Page 61 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“I never agreed to that!” Carly rasped, barely hanging on to her fury. “In fact, you couldn’t have signed the document which gave me full custody of Reef fast enough.” She saw he was about to say something and raised her eyebrows threateningly. “Shall we dispute that too?” She pulled out her phone. “Let’s give Paige a call, shall we?”
“Still hiding behind that viper, I see?” Shaun sneered nastily. “Maybe tomorrow, I can tell Trinity how Paige bullied me into signing my son’s custody away.”
“Or maybe I can give Trinity a fewtruthsabout whoDavin Gilesreally is,“ Carly countered, tired of being manipulated and bullied by the likes of Shaun Vos, aka Davin Giles.
“You wouldn’t!” Shaun challenged. “That would go against our agreement.”
“An agreement you’ve already broken by knowingly being in the same city or town as I’m in without giving me prior warning,” Carly pointed out. While she’d battled to slip back into her Stella Hart persona, Carly had to admit it felt good to let the old Stella unfold.
“You can’t prove I knew you were here?” Shaun said smugly.
“No, but I can,” Ethan finally said, holding up his phone. “Sorry, Carly. Can we have a word with you?”
Carly frowned as she turned to see Ethan, Jennifer, and Harriet staring at her with stricken looks on their faces. She nodded and walked toward them.
“I’ve just gotten this from Paige.” Jennifer showed Carly. “The guest line up for Trinity’s show tomorrow. It has you joining Shaun and Paul.”
“What?” Carly hissed. “I didn’t agree to that. Trinity’s lucky she still has a show after that ambush.” She looked at Ethan and gave him a tight smile. “Especially when she could very well have been the one to forge Ethan’s signature. She had the means and motive.”
“Thank you,” Ethan said to her. “I would never have authorized that line of questioning. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my previous relationship with Trinity.”
“It’s okay,” Carly told him. “Your past is just that,yourpast, and you have the right to reveal as little or as much as you want to.”
“Unfortunately, for people like you and I, the only way we’re ever going to be able to go forward is to reveal our pasts to each other,” Ethan told her with a sad smile. “Especially since our pasts are colliding with our present in a way that’s designed to ensure we don’t have a future together.”
Their eyes met, and Carly’s heart slammed into her ribs at the depth of emotion shining in his. At that moment, Carly knew she believed him when he said he wasn’t responsible for the interview ambush.
“Aw, isn’t that sweet!” Shaun’s voice had them turning to see he was standing right behind them, eavesdropping. He cocked his head as his eyes met Ethans. “Such sweet and yet more insincere words pouring from a Blackwell’s mouth.”
“Shaun! This is a private conversation,” Carly went on the counterattack.
Shaun ignored him as he addressed Ethan. “As you seem so keen to reveal all your past and present secrets to Carly, why don’t you start by telling her thatyou,“ he pointed at Ethan, “suggested the follow-up interview with Paul and me to Trinity!”
“What?” Ethan and Harriet spluttered.
“That’s a lie,” Ethan growled. “I would never do that to Carly.” His eyes narrowed on Shaun. “Unlike your adoring public,Iknow the truth about Davin Giles and how he rose to fame in his ex-wife’s wake. I also know how you like to make up stories to benefit you. Just like you’re doing now.”
Shaun didn’t flinch at Ethan’s warning. A sly smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “If you want to talk about truth—“ he looked at Carly, “you should ask your boyfriend here about how his company bullied me into going on television to tell the world about your affair with Parker.”
“Liar!” Ethan and Harriet hissed in unison.
“I don’t know what your angle is, but I suggest you watch what you’re saying,” Ethan warned him. He turned to look at Carly. “I promise you, Carly, neither myself nor my family would ever have done anything like that.”
“Oh, really?” Paul stepped into the conversation as he turned to Carly. “I’d lean more toward believing Shaun than Blackwell. Trust me, Carly. I know firsthand what going up against the Blackwell family is like—“ he paused, his eyes filled with hurt, anger, and mistrust as he glanced at Ethan, “and what it can cost a person.”
The picture from an old article Carly remembered seeing in passing a couple of years ago flashed through her mind.
Ethan Blackwell Walks Away Unscathed From Yet Another Scandal!
Carly hadn’t read the article as she was trying to put that life behind her, but now she wished she had as her gaze moved from a stricken Ethan to a haunted Paul.
What is the connection between these two?Carly frowned, trying to remember if Paul Liddiard had ever had a record deal with one of Blackwell’s record companies.
“What did Ethan ever do to you?” The words left her lips before she could stop them.
“He hasn’t told you?” Shaun and Paul said in unison, glancing at each other.
“He killed my daughter!” Paul sneered, his eyes filled with hate as they locked onto Ethan. “Then his family used lies about her being anaddict to get him off the hook and make him come out looking like a hero who was only trying to save my Bethany.”
