Page 111 of Discretion at Its Finest

“He… he threatened to take them.” My voice cracked. “He said—he said if I leave, I lose custody. That the courts wouldn’t—that they’d never give them to me.”

A heavy slew of curses slipped from his lips.“Jesus Christ. Genevieve. Why the hell didn’t you call me earlier?”

“I couldn’t—” I swallowed, breath hitching. “He cornered me. And—and I don’t know what to do. I can’t stay, I can’t leave. Reid is leaving soon. I have no one. I—”

“Hey, hey, stop.”His voice sharpened, cutting through the panic he had no idea how to control.“Just—just hold on a minute.”

The cold from the floorboards crept up my spine, my hand tightening around the phone as my other arm curled tighter around my stomach.

“I’m trapped, Alex.” The words came out raw. “I’m trapped and I don’t know what to do.”

Another curse came through the phone.

“Give me a second, just give me—”His voice cut off, the line switching to a dialing tone before there was silence. And then—

“Vieve?”

Hisvoice came through, low, rough, dark, and still somehow the only sound in the world that made my lungs remember how to work. I pressed the back of my head against the door, eyes squeezing shut as another breath shuddered out of me.

“Reid—”

“What’s wrong?”His voice wasn’t gentle. I could tell he was ready to tear apart whoever put me in this state.

I swallowed hard. “Gregory,” I whispered. “He—he said he’d take the kids. That I’d lose them. That no judge would—would give them to me because of you, because of—” My voice broke. “He knows about us,” I whispered, broken. “He went through your office. I don’t know what he found, but he knows enough. And once Raymond finds out what Gregory knows… he’ll back him. He always does. Whatever’s left of the Newman name will be used against me, and things will only get worse.”

The line was silent for a short moment.“Where are you now?”Reid asked.

I sniffled softly. “Eugene’s room… I’m not sure where Gregory is; he left and he’s been drinking all day.”

“Did he touch you?”

“No… he didn’t.” But I wasn’t sure what lengths he’d go to, and the more inebriated and angrier he got, the less I wanted to know. “Reid—I can’t stay here,” I whispered, voice breaking.

“Vieve—”

“He’s not going to just let this go. He’s going to get lawyers if I leave, do everything he can to make me miserable if I stay—”

“Genevieve,”his voice cut through. “I need you to listen to me.”

“I’ll find you.” I whispered, “Wherever they move you. I’ll find a way to bring the kids. I’ll come with you. I’ll—we’ll figure it out. If you don’t know, Alex can find out where you’re going, tell me when—”

“Stop.”

“Reid, no.” I wiped my face with the back of my trembling hand. “I can’t stay here. I can’t—I won’t survive this house. I won’t—”

“You’re not leaving.”

My heart clenched. “Reid—”

“You’re not.”

“Why?” My voice cracked. “Tell me why. What am I supposed to do?”

He exhaled slowly.“Even if you could follow me,”he said, his voice cracking under the surface,“you wouldn’t be able to bring the kids.”

The words shattered something in me. My throat closed. “What? But I can’t leave them, I can’t—”

“Exactly. You know Gregory will file for custody the moment you disappear,”Reid said.“Raymond will weaponize what’s left of the Newman name to keep them. You know what that would do to Eugene. To the baby. To you.”