Page 148 of My Big, Fat, Secret Billionaire Baby

Maybe he should invest in a line of designer baby-proofing gear?

Maxwell & Minis: For the Billionaire Baby Who Has Everything, Including a Death-Defying Dad.’

Too on the nose?

My laptop screen is a mess of open tabs: financial reports, investor profiles, industry blogs.

I click on a sports news aggregator, thinking I might find some inspiration for a ‘Leo Maxwell: The Comeback Kid’ angle, focusing on his physical recovery.

And that’s when I see it.

A headline that makes my stomach clench: “Daredevil Maxwell Takes to the Skies Again? Exclusive Footage!”

No. Oh god no.

It can’t be.

My hand trembles as I click the link. The video loads. It’s grainy, probably shot from a distance with a long lens, but there’s no mistaking him. That sleek, aerodynamic wingsuit. That terrifying grace as he launches himself from a cliff.

So that’s why he’s been ‘away at work’ so much this week...

After everything... he’s been keeping this from me? Lying to me?

This is also why he’s probably been so distant.

The footage shows maneuvers that look, to my untrained but terrified eye, incredibly dangerous. He’s threading needles between rock faces, pulling up at the last possible second.

My breath catches.

This isn’t just a casual flight.

This is him, back on the edge.

The same edge that nearly killed him.

The same edge that almost made Mia fatherless before she even had a chance to know him.

My carefully constructed narrative, the one I’ve been painstakingly building for the public, for the investors, even for myself, is now worthless.

Throw away by this one, stupid reckless jump of his.

He has no idea what he’s just done. No idea.

‘Leo Maxwell: Resilient Survivor, Dedicated Father, Focused Leader.’

Yeah, right.

Try ‘Leo Maxwell: Reckless Liar, Adrenaline Addict, Still Dancing with Death.’

The fragile trust I’d started to feel, the hope that maybe he was changing… it’s gone.

Then the emails start. The first oneis from some sports blogger, a smarmy little subject line: “Maxwell’s Back in the Game?”

Oh, you have no idea.

He’s asking for a comment, a confirmation. I type out the standard non-answer: “Mr. Maxwell is currently focused on his full recovery and his commitments to Maxwell & Briggs. No decisions regarding future competitive events have been made at this time.”

The usual PR bullshit. Typed out in a rage.

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