Hannah allowed thirty minutes to travel from No Risk to Prahran. While it would typically only take ten to fifteen, she needed time to try and calm her nerves. She had thought through a million different scenarios as to what Zane wanted to see her about, but each scenario wound itself back to the same thing. He wanted more money.
She was right.
Zane stirred sugar into his coffee as if he didn’t have a care in the world. ‘I need another payment if you want me to continue to keep quiet.’ He slid a piece of paper across the desk. ‘I received this last week. As I mentioned at our first meeting a few weeks back, Janine was put in touch with me by Family Information Networks and Discovery. I spoke to her initially confirming that I was unable to provide any details for her, and now I’ve received that.’
Hannah lowered her eyes to the page, scanning the words.
While I understand you are in an awkward position, please be assured I only wish the best for my son. I have no intention of creating problems in his life but would love an opportunity to meet him and at least express my wishes of getting to know him. Of course, I understand that he may not feel the same way and that is something I’ll need to deal with if it is the case. I would be very grateful for your help in relaying my wishes to him. If a fee is required to make this happen, then please let me know.
‘As you can imagine, I’m in quite an awkward position. We have a woman, who in my opinion sounds decent and nice, wanting to make contact with the son she birthed. Imagine what this poor woman went through. Not only the situation that led to her getting pregnant but then having to live with the shame of everyone knowing. Giving up a baby in any circumstances is difficult, so don’t think because she was the victim of a crime it was any easier for her than it is for others.’
Hannah shook her head. If you’d never met Zane before you might believe his heartfelt words. But she’d seen enough of him to know that he didn’t mean any of them. ‘What do you want, Zane? How much are you planning to charge me to get rid of her?’
Zane’s eyes widened. ‘You want me to kill her?’
‘Oh, for God’s sake, of course I don’t. I want you to get rid of her from our lives. As in I don’t want to hear you mention her again or for you to ask me for more money. Go back and ask her what she’s willing to pay to get the information, and I’ll pay you the same not to give it to her.’
He smiled. ‘Now, that’s more like it.’ He slipped another sheet of paper across the table to her. It showed further communication between him and Janine.
I’d be willing to pay up to ten thousand dollars to be reunited with my son. Unfortunately, I am not in a position to pay more than this. This is my accumulated life savings. If I had more, I would, of course, offer it.
Another ten grand? Where was she supposed to get that from? She certainly couldn’t ask Phyllie, and she couldn’t tell Damien. And even if she did, it was almost guaranteed Zane would be back a few weeks later asking for more.
‘When I gave you the first payment you signed an agreement and said you wouldn’t contact me again. Yet here we are. How can I trust that you’d go away once and for all if I paid you more money?’
Zane sipped his coffee, licking the foam from his lips. ‘Janine’s offered me money, I’m not going to say no to her.’
‘If I pay you another ten thousand it will close this down once and for all?’
He nodded.
Hannah thought back to what her lawyer had said when she’d asked him to draw up the initial agreement. That she was dealing with a blackmailer and a legal contract was probably going to mean nothing to him. He’d been right.
‘Can I have some time?’ Hannah needed time to think about her next steps. With all Damien was going through right now, perhaps the best scenario was that she tell him about Janine and what she’d done. But the fallout could be disastrous. He’d taken to gambling and run up a huge debt just because he was feeling sad about not knowing his biological family’s history. She hated to imagine what lengths he’d go to, or debts he’d accumulate, if he knew the truth about them and what she’d kept from him.
Zane nodded. ‘I’m going away, which is lucky for you. Normally I’d give you a week maximum, but on this occasion, I’ll expect an answer on Friday of next week, the thirtieth.’
Hannah nodded. That would give her plenty of time to work out the best solution, and to get a credit card in her name if she decided to pay him off.
With Damien working afternoon/evening shifts that week, Hannah found the Gambler’s Aid chat room a welcome distraction from her thoughts of Zane and what she was going to do about him.
She’d plucked up the courage to ask the members for advice on how to confront her husband and had received a number of responses. She’d ended up chatting with a woman who had faced a similar scenario only a few months before. She’d noticed her husband’s gradual decline into depression and hadn’t been able to work out what was causing it. It had come to a head when she’d gone to pay the school fees for the start of the new term for her two children only to discover their bank account was overdrawn.
LizaE
It’s my fault. I should have paid more attention to our finances. Although to be fair to me, he was using credit cards I didn’t even know about to fund his addiction. He’d also convinced me to invest large amounts of our savings on what he told me was the advice of a financial planner. I trusted him, of course. Stupid me. There was no financial planner. That money was a one-way investment straight into the casino.
Hannah had enjoyed chatting with LizaE, as her tag called her. When she’d asked how she’d approached her husband, the woman had some interesting things to say.
LizaE
I didn’t know where the money had gone to start with, only that it wasn’t in the account any longer. I was hoping there was a reasonable explanation for where it was. I think I had my fingers crossed so tight that they almost fell off.
According to LizaE, the next few months were about keeping afloat. Her main concern was for her husband’s safety. She worried every time she went out that she’d come home to find he’d taken his life.
LizaE
He knew he’d let us all down. We had to take the kids out of private school and put them at the local state one. That is probably the one upside of the whole situation. Suddenly we’re saving thirty grand on school fees. Imagine what you could do with thirty grand if it fell in your lap. But, of course, at the moment it isn’t falling in our laps, it’s just paying off a ridiculous amount of debt. I never thought I’d be in my thirties with kids and be on the verge of bankruptcy. But staying strong and supporting Doug means we’ve had some great times since. He’s seeing a psychologist and attending GA meetings daily. He’s still holding down his job, so we’ll get out of this mess at some stage. Our savings are gone and the house is remortgaged to the hilt, but we haven’t lost it yet. Crazy to think how quickly one person can blow two hundred grand!
LizaE was certainly going through a tough time. At least Hannah had caught this reasonably early. Fifteen thousand, assuming that was the total Damien had lost, was manageable. Their bank accounts and investments were still intact, and no mortgage had been taken out on their house. The fact she was across all their finances certainly helped. LizaE’s story was interesting, but she still hadn’t shared with Hannah how she’d approached her husband. Hannah had done her research and knew that she was going to have to handle the situation delicately, but she’d still like to hear how someone else had done it. She clicked on the chat window and started to type.