Chapter 20
The moment Maxim entered his parent’s mansion with Sienna at his side, his mother was upon him. She rushed to him, looking distraught, with tears shining in her eyes. “Max! It’s terrible. So awful!” He moved to hug her, knowing that her distress was genuine, and feeling vaguely guilty about what was happening.
In his mother’s mind, his guilt was anything but vague. She allowed him the briefest of hugs, and then, abruptly, pushed him away. “This is your doing! This is on you!”
“Moi?How could I be responsible for her leaving, when I was an ocean away?”
“Exactement!”she said heatedly. “That is precisely what I am saying. If you had been here, fulfilling your duty, she would never have—”
“Huimin.” Max’s father, Olivier, interrupted. He had been standing inside the foyer, used to the knowledge that his wife must have her say before anyone else spoke.
He was tall and dark-haired, with the same angular face as Max. Though he was in his early fifties, his temples had been touched by only a sprinkling of silver. He laid a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder, trying to minimize or even deflect her ire. “The boy has just arrived. At least, let him and his companion come in.”
Huimin pinched her lips together and stepped aside, but Max knew that the conversation was far from over.
Olivier had an easy smile and made no effort to disguise the fact that he was happy to see his son. “Max!”
“Papa,” he said, and hugged him hard. It had been months since they’d seen each other in the flesh, even though they spoke frequently on the phone. They parted, but smiled at each other in clear affection.
Max remembered his manners and introduced Sienna to his father, adding, “Maman, you have already met her—”
“I know,” she snapped. “I am only surprised that even after I spoke to you about her, you have chosen to continue your pursuit. And you have brought her into our home! How could you?”
“Sienna is with me, and she is therefore welcome in my home,” he reminded her. He gave Sienna a look that he hoped was reassuring. The pained, uncomfortable expression on her face made him feel bad. He desperately wished there was a way to put her at ease.
His mother huffed. “I’m blaming her for this dilemma. If you hadn’t spent so much time sniffing around her—”
“Stop!” Olivier said firmly, without even raising his voice. “I will not have you speaking like this to a guest.”
“Our grandchild is missing Olivier, because of what Max has done. What if we never see him? What if we never get to hold him?” She glared from Max to Sienna. “I can tell you now, your brother would never have done such a thing!”
That blow was low, visceral, but not unexpected. He had never had any doubt as to which son had been his mother’s favorite, and which she secretly hoped she had lost. But to have Sienna dragged into this made it so much worse.
Max was torn between respect for his mother and the need to set the record straight—not to mention protect Sienna from the arrows that had darkened the sky, all headed in her direction. But before he could say any more, Sienna spoke up.
“Madame Lavigne, Monsieur Lavigne, I am deeply sorry about what has happened, and I pray that you will find the child safe and sound. I pray that he will come back to you.” Her hands were clasped in front of her, as if she was attempting to maintain control, to soothe herself. “But I am not culpable for the actions of another human being. I do not accept any blame for Éloïse’s actions.”
Brava,Max thought, even as his mother fought back a response. His father stroked her shoulder comfortingly, a tactile reminder to maintain control.
He decided it was time they all behaved like rational adults. So, he headed deeper into the mansion, leading them towards his mother’s favorite drawing room. Maybe she would find some comfort there.
“Tell me, Maman, what do you know about this? How did this happen?”
She pouted, but seemed to realize that the only way to solve the problem was to share information. “I saw her last at breakfast two days ago. She said she wanted to get an early start on shopping, and that I shouldn’t fuss if she came in late as she planned to spend the day at the malls.”
“Bought herself some time there,” Max murmured.
His mother made a regretful face. “Yes, she did. When she didn’t come back by late evening, I began phoning, but her phone was off. I called our head of security, and the police. They have conducted their investigations and have determined that she boarded a flight for London almost as soon as she left the house.”
Max and his father exchanged glances, and then he groaned. He knew without asking, and from the memory of the agreement he had signed along with Éloïse, his brother and Anna, that there was often an opt-out clause in the contract of surrogacy. As an act of kindness, surrogates were allowed a very small window of opportunity to change their minds. For the sake of their mental health, they had the option to choose to keep the child they had borne, regardless of the provenance of the genetic material.
In other words: “Nothing we can do,” he murmured.
“Don’t say that!” His mother began crying again, lifting her head only to glare daggers at Sienna, once again making it clear she knew where the blame lay.
Sienna didn’t look away, but held the hostile look with calm neutrality. Max was proud of her; he knew it wasn’t easy to stand firm in the glare of his mother’s ire.
“I promise you I will do everything in my power. I will speak with security and take advantage of all of our family’s contacts. It is late and we’ve had a long flight, so Sienna and I are going to our hotel room for some rest. Tomorrow, we begin our quest.”