Page 65 of The Restaurant on Plum Island
“But wouldn’t that also mean he’d fight you for custody of Reef?” Jennifer asked.
“No.” Carly grinned. “Paige had made sure that would never happen with clever wording in the divorce agreement. This agreement, she made sure, was a separate one that stated I wouldn’t go public with my evidence if Shaun stayed away from us.”
“What about his seeing Reef?” Harriet asked.
“He was never a good father,” Carly explained. “He used Reef as a PR stunt. Other than that, Shaun never even spoke to him. Reef doesn’t even consider Shaun his father. He tells everyone I’m a single mother, and his father went missing before he was born.”
“Clever kid,” Jennifer stated.
“Shaun, as Davin Giles, was up for a lead part in a new drama series,” Carly explained. “It was a family network, and the owner of the network was a stickler for family values. This drama was also about family. Shaun couldn’t have the negative press.”
“So you got it all,” Harriet said in disgust for Shaun. “You’re a better person than me. I wouldn’t have let him get away with that.”
“By then, I was so disillusioned at how quickly the press and fans could turn on you,” Carly told them, “that I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out of the spotlight and build a new life for my son, one where he was free to roam around without being recognized or hounded by the media.”
Carly noted Jennifer was reading something on her phone, her brow furrowed. “Davin Giles isn’t even on that show anymore,” she interjected. “His part was canceled a few months ago, and it looks like it’s ending after this season.”
Before Carly could digest this new information there was a knock at the door. With a cautious glance at her friends and a frown, Carlyapproached the door, her heart racing with a mix of fear and curiosity. Peering through the window, she saw Daphne Rose clutching a child to her chest with a look of desperation on her face.
Carly opened the door and was nearly bowled over by the look of raw fear in Daphne’s eyes.
“Daphne?” Carly said, her eyes widening as she stepped back to let her in. “What’s wrong?”
“I need your help, please, Carly,” Daphne whispered, stepping into the warmth of the house. “I believe your uncle can help people disappear.”
“What’s going on?” Carly asked her in confusion. “How do you know about my uncle?”
“A mutual friend of ours told me,” Daphne answered as Carly ushered them into the lounge to the astounded looks on Jennifer and Harriet’s faces. Daphne barely glanced at the other two women in the room as she shifted the sleeping child, who was no more than two, in her arms. “Look, you and Ethan are in grave danger. Like us.”
“Who is the child?” Carly asked, glancing at the little girl.
“This is my daughter, Lilly Rose,” Daphne told her, and Carly’s heart went out to her. “Please, can you ask your uncle to help us?”
“Who are you so afraid of?” Carly asked her.
“My brother!” Daphne told her. “He’s controlling, manipulating, and a seasoned liar who can get anyone to believe him, to do his bidding, or see things the way he wants them to.”
A chill straightened Carly’s spine as she realized that Daphne’s brother, whoever he was, might be the one intent on ruining Carly and Ethan’s lives. This was confusing in itself, as Carly didn’t know Daphne had a brother, let alone who he was.
But despite the impending danger and Harriet and Jennifer’s warnings not to trust Daphne, Carly’s protective instinct kicked in. Carly was also a mother, and she knew the look of fear for one’s child when she saw it, and not even Daphne could fake that look.
“I’ll call my Uncle Sam,” Carly promised. “But, Daphne, you’re going to need to tell us everything you know—“
“Starting with who your psycho brother is!” Harriet hissed.
“Harriet, now that was rude!” Jennifer threw Harriet’s words from earlier back at her. “You can’t go calling someone’s brother psycho.”
“Oh, okay. What would you call someone who’s been orchestrating chaos from the shadows, masterminding Carly and Ethan’s lives into a daytime drama?” Harriet countered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. “A misunderstood strategist?”
“It’s better than psycho!” Jennifer nodded, the two of them eliciting an exasperated look from Carly over their argument. “Sorry, carry on.”
Carly called her uncle, who got there within record time. Daphne promised that once she and Lilly were safe, she’d tell Sam everything. While Carly was disappointed and wanted the information, she understood Daphne’s reasoning and let her go, once again going against Jennifer and Harriet’s advice. But Uncle Sam assured Carly that he’d get the information from Daphne.
Later that night, as the clock ticked past midnight, Carly was finally getting ready for bed. Her heart was heavy with doubt, disappointment, and concern that she hadn’t heard from Ethan. She nearly jumped out of her skin when another knock on her front door echoed through the quiet house. She looked around for a weapon as her heart hammered in her chest. All she could find was a hanger, which she picked up and quietly made her way to the front door as another more desperate knock resounded on her door.
Carly carefully peered through the living room curtains, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw Parker Drew on her doorstep. She yanked open the door.
“What the heck, Parker!” Carly seethed. “Are you trying to scare the bejeebers out of me? You don’t come pounding on a mother’s door after midnight.”
