His jaw drops. “For your kid?”
“Yes, but now that Ava’s out of the picture, I think Isabella is working with our mother.”
Jonah thinks about something for a moment. “Isabella turned in the pictures of you and Dori, so I don’t doubt you.”
“Do you think they have the same agreement that Ava did?”
He shrugs. “Most likely.”
I gesture to the space across from the bar. Jonah nods, so we move over there and settle in the chairs as my thoughts spin out of control.
He sits across from me. “I can’t say I envy you.”
My insides wrench down. “Help me figure out why Isabella would tell me the baby she’s carrying is mine just so she can turn around and sell it to our mother. Why involve me at all?”
Jonah runs his hand over his chin. “I don’t know. Nothing about it makes sense.”
“That’s my problem. I’m missing something huge. I feel like it’s in front of my face, but I can’t see it. I already have a son our mother wants no one to know about.”
“I have to admit, that part baffles me the most.”
“The entire situation has me confused. She wants Dorothy out of the picture. That’s about all I know.”
“I get that, but why? What’s Dori got to do with this?”
I take a moment to run through all the details. The pictures the board saw come to mind.
My brow furrows. “Our mother has to be working with Isabella, which makes me believe she knows Isabella’s pregnant with my kid.”
“Agreed.”
I release a growl. “Why does this baby feel like the key to everything?”
“I think that’s the wrong question.”
“Then what’s the right one? Help me out because I’m so far out of my league here. I don’t know what’s up or down anymore.”
He studies me for a moment. “My advice is to focus onthese two questions. What does our mother want this baby for? And how does Dori being involved with you hinder that?”
I place my drink down and stare up at the ceiling.
At a loss, I puff out a frustrated breath and gaze at Jonah. “Did you know Dad stayed in contact with our mom after she left us?”
“No way.” Jonah leans in closer. “Tell me everything.”
“For ten years after she left, they would meet whenever he was in Europe andreunite.Dad told me this went on until one day she up and disappeared.”
“What happened that caused that?”
I think back, and something pegs me between my eyes. My heart pounds harder. I pull my phone out of my pocket and look up Ava’s number as Jonah sips his drink. I hit the call button and wait for it to connect.
It rings twice. “Hello, Hunter. Why are you calling at this hour on a Friday night?”
“I need you to answer a question I just thought of.” I glance at Jonah with excitement bubbling in my chest.
Ava sighs. “Hunter, I already told you everything. I’m not hiding anything. I promise.”
“That’s not why I’m calling. I was wondering about the first time my mother summoned you to France.”
