Page 19 of Revelations of A Secret Princess

CHAPTER FOUR

‘I’MSORRYI don’t have better news, Caro, but this situation is a minefield.’ Despite the early hour, Zoe’s voice was crisp. No doubt, as one of the finest lawyers in St Ancilla, she was used to cutting to the heart of complex issues. ‘This is likely to become a protracted court battle unless the two parties come to agreement.’

Her words fell like sharpened blades, slicing the sinews at Caro’s knees. She grabbed the carved post of her four-poster bed, letting it take her sagging weight.

She’d been excited when she saw who the caller was, hoping Zoe had rung because she’d found a simple way through what promised to be a legal nightmare.

Her lips twisted. Since when had anything in her life gone as she’d hoped?

Wishing for something wouldn’t make it happen. A happy family, a man who’d love her for herself, a future with her precious child—she’d dreamed of them all but not one had become real. No matter how hard she’d tried.

Caro set her jaw. This time itwouldbe real. No matter what it took.

Beyond the window was a magical vista of soaring mountains and sparkling, fresh snow. So clear and pristine. So different from the mess she found herself in.

‘But surely the adoption wasn’t legal? How could it have been when I didn’t consent?’

She closed her eyes, her mind swimming with memories that had haunted her for years. The exhaustion, the blur of pain and fear, punctuated by moments of startling clarity when she realised something had gone badly wrong with the delivery. Her growing distress, and then...nothing, just blankness as the drugs took effect.

‘That’s something I’m trying to investigate. It’s proving difficult.’

Caro dragged in a deep breath. She understood what Zoe wasn’t saying. The impenetrable wall of denial and obfuscation that would meet her attempts to discover more.

Caro’s father had pulled strings to arrange the adoption. He was a man adept at getting his way and as far as she knew no one had ever had the wealth, the will or the power to hold him to account.

Till now. In this he’d gone too far.

Sometimes, in her more desperate moments, she considered confronting him and calling him to account. Except she knew it would be like a gnat biting a bull. He’d swat her aside and immediately turn all his considerable power to making the problem go away. Then she’d be up against two powerful men, not one. Better to bide her time, for now.

‘Difficult or not, there must be a way forward.’ She bit her lip. ‘I want to avoid a long court battle, for Ariane’s sake especially.’

‘It appears both sides can argue a legitimate claim to the child.’

She’s not ‘the child’. She’s my daughter!

Caro clenched her teeth against the instinctive protest. Zoe was only doing her job, telling her the legal reality.

‘My advice is to talk to her guardian. Negotiate. See if you can find common ground.’

Negotiate with Jake Maynard? The man was a world-class financier, regularly working with some of the largest and most successful corporations in the world. It was rumoured he was here for secret meetings with officials of unnamed governments. Caro couldn’t imagine him negotiating with her. He’d be more likely to throw her out before she could do more than explain why she was here.

Then where would she be? Caro would fight with everything she had to win her daughter, but she wasn’t fool enough to compare her power or negotiation skills with Jake Maynard’s.

She couldn’t quite stifle a choked sound of dismay.

‘I don’t mean straight away,’ Zoe said quickly. ‘Not till I’ve got to the bottom of the adoption process and checked some more precedents. Especially as Ariane’s not in St Ancilla now. Different legal jurisdictions can complicate things.’

‘As if they weren’t already complicated.’ Caro pushed her hair behind her ear, frowning.

‘We knew that from the start,’ Zoe’s matter-of-fact voice cut through her troubled thoughts. She let a pause lengthen. ‘Unless you don’t want to proceed?’

‘No!’ Caro shook her head, her hair swirling again across her cheeks. She stalked to the window, pressing her palm to the cool glass. Along the horizon formidable peaks rose stark and seemingly unconquerable. Yet she knew that against the odds mountaineers had reached those impossible summits. ‘I do want to proceed.’ She drew a measured breath then said more evenly, ‘I can’t give up, Zoe. I can’t.’

‘Of course you can’t.’ Gone was the sharp voice of legal opinion, replaced by warm understanding. ‘Who could, in your place?’ The other woman sighed. ‘Try to be patient. Time enough to talk to Ariane’s guardian when I’ve done some more checking and we know exactly where we stand.’

As she ended the call Caro was torn between frustration and relief. Stupid to have thought there’d be any easy way through this, but after finding Ariane and spending time with her, it had felt as if anything was possible.

She’d gone to bed last night overcome by emotion at finally seeing her little girl. Being free to talk with her, watch over her as she slept. She’d assured herself it was a good sign that Jake Maynard had invited her to stay. He wouldn’t do that unless she had a chance at the job.

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