Barbara Dunlop - Marriage, Manhattan Style

“I’m afraid-” Mervin cleared his throat. “I’m afraid I’m calling to give you some terrible news.”

Reed’s chest tightened in dread, his thoughts going to Elizabeth’s mother. “Yes?” he asked slowly.

Elizabeth leaned forward, cocking her head, a look of concern growing on her face.

“It’s Brandon.”

“Brandon?”

Elizabeth came to her feet.

“Brandon and Heather were in a car accident on the coast.”

“Are they okay?” Reed reached for Elizabeth, and she moved forward to take his hand.

“What?” she whispered.

Reed gave his head a little shake, concentrating on the call.

“I’m afraid-” Mervin cleared his throat again.

“Mr. Alrick?”

“They’ve died.”

Reed felt like he’d been sucker punched. “They?”

“Both of them.” Mervin’s voice broke, while Reed pulled Elizabeth against him.

Watching his expression, her eyes had gone wide with fear.

“You’ll tell Elizabeth,” Mervin rasped.

“Yes. Of course. We’ll be there as soon as possible. And Lucas?”

“Is fine. He was with his babysitter.”

“My jet’s in France. We’ll go straight to San Diego.”

“Yes…well…” Mervin was clearly struggling for control.

“We’ll call you soon.” Reed disconnected.

“Reed?” Elizabeth’s voice was paper dry.

He turned to face her, bracing one hand on each of her shoulders.

“Why do we have to go to-”

“It’s Brandon,” said Reed, hating what he was about to do to her. “He was killed in a car accident today.”

Elizabeth shook her head in denial. “No. No. That doesn’t make sense.”

“Heather was killed, too.”

Elizabeth took a step back, still shaking her head.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”

Brandon was her only sibling, and she’d adored him.

“It can’t be,” she whispered, even as her eyes welled up with tears.

Reed stepped forward and pulled her back into his arms. She struggled against both his touch and the cruel reality of the situation. “No. No. I can’t believe it. I won’t believe it.”

“I need to get hold of Collin.” Even as he rocked her, Reed reached for the phone. “He’ll contact the jet and make arrangements.”

Elizabeth let out a low, keening moan that nearly broke Reed’s heart.

“We have to get to California,” he told her firmly. “Lucas needs us.”

She stilled, looking up. “Lucas?”

“Lucas is fine. He’s with a babysitter. But we need to get to him.”

She gave a jerky nod, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. Reed wrapped one arm firmly around her shoulders, and used the other hand to dial Collin.

Elizabeth moved through the next week in a state of shock, picking up Lucas, consoling her parents, attending the funeral in California.

Thankfully, Reed handled the legalities of the will. While her brother had named her as Lucas’s guardian, he had named Reed executor of the estate. Between Reed and Collin, she needed only to sign papers and direct the packing up of Lucas’s things.

She briefly met with Heather’s parents after the funeral. They were nearly paralyzed with grief. They barely spoke, but held Lucas as long as possible, clearly struggling with the fact he was moving to New York.

Finally, she was back in the penthouse. Lucas’s nursery was set up and decorated, and he was settling into a routine with Elizabeth. He still seemed sad and confused at times, but started crawling around the apartment, pulling up on furniture and showing Elizabeth how many changes she’d have to make to protect both Lucas and their antiques.

After a while, when he curled up in her lap for his bottle or drifted off to sleep in her arms, she actually caught herself smiling. There was a permanent hole in her heart for her brother and sister-in-law, but Lucas needed her, and she’d do everything in her power to make sure he grew up loved and protected.

She kissed his silky hair, carefully shifting him to her shoulder to carry him to his crib. His nap was late today. He’d been restless and fussy, chewing on everything he could find. His cheeks were pinker than usual, and his bottom gum was swollen red.

The poor little thing was getting a tooth.

Elizabeth came carefully to her feet.

There was a knock at the door, and he had startled in her arms. She quickly cooed, praying he’d stay asleep.

Rena appeared from the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel.

Elizabeth signaled with a finger across her lips, and the housekeeper glided silently toward the front door, while Elizabeth trundled Lucas down the hall. She laid him carefully into the crib.

She left the bedroom door ajar and padded back down the living room. There, she found Rena with a courier envelope in her hands.

“It’s for you.” She handed it over.

The return address was for a California law firm. Elizabeth sighed. Some new will detail no doubt. The tears that were never far from the surface burned the backs of her eyes.

“I’ll be in Reed’s office.” The envelope felt heavy in her hands. But it was better to get it over with.

She pulled the tab on the courier envelope as she walked into the office, releasing a thick sheaf of official-looking documents. There was a seal on the top sheet, and it was addressed to her.

She scanned the opening paragraph, frowned, went back and read it slowly.

As she read on, her heart all but stopped in her chest, and emotion squeezed her in a painful vise.

Heather’s parents wanted Lucas. This was a legal notification that the Vances were contesting the will. They wanted Lucas back in California, wanted to raise him themselves, wanted to defy Brandon and Heather’s wishes and rip Elizabeth’s nephew from her home.

She galloped through the package, then reached for the telephone, her hand shaking as she dialed Reed’s number. Unanswered, the call bounced to Devon’s desk and Elizabeth asked for her husband.

“I, uh…” Devon hesitated. “He’s out of the office.”

“I’ll try his cell.”

But all she got was his voice mail. She left a message, as another knock sounded on the door.

“Mrs. Wellington?” Rena appeared in the office doorway. “Hanna Briggs to see you.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Send her in.”

Hanna was breezing into the office in seconds. “Baby asleep?” she asked. Her smile faded when she took in Elizabeth’s expression.

