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“Mr. Bancroft, you’re mistaken.” Laura raised her hands, to stop him or shield herself? “I’m not after your money.”
“So that's how it's going to be? Nothing will keep this story out of the papers, no matter its power to shatter my life.”
Laura closed her eyes. She had known he didn't want Jeanie, but to claim she shattered his life? She opened her eyes, expecting anger, but something far more powerful lurked in his expression: pain, anguish even. Confusion reigned once more. “I’m not going to put anything in the papers," she said softly, even as his gaze turned incredulous. "I'm not lying.”
“Just like you weren’t lying when you said you weren’t a reporter,” he snapped.
“That was different. Listen…”
“No, you listen.” He strode to her, blasting a hole through her personal space and her senses. “I’ve met reporters who employed dirty tricks, but never one who would sink to this level. You're blackmailing me for the most tragic situation of my life.”
“Tragic situation of your life?" The world turned blistering red. How dare the man call her beautiful angel a tragedy! "What are you talking about? It's not that big a deal.”
Somehow her words infuriated him even more. “Not that big a deal?” he snarled. “First my wife can't have a child, then we go to a fertility clinic to search for a miracle and after that miracle finally happens, she’s lost in an accident. Somehow you find out and decide to blackmail me. Does that not sound like a big deal to you?”
Oh. My. Goodness.
Her world… her life… reality shattered.
Everything that once made sense, the truths that formed the foundation of her life, disappeared, rearranging into an entirely new existence. She knew he had a wife who passed away in a car crash, but not of any child or fertility problems. But still, something was missing. If he was at the clinic to help his wife become pregnant, then why…
“You weren’t an anonymous donor," she whispered as everything fell into place, as the pieces of the puzzle locked together to form a horrifying image. The once inexplicable suddenly made sense: his confusion, his anger, his actions. Mentioning the fertility clinic must have opened new wounds of losing the child his wife had carried. But Jeanie was undoubtedly his, the documents proved it, and even more significantly, his features were unmistakable in her little face. Which meant the clinic had made a very large, very consequential mistake.
Fuzzy memories came back at her, memories of news stories about Aidan's wife, Leanne Jo. Laura gasped softly. Leanne Jo Bancroft, LJB, just like Laura Jane Blake. If they used initials to identify the patients…
“Of course, I wasn’t an anonymous donor. Any child of mine would know me well,” Aidan ground out the words. “Very well.”
Laura gaped, her heart racing like the favorite at the Preakness Stakes. And suddenly the consequences multiplied a thousandfold. Before coming, she had affirmed Jeanie's biological father would have no legal rights – no court in the land would contest that. But if the donor had been unwilling? He would definitely have a case, and from the looks of it, he would want it. The ramifications were staggering, the implications life-changing. Would he try to take her daughter away from her? Would he be a good father, or would he hurt Jeanie? She needed time to think, time to grapple with this new information before the powerful man stole her every choice.
"How did you know about the fertility clinic?" Aidan’s voice was low, dangerous. "We specifically used a center in the middle of nowhere to keep the press away. My wife's doctor arranged everything. Now, five years later, somehow you find out. Who shared the secret?”
An image of the friendly, young receptionist with corkscrew curls arose. The truth had garnered her cooperation, the explanation that Laura’s father had suffered two heart attacks and she needed medical records to ascertain if heart disease ran on the biological father's side as well. Aidan would be appalled to learn who had given away his most precious secret. Of course, the bubbly girl didn't give the information to a stranger, but to the child's mother.
Of course, his anger was justified – he thought she was trying to barter secrecy for money – but it still didn’t explain everything. Why was he so desperate to hide his visit to a fertility clinic, even willing to provide a la carte access to his bank account to protect it? She could name no less than half a dozen celebrities who had used such clinics; nowadays it really didn't comprise news. Why offer to pay her instead of sending her on her way the moment she mentioned the clinic?
And if he protected such a minor detail like a top-secret military operation, what would he do when he discovered thetruesecret?
She couldn't reveal her source, at least not yet. If he visited the clinic, he would discover what they really were to each other. "Someone sent an anonymous e-mail, claiming to possess information they would exchange for a reasonable price. He revealed the name of the clinic, saying he heard your wife talking about it to a friend at a coffee shop years ago. That was it."
Aidan looked suspicious, but at least he didn't immediately accuse her of lying to protect his secret child. "Did you get his name?"
She shook her head. "Informants don't typically give names. We only communicated online, and I received no response to my last e-mail. I'm sorry, I can't help you more."
It wasn’t the most convincing argument, but hopefully he wouldn't storm the clinic looking for her informant. For now, she had to depart this impossible world of wealth and power, leave his overwhelming presence, so she could consider her next move. She turned to the door, made it two steps.
“How could a single mother do such a thing?”
Laura froze. He wasn't talking about the informant – he was talking abouther. Somehow, he knew she had a daughter.
Did he know she was his?
"Didn't think I knew, huh?" His heavy boots echoed on the floor as he stalked closer. "My investigators are pretty thorough. In five minutes, they produced quite a bit of information about you and little Jeanie."
Laura fought to form thoughts, to concoct a plan, tobreathe. One wrong word could shatter her life and her choices. Details like her job and status as a single mom would be easy to find, yet the truth about Jeanie's paternity should be impossible to discover, at least in five minutes.
Yet Aidan Bancroft wielded power like few others.
He didn't give her the chance to respond. “Any mother with a heart shouldn't be capable of what you're doing. How much do you love your child?”
