“We were good together once,” Todd continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “We built something special. We had real chemistry in the kitchen. I made mistakes, Isabella. I know that. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for leaving the way I did.”
Isabella studied his face, looking for genuine remorse and finding only practiced sincerity. “You’re not sorry you left,” she said quietly. “You’re sorry you need something from me. Get to the point.”
Something flickered in Todd’s expression. Annoyance maybe, or respect that she’d seen through him so quickly. He sighed and dropped the nostalgic act.
“Okay, yes. I need help.” He ran a hand through his hair, and she noticed his watch looked expensive. Designer suit too. Whatever financial trouble he was in, he was still spending money on appearances. “My new restaurants are failing, and I’m deep in debt to some serious investors. They’re threatening legal action. I need money to get out from under this.”
“And you thought you’d come to me?” Isabella couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice. “I work as a cook, Todd. I raise our daughter alone. There’s no extra money sitting around.”
“It would just be temporary,” Todd said, leaning forward with that earnest expression he used to use when he wanted something. “Just enough to get me clear of the immediate debts. I’d pay you back, obviously. With interest. As soon as I get the next restaurant profitable.”
“I don’t have money to give you,” Isabella repeated,her voice level and firm. “Even if I wanted to help you, which I don’t, I couldn’t.”
Todd’s expression shifted again, and Isabella saw the calculation in his eyes. “But you have the house. Your grandmother’s house. Prime beachfront property on Anastasia Island. That’s worth a lot.”
Ice ran through Isabella’s veins. “What are you talking about?”
“You could sell it,” Todd said, as if it were the most reasonable suggestion in the world. “Then split the proceeds with me. It would give me the fresh start I need, and you could buy something smaller inland. Still nice, just more affordable. You don’t need a beachfront property.”
The anger that flared in Isabella’s chest was so hot and sudden it took her breath away. “You want me to sell my home? The house my grandmother left me? Where I’m raising Maddy? So you can pay off debts from your failed restaurants?”
“It’s not just for me,” Todd said quickly. “Think about Maddy. If you helped me get back on my feet, I could be a real father to her. Be in her life. Provide for her properly.” He leaned forward, his eyes intense. “She deserves to have her father in her life.”
“She deserved to have her father in her life twelve years ago when you walked out,” Isabella said, her voice shaking with fury she could barely contain. “She deserved to have her father at every birthday you missed. Every first day of school. Every night she cried herself to sleep, asking why her daddy didn’t love her.”
Todd’s mask slipped, and she saw something harder underneath. Desperation. Maybe even a hint of cruelty. “Look, I need that money, Isabella. Those investors aren’t playing around. They’ll come after everything I have. I need a way out, and you’re the only option I have left.”
“Why should your financial failures be my problem?” Isabella demanded. “You made your choices. You walked away from us. You don’t get to come back now and demand I bail you out.”
“I signed away rights to Maddy, that you asked me to sign away,” Todd said, and his voice got harder, colder. “A court might see that differently if I challenged it. If I claimed you coerced me into signing. If I said I want custody now.”
Ice ran through Isabella’s veins, freezing her in place. “You can’t do that. You have no legal standing.”
“Lawyers can make anything look however I want it to look,” Todd said, leaning back with a confidence that made Isabella want to throw her water glass at him. “Court battles are expensive, Isabella. Long. Stressful. Even if you won eventually, would it be worth putting Maddy through that? Having social workers interview her? Having to explain to her friends why her parents are fighting in court? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just help me out?”
The realization hit Isabella like a physical blow. This was extortion. He was threatening to drag Maddy through a custody battle he knew he’d lose, just to force Isabella to give him money. He knew she’d pay anything, do anything, to protect Maddy fromthat trauma.
Her hands clenched into fists under the table. “No.”
Todd blinked. “What?”
“No,” Isabella repeated, and her voice shook but stayed steady. “I won’t sell my house. I won’t give you money. And if you try to file for custody, my lawyer will destroy you in court.”
Todd’s face flushed red, anger replacing the fake charm. “Your lawyer? You don’t have money for a lawyer.”
“I have avery goodlawyer,” Isabella told him, thinking of Charlie sitting in the car down the street, recording every word of this conversation. “One who’ll make sure the court knows exactly why you’re doing this. For money. Not because you care about Maddy.”
Todd leaned across the table, close enough that Isabella could smell the coffee on his breath. “You’re making a mistake. I’m giving you a chance to do this the easy way. Don’t make me do this the hard way.”
Isabella stood up, her legs shaking but holding her weight. She looked down at Todd, at this man she’d once loved, and felt nothing but contempt. “We’re done here. Don’t contact me again. Any further communication goes through my attorney.”
She turned and walked toward the door, keeping her spine straight and her head high even though her entire body was trembling. She could feel Todd’s eyes on her back, burning with anger and frustration. The distance to the door felt like miles, but she made it. Pushed through into the afternoon sunlight.
Her legs nearly gave out the moment she was outside. She leaned against the building’s exterior wall, trying to catch her breath, trying to stop the shaking that had taken over her entire body.
Within seconds, Charlie was beside her. “You did great,” Charlie said, her arm coming around Isabella’s shoulders, supporting her weight. “You got everything we needed. Let’s get you out of here.”
Christopher appeared from the other direction, his longer strides eating up the distance between them. He took one look at Isabella’s face and pulled her into his arms without a word. “You’re safe. It’s over.”
