Page 48 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

"Everything is fine, Samantha.” His gaze finally lifted to me, though his tone remained even. “He’s an intelligent, well-mannered young man.”

"He is. Thank you for spending time with him. I'm going up to say goodnight to him.”

"Goodnight, Samantha," he murmured, his eyes returning to his work as I turned away.

Climbing the stairs, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Henry. Surely, he’d have said something if he suspected Pax was his son. But what else could the sudden cold shoulder mean unless he didn’t like that I went out with Lucas? I considered that as I made my way to Pax’s room. Was Henry jealous? We’d had several intimate moments of late, but that was just lust. Even he said we couldn’t continue to indulge our attraction, so it couldn’t be that he was bothered that I’d gone out.

Pax was sound asleep, so I gave him a kiss and retreated to my own room. As I lay in bed, the tension that had been building all day finally overwhelmed me. I needed an escape from the constant turmoil of being around Henry, from the secrets that threatened to consume me. But I wasn’t ready to extricate myself and Pax from our current situation. Sure, I could look for a new place to live, but what I really wanted was to leave New York and start a new life and a new business elsewhere. I didn’t have the money yet.

I racked my brain for a solution until I remembered that I needed to make a trip to Los Angeles to meet with Henry’s newspaper about their online and social media. The more I thought about it, the more perfect the idea was. I could do my job but also bring Pax and Marie to enjoy the sights of Southern California.

The following Monday morning, I immersed myself in work, reviewing all the data about the paper’s current online and social media, connecting with the proper people in the Los Angeles office, and organizing the details for my visit. I felt like I was in my element and looked forward to the day when I did this work as the CEO of my own company.

I took a breather, reviewing my list of to-dos for the trip. I still needed to make travel arrangements to get us to L.A. and lodgings for me, Pax, and Marie while there. I grew excited about the trip. Checking the weather, I saw that it was warm in California while winter was bearing down on us here in New York. Maybe we could go to the beach.

The one thing I hadn’t done yet was clear this trip through Henry. With a few quick keystrokes, I composed an email to Henry, detailing my plans for the trip—the dates, objectives, and how it would ultimately benefit the company. Before I could second-guess myself, I hitSendand leaned back in my chair, hoping that the time away would provide some much-needed clarity.

As lunch time approached, my phone buzzed on my desk. Glancing at the screen, I saw Alex's name flash up and felt a surge of excitement. Had he discovered something about my father?

"Hey, Alex.”

"Hi, Samantha, can you meet me for coffee? I have some questions I need to ask."

“Sure. Where?”

He gave me the address of a little bistro just down the block. I grabbed my coat, left my office, and hurried to meet him.

"Thanks for coming," he said, standing up as I approached.

"Of course." I sat across from him and ordered a coffee from the server who stopped by our table. "What did you want to ask?"

“I just need a little more background into your mother’s final days. If the will is legit and not forged, then someone had to have had her sign it.”

I nodded. “That was my thinking too.” I wondered if he was going to tell me that if she signed it, there was nothing that could be done, as Lucas seemed to hint at. But I knew deep in my heart, my mother wouldn’t have willingly given my father everything upon her death.

"Who visited her? What was her schedule like?" Alex asked, cutting straight to the point.

I took a moment to search my memories of those last days. "She mostly stayed in bed. Not many people visited," I admitted, my heart aching with the memory of her frail form.

"Did anyone come by with new paperwork?" Alex pressed, his gaze never leaving mine.

“Not that I saw. Like I said, Lucas indicated that he’d sent a paralegal. I never saw them. I must have been out. Marie says she didn’t see this person either.”

“What about home health care or hospice staff?”

“We did have a few people come in, but I was usually there when they came. They were all kind and professional. I don’t recall any of them asking her to sign anything."

“I was thinking they might have let the paralegal in.”

“Oh. Right.” I thought about that. “Like I said, I always tried to be there when Mom had health workers come.”

“What about other staff?”

"Just Marie, Mom’s assistant. She was a real gal Friday.”

"Could she have been part of it?"

"Marie? No," I protested immediately. The very idea that she could be involved in something so sinister seemed ludicrous. "She loved my mother like family." But even as I spoke those words, a memory surfaced that made me pause. I remembered seeing Marie in my mother's office, flipping through a stack of documents. I hadn’t thought anything of it since she was Mom’s assistant, but Marie’s expression had been tense and worried. Like I’d caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing.

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