The happiness radiating off him was genuine.He had no idea that I had Abigail already.When Henry turned around amid Abigail’s babbling, he flashed a smile at his wife. Monica couldn’t resist going to them, wrapping her arms around both her husband and daughter as if she needed proof that they were real.
“I made it, Princess,” he said to Monica when he put Abigail down and ruffled the top of her recently-brushed hair. “I told you I would.”
That was Monica’s cue to embrace him with all the strength left in her body. Only now, when Abigail danced around them in glee and Henry returned her hug, did Monica let all of the stress flow from her limbs and into the ether.
She was safe.Abigailwas safe. With Henry there, she didn’t have to worry about sleeping with one eye open and a dagger beneath her pillow. Because together, they could protect anyone… let alone the light of their marriage.
It almost didn’t feel real. So Monica indulged in the fantasy of the moment, remembering what it was like to have no fears, no worries.
The amount of love in that Phuket hotel room was as beautiful as the sun getting ready to set beyond the windows, the otherbuildings, and the inland view of an ancient city that had been far off Monica’s radar until that week. The only thing more beautiful was the glow of her daughter’s hair in the sunlight and the toothy grin on her face as she begged for a turn hugging Monica, who hadjustbeen in the shower with her.
“Tell your father what you’ve learned this week,” Monica whispered in Abigail’s ear.
She promptly turned around and loudly declared, “J’ai passé un moment merveilleux!”
He suddenly looked ten years older when he kneeled before his daughter and said, “Thank God for that.”
Part 3
Chapter 16
Changing Tides
Monica knew none of what happened beyond her world while she flew in and out of Thailand. Henry kept silent about what was going on at home, too, with their plane ride from Phuket to New England highlighted with watching a movie with their daughter and all getting into bed together, where Henry read from the chapter book Abigail had packed into her suitcase.
When they landed several hours later, it was to a media circus.
“What the…” Her phone was blowing up with messages from EvaandEthan. Never mind what Judith and the others at the Château had seen on the news. Apparently, while Monica had flown from America to Thailand, Henry called his sister and the two of them agreed to get the family’s PR firm to disperse through the media what exactly had happened.
Henry offered a sympathetic look to his wife, who was given Abigail to watch over. “Go to the car. Eva said she would meet ushere. She’ll take Abigail home. You and I will deal with this.” He placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. “As a team.”
Voices shouted at them from behind the barricade the private airport security had erected to keep reporters away from the family. Before Abigail could express fear, Monica pulled up the hood on her daughter’s sweater and insisted that they walk closely together toward the black, window-tinted SUV pulling up alongside the plane in the middle of the tarmac. Eva rolled down a window in the backseat and poked out her blonde head, sunglasses slipping down her nose.
“Hello there, kid!” She waved at Abigail as she approached. “Good to see you home again. How about Auntie Eva gets you home and fed? Matilda has been worried sick about you and misses you terribly.”
Monica encouraged Abigail to get into the other seat. “Thank you for doing this,” she said to her sister-in-law, who helped pull Abigail’s suitcase into the car. “You won’t believe what happened. Your mother…”
Eva held a finger up to her lips. “One event at a time. Matilda and Nadia are holding down the fort back home. There’s a detective there who wants to talk to Abigail. If it’s all right with you, I’ll oversee it. But I can also tell them it has to wait until either you or Henry return.”
“If she’s up to it, go ahead. Just make sure she’s put into a clean change of clothes. She took a shower on the plane before we landed, but those clothes are not ideal for this weather.”
“Sure thing. What do you think, Abs?” Eva opened her arms, inviting her niece to crawl over and hug her. “Go home? I hear you went to France. Learn anything good?”
As Abigail began showing off her ability to count to ten in French, Monica blew them both a kiss and closed the door. The SUV was already pulling away by the time Monica found Henryon the tarmac and approached him. He was speaking with Dana McMillan, the Warrens’ PR agent from Oscar & McMillan.
“I was just catching Dana up to speed on what’s happened since you rescued our sweet daughter,” Henry said. Wind whipped his words away from his mouth, but Monica didn’t have to strain to hear him. “She’s contacted the media so we can get ahead of the story. This is our chance to speak with the journalists after we speak with the chief of the city police.”
Monica sighed, aware that between her bedraggled lack of sleep and the wind pummeling her hair that she was hardly prepared to go in front of cameras. “What is this really about?” she asked Dana directly. “It can’t just be about tarnishing Isabella’s reputation in New England.” Although, that was fantastic. If Monica wanted to ensure her mother-in-law never came around again, turning everyone in her old social circle against her would betremendouslyhelpful.
“There are other benefits to this, depending on what the police say we can or can’t talk about in public right now.” The middle-aged woman with a prominent nose, stark blond bangs, and a Gucci peplum top and skirt held out a printed page of notes for Monica to peruse. “I understand that you’re being investigated by the IRS?”
God, I had forgotten about that.“With everything going on right now,” she said, “do I want to be drawing more attention to myself?”
“I’ll be blunt, Mr. and Mrs. Warren.” Dana looked at them both with the know-how of a woman who had been doing this for people like them for decades. “You’re a good-looking couple and one of the few wealthy families around who haven’t made total asses of themselves in the political sphere as of late. You’ve got some goodwill. We need to build on that by reminding the public that you have an adorable girl who was almost sold as a child bride by her grandmother.”
Henry gritted his teeth while Monica stepped in. “I know where you’re coming from, but we cannot talk about Abigail like that. I do not wantanyattention on her, do you understand?”
Dana shrugged. “Look, I get it. You want to protect your daughter. And I can help keep her face out of the pressas long asyou give them something in return. Talk to the detectives. I think there’s someone from the FBI here too. They’ll tell you more about what’s going on.”
