the face with a two-by-four.”
“Be a good man, Hunter, and do the right thing by your child. Otherwise, you’re no better than the woman who birthed us.”
I look Jonah square in the eyes. “Do you think I’m a bad person for giving up my first kid?”
“No. You were twenty years old and having an affair with an older married woman. What you did then was the most responsible choice you could’ve made, but this time is different.”
“Other than the mother being married, how is it different?”
“You’re dealing with a woman you know nothing about. Don’t play games with your child’s life and hope for the best. Give this baby a fighting chance.”
I get up to retrieve my scotch. “What if being involved with me is the worst thing for this kid?”
“Hunter, give yourself some credit. You’re going to be a good father. You just need to get used to the idea.” Jonah follows me to the bar area. “Have you thought about what you’re going to tell Dori?”
“No. If I tell her, there’s no way she’ll come back to me.”
“The only way you get her back is if she’s working at Efron Worldwide.” He stands on the other side of the bar. “With Jamison living in Miami and Dori thinking about moving with him, it’s your only hope.”
“I know. It’s all a mess. Even if she comes back to work for us, she doesn’t want to be a part of Isabella’s life. And I can’t blame her.”
Jonah scratches the back of his head. “Take one thing at a time.”
“I’m trying, but I need your advice on something else.” I top off our drinks. “Ava told me something about her agreement with our mother.”
“You mean there’s more?”
“A lot more. I went to confront her about the betting chip to see if I could figure out if Jamison was the target of our mother’s wrath or if it was Dorothy.”
“And?”
“She told me that the baby portion of their agreement included a payment to Ava in exchange for her handing the baby over to our mother.”
“How much?”
“One hundred million.”
His jaw drops. “For your kid?”
“Yes, but now that Ava’s out of the picture, I think Isabella is working with our mother. ”
Jonah thinks about something for a moment. “Isabella turned in the pictures of you and Dori, so I don’t doubt you.”
“Do you think they have the same agreement that Ava did?”
He shrugs. “Most likely.”
I gesture to the space across from the bar. Jonah nods, so we move over there and settle in the chairs as my thoughts spin out of control.
He sits across from me. “I can’t say I envy you.”
My insides wrench down. “Help me figure out why Isabella would tell me the baby she’s carrying is mine just so she can turn around and sell it to our mother. Why involve me at all?”
Jonah runs his hand over his chin. “I don’t know. Nothing about it makes sense.”
“That’s my problem. I’m missing something huge. I feel like it’s in front of my face, but I can’t see it. I already have a son our mother wants no one to know about.”
“I have to admit, that part baffles me the most.”
“The entire situation has me confused. She wants Dorothy out of the picture. That’s about all I know.”
“I get that, but why? What’s Dori got to do with this?”
I take a moment to run through all the details. The pictures the board saw come to mind.
My brow furrows. “Our mother has to be working with Isabella, which makes me believe she knows Isabella’s pregnant with my kid.”
“Agreed.”
I release a growl. “Why does this baby feel like the key to everything?”
“I think that’s the wrong question.”
“Then what’s the right one? Help me out because I’m so far out of my league here. I don’t know what’s up or down anymore.”
He studies me for a moment. “My advice is to focus on these two questions. What does our mother want this baby for? And how does Dori being involved with you hinder that?”
I place my drink down and stare up at the ceiling.
At a loss, I puff out a frustrated breath and gaze at Jonah. “Did you know Dad stayed in contact with our mom after she left us?”
“No way.” Jonah leans in closer. “Tell me everything.”
“For ten years after she left, they would meet whenever he was in Europe and reunite. Dad told me this went on until one day she up and disappeared.”
“What happened that caused that?”
I think back, and something pegs me between my eyes. My heart pounds harder. I pull my phone out of my pocket and look up Ava’s number as Jonah sips his drink. I hit the call button and wait for it to connect.
It rings twice. “Hello, Hunter. Why are you calling at this hour on a Friday night?”
“I need you to answer a question I just thought of.” I glance at Jonah with excitement bubbling in my chest.
Ava sighs. “Hunter, I already told you everything. I’m not hiding anything. I promise.”
“That’s not why I’m calling. I was wondering about the first time my mother summoned you to France.”
“What about it?”
“Had you ever visited her before?”
“No. Like I told you, when Helena got pregnant, your mother made me visit her and pulled me into her twisted web.”
I roll my eyes. “Well, you were blackmailing me, so she didn’t pull you in. She just created a bigger one.”
“Are you ever going to forgive me for that?”
“I will if you can help.”
“What else do I need to do?” Her tone is almost annoyed.
“Did you ever meet her at a different location?”
“Nope. I was always taken straight to her place. ”
“Ava, think back. Was there anything about where she lived that could point to it being a new place, or did it seem like she had lived there for years?”
She breathes heavily as she pauses for a second.
“I don’t know if this means anything or if it can help, but the first time I visited, she had decorators coming and going.
She was redoing their entire chateau. They even redid the room I was staying in.
It was like she needed to change all the decor. ”
“And that was the only house you went to when you saw her over the years?”
“Yes.”
I nod. “Thanks, Ava. That helps.”
“Really? How?”
“I wasn’t sure if she moved around. From the sounds of it, she stayed in one place.”
“She’s never moved since I’ve known her.”
“Ava, I’ve got to go, but thanks again.”
We say goodnight and I hang up.
Jonah sits back and raises his brows. “Well?”
“Ava said our mom hasn’t moved since she’s known her. Dad said she up and disappeared ten years after she left us.”
“So?”
“I was twenty at the time. If I’m getting the details right, it seems our mother must have disappeared about the same time I got Helena pregnant. One more piece of the puzzle.”
“That not much to go on.”
My chest opens up and I breathe easier. “I know, but for the first time since this started, I feel like I might be able to figure this out.”
“The problem is, will you be able to before someone else gets hurt?”