I read that line again.
Low risk for boundary violations.
Dr. Beaumont had been wrong.
Because if Amai was sending his personal physician to her mama’s house at midnight, if he was beating her ex-husband in the street, if he was hand-delivering contracts and giving her fifty thousand in cash—then the boundaries were already gone. It was all in his notes.
Amai just didn’t know it yet.
Or maybe he did. Maybe that’s why he was so careful. Why he kept her at arm’s length even while pulling her closer. My dad told me that before he dropped the bomb that my sperm would be used too.
I flipped to the next section—financial records.
Truth made $14.50 an hour at the nursing home. Worked doubles when she could. Her bank account had little money in it the day she applied for the surrogacy. Rent was $0 because she lived with her mama. But she had credit card debt—$8,400 spread across three cards, all maxed out. Medical bills from an ER visit last year—$2,100, sent to collections. A car loan she’dco-signed with Phillip that he’d stopped paying after the divorce—$340/month that she couldn’t afford.
She was drowning.
And Amai had thrown her a lifeline worth $250,000.
But here’s what Amai missed:
Truth wasn’t just desperate for money. She was desperate forvalidation.For someone to see her as more than the woman Phillip had discarded. More than the CNA wiping down old people. More than the broke girl living in her mama’s house at twenty-seven.
Amai saw her resilience. Her strength. Her ability to survive.
But I saw the cracks.
Truth Renois wanted to be chosen.
And Amai had chosen her—but only as a surrogate. Only as a womb. Only as a means to an end.
That had to sting.
I closed the folder and set it back on the desk exactly where I’d found it.
My mind was already working.
Syx’s voice echoed from the living room—still loud, still distracted.
I had time.
I pulled out my phone and opened a new note.
Plan:
Find out where she goes. Magnolia Gardens is the obvious place, but that’s too direct. Too obvious. Amai would hear about it.
Use Syx? No. Syx talks too much. He’d tell Amai within a day, maybe less.
Orchestrate a “chance” meeting. Somewhere public. Somewhere she feels safe. Coffee shop? Grocery store? Somewhere she goes regularly but Amai doesn’t monitor.
Don’t come on too strong. She’s been burned by Phillip. She’ll be cautious. But she’s also lonely. Craving connection. Craving someone who sees her.
Be everything Amai isn’t. Warm. Open. Interested inher,not just what she can give me.
I stared at the list.
This wasn’t about the baby. Not really.
