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Theo’s thumb stills on the screen. For a moment he doesn’t say anything, then he lets out a slow breath that sounds almost like a laugh, except there’s no humor in it.

“Jesus Christ.”

“Mate?” Caleb asks. “You okay?”

“There’s an article in The Correspondent,” Theo mutters. “About my father’s…” He trails off and shakes his head. “About a child.” He passes his phone to Caleb.

“A child?” Caleb frowns. “Whose child? You never said anything about that.”

“Because I didn’t know.” Theo’s voice is ominously calm, but the hand that had been holding his phone is shaking. I want to walk over, to hold him, but this is his family. I barely know them.

I feel so awkward, watching it all unravel.

“The child is his, the dirty bastard.” Penelope’s voice wobbles as she glares at her husband.

Caleb looks up from the phone. “There’s a part about company money being misappropriated to pay child support.” He lets out a low breath and looks at Theo. “Did you know about this?”

Theo shakes his head.

“Fuck,” Caleb murmurs.

They exchange glances. They both know how serious this is. I do, too. Embezzlement. Lies. The Hunt Hotel may not be a public company, but they still have rules.

“Nobody said anything about a child,” Alex splutters. “Saskia should have known.” He looks at Theo. “This is your fault.”

“How is it Theo’s fault?” I ask, then immediately regret it when everybody turns to look at me.

Alex glares at me. “Because,” he says, slowing his voice like I’m five years old, “Theo is the CEO of the company. He signs everything off. And if he signed off on this, he’s the one who’ll be arrested for it.”

Theo doesn’t look at me. He’s staring at the floor like he’s trying to think through his next move.

Oh god, they’re going to make him the fall guy. I can feel it.

“Theo?” I say, trying to find the right words. Because this isn’t his fault. It just isn’t. I wish we’d left when he’d suggested we run. I wish we’d never come here.

More than anything, I wish he’d look at me.

Caleb does though. His lips are pressed so tightly together they look blanched. I grimace back at him imploringly. What the hell can we do?

He shakes his head at me like he has no idea.

“I don’t know why you’re even here,” Alex says to me. “This is a family matter. And you’re not family.”

The words land like a slap, but I try not to show it.

Caleb straightens, coming beside me. “Easy mate,” he says quietly. “Georgia is a guest here, remember?”

“Yeah, but she’s not being helpful. And quite frankly, I think she should go.” Alex lifts a brow at me. “We don’t even know her. And I for one am very uncomfortable having strangers in here finding out all the family secrets.”

Theo frowns at him. “Shut the hell up. She’s here because I asked her to be here. And you’ll be polite to the woman I care about.”

His mother looks up. Her bravado has melted, replaced by teary eyes and red cheeks. “Maybe he’s right, Theo,” she murmurs. “We have a lot to talk about. And…” She gestures at me. “I’m sure Georgia doesn’t want to hear it.”

Theo’s jaw twitches. When he finally looks at me, it takes me a moment to understand his expression. He looks embarrassed. And he shouldn’t be, because none of this is his fault.

Kate pushes herself away from the bookcase with an elegant little sigh.

“Oh honestly,” she says, her voice light. “This is all getting a bit overdramatic, even for my liking.” She crosses the room and rests a hand briefly on Alex’s arm, whispering something in his ear. Then she looks up at Theo. “Maybe your mother is right, though. I’m sure Georgia and Caleb don’t want to be in here while we air all this dirty laundry.” Her smile is sympathetic when she looks at me. “This is hardly their problem.”