Page 76 of Faking with Three

Charlie doesn’t let up. “You think you can waltz back in like nothing happened? After what you did to Charmaine?”

“I didn’t even know she was with my child,” Jax says, exasperated. “I didn’t even know I had a kid till a few days ago.”

Marcus looks equally floored. My gaze falls to Ethan who has a weird expression on his face as he takes a few steps back. And I—well I already knew the truth but it still feels weird to hear it come out of Charlie’s mouth.

I take a deep breath, stepping forward before this explodes into something even worse. “Charlie,” I say, my voice steady but calm. “We’re not trying to disrupt your life.”

Her gaze snaps to me, her eyes blazing. “Aren’t you?” she sneers. “You dig up records, barge into things that don’t concern you?—”

“We’re just trying to understand the situation,” I cut her off, keeping my tone even. “This isn’t about prying into your life. It’s about figuring out how to handle this... together.”

“Together?” she scoffs, her hands flying up in exasperation. “What does that even mean?”

I take another step forward, forcing myself to hold her fiery gaze. “It means that no one here is trying to take Adam away from your family. It means that Jax is still processing this, too, and none of us want to make things harder than they already are.”

“Processing?” she finally snaps, her voice cracking. “You don’t think Charmaine’s been processing this for years? Raising him alone while he—” she points a trembling finger at Jax “—went off and lived his life without a second thought?”

“Like I said, I had no fucking idea,” Jax says, raking his fingers through his hair.

“Bullshit,” Charlie says. “You think you have some power over us now, thanks to your enquiry? You think a few kind words and some fake remorse are going to fix this? Let me make myself very clear,” she hisses, her gaze locking onto Jax like a hawk. “I am going to ruin your lives for this.”

“Even at the cost of Adam?” Jax finally asks.

Charlie’s face hardens, a flicker of something indiscernible passing through her eyes before she composes herself. “I’ll make sure your little show never sees the light of day again,” she snaps. “And I’ll bury all of you if I have to.”

Before any of us can respond, she spins on her heel and storms out, slamming the door so hard the frame rattles.

The silence that follows is deafening. My chest is tight, my breaths shallow as I try to process what just happened. Jax looks like he’s about to explode, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Marcus and Ethan exchange uneasy glances, both of them clearly trying to gauge the next move.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see Ethan subtly step forward, his hand slipping into his pocket. There’s a faintclick,barely audible, but it’s enough to snap me out of my stupor.

I whirl around to face him. “What was that?” I demand.

Ethan’s expression is unreadable as he pulls his phone out of his pocket, holding it up for all of us to see. “I got all of that on camera,” he says calmly, his voice low but steady.

Jax blinks, his anger momentarily replaced by surprise. “You—what?”

Marcus raises a brow, clearly caught off guard but quickly catching on. “You recorded her?”

Ethan nods, his grip on the phone tightening. “Every word.”

“You’re kidding,” I mutter, stepping closer to him. My pulse races as I think about the implications. “You actually recorded her threatening us?”

“And admitting she’s trying to sabotage us.”

Jax lets out a low whistle, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you thought to do that.”

Marcus crosses his arms, his brow furrowed. “This changes things,” he says thoughtfully. “We might actually have leverage now.”

Ethan’s eyes meet mine, and for a moment, there’s a flicker of something softer in his gaze. “I wasn’t going to let her walk all over us,” he says simply. “Not without some kind of backup.”

Jax leans back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and a grin spreading across his face. “Great. We have immunity now. She can’t touch us.”

“Not so quick,” Marcus interjects, his voice calm but laced with skepticism. He moves to stand near Ethan, his brow furrowed as he glances at the phone still clutched in Ethan’s hand. “I don’t trust her. She’s calculating, and this might just be a trap to bait us into making the first move.”

“There’s more,” I say. “I can’t explain it, but I saw the way she looked at us….do you think she suspects something?”

“I can’t help it if it’s my fault,” Jax says. “We have great chemistry.”

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