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As soon as I look at the first picture, I freeze.
Dread comes over me with ice and horror, the blood curdling in my veins as I can barely stand, staring at images of me and Kace, Finn and Elias. These are incredibly intimate shots, captured through the window of Kace’s house on the estate. “Oh, God,” I whisper, my throat burning as I look at another photo.
Whoever took these knew what they were doing. They made sure to zoom in on each of our faces, eager to deliver as much visual detail as possible. One photo has me kneeling and servicing the guys. Like something straight out of a porno.
My breathing feels erratic.
I barely make it to the car without collapsing. As soon as I’m in the driver’s seat, I try to inhale and exhale in a steady rhythm. My head is becoming lighter and lighter, each moment that passes bringing me closer to a complete and utter meltdown.
Who took these? Who knows about us, and what are they looking to accomplish by sending such pictures to me? It must be some kind of ploy. A way to try and intimidate me. Or scare me.
My mind is racing in one too many directions, and I can’t make sense of it. I can’t, for the life of me, understand why this is happening.
I was just getting my life back together. I was just finding a modicum of balance in the chaos of my own design. Whoever is behind this, I have to believe there’s a good chance they could go public. The tabloids would have a field day with such a raucous affair. It would be the biggest scandal that Silicon Valley has seen in a while. Social media would sizzle for weeks on end.
There will be reporters and paparazzi outside my apartment building twenty-four-seven. Oh God, they will probably set up camp on the sidewalk, waiting for me to show up. Mikey. Nikki. They will destroy everything purely for the sake of clicks. It’s getting harder and harder for me to breathe. My heart is beating so hard, so fast. I’m getting light-headed and I need to pull myself back together, I need to figure out next steps.
“Do they know?” I ask myself, thinking about Kace, Finn, and Elias.
Did they receive the same package? If they haven’t yet, they probably will. And then, they’ll look to me for answers. I have to talk to them. I have to see them. Right now.
I text my boss and apologize, telling him that I’m going to be a couple of hours late. It’s not a good impression, given that I’m still new on the job, but I don’t have my first class until noon.
As soon as I walk into the executive hallway of the Golden Sequoia Estate, a thick and unbreathable air fills the space. I take a moment to inhale deeply, to recover, to try to make sense of this. But it’s not just my despair and anxiety making me feel this way. There is some kind of bad vibe circulating through the entire building, and I can’t put my finger on it. I was never one for the mystical or the unexplainable, but damn… it feels as though the universe is trying to tell me something, to prepare me for something.
Something that is entirely out of my control.
I let a heavy sigh leave my chest and push through the door leading into the executive lounge, where Tanya assured me I’d find the guys. They’re there though I’m not sure I like how I found them. Kace, Finn, and Elias are seated around the table, looking darker than ever, and they’re not alone.
“Ramada, Derrick,” I mumble, instantly disgusted to see that they’re still around.
For all of Kace’s reassuring talks about how these two have no future with the estate, they sure seem to enjoy hanging around here. Particularly whenever I’m in the building. Ramada gives me a weird grin. I sense malicious intent and profound satisfaction. Derrick, on the other hand, looks annoyingly calm and confident. I don’t like to see that, it’s never a good sign. Neither are the documents spread out on the table before Kace, Finn, and Elias.
“Ah, the woman of the hour,” Ramada giggles with an overwhelming hint of disgust in her voice. “Didn’t think you’d be coming in with such perfect timing.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, though inwardly I already regret engaging this shrew in the first place. “What’s going on?”
“Derrick brought something over,” Kace says, his voice low and cold as he looks at me. Finn and Elias are quiet, but the rage is coming off of them in silent, palpable waves. “Regarding Mikey’s paternity.”
I’m holding the envelope with dirty photos in one hand, and I can feel my whole body shaking. My mind is making quick connections, faster than what I’m able to keep up with. “What about Mikey’s paternity?” I reply.
“It came to my attention that you claimed Kace is the father,” Derrick says.
“How did that come to your attention, exactly?” I shoot back.
“I told him,” Kace says.
Derrick chuckles, an evil sound. “I was a fool to think that I might still have a shot with you if I pushed our crypto deal through, Amaya. It’s why I’ve been working so hard to team up with Ramada and Leon, to work with Kace and his partners. I wanted to prove myself to you, to show you that I could provide for you and our son if you could just give me another chance.”
“Our son?” I ask, finally spotting the endgame.
“I said it was a stupid thing to do,” Ramada says, rolling her eyes. “Hoes will always be hoes.”
“Ramada, for once in your life, please, just shut the fuck up,” Finn cuts in, then looks at me. “They just sprang this on us, Amaya. I don’t know what to make of it.”
“What to make of what?” I ask.
“This,” Kace replies, pointing at the documents on the table. “According to this, Derrick is Mikey’s biological father.”