“Take a look at this.” Elizabeth shoved the papers across the desk.

With a puzzled frown, Hanna scanned the papers. Then she looked up. “They can’t do that.”

“They’re doing it. They think they’ll be better parents than me.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“They claim they’ve seen Lucas every day of his life, that San Diego is a better place to raise a child, that Lucas knows them better. Add to that, they’re experienced parents, where I-” Elizabeth’s voice broke. “I’m only experienced in buying designer clothes and planning parties.”

Hanna reached across for Elizabeth’s hand. “That’s crazy.”

“They’re not wrong. I do buy designer clothes and plan parties. And until last week, I hadn’t changed a diaper in my life.”

“Well, that’s it then. Because, I’m sure a diaper changing contest will be the first thing the judge thinks of when determining custody.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I do. But you’re getting ahead of yourself again.”

Elizabeth understood Hanna’s point. She’d gotten ahead of herself when she thought Reed was cheating, and when she thought Joe might be a criminal.

“I can’t get hold of Reed,” she said.

“He’s probably in a meeting.”

“He’s always in a meeting.”

Things had definitely been better between them physically since they returned from France. But she could feel them slowly slipping back into their old routine. Although nine-month-old Lucas kept her busy, she couldn’t help but notice that Reed’s evenings were filling up with business obligations.

“You should call Collin,” Hanna suggested.

“You hate Collin.”

“Only because he’s a lawyer. But they do have their uses.”

Elizabeth thought about that. Should she wait for Reed? Or should she get things rolling on her own? She did want to develop some independence.

Getting a job was out of the question for her now that Lucas had arrived. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t start standing on her own two feet.

The strength and self-assurance of the coconut woman had wedged itself firmly into Elizabeth’s mind. For some reason, she knew deep down in her soul that Reed respected that kind of a woman.

“Collin it is.”

When the line connected, she heard female laughter, then a voice that sounded vaguely like Reed’s. Elizabeth’s spirits lifted.

“This is Collin.”

“It’s Elizabeth calling.”

“Oh. Hello, Elizabeth.” The background sounds suddenly stopped. “How can I help you?”

“Are you by any chance with Reed?”

“Not at the moment. Do you need to get him a message?”

Too bad. “Actually, I need some legal advice.”

There was a pause. “Sure.”

“I received a notice today that my sister-in-law’s parents are contesting my brother’s will.” She gave him the details.

“Does Reed know about this?”

“I haven’t been able to get hold of him.”

“I’ll have him call you.” And the line went dead.

Elizabeth replaced the receiver and frowned at Hanna. “Not a lot of help.” Then, remembering the opening to the conversation, she said, “It’s funny. It almost sounded like-”

The phone rang on the desk. She grabbed it quickly.

It was Reed.

She felt a rush of relief. “Did you get my message?”

“From Collin?”

“I thought you weren’t with Collin.”

“I’m not. He called me.”

So Reed picked up the calls from Collin, but not the ones from her? “Where are you?” she asked.

“What’s going on? Collin said the Vances contacted you.”

Elizabeth explained the contents of the letter.

“Collin’s going to come by and pick up the package,” said Reed. “I don’t want you to worry about it.”

“How can I not worry about it?” She glanced at her watch, noting that it was nearly five. “Aren’t you coming home now?”

“Not for a while. I’ve, uh, got a conference call with the West Coast.”

“I see.” Elizabeth didn’t disbelieve Reed. Problem was, she didn’t completely believe him, either. There was something in his tone that didn’t quite ring true, something that made her feel he was searching for excuses.

She didn’t like feeling this way. But the further they got from Biarritz, the more her confidence faded. If he loved her the way he said he did, shouldn’t he be rushing home? Shouldn’t Lucas and she be the most important things on his mind?

Reed hung up the phone and looked across the table at Collin. “Can you head for the penthouse and pick up those documents?”

Collin immediately rose. “You bet.”

Reed cursed the fact that he couldn’t leave right now. Elizabeth had too much on her plate. She was working round the clock to care for Lucas, while struggling to get over her brother’s death.

Collin left the boardroom as Gage Lattimer walked in.

“What’s up?” Gage took the chair across from Reed.

“This,” said Reed, sliding his latest problem across the table. It was another letter from the blackmailer.

“Don’t touch it,” he warned Gage. If he hadn’t obliterated them by opening it, the police might be able to raise fingerprints.

Gage read the short letter.

Hammond and Pysanski are the beginning. I’m the only one who can stop this now. Pay up!

When Gage looked up, his eyes were thunderous. “Who is this guy?”

Reed shook his head. “Trent stopped the Hammond and Pysanski connection from being reported in the media.”

“Is it somebody close to you? Or somebody connected with the police?”

Reed had no idea. But this was a very disturbing turn of events. “If he’s either of those things, you have to wonder how deep the frame-up goes.”

“You think he could actually nail you?” Gage paused. “Or me? Why isn’t he shaking me down?”

“Whoever did this has been thinking about it for a long time. Maybe he’s planted evidence against me but not against you.”

“I’m merely collateral damage?”

Reed coughed out a laugh. “Maybe. Or maybe he thinks I’m worth more money.”

“You are.”

“There you go.”

“Ten million,” mused Gage. “How long would it take you to raise that kind of cash?”

“Five minutes,” said Reed honestly.

Gage nodded as Selina breezed into the room.

She reached into her briefcase, pulled out a plastic bag, and tweezered the letter safely inside. Then she sealed it, sat down and turned it so that she could read.

“I’ll take this to a private lab. I doubt we’ll get fingerprints. The operation has been too sophisticated so far to make a mistake like that.”