I swear to god if he was calling to tell me that nothing could be done and that I just needed to suck it up and move on with my life, I was going to lose it.
In fact, I might go nuclear.
“This is Avery.”
He wasted no time getting into it. “There’s a lot I’m going to tell you. Are you home?”
My heart squeezed. Not even bothering with a formal introduction... that wasn’t a good sign. Glancing over at Brandon, I said, “Not at the moment.”
“Get in your car and go over there. Now.”
“Hold on.” Putting him on mute, I grabbed Brandon by the arm and hauled him up to his feet. He didn’t question me at all, only tucked himself back into his pants and followed me out as I quickly jogged down the hall and into the main lobby of his shop.
I barely heard him spout off some lie to one of the guys manning the front of the shop before he darted after me, ducking under my arm as I held the door open for him and led him out tomy car. The second we were both buckled in and I had my phone hooked up to the bluetooth, I tapped he mute icon again.
“Go ahead, Ted.”
On the other end of the phone, he breathed out a short sigh and then his tone grew clipped. “Looked into those files you dropped off about Ana. Something stuck out to me when I was reading through them. The timestamps seemed off. After digging a bit deeper, I discovered the paternity test had been done a week before our meeting and before you requested them from her.”
Okay... not exactly abnormal. Ana could’ve already suspected I’d want something like that from her, especially having never met me before this. Fighting me on it during our meeting could’ve been her way to test my boundaries—to see how hard set I was in them and to tell where she could possibly skirt the line.
That wasn’t screaming guilty.
“So,” Ted continued. “I requested the video footage from the clinic of the day she went in for the test. Alexander Steele was with her.”
That was weird. Why bring your lawyer to a private and personal matter like that? To prove the legitimacy?
Blinking a few times, I said, “You’re sure?”
“It’s him.”
My hands tightened around my steering wheel. “I’m assuming you’re bringing this up for a reason?”
“I don’t know who they paid to forge the documents but it’s not your father’s baby, Avery.”
I wanted to believe—I wanted to let myself hope. But what solid proof was there outside of video footage of them at a local clinic? “How do you know?”
“They were seen kissing outside in the parking lot. My team dug into Ana and from what we can gather, she and Steele have been dating for a while.”
“For eight months?”
“We’re not sure yet. I’ve requested an emergency hearing with the judge to determine the legitimacy of their claims on the paternity test. The marriage licensewaslegitimized, so there’s no question that she was married to your father before his death, but that isn’t his baby.”
It wasn’t until I felt Brandon tug on one of my arms to peel my hand away from the steering wheel and wrap his hand around my own that I realized how badly I was shaking. From anger? Adrenaline? I couldn't tell.
She was a fucking scam artist. A talented one at that, getting a lawyer in her pocket and possibly impregnating her while still being married to my father? Diabolical.
How long had this scheme been in the making? Was she targeting my father for long or had he simply stumbled into her web at a convenient time?
Ana struck me as an opportunist to her very core. If Steele was in on this with her, he was just as much of a scumbag.
“Steele called my office this morning and told me his client would be over at your estate later today,” Ted said. “I’m not sure for what but I’m guessing they got a judge to sign off on something. The paperwork hasn’t come through for us yet. That’s why I need you over there.”
“Shit,” I mumbled. “I’m about twenty minutes out.”
“I’ll be heading down shortly. Let me know when you get there. We may have to call the authorities to get them off the property.”
I squeezed Brandon’s hand tightly. I was so glad I decided to swing by to bug him on his lunch break instead of lying around at home all day until he got done with his shift. If he wasn’there with me, I wasn’t sure how the hell I’d be able to stay levelheaded. “I’ll let you know what I run into when I get there.”
