Page 101 of Blackmail of a Billionaire

“And when she tried to tell you about it, all she got was ten thousand dollars and an order to get an abortion.”

Grant’s features pinched. He had never offered anyone money for an abortion. “What?”

“I’m your son, Grant. The one you tried to erase. The one you refused to take responsibility for.”

Grant’s mind stretched to put together the puzzle. Thirty-three years ago, he’d fathered a child. He couldn’t believe it. Could it be true? How had he never known?

But, if this was real, he’d hadn’t. He’d never asked the woman to dispose of it.

A wave of nausea rolled over him, his heart pounding like a drum. His palms turned clammy as he tried to process the words. “I didn’t…”

“He says your father wrote the check,” Julia said softly.

Realization dawned. Memories of a heated argument between him and his father about responsibilities cropped up. He’d never known what had happened. He flicked his gaze to Kyle’s face, wondering how he hadn’t seen it before. His eyes were eerily similar to his own and Sierra’s. He was staring at his son. A son he’d never known he had.

His mind flashed to the woman at his side. The woman who had rode out the storm of anger from the younger man across from him, and who had likely pieced the entire thing together. Had she realized he hadn’t known, or had she thought he’d do something this horrible?

“I didn’t know.” He set his eyes on his wife, his features pleading. “Julia, I didn’t know.”

“I told him that,” she said, her voice still soft.

“I don’t buy that,” Kyle snapped.

He snapped his gaze to Kyle. “Kyle, I…I don’t know what to say, but I had no idea. I’m sorry.”

“Too little, too late,” he growled.

“Kyle, that’s not fair,” Julia said.

“Isn’t it? Do you think what they did was fair? How do you think it felt to find out my life was…nothing more than a mistake?”

“Your life isn’t a mistake. And he didn’t do what you think he did.”

“I don’t believe that, Julia.”

“I didn’t,” Grant insisted.

“I don’t care!” Kyle shouted.

“Okay, enough,” Julia said, placing herself between them again. The two men stared each other down, neither of them willing to budge. “I think everyone needs to go to neutral corners.”

“For what? His half-hearted apology doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Grant scoffed, ready to rip into him. Any softened emotion he’d had toward the man fizzled in seconds when Julia interjected. “I don’t think it was intended to cover anything. And I don’t think it was half-hearted. I also don’t think this is going to be settled in one night.”

“What was the point of this, then? Other than to lure me here so you could get back to life under his thumb.”

“The point was to get this all out in the open. And now it is. Now, you’ve heard his side. He knows you exist. What you do from here is up to the two of you.”

Grant studied his wife as she spoke, her words seeming to come so easily. “Julia’s right. This is bigger than one night. But right now, I need to make sure Julia and Sierra are okay.”

Kyle stared at the floor, his jaw tense. “They should be taken to the hospital. There’s a needle mark on her arm. They could have given her anything.”

Grant wrapped his arm around Julia and tugged her toward the door. “Come on, Juls.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly as they walked to the door. He stopped before they reached the foyer and twisted to face the man claiming to be his son. He had always prided himself on being a man who faced consequences head-on. But now, confronted with a past decision that had resulted in an unintended consequence, a sobering humility settled on him. “Kyle, let’s talk tomorrow, and see if we can find some common ground.”

Kyle’s eyes landed on Julia before they flicked back to Grant. “All right.”

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