Sammy’s laughter and endless chatter filled the rooms, and I realized how lonely my house had been before she was here. Aside from music, I lived a solitary life. I began to long for the end of the day, knowing what waited for me when I walked in the door. There was no longer only silence and hours to fill with my own company.
Instead, there was a little girl who could hardly wait to be hugged and tell me about her day, and her beautiful mother who greeted me with a kiss and filled the house with the delicious scent of dinner. My parents often joined us. So did Elly. There were lazy evenings filled with games and movies. Quiet moments of reading to Mouse and watching her fall asleep. Having Liv beside me at night. Playing my guitar to help her relax. Making love to her every chance I got. It would have been perfect except for the toll the situation was taking on Liv.
She tried to hide it, but she couldn’t. She barely slept, and her appetite was minimal. She was pale and wan-looking, her cheeks sunken from the weight she was losing. She tried so hard to keep things normal for Sammy and only broke down when we were alone. I often found her in the bathroom, weeping into a towel, trying to hide her fears even from me. I would gather her into my arms and carry her to our bed and love her until she forgot everything, lost to the passion we had between us. But it only lasted briefly, and I knew she would slip from our bed and watch Mouse sleep, pace the house endlessly, and worry while I lay alone, unable to relax and sleep until she crawled back into our bed in the early hours of the morning, her body curling around mine for warmth. Only then did we doze fitfully until Sammy would bound in a short time later, wanting her morning cuddles.
For the first time ever, I found myself short-tempered at work, easy to rile, and fast to criticize. More than once, I had to walk away from things when I realized how fast I was losing control. The lack of sleep and worry were eating at me, and I felt helpless. Watching Liv fall apart was killing me slowly.
Things came to a head when Hal informed Liv that Nolan had filed the paperwork to have his rights reinstated and was asking for immediate visitation. Luckily, Hal had the visitation request struck down until the judge could review all the paperwork and meet with both sides. It bought us some time, but I had a feeling it was running out.
I sighed, my head falling back as I waited for Reid, Hal, and Liv to arrive. We were having another meeting, so that we could all get on the same page, and I had arrived at the office early, waiting in the boardroom. I startled as I felt the touch on my arm, my eyes flying open. Sandy was there, holding a cup of coffee.
“You look as if you could use this.”
“Thanks.”
She offered me a smile. “You are going to get through this and be stronger, Van.”
“At what cost?” I asked. “Liv is about ready to collapse and I’m losing ground every day.” I ran a hand through my hair. “Dealing with Nolan daily is a strain.” Even with our limited contact, he managed to get under my skin with his offhand comments and snide remarks.
“Worrying over Liv is killing me. Thinking of Nolan spending time with Mouse makes me ill.” I shook my head. “I wish I knew the why behind it. Then we could figure out how to stop it.”
Reid walked in, laptop in hand. “I may have the answer to that question.”
Sandy bent close, patting my cheek in her motherly fashion. “This is going to work out, Van. You have too many people working on it for it not to happen.”
She left, holding the door for Hal and Liv. I held out my hand, pulling Liv into the chair beside me. She looked like the walking dead today, the circles evident under her eyes, their golden color dim and clouded.
“What do you have, Reid?” Hal asked, getting underway fast. I had seen the worried look on his face as he observed Liv, and I was grateful for him not wasting time. I was also grateful Reid knew how serious the situation was. He didn’t joke around, instead opened up his laptop and began to talk.
“I’m not going to get into how I found this, but I did some digging. What Nolan told you was right, Liv. He inherited money from his father. Quite a bit. But he also spent it fast. He bought a big house and paid cash. Same with two fast cars. And a bunch of other things. He makes a good living, but aside from the house and cars, he isn’t really solvent.”
“What does that have to do with Sammy?” she asked.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Obviously, he isn’t after you for money—” he lifted one eyebrow “—no offense.”
“None taken.”
“But interestingly enough, his fiancée, Breanna, is a very wealthy woman in her own right. Far more affluent than Nolan. And she is a spoiled only child, who will inherit a great deal when her father dies. From everything I have gathered, she is, ah, well, a handful. Beautiful to look at but demanding, exacting, and selfish.”
“A perfect match for Nolan,” I murmured, internally shuddering. A nightmare for Sammy and Liv.
Reid nodded, looking at his keyboard. He glanced toward the closed door, then at Liv and Hal and finally met my gaze.
“I know you asked me to find out what I could about Nolan and his life and keep it legal, Hal. I did that. But I couldn’t find enough.”
Hal held up his hand. “I’m not sure I want to hear this.”
Reid leaned forward, his voice serious. “Yes, you do. I did some hacking. Nothing big and nothing that can be traced to me or any of you. I did it all off site too—nothing will come back to BAM.”
I was both grateful and horrified. We all knew Reid’s story. If he was caught hacking, he could go back to jail. “Reid,” I protested. “You can’t do that.”
He held up his hand, a frown marring his usually happy face.
“I am not going to sit by and let this happen. I know Sammy. I know what a great life she has and now that you’re together, she has a chance at a family. I am not going to sit by while the system steps in and fucks it up because some conceited asshole decides he wants to play daddy and they let him. My childhood screwed up my life and I’ll be damned if I let it happen to someone I care about. I won’t let her life be destroyed by the system that should protect her.” He jabbed his finger rapidly on the wooden table. “I know how badly the system can fail.”
For a moment, the room was silent.
“What did you find?” Hal asked, his voice calm.
“I looked through their texts and emails. He wants to get married. She wants a child. ‘Someone to play with,’ as she calls it. She’s been at him about it for months.” Reid paused before he spoke again. “Given what I know of Nolan, he wants her money. So in order to keep her and get her to marry him, he needs to give her that.”
“So why not knock her up?” I snarled. “Leave Sammy out of this.”
“He can’t,” Reid stated.
“Why not?” Liv asked, confused.
“I did more digging. He was sick a couple of years ago. Late-onset adult mumps.” Reid sat back. “It left him infertile.”
“Holy shit,” I muttered.
“I kept wondering how this tied back to Sammy. I did more checking and cross-referencing. Unlike you, Liv, Breanna likes to call attention to herself. I found an email to a friend where she refers to an argument she and Nolan had where she informed him she wanted a baby with him now—or else. The next week, your design and you were featured in Toronto Life. I think he saw it, thought of Sammy, and figured out a way to solve his problem. I have no idea what story he spun to Breanna, but I’m sure he came across as the injured party.” He drew in a breath. “I even found an email where he suggested to his boss they go after the BAM contract. It was to get to you. To get close to Sammy.”