Page 56 of Almost Paradise

Chapter 31

Drake

A few days later, Wyatt barges into my office late in the afternoon. He looks a mess in wrinkled blue jeans and a crumpled sweater. He has his laptop with him, and I gesture for him to take a seat at the table I keep in the corner.

“Greetings from Anchorage,” he says.

It took my security team a few days to find out where in Alaska Howard Banks was, and when they did, Wyatt went to question him.

“What’d you find out?” I ask, getting to the point.

“So, how’s married life?” he asks with a grin.

I rub my face with both hands and groan.

“It’s bliss,” I tell him. “Let’s see. My wife hates me. She’s threatened to kill me. Threatened to take half my fortune when she inevitably divorces my dumb ass. Her words. She thinks I’m a liar who denied my son. She doesn’t want to live under the same roof as me and says it will be a cold day in hell before she lets me touch her." My body still hasn't calmed down from a few nights ago. "Her brother is the only adult in her family who doesn’t hate me.”

“I told you not to do this,” he warns. “What did you think would happen when you blackmail a woman into marriage?”

“My marriage is the good news,” I add. “Scarlett has left me about a dozen messages calling me every name in the book. She’s either raving or crying. I prefer the former. Her father called to give me a piece of his mind. When did my life become such a train wreck?”

Wyatt shakes his head sadly at me. The only bright spot in my life is my son, who continues to be a source of happiness. He loves without expectations or conditions. He’s always happy and laughing. He’s perfect. He’s exactly how his mother used to be.

I lean back in my chair and exhale. “Whatever I do is wrong,” I tell him.

“You served her with a lawsuit for full custody of the child she thought you had abandoned. You threatened her father, whom she loves. You blackmailed her into marriage. You’re damn right everything you do is wrong,” he tells me. “What the hell did you think was going to happen? I swear. No one ever listens to me.” I eye his laptop and the manila envelope he dropped on the table. “I’m afraid the news is not about to get any better.”

I trust Wyatt more than I trust anyone else in my life. That’s why I asked him to look into the accusations Nia and Audrey made about my father. I could have gone to Alaska, but I didn’t trust myself to look at all the angles. Not about my father. The man who raised me and whom I adored.

“Just give it to me straight,” I tell him. I pull out a bottle of bourbon I keep in my drawer and pour myself a drink. I don’t bother to offer Wyatt one. He never drinks on the job.

“Once I finally got to Howard, I couldn’t get him to shut up. I confirmed everything Nia claimed,” Wyatt says. Howard held his job for thirty years working directly with my father. Once Dad was diagnosed with cancer, Howard retired at the age of sixty-two.

“Go ahead,” I order, already bracing myself.

“Your dad had no idea until you forgot your phone in his office one afternoon. Nia sent you a text, and he was on to you since. He had you guys followed.”

None of this makes sense. This does not sound like the father I grew up with every single day of my life. He taught us independence and how to think for ourselves. He was accepting of everyone and of every lifestyle. That’s not just something he preached. That was something he did.

“My dad wouldn’t do something like that,” I say in his defense.

“I’m reporting the facts, Drake. Stop being so defensive and listen.”

“How did he do it?”

“Think back. Howard said you left the phone in the car on your way to Berlin. Your father had it, and while you were in the air with no means of contact, he went to work and sent the first text to Nia telling her you were done. He then went to her and said he was there on your behalf, and you wanted nothing to do with her. She had a conference in a few days, and shortly after that, she was let go. He let a few people go as well so it wouldn’t look suspicious.”

She was supposed to join me in Berlin for a few days after her conference. She was so excited about seeing Germany for the first time. We stayed up practically all night the week before talking about all the things we were going to do for the four days she’d be with me.

“He blackmailed her too. Told her he’d get her dad fired. The Paradise Foundation had just donated money to the Boston PD.”

“Are you shitting me?” I lean back and cover my face with my hands as the words I spoke to Nia come back. “No wonder she hates me.” I did the same thing to her my father did. Now, her words make sense. I’m just like my father. At least in her eyes, I am.

“Fast forward three months. She contacts you to tell you she’s pregnant. Your father intercepts. He still had your phone. I don’t know how he did it, but he was getting her messages instead of you. He probably cloned it. Maybe when he ordered you that new phone, he somehow blocked her number from your new one. Howard says he didn’t believe her about being pregnant, so he went to see her himself. Howard went too. He told her you asked him to speak to her on your behalf and you wanted nothing to do with her and the child. His advice to her was that she terminate the pregnancy.” I sit up at that, suddenly sickened at the thought of my son not being here.

“Please tell me he didn’t tell her that was my idea.”

“I asked Howard that. He didn’t.” I expel a breath, not that this will make any of this news better. “After that, Nia walked away and left the meeting, stating she would never contact you again. Only, she tried to reach you again a week later. She came to the office, but security was made aware to kick her out. She didn’t know it, but you were still in Berlin. That’s another thing your father did. He told her you were back in town and didn’t want to see her. She called, texted, and even emailed you. Your father intervened each time until he sent the cease-and-desist letter. After that, he went to her and said if she tried to contact you again, you’d sue her for full custody. He told her he’d make sure you’d win, then you’d send the kid off to Europe to go live with nannies until he was old enough for boarding school. He made it clear that if she left you alone, she’d get child support. She told him to take his money and shove it, but once the child was born, he set up the child support payments. All from you. He went so far as to set up a college and trust fund.”

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