Page 33 of Lela's Choice

“Hence the cooperation of the charity here?” He sifted through impressions, snippets of information she’d let slip.

She nodded.

“Your merchant banking funds this foundation?” And Hamish had been accusing her of living the high life.

“Some. Mostly it’s my trust fund. It had the same rules as Sophie’s. I could use it for education from the age of eighteen. It became available when I turned twenty-five.”

“Does your father know about your foundation?”

“Papa’s an inquisitive man.” She dimpled playfully. “I imagine he’s made inquiries about where my money goes.”

“You’re telling me he spies on you!”

“Spying has such unpleasant connotations. Papa worries I’ll be targeted by scams, or conmen ...”

“Or charities for young pregnant women,” Hamish concluded. “Why do you tolerate his interference?”

“Compromise is essential in any relationship, if you want to make it work. I want to make my relationship with Papa work.” Growing up in her father’s house had delivered her a master class in negotiation. “But the foundation has taught me there are many degrees of give and take.”

“What else has it taught you?”

“That not all relationships fizzle out as Mari and Dean’s did.”

“Have you ever been threatened because of your work there?” Hamish was on her father’s side about keeping her safe.

“Not directly. We don’t deal with custody matters, but I’ve seen the impact of coercive control on very young women.” She stared into the distance, her focus on something or someone else. “It’s akin to terrorism.”

Her word choice told him she understood on a visceral level.

“I don’t disagree. My Sydney office isn’t far from where that café siege took place a few years ago.”

“Innocent bystanders died that day.”

“On average one woman a week is killed by a partner in Australia.” He huffed out a breath. “But yeah, some of those café deaths were the result of friendly fire. I volunteered to be part of a consultation group afterwards.”

“To plan for another attack?”

She wasn’t blind to the risks, even with Australia’s gun laws.

“To put in place mechanisms that might save lives. Fortunately, there’s been nothing since.” He hesitated. “Your father didn’t tell me about your work with the foundation.” The facts Hamish hadn’t been given were starting to pile up.

“Papa and I are dancing around each other at this stage. And we’re both in the dark. I expect you to share every piece of information you find with Papa. I’d like to keep the information I uncover between us for now.”

“You won’t share what you find with him?” Old man Vella had asked Hamish not to share and had fed him half-truths.

“I’ll tell him she’s safe. I’ll tell him why she ran away—beyond that, I don’t have answers.”

“Let’s go back to the beginning. Your father painted a picture of Peter as a youthful Svengali, callously exploiting Sophie—basically a seduction and ransom scam.” Giovanni Vella wasn’t a fool, but Hamish was starting to wonder if the old man had taken him for one. Vella hadn’t admitted a concern about pregnancy in any of his correspondence. “Pregnancy makes it an even bigger deal.”

“I’m afraid he wants to destroy Peter.” She scrunched up her nose.

“If she’s pregnant I can understand his rage. On the most generous assessment that would make Peter Debrincat utterly irresponsible. There’s no need to get pregnant in this day and age.”

“Sophie’s not a cipher. If she’s pregnant, it’s a conscious decision,” she hit back. “People in love often think having a baby makes the perfect unit—creating family.”

Creating family.The words ambushed him. Hamish and Olivia had waited two years. She’d been pregnant when the abusive husband of one of Hamish’s clients had sought revenge, executing her and their unborn child. The killer had stalked Olivia, known she was pregnant.Pay attention, you idiot, but his mind had gone blank. “Yesterday you told me they were too young to marry.”

“Theyare, but if she’s pregnant, we need to deal with it.”

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