Chapter 10 - Grace’s Worst Decision
Grace sat at the kitchen table for almost a minute before speaking.
Nathan did not push.
That frightened her more than anger would have.
“The settlement wasn’t only about contacting you.”
Nathan looked down at the document.
“What else?”
“I agreed not to claim paternity.”
His face changed.
Grace continued quickly.
“The agreement said I would not publicly or privately identify you as Lily’s father.”
Nathan stared at her.
“You signed away my daughter.”
“No.”
“That is what it sounds like.”
“I couldn’t legally sign away Lily’s rights.”
“You signed away my chance to know she existed.”
Grace stood.
“I thought you knew!”
Nathan stood too.
“You never checked.”
“How?”
“Through me!”
“You had threatened me through lawyers!”
“A fake email!”
“I didn’t know it was fake!”
Their voices rose.
Lily was in the other room.
Grace immediately lowered hers.
“This is why I didn’t tell you.”
Nathan’s eyes were bright with anger.
“Because you knew I’d be furious?”
“Because I knew you’d make my fear about your loss.”
He turned away.
Grace swallowed.
“I made a bad decision.”
Nathan looked back.
“Yes.”
“I was pregnant. Unemployed. Blacklisted. My mother was about to lose the house. Victoria told me you wanted us gone.”
“And the money solved it.”
“For a while.”
Nathan’s laugh was bitter.
“Two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
“I used most of it to pay debts and keep my mother’s house.”
“That doesn’t make it less real.”
“I know.”
They stared at one another.
For the first time, both understood that neither was innocent enough to stand above the other.
Nathan had ignored.
Grace had surrendered.
Victoria had exploited both.
Grace sat again.
“I told Lily about you six months ago.”
Nathan’s anger shifted.
“Why?”
“She asked why other children had fathers.”
“What did you tell her?”
“That her father was someone I once loved, but that adults had made mistakes.”
Nathan looked away.
“You said loved.”
Grace’s voice softened.
“Once.”
He nodded.
Nothing more.
There was no romance in the silence.
Only grief.
Jordan arrived carrying new court papers.
Victoria had filed a civil complaint accusing Grace of breach of contract, theft of corporate records, defamation, and attempted extortion.
“She wants an injunction preventing dissemination of the Harbor Ledger,” Jordan explained.
Grace laughed.
“She assaulted my child, and I’m the defendant.”
“She has money.”
Nathan said quietly, “So do I.”
Grace looked at him.
“No.”
“What?”
“You are not paying for everything.”
“Grace—”
“I need my own lawyer.”
“You have one.”
“Paid by you.”
Nathan understood.
“You think that makes her loyal to me.”
“I think money creates gravity.”
He could not argue.
“I’ll arrange an independent legal-defense fund administered by a third party.”
“No control?”
“None.”
Grace nodded slowly.
“Fine.”
Jordan continued.
“There’s a second problem. Victoria’s attorneys want the court to prohibit Nathan from unsupervised contact with Lily until his domestic-violence complaint is resolved.”
Nathan’s jaw tightened.
Grace looked at him.
“They’re using the slap.”
“Yes.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
For the first time, that one second of fury on the marble floor had become more than an emotional mistake.
It was legal ammunition.
Grace watched him absorb it.
“I’m not going to lie for you.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
“If they ask whether you hit Victoria, I’ll say yes.”
“You should.”
“If they ask why, I’ll tell them everything.”
Nathan nodded.
“That’s all I want.”
Later that night, Grace found Lily awake.
“Can’t sleep?”
Lily shook her head.
“Is Daddy bad?”
Grace froze.
“Why would you ask that?”
“The TV lady said.”
Grace sat beside her.
“Sometimes adults do wrong things while trying to stop other wrong things.”
“Did Daddy hurt Victoria?”
“Yes.”
Lily’s eyes filled.
“Will police take him?”
“I don’t know.”
Lily thought about that.
Then whispered, “Victoria said Daddy would hate me if he knew.”
Grace’s heart stopped.
“When did she say that?”
“The strap day.”
“What else did she say?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“She said I was taking something that belonged to her.”
Grace stared.
“What?”
Lily shrugged.
“She said, ‘You don’t get his name. You don’t get his money. You don’t get anything.’”
Grace held her daughter tightly.
Across the city, Nathan received a forensic accounting report.
One line had been highlighted.
The $250,000 settlement paid to Grace five years earlier had not come from Victoria.
It came from Cole Meridian.
Approved as a confidential consulting payment.
May you like
Authorized by Nathan Cole.
His own signature sat at the bottom.
