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Unfit Mother
I scrubmy hands over my face. “All right. You’re right.” And if I have to trust someone, it might as well be the people in this town who have gone out of their way to be good tome.
“Long story very short: Sophie’s grandparents are trying to get custody.”
His eyes narrow. “Your parents orhis?”
“His.”
“Where are yours?”
I shake my head. “I grew up in fostercare.”
“Where’s her father?”
“Dead. He got drunk and wrapped his car around atree.”
“And instead of helping you, his parents are trying to take your girlaway?”
“Yes.”
“Hang on.” He grabs his phone and makes a call. “Carlo. Need you over here. Yeah. Yeah. Right.”
I remember the name from earlier today. “Is that the Carlo Gina’s engagedto?”
“Yeah. He’s ex-military, has his own security and private investigationfirm.”
“I can’t—”
He stops me with a look. “Don’t worry about that. We’ll work itout.”
Carlo shows up a few minutes later, along with Gina. Carlo’s as huge as Dante, and it’s easy to see they’re related. I’m glad Dante mentioned the military background, because his cousin looks a lot more like a commando than a private investigator.
Gina makes a beeline for me and gives me a hug. “I promise you — and I don’t even know what’s going on yet — but I promise you, it will be okay. We’re going to make it okay. Believeme.”
For some reason, I do. Maybe it’s the absolute conviction in her voice. I give her a hard hug in return before I let hergo.
When she and Carlo have found seats, I start again and give all the background. “Who’s Sophie’s father?” Carlo asks gently.
“Chandler Fitzwilliam Carrington the Fourth.”
He and Dante exchange glances, and then Carlo pulls out his phone. “Marco. I need everything you can dig up on one Chandler Fitzwilliam Carrington the Third, his wife, and their families. Priority.” He listens a moment, then ends the call and looks back at me expectantly.
While I try to decide where to start, Gina says, “Let me guess. Chandler’s parents didn’t approve ofyou.”
I snort. “Poor girl from the foster care system with no family at all? They didn’t think I was good enough to clean their toilets, let alone date theirson.”
I’ve made a real effort not to hold onto hard feelings toward Sophie’s grandparents, but I can’t keep the bitterness from my voice. Honestly, I did a pretty good job … until they tried to take my daughter.
“They didn’t even know about me and Chandler until I got pregnant. And then they pretended to be nice to me for the baby’s sake, but once Chandler died they were done withthat.”
“Were you and Chandler married?” Carloasks.
“No. I thought it was because he didn’t want to, but in retrospect I think his parents were pressuring him not to. I think that’s why he got drunk that night. Chandler wasn’t a terrible person; he was good to me. But he couldn’t stand up to his parents.”
“It doesn’t sound like you were in love with him,” Gina says carefully.
I sigh. “I thought I was, at first. But now I know it was just that I was lonely, and so desperate to be connected to another human being that I fell for the first guy who treated me decently.”
Through all of this, Dante hasn’t taken his eyes off me. He’s letting the others lead the questioning, but I feel the weight of his attention. It’s like he’s absorbing the answers through hisskin.
“How did you find out Chandler’s parents were seeking custody?” Carlo wants toknow.
I shift in the chair, tucking my legs to the side of me. Even talking about it makes my stomach hurt. “After Chandler’s accident, I moved to another town. I didn’t want the memories. Chandler had given me a little money, right before he died, and I used that to move us into an apartment.
“I shared babysitting with another mom in the building. I had a job, and we were doing all right. Things were tight, but I was making itwork.
“Then, one day, a man showed up at my job. He was some kind of PI; the Carringtons hired him to find me. He told me they believed I had gotten pregnant to trap Chandler into marrying me, and the money he gave me was effectively stolen. If I gave Sophie to them, they wouldn’t press charges, but if I refused they’d have me arrested and declared an unfit mother.”
