Lizzie was immediately on edge. “What is it, Kendall?”
“Dan called me this morning to tell me he’d heard from an attorney on the mainland representing Violet’s father.”
This must be what it felt like to get punched in the face. The noise that came out of her sounded like a wounded animal and had her daughter turning to her in distress.
“Wh-what does that mean?” Jared asked.
“I spoke to his attorney. The man’s name is Brooks Ward, and he only recently learned of the baby’s existence from a friend of Jessie’s.”
“What does he want?” Jared asked with a hard edge to his voice. As someone who’d made his first billion in his twenties, he was accustomed to people being after his money.
“He wants to see her.”
“No!” Lizzie cried. “Absolutely not!”
When Violet began to cry, Lizzie picked her up and held her close. “He’s not getting near our child.”
“Lizzie,” Kendall said gently, “she’s not officially your child yet, and until she is, she’s technically his.”
“How do we know that for sure?” Jared asked.
“His lawyer said Jessie was the one who gave him your number when he reached out to her after finding out about Violet. He’s also willing to take a paternity test.”
Lizzie couldn’t bear to hear another word about this man who threatened everything she held dear. She took Violet and left the room.
* * *
“Kendall…” Jared felt like he was coming out of his skin.
“I’m so sorry about this, Jared. I wish I didn’t have to bring this news to you.”
“What do we do? If we lose our baby… Lizzie won’t survive it.”
He wouldn’t either, but he was far more concerned about his wife than he was about himself.
“I think you have to play this out, as hard as it is. Let him come see her, and maybe that’ll be enough for him.”
“Until his parents find out there’s a grandkid, and suddenly, they’re filing for custody, and of course, the courts will side with them because he’s the biological father whose child was kept from him for all this time.”
“Jared. Stop. I know it’s very hard not to go to worst-case scenario, but it’s very possible that he just wants to meet her, not disrupt the family she’s found with you and Lizzie.”
“I want to know his intentions before we let him see her.”
“That’s fair, but you should know that the court can order you to let him see her, if it comes to that. You don’t want that to happen.”
“I don’t want any of this to happen. We’re weeks away from the adoption being finalized. What’ll we do if he fights us for her?”
“We’ll fight back.”
“This will wreck Lizzie.”
“And you.”
“Yeah.”
“I know it’s impossible not to think the worst, but let’s take this one step at a time and hope for the best.”
Jared would focus on the worst-case much more than the best-case outcome of this nightmare. That was his nature.
