Page 48 of Billionaire’s Promise

“Have you made a decision about whether to keep the pregnancy, Jenny?” June asked without judgment.

“I have. I’m going to keep it.” Jenny answered with a firm nod, her eyes on the fingers clutched in her lap.

It surprised me that Jenny had decided to keep the baby. Perhaps Lucy had helped her to come to that decision. I supported her decision but had my reservations. We could have made an appointment with the best OBGYN in New York, but Jenny decided that she wanted June to handle her case.

Picking June was a great and obvious choice for Jenny.

It also gave me an excuse to see her whenever I wanted.

After asking Jenny a series of questions and performing the standard health related exams, June escorted Jenny to a private room. Jenny followed June into a small room attached to the office, which could only be an examination room. I sat there quietly on my own, knowing it would be rude to follow. As much as I’d like to see more of June, I wasn’t interested in seeing the inside of my cousin.

For the last few years, I’ve been following her work. I have to say that her reputation among the Chinese Elite was highly respected. She and the clinic had been recommended multiple times in digital magazines, and social media, among other articles and blogs etcetera, by wealthy couples who had been successful in their fertility treatments. Of course, being able to pay for her hefty bill was also one of the reasons those wealthy couples liked to brag about it.

That was one of the reasons why so many rich Chinese couples had chosen to fly all the way to New York to see her. They simply wanted the best fertility treatments the world could offer, with her.

My dad’s company had been working on a proposal to bring the Bennet Fertility Program to China. My intel told me that the board wanted no one but June to be the person to oversee the program. Sadly, thanks to the pandemic, the project had been postponed until further notice.

Legally, I had no say on the board of Dad's company. I didn’t want to be accused of meddling in my half-brother’s inheritance. Dad suggested that I come and help him out. Lately, he’d become a lot more sentimental, and we’d been talking a lot more. Perhaps he wanted to mend our relationship. Perhaps the pandemic had really changed people. Still, I tried to stay away from family politics as much as I could. However, I have my ways if and when there’s a need to sway any decision on the board.

At one point last year, I was really desperate to get the fertility program in Shanghai kick-started. Everything was ready. The funding was there. They even had the location of the medical center reserved – all they needed was a green light and the renovation team would start.

George Bennet, June’s dad, had even signed the contract. I knew that June was more than ready to live and work in Shanghai. If it wasn’t for the new woman health campaign that her brother Liam had forced upon her, she would have left the country already.

My phone vibrated. I glanced down and saw a notification – a message from Lucy. I unlocked my phone to see the full content of the texts in Chinese.

Lucy: Samantha just told me that June sent everything back to the store. Did she tell you why?

I couldn’t say I was surprised.

June was complex. An American girl with a part Chinese mother. In some ways, she was very American. At other times, she seemed a little out of place, like she didn’t quite fit in here in America. It was hard to know her thoughts, or what she wanted, but that didn’t mean I didn’t try.

I searched through my phone for a contact, then stepped outside for a quick call. As I was about to head back to June’s office, my phone vibrated again.

Call me. TC.

It wasn’t a saved contact. Just a random number. I called.

“Tom Cruise is an alien.” I said as the person on the other end picked up. Then the call was put through to a pre-recorded message. I listened carefully, trying not to miss any details, as these messages only played once before they were deleted. That was a very peculiar way to stay in contact set up by my private investigator. He would only contact me on a new burner number each time, so his work could stay confidential at all times.

Bad news.

Mack was missing. Someone in the police department had released him without charge. But I already knew that from Wendy. No one saw him leave the precinct where he’d been held. The guess was that someone smuggled him out. No one from the police department had contacted June about pressing charges against Mack. It was very naive of me to think that they would actually try to do their job.

The question was who had the authority to let him go? My guy couldn’t find out who was behind everything. And what’s more, he couldn’t find any information about Mack in the United States, like it had been purposely wiped squeaky clean. Mack was either using a fake name or had been issued a new identity.

It didn’t make sense though. People always leave some kind of a trace, that is how criminals end up caught. I was going to suggest having Mack followed, but no one knew where he was, no one had seen him leave.

My guy suggested we should look into him outside of America. Now that would involve more people – internationally. Though I wasn’t keen on the idea, I knew it was necessary. But where do we even begin?

Oh princess. What have you gotten yourself into?

* * *

I had Clare escort Jenny home and texted Lucy to keep an eye out on her.

Jenny seemed alright – just a little on the quiet side – after her consultation with June. But I wasn’t a mind reader, and I didn’t know how she really felt.

Perhaps June could tell me more.