“He’s not violent, if that’s what you’re asking. He’s never hit me. He’s just...” She trails off, searching for the right word. “Cold. Dismissive. But that’s not dangerous.”
No, it’s not. But it’s still not okay. I grip the steering wheel, trying to figure out how to say what I need to say without sounding like I’m attacking her.
“Julia. I need to ask you something, and I need you to really think about it before you answer.”
She glances up, expression wary. “Okay.”
“After the pups are born, if you’re going to be in their lives, that means Richard could potentially have access to them, too. Even indirectly, by influencing your presence.” I force myself to meet her gaze. “Are you comfortable with that?”
“Richard doesn’t want anything to do with them. That was the whole point of the contract. He just wants them kept off his doorstep.”
“I know that’s what he said. But things change. People change. And I need to know that my pups will be safe.”
“They will be,” she snaps, but then her irritation immediately softens. “I mean, I would never let anyone hurt our babies. Anyway, other than his reputation, Richard only cares about two things: his business and his kids. As long as Molly and Samantha are doing well, he’s satisfied. He won’t bother with ours.”
I stare at the fogged windshield, my gut churning. I’ve been carrying this weight for weeks now, ever since Ben handed me that envelope. I told myself I wouldn’t use it unless I had to. That it wasn’t my place to poison Julia against her husband.
But now she’s planning to be in our pups’ lives after the birth. That changes everything.
“There’s something I need to show you,” I say quietly. “And I’m sorry, I should have done this sooner.”
I reach over our lunch into the back seat and grab the manila envelope that I tossed in there the day that Ben gave it to me. I don’t know why I didn’t take it inside. Maybe I was hoping I’d never need to use it. I hand it to her.
“What is this?”
“You know how my older brothers own a security firm? When Ben found out about our unique situation, he used his work connections and ran some background checks on you and your family. To be clear, I didn’t know he was doing it and he shouldn’t have done it. But this is what he found on Richard.”
Julia’s face goes slightly pale. She doesn’t open the envelope right away, just holds it gingerly, like it might bite her.
“I’m not trying to hurt you, and I’m not trying to turn you against him,” I say quickly. “But you need to know the truth about who he is and what he’s involved in. Because if there’s even a chance that it could affect our pups...”
She opens the envelope. I watch her face as she scans through the material. What begins as confusion gives way to disbelief. The disbelief then hardens into something fearful. She flips through page after page, hands trembling.
“This can’t be right,” she whispers. “I mean, I knew he had another life in Pittsburgh. An apartment. A woman.” Her voice is hollow. “I knew about the affairs. I’m not stupid. But this says he’s been laundering money through his company. That he has connections to organized crime and bribes government officials so he can break the law. Is this true?”
“Ben is good at his job. He wouldn’t put anything in the file that he didn’t verify himself.I’m sorry,” I say, and I mean it. Whatever I think of Richard, whatever he’s done, he’s still her husband of twenty-plus years. The father of her children. Finding out the full scope of his bad behavior has to be devastating.
But when she finally looks up at me, she doesn’t look devastated. She looks furious.
“I didn’t know,” she says, her voice shaking. “I swear to god, Ian, I had no idea he was involved with people like this. I thought he was just a selfish asshole, not an actual criminal. If I had known, I never would have dragged you into my mess. I never would have put you at risk. Or our babies.”
“Hey.” I reach for her hand. “This isn’t your fault.”
“Isn’t it? I married him. I stood by him. I made excuses for him for twenty years.” She laughs bitterly. “God, I’m such an idiot.”
I hate hearing her talk about herself like that. “You’re not an idiot. You’re someone who kept her promises. Who tried to make things work for her family.” I squeeze her fingers and let her hand drop. “I’m only showing you this because I want to protect you… all of you.”
She stares at the file for a long moment, then shakes her head and shoves it back into the envelope like she can’t stand to look at it anymore.
“I’m going to tell him when he comes home for Thanksgiving.”
“Tell him what?” I can hardly process what she’s saying.
“That I want a divorce. I was going to wait until the babies were born to even think about it, but I need to do it now. It’s been hard enough coping with his coldness now that I know what it’s like to be...” She trails off, searching for the right word. “Cared for.”
Loved. Loved is what she was going to say. What she’s scared to acknowledge.
“I’ll get your room ready,” I say instantly. “My brothers and I can have you moved out in a day.”
