Chapter 5 - THE FAMILY NATHAN HAD ALREADY CHOSEN
Nathan sent Caleb upstairs.
I refused.
“He stays.”
“This is adult business.”
“He is part of this family.”
Nathan looked at Lauren.
Then sighed.
“Fine.”
He sat across from me.
“Eli is my son.”
“How old?”
“Two years and ten months.”
My stomach tightened.
The affair began before my pregnancy with Emma.
Maybe before Caleb’s second birthday.
“How long have you been with Lauren?”
He hesitated.
“Four years.”
Diane whispered.
“Nathan.”
I stared at him.
Four.
Not a mistake.
Not a lapse.
A second life.
Lauren began crying quietly.
I felt nothing toward her tears.
Not hatred.
Nothing.
Nathan continued.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew how you’d react.”
I almost laughed.
“You mean accurately?”
He ignored that.
“I have responsibilities to both families.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“And your solution was bringing your mistress into my house after I gave birth?”
“I thought integration was healthier.”
Caleb looked confused.
“What’s integration?”
I answered.
“Something Daddy should not have said.”
Nathan’s face tightened.
Then he explained his real plan.
He wanted both children recognized in a new family trust.
Caleb.
Emma.
Eli.
On paper, that sounded almost responsible.
Until he reached the next part.
I was supposed to transfer certain assets into the trust.
My inherited investments.
My mother’s Boston brownstone.
A portfolio my father left me.
Property Nathan had no claim to unless I gave it.
The bracelet suddenly made sense.
This was not just cruelty.
Lauren wearing it was a preview.
Nathan believed my inherited life was already becoming shared property.
“What does Lauren contribute?”
I asked.
Silence.
Nathan frowned.
“What?”
“To this new family.”
“My house.”
“My mother’s property.”
“My investments.”
“My children’s trust.”
“What does Lauren put in?”
Lauren flushed.
Diane intervened.
“She is Eli’s mother.”
“So?”
Diane stared at me.
“That boy is Nathan’s blood.”
I looked at Caleb.
Then Emma.
“So are they.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“This isn’t about taking from anyone.”
“It is about protecting all three children.”
“Then use your money.”
His expression changed.
That was the problem.
His money was disappearing.
I saw it.
“You don’t have it anymore.”
Nathan went still.
Lauren looked at him.
“What does she mean?”
I continued.
“You moved almost two million into Diane’s trust.”
“You refinanced this house.”
“You borrowed against NBH Investments.”
Nathan’s face hardened.
Lauren turned.
“You said those were temporary transfers.”
He snapped.
“Stay out of this.”
She stared.
The room shifted.
For the first time, Lauren looked less like his partner and more like another person waiting to find out what he had lied about.
I asked.
“How much did you lose?”
Nathan stood.
“Enough.”
“How much?”
“Rachel.”
“How much?”
He slapped his palm against the table.
Emma startled.
Caleb flinched.
I saw it.
So did Lauren.
Nathan lowered his hand.
Then whispered.
“You have no idea what I built for this family.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
“But I’m starting to understand what you destroyed.”
That evening, Sarah called.
Her investigator had found the answer.
Nathan had personally guaranteed a commercial real-estate fund that was collapsing.
Potential exposure.
May you like
More than twelve million dollars.
And the loans were due in thirty-one days.
