Page 88 of Discretion at Its Finest

“Not that son.”

All eyes in the room turned to me, and for a second, the room went still.

His eyes darted between the agents and me, confusion, disbelief, humiliation flickering back and forth.

“Reid Kaufman,” the agent said, stepping forward, badge glinting under the light. “You’re coming with us.”

Chapter thirty-four

Genevieve

My mind was still spinning.

Pregnant.

…Maybe pregnant.

Late.Too late.

And now—

Reid’s wrists were in cuffs.

Everything inside me numbed, the room shifting in a way that made it hard to breathe. His eyes snapped to mine the moment metal touched his skin, and I couldn’t look away or even think.

His stare was the last steady thing I felt before the agents yanked him forward. He didn’t resist. But his eyes never left mine.

“Reid…” My voice cracked. I moved before I knew what I was doing. My steps were following him, heels clicking against the floor, my hands itching to reach out even though I wasn’t sure what I intended to do if I reached him.

“Genevieve—” Raymond’s hand clamped around my arm and I ripped out of his grasp so hard he stumbled. The shock on his face barely registered in my mind. Because all I saw was Reid,taller than the agents, being dragged from behind, jaw tight, eyes still locked on me as if my panic was the only thing in the room he cared to watch.

They were inching closer to the elevator, and the closer they got, the more the tears began to build in the corner of my eyes.

An FBI agent stepped between us, blocking my path. “Ma’am, you need to stay back.”

“No—please—” My voice broke. I moved again, and he stopped me, firmer this time, forcing me to stand still as the elevator arrived with a mocking chime.

Reid still didn’t look away once. Not even when the doors opened or when they pushed the button.

The last thing I saw was him. Shoulders squared, expression unreadable, eyes still on mine as the metal doors slid shut and took him from me.

I need you by my side for this… For once, I need you to stay with me.

He made me promise, and still he was taken away from me.

I turned away, wiping away a tear before I was stopped in my tracks again, my heart now pounding in my ears, realization dawning as Raymond stood at the entrance of the conference room, almost stunned.

I tried to keep my composure, tried not to show how distraught I was to see the man I loved taken from me in the blink of an eye… but it didn’t work.

“Genevieve…” His voice came low, my name coming out of his mouth like a reprimand. His eyes held a million questions, gazing at me like I was unrecognizable… God, I didn’t even recognize myself.

“What was that?” he asked quietly. His voice was steady when he spoke, but there was a tremor beneath it, pain, betrayal, something deeper.

I opened my mouth to speak, my words dying on the helpless shrug as another tear slipped from my eye. “I… I don’t know, Raymond.”

His jaw tightened, just barely, rage simmering beneath his skin. His eyes flicked down, following the path I’d taken after Reid only moments ago before going back up to my face. I could feel the realization of the situation hitting him in real time. I stepped forward, panic rising somewhere under the anguish my chest felt buried under, but he lifted a hand, stopping me. He seemed almost… defeated.

His eyes softened for one impossible second, like a memory he was reliving, a past wound that had been reopened. What he’d witnessed looked too much like history repeating in front of him.