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“He did the same thing to me, Chloe.” Daphne nodded. “He said he’d blow up my deal with Michael Jones, void our pre-nuptial agreement so I got nothing, and divorce my ass. He said he would sabotage my company if I didn’t do what he wanted. And the last thing he asked me to do was find out what guards were on duty while you were gone. I bet that was because he was going to try to take Noah.”
Chloe shuddered. “He had a deal with my father and stepmother—he might’ve been trying to give Noah back to them. At least, I hope that’s all he was trying to do.”
Both Colby and Jake looked uneasy.
“Did Dad approach you, too?” I asked my brothers.
Jake blew out a deep breath. “He promised me a bigger share of the company if I worked against you, Bryce. I said I would do it just to keep him happy, but I didn’t mean it. I would never do anything to hurt you, I hope you know that.”
Colby shrugged. “All he offered me was an additional three million and the golf courses he owns. I said yes, of course.”
When Jake and I started protesting, he held up his hands. “I didn’t tell him anything! I wouldn’t do that. But Ididwant those golf courses.”
“You can keep them.” I laughed. “The legal team thinks Dad’s definitely going to jail. If that’s the case, the emergency provisions of the trust kick in. And guess who’s the trust administrator?”
I pointed to myself. “This guy. Golf courses for everyone!”
The mood lifted in the room until Chloe cleared her throat. “There’s more—good news and other news. What do you want first?”
“The good news,” Colby said immediately.
Chloe moved closer to me, and hot pride bloomed in my chest. “Bryce and I are having a baby.”
“Shut up!” Daphne sprung out of her chair and pulled Chloe in for a hug. “Our babies are going to grow up together! We can buy them matching Chanel onesies! Oh my God, this is the best news ever!”
“Gene doesn’t know yet. He won’t be thrilled, but we are.”
My brothers hugged me, and Tate raised her glass to us in a toast. Still, I could tell she was nervous. She knew that the gig was up; she was obviously the ‘other news.’
“The last thing we need to tell you pertains to Tate.” I nodded at her. “Would you like to speak for yourself?”
“Not really.” She drained her glass. “But here goes nothing. Colby, I’m an escort, too. Mimi Jones hired me to get involved with you and…infiltrate the family.” Her cheeks heated. “Chloe’s known about it for a while because I threatened her—that’s what Mimi was paying me to do.”
Tate’s face was turning red; Colby’s face was turning white. “What? I don’t understand.”
“I lied to you,” she said, her voice low. “The stuff I told you about my background, it was all made up. Mimi found me on a dating app, and she hired me to come up here. I wanted to tell you the truth so many times, but I couldn’t do it…”
“This whole thing has been ajob?” My little brother looked sick.
“It started that way.” Tate shrugged. “But then I fell for you, and I, like, don’t even hate Chloe enough to do mean things to her. She’s been nice to me, even when I was a total bitch. She offered to pay me instead of Mimi so I’d stop working for her.”
“You’ve known about this for a while?” Colby turned to my wife.
She nodded.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m so sorry.” Chloe’s shoulders slumped. “But I didn’t say anything because I was worried about myself, my brother—andBryce.Tate threatened to go public about my background. I couldn’t have that blowing up in my face when your father was already out to get me. I hope you can forgive me.”
Colby scrubbed a hand over his face while Tate frowned. “I guess it’s too much formeto ask you for forgiveness, huh?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything right now.” Colby looked up at me. “Except that I’m glad you’re in charge. Dad did a lot of bad stuff. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s done a lot of bad things. It’s time for a change.”
Jake nodded. “All of this has been hard, but that’s how this stuff goes, right? Everything’s falling into place. It’s been rough, but we’re still here. That means something, I guess.”
I poured another round of bourbons. Tate joined in, too, although Colby definitely gave her some space. Chloe and Daphne raised their glasses of water.
“To still being here.”
