Page 141 of A Dangerous Proposal

Madison squatted down next to him and smiled. “He was asleep in the car, and he’s had a string of colds lately, but he’s a tough guy.” She tickled his belly lightly with the tip of her finger. “Aren’t you?”

Jax’s fingers popped out of his mouth with a giggle.

“We saw the articles,” her father said abruptly from the doorway.

Madison tensed, her spine straightening as she rose to her feet.

Her father cleared his throat. “We couldn’t help but notice they covered your sudden marriage. We didn’t even know you were seeing anyone. You just called and left a message out of the blue to say you’d eloped. And now we know to who.”

“Is it real?” her mother asked curiously.

Madison’s eyes narrowed. “Of course, it’s real.”

“Well, you can’t blame us for wondering,” her mother said with a nervous laugh, smoothing her blouse. “You never mentioned him, and then suddenly you’re married. To a man with… well…thatreputation. How did you even meet him?”

“Alex isn’t what the articles say,” Madison snapped. “We met at a work event. We were both there for our jobs.”

It wasn’t exactly true, but she wasn’t about to explain anything to them.

“He’s a good man who didn’t deserve to get dragged into this custody mess. That is what is really behind the articles. Felix is trying to make me look like an unfit parent.”

Her father scowled but apparently decided not to have the same argument about Jax’s custody they had every time they saw each other.

Instead, he went with, “A good man who owns several companies linked to Russia and possibly the mob? Come on, Madison. You can’t expect us not to have questions.”

Madison took a steadying breath and forced herself not to rise to the bait. “You don’t know him, and you’ve never tried to. You never even called me back to ask his name. He’s been nothing but supportive of me and Jax.”

Her mother exchanged a glance with her father. “Well.” Her tone softened. “We were hoping to spend more time with Jax. He’s family, after all.”

Madison studied her carefully. “Why the sudden change of heart? You’ve barely made time for him since he was born.”

Her mother’s smile faltered. “It’s not that I don’t love him, Madison. It’s just… My life is busy. There’s pickleball, the church committees, club luncheons, and then there’s the house... You know how it is.”

Madison’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Right. Very busy.”

Her mother shifted uncomfortably. “Look, I’ll admit… We should have done more. Especially with Opal. Her eyes flickered with something that might have been regret. “We made mistakes. We should have tried harder with her. We’ve seen you forging a life for yourself, and we’re proud of you. But you know how your sister was. It didn’t matter what we did, nothing helped.”

Madison sighed. Her mother wasn’t completely wrong. Once she’d started using, Opal had changed.

“I know you tried, Mom.”

There was no point in arguing who should feel the guiltiest. It wouldn’t change what happened.

After several minutes of small talk, Jax had come out of his shell and willingly sat on the carpet with his toys Madison pulled from the diaper bag. It only took ten minutes for her to search the attic. There was nothing of Opal left in the house.

“I’ll be back in an hour,” Madison said, giving Jax a kiss. “I have my phone, so don’t hesitate to call if you need to. Thanks again.”

Her mother looked down at Jax. “We’ll have fun, won’t we, sweetie?”

Thirty minutes later, Madison was ready to admit defeat. She blew out a frustrated breath, brushing her hair back from her sweaty forehead.

This is pointless.

She’d gone through all of Opal’s boxes, checking each item's pocket and shaking out the books. Hands on her hips, Madison stood in the middle of the storage unit, staring at the chaotic pile of boxes she’d left scattered on the floor.

There has to be something!

Her eyes shifted toward the back of the unit, where shadows lingered in the far corners.

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