Chương 7
“You. Me. My attorney. Victoria.”
“And Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Ava looked at Daniel.
“Did your attorney tell anyone?”
“No.”
“Mine didn’t.”
“What about the trust lawyer?”
Eleanor’s voice hardened.
“I have already asked.”
“And?”
“He says no.”
Ava breathed through another small contraction.
Eleanor heard the change in her breathing.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
“Ava.”
“I’m in a hospital, Eleanor. If I stop being all right, I’m surrounded by professionals.”
That almost sounded like Michael.
Eleanor became quiet.
Ava said, “Do not release the report.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Not even to defend me.”
“I understand.”
“No, I mean it. If somebody publishes that the baby isn’t Daniel’s, we say nothing about Michael.”
Eleanor hesitated.
“People will make assumptions.”
“They already have.”
“The child may one day—”
“The child gets to be a child before becoming evidence.”
Eleanor exhaled.
“All right.”
Daniel watched Ava during the entire call.
When it ended, he said, “That will make this harder.”
“I know.”
“You may get accused of infidelity.”
“I know.”
“People may say worse.”
“I know.”
“And you still don’t want the paternity explained.”
“Not yet.”
Daniel looked toward the window.
Ava waited.
He had a right to care.
His name would be used too.
“Say it,” she told him.
“I hate this.”
“I know.”
“I hate that protecting the baby’s privacy means letting strangers say you cheated on me.”
“Me too.”
“I hate that Victoria understands exactly which story the internet will find more interesting.”
“Me too.”
“I hate hospitals.”
Ava blinked.
“What?”
“I’m broadening the complaint.”
She laughed.
He took her hand.
Then he said, “But it’s your medical information. And Michael’s. And the baby’s. We don’t release it because people are rude.”
Ava squeezed his fingers.
“Thank you.”
“I reserve the right to become privately furious.”
“You seem gifted at that.”
By noon, the first article appeared.
The headline did not accuse Ava of anything.
It did not need to.
Sources Close to Bennett Family Cite Paternity Dispute After Incident at Matriarch’s Home.
The phrase sources close to the family could mean almost anyone who had once stood near Victoria at a fundraiser.
The article stated that emergency services had responded to the Bennett residence after a pregnant woman fell on a staircase. It noted that a family member had been questioned. It said rumors involved a dispute over the paternity of the unborn child.
Daniel was identified as Ava’s husband.
Michael was identified as her late first husband.
No one had yet connected the embryo.
Comments did what comments did.
Ava read six.
Then Daniel took the phone out of her hand.
“I was using that.”
“You were hurting yourself with it.”
“That’s annoyingly close to a reasonable statement.”
He put the phone facedown.
Ava stared at the ceiling.
“I knew this would happen.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I knew something like this would happen.”
“That is not the same.”
“She told me.”
“Who?”
“Victoria. Months ago. She said if I went through with the transfer, people would say I was using Michael’s baby to stay attached to the family money.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“I didn’t tell you because you would have—”
“Done something useful?”
“Overreacted efficiently.”
He accepted that.
Ava continued.
“And a part of me thought maybe she was right.”
Daniel looked at her.
“Not about the money.”
“I know.”
“About it being selfish.”
Daniel’s gaze dropped to their joined hands.
Ava had never fully told him this.
Not because she distrusted him.
Because there were some ugly thoughts grief produced that felt contaminated by being spoken.
“What if I did it because I couldn’t let him go?” she said. “What if that’s part of it?”
Daniel was silent.
Ava appreciated the silence.
He did not say no instantly.
He did not tell her she was pure.
Finally he said, “It probably is part of it.”
Ava looked at him.
“There are easier ways to reassure your wife.”
“I’ve never been especially talented there.”
“No.”
“You loved him.”
“Yes.”
“You wanted the child you two planned.”
“Yes.”
“You also wanted something left.”
Ava’s eyes burned.
“Yes.”
“Those things can all be true without making the baby a memorial.”
She looked away.
Daniel continued.
“You also complain that the baby kicks your bladder, you’ve threatened to name him after an accountant because he keeps costing money, and last week you said if he gets Michael’s habit of leaving wet towels on beds, you’re putting him up for adoption.”
“I was joking.”
“I know.”
“That accountant did save us a fortune.”
“Not enough to name a human being Keith.”
“Keith is a respectable name.”
“Not in this family.”
The laugh escaped before Ava could stop it.
Then she cried.
Quietly.
Daniel moved the tissue box closer.
He did not touch her until she reached for him.
Across town, Victoria sat at the dining table in her Georgetown apartment while her attorney, Nathan Price, read the article on his tablet.
“You spoke to someone.”
“No.”
“Victoria.”
“I didn’t.”
Nathan lowered the tablet.
He was fifty-three and had represented her through a divorce, two business disputes, and one embarrassing disagreement with a former employee. Until that morning, he had never told her to stop speaking.
Now he did it every ten minutes.
“The phrase paternity dispute did not enter the atmosphere spontaneously.”
Victoria poured sparkling water into a wineglass.
Her hand shook.
“I texted Tessa.”
Nathan stared.
“Tessa Wynn?”
“Yes.”
“The Tessa Wynn who runs a gossip account?”
“It’s a society newsletter.”
“It has three hundred thousand followers.”
“She’s my friend.”
Nathan removed his glasses.
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing specific.”
“What did you tell her?”
Victoria looked toward the windows.
Traffic moved along the avenue below.
“I told her Ava had been lying about the baby.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“She asked why the police were at the house.”
“So you confirmed the incident.”
“I didn’t confirm anything.”
“What words did you use?”
Victoria’s mouth tightened.
May you like
“I said everybody would understand once the truth about Ava came out.”
Nathan put his glasses back on.
