Chapter 3
Gavin moved out of the family penthouse that night.
Not because Alessandra threw his clothes into the hallway.
She refused to repeat what had been done to Tobin.
She had the hotel manager open a private residential suite on the eighteenth floor and instructed Gavin to stay there until they decided what came next.
Vanessa left with Ethan.
Sybil refused to leave until Alessandra told security to escort her.
By one in the morning, Tobin was asleep sideways across Alessandra’s bed with the stuffed shark beneath his chin.
His trunk sat unopened near the windows.
Alessandra had tried to unpack it.
Tobin started crying when she touched the zipper.
So she stopped.
At seven the next morning, Alessandra called her family-law attorney, Rebecca Sloan.
By nine, Rebecca was sitting across from her with coffee and a legal pad.
“First question,” Rebecca said. “Are you asking about divorce, paternity, custody, or all three?”
“All three.”
Rebecca did not react.
That was why Alessandra paid her.
She explained that Vanessa claimed to possess a DNA result showing Gavin was Milo’s father.
“Have you seen it?”
“No.”
“Did Gavin?”
“He says his mother showed it to him.”
Rebecca’s pen stopped.
“He didn’t obtain the test himself?”
“No.”
“Chain of custody?”
“I don’t know.”
“Laboratory?”
“I don’t know.”
Alessandra looked toward the bedroom.
For someone who had built his life around contracts, Gavin had accepted an extraordinary claim with remarkably few questions.
Rebecca advised an independent test before anyone made legal acknowledgments regarding Milo.
Then she asked about Tobin.
Alessandra described the gala.
Rebecca’s expression hardened.
“Did Gavin physically harm him?”
“No.”
“Threaten him?”
“No.”
“He participated in removing the child’s belongings?”
“Yes.”
“And allowed his mother and mistress to humiliate him publicly?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca put her pen down.
“That matters emotionally. But don’t turn this into a custody war before we know what Gavin does next.”
That afternoon, Gavin requested to see Tobin.
Alessandra agreed to one hour in a family sitting room, with her nearby.
Gavin arrived carrying a new stuffed shark.
Tobin took one look at it and hid behind Alessandra’s leg.
“I already have mine,” he whispered.
Gavin’s face tightened.
He set the new toy aside.
“Toby, Daddy’s sorry.”
Tobin stared at him.
“Is that boy sleeping in my room?”
“No.”
“Grandma said he was.”
“She was wrong.”
Tobin looked up at Alessandra.
Children his age were supposed to believe adults automatically.
Her son had begun verifying them against each other.
After the visit, Gavin stopped at the door.
“There’s something you need to know.”
Alessandra waited.
“My mother knew about Milo before I did.”
“How long before?”
Gavin looked exhausted.
“I don’t know.”
May you like
For the first time since the gala, Alessandra believed him.
That made Sybil more dangerous than she had been the night before.
