I check my clothing to make sure I look decent—he does live in a million-dollar apartment—and open the door. Meredith DuPont stares back at me, her lips thinned, though not surprised to see me.
“So, it is true.”
“What are you—?”
She pushes past me as if I’m nothing more than the help. “Where’s my son?”
“Um, he’s at work. He should be home—”
“Good. This doesn’t concern him anyhow.” She pulls her silk gloves off her dainty hands and retrieves something out of her couture purse. “I was hoping my son would be smart enough to stay away from you.” She turns back to me. “He has a successful future, as you know. While you were away finding yourself, my son was excelling, becoming the man he was born to be.”
“He was becoming the product of what you constructed him to be.”
She waves her hand at me. “Always a mouth on you. You know, your mother was right to send you away. To think you would have straightened out at college. No proper man would have attached himself to you. Shame. Your mother did have high hopes for her future—”
“I’m not sure what your point is,” I cut her off, “but Jake’s not here. So, if you’re done insulting me, you can go. I’ll let him know you came by.”
She pulls an envelope out and hands it to me. “What’s this?”
“It’s your future, dear. Go ahead. Open it.”
I hesitate. I don’t trust her, and my gut tells me I’m not going to like whatever is on this paper. I unfold it and immediately take note of the itemized list. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Not at all, dear.”
“You can’t just buy me. Jake won’t go for this—”
“Oh, Jake won’t know. Because you won’t tell him.” She takes a step toward me, her fake smile dropping, her wicked glare frigid. “My Jakey will not jeopardize his future over a mistake you made.”
“I made? I think it takes two to make a child if that’s the mistake you’re referring to.”
She scrunches her nose at the mention of Bria. “She has no standing in our family. For all I know, you became pregnant and claimed my son was the father. You were so desperate to grab his attention.”
I hiss at her accusations. “How dare you. If you cared enough, you would know she is your granddaughter. And good luck trying to trick Jake. He’s done falling for your deceiving schemes.”
Meredith throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, but he will. If you read at the bottom, it says, in fine print, if you don’t take the offer I’m suggesting, we will request a paternity test. It will come back that my son is not the father, and we will sue you for fraud. Then you’ll spend the remainder of whatever sad life you have behind bars.”
“But Jake is the father. You can’t lie about it.”
She snickers, peering down at her perfectly manicured nails. “Willa, I don’t think you’re understanding. I know it’s been some time since you were in a civilized atmosphere and it’s clear the nuns weren’t able to teach you any proper manners. I’m going to be straight with you. We will offer you a nice settlement. You and that child will disappear and not return. You will not make contact of any sort. You will not relay any information to that child about her father. My son no longer exists to you.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you will lose everything. We will make sure of it. It’s quite amazing what power allows you to accomplish. Strip you of your child. Of her name. My son will be rid of you after the foolish games you’ve played with him. And you will be left with nothing but a cold cell. It’s up to you.”
She can’t do this. Jake won’t believe her. Crumbling up the piece of paper, I toss it to the ground and take a menacing step toward her. “And I choose the latter. I won’t bow down to you. Try your worst with me. It won’t work. Jake is her father; it’ll take a blind person to argue that. And I don’t need, nor want, your money. You’re just like my mother, more concerned with how this will reflect on you than the health and safety of your flesh and blood. Bria is your granddaughter.”
“I don’t have a granddaughter.”
“She exists whether you choose to acknowledge her or not. So does the love between your son and me. You can’t control us anymore. We’re not kids, and we’re cutting those strings. So, why don’t you turn around and go back to wherever it is you came from. I will be telling Jake you stopped by and what a conniving bitch you are.” I turn to walk away, giving her my back. I don’t need to see her witch of a face when she leaves. I move toward the hallway when her next words latch around my neck like a noose.
“Then I’ll cut him off. Take everything.”
I spin back, my eyes narrowed. “Go ahead. He’s an amazing man. He’ll be just fine without your blood money.”
Her cold smile tells me there’s more. “Oh, you don’t get it. You know better than to underestimate the power of who we keep in our company. I will strip Jake of everything he’s ever accomplished. His degree, his residency. With a snap of a finger, it will be gone. He will be as homeless as you are.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would. Just to get rid of you and that bastard child. Don’t test me, dear. How would Jake react to losing everything he’s worked so hard for? Would your love still be enough? Or would he resent you? You know my son was born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth and wouldn’t be able to walk away without a penny. He may talk a good game, but in the end, he knows who he is. Can you say the same? Are you willing to risk it all on a childhood crush?”
I want to run at her and claw her eyes out. Scream and shout that her evil words don’t hurt me. But there’s this inkling starting to take root. He loves me. I’m not doubting that. But does he love me enough to sacrifice everything he’s worked for? And can I hold the weight of that guilt on my shoulders by taking it all away from him?
“You know I’m right. Do what’s best for that child.”
“I am doing what’s best.”
She tsks me. “Are you now? Living in a low housing apartment that’s a cesspool for drugs and prostitution—”
“That’s not—”
“A job you maintain by offering sexual favors to your very lecherous boss?”
I gasp. “That is not true. None of that is true.”
She lifts her dainty shoulders. “It won’t matter, darling. How will that affect my son, his reputation, when one scandal after another continues to follow you? It won’t ever stop. True or false, you will stain his good name. Always running from another scandal. Is that how you want to live your life? Do you think that’s how Jake will want to live his?”
I need to fight and stay strong, but that little seed of doubt has me contemplating her threats. How do I win here? No matter the direction I take, someone loses. And for each option, Jake has the most to lose. She’s asking me to do the impossible—rip Bria from him just after learning he has a daughter—leave him after promising to trust one another and our future together. But her threats have power, and each one ends in tragedy.