“She has no interest in him, and he’s the most adorable little boy. He has brought immense joy into my life, and I don’t see how anyone could fail to love him.”
“Does he have any health issues or problems because of the drugs she took during pregnancy?” I ask.
“He was underweight when he was born, and he didn’t speak until he was three, and then he had a slight speech impediment. He attended speech therapy for a year, and his speech is fine now. Although, he’s a quiet boy who doesn’t talk a lot. He’s been evaluated by child psychologists and mental health professionals, and there was no long-lasting damage, thank God.” Tears well in her eyes. “He doesn’t deserve any of this, and I’m so worried what it will do to him if this comes out.”
“It seems Reeve and Saffron were well suited after all,” Dillon growls, crossing his hands at the back of his head. “Both of them were selfish cunts.”
His reaction is perfectly understandable to me, but I can’t work out how I feel. “I don’t know what to feel. What to think,” I admit. “I had no idea Reeve did this or that he was carrying this secret all the years of our marriage.” I wonder did I ever truly know him at all, because the man I loved would never give up his own flesh and blood. I feel sick thinking he did that for me.
“Why didn’t Saffron say anything after Reeve died? She had a perfect opportunity to sell her story then, and it would have hurt Vivien the most.” Dillon flops down on the couch beside me. “What don’t we know?”
“Reeve’s attorney sent her a reminder of the NDA, which is intact until she dies. Reeve left clear instructions that if she breached the terms his estate would sue her for the full financial penalty. He suspected she would do this, and he planned for every eventuality.” She drinks the last of her water. “Her name isn’t on Bodhi’s birth certificate. Travis and I are listed as the bio parents. I’m not sure how Reeve made that happen, but I know he was worried about someone finding it at a future point and outing the truth.”
“Wow. He really thought of fucking everything, didn’t he?” Dillon fumes. “I wonder what else he was hiding, seeing as he was such a master at covering his tracks.”
Acid crawls up my throat, and I wrap my arms around myself.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that,” she says.
“Are you sure?” Dillon eyes her warily. “He seems to have confided a lot in you.”
“That was about Bodhi because we both had a vested interest.”
“Saffron is going to be a problem,” I say, knowing her silence will not last long, NDA or not. I might not know how I feel, but I know I don’t want this coming out in the media. It will drag everything to the surface again, and I need to protect Easton.
Bodhi needs protection too.
“Saffron is an addict. All she cares about is her next fix. She showed up at my house a few months ago, saying she was going to sell her story because she needed the money. I panicked because I didn’t want this coming out now.” She hangs her head, exhaling heavily.
“How much did you give the junkie whore?” Dillon asks.
Shame is etched upon her face when she lifts her head. “Ten thousand, but I know she’ll be back for more.”
“Why didn’t you go to Carson Park?” I ask.
“I did afterward when I calmed down. He told me if she comes back looking for more to call him and he’ll deal with her.”
I thought I had left Saffron Roberts in the past, but it seems she refuses to play dead. I still don’t know why Lori is here, and I need to find out ASAP because I would like her to go so I can talk to Dillon about this. I need to talk to Alex too. If he knew about this and said nothing, there will be hell to pay. That will be the end of our friendship, awkward and all as it would be.
“Do you need money?” I ask. “Is that why you’re here?”
She balks, and I think I’ve offended her.
“I continue to receive the generous monthly child allowance from Reeve’s estate, and my ex is still paying alimony under the terms of our divorce. This isn’t about money.”
I make a mental note to rip Carson Park’s head off his shoulders for hiding this from me. I’m sure he’ll pull the “client-attorney confidentiality” line, but how the fuck could he have kept quiet about this?
“You’re not well,” I surmise.
She shifts uneasily on the couch. “I have terminal cancer. It was only diagnosed a month ago, but my condition is deteriorating rapidly, and I’ve only been given a few months to live.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” I say.
She knots her hands in an anxious trait. “I have no one else to turn to. Travis lives in the UK with his new wife, and he refuses to take him. I don’t really want to send him overseas anyway. He’s a sensitive little boy, and this is going to devastate him.”
“What exactly are you asking us to do?” Dillon asks, sitting forward, placing his arm on my lower back.
“Bodhi is your son’s cousin, and he’s your nephew,” she says, turning pleading eyes on Dillon and then me. “I know your feelings toward Saffron, and I know this is hard for you, Vivien, but he’s your husband’s flesh and blood, and he’s an amazing kid. So intelligent and compassionate and caring.” She sits up, taking my hands. “Please, Vivien. I’m begging you. Please agree to take Bodhi.”