“Emily!”
Her laughter rings off the tiles, neon sign flickering overhead.
Just then her phone beeps with a notification.
She frowns, glances down, then freezes mid-sip. Her glass hovers halfway to her lips. “Oh. My. God.”
“What?” I ask, instantly on alert. “What happened? Is it Leo? Your mom? Your date with—”
She shoves the phone toward me. “No. It’s your guy.”
I squint at the screen. A banner notification blares from Jake Armstrong’s blog:“Jake Armstrong Exclusive: Bastard Billionaire Baby Max Donovan”
The blood drains from my face so fast I feel it. “What is this?”
Emily’s already tapping into the article, her thumb moving fast. “I set up alerts, remember? In case there was another PR stunt or weird paparazzi moment. But this? This is—holy crap, Nora. This ishuge.”
She skims the first paragraph and lets out a low whistle. “Jake claims to have official documents. Birth records. Apparently, Max Donovan isn’t just a rockstar. He’s the illegitimate son ofLawrence Westwood.”
I blink. “The billionaire media tycoon?”
Emily nods slowly, eyes wide. “Yep. The same Lawrence Westwood who owns half the music industry, most of the tabloids, and, oh yeah,Westwood Mediaitself.”
My brain short-circuits.
Max never said a word about this—not even a hint. Then again, we haven’t really talked about our families yet.
I sink back, my drink forgotten.
One thing’s for sure: I need to talk to Max.
18
MAX
Jake’s Scoop
Jake Armstrong Exclusive: Bastard Billionaire Baby Max DonovanBy Jake Armstrong for The Backbeat Blog
In a twist worthy of a chart-topping power ballad,The Backbeat Bloghas uncovered exclusive documents that suggest Max Donovan—enigmatic frontman of the alt-rock sensationStorm & Silence—is the secret son of media tycoon Lawrence Westwood.
Yes,thatWestwood. The billionaire head ofWestwood Media, a man who’s made (and buried) stars with the stroke of a pen.
According to birth records obtained from a private clinic in upstate New York, Max Donovan—whose full birth name is Maxwell Damien Archer Donovan—was born to Fiona Donovan, a once-rising jazz singer with a smoky voice and a rebellious streak. The father listed on the document?Lawrence Westwood.
But here’s where things get even juicier.
Fiona Donovan had a well-rumored but never-confirmed affair with Lawrence Westwood in the late '90s. At the time, Westwood was already married with two children and a reputation to protect. Shortlyafter the affair made tabloid headlines, Fiona disappeared from the spotlight entirely—no tours, no music, no interviews.
Now we know why.
Sources close to the Donovan family confirm Fiona raised Max entirely on her own, without a single cent of child support from Westwood. In fact, insiders claim she actively rejected any connection to the media empire and refused hush money more than once. One former neighbor toldThe Backbeat Blog, “Fiona didn’t want her son growing up as a pawn in some billionaire’s PR game. She was fiercely protective. Max was her whole world.”
Max Donovan has never commented publicly on his father. Despite his meteoric rise withStorm & Silence, he’s remained deliberately private about his upbringing, famously once saying in a Rolling Stone interview, “I was raised on vinyl, not privilege.”
And it tracks—Donovan’s entire image has been built on grit, rebellion, and a deep disdain for corporate puppeteering. If this scoop holds, it could explain the intensity behind his lyrics and his refusal to play nice with the press.
The documents also suggest that Fiona Donovan never legally pursued financial support. Which raises some uncomfortable questions:
