Chapter 37 Chapter 37
Tony's free hand clenched into a fist. "The Maxwells have nothing to do with this. They're innocent bystanders who raised a child they believed was abandoned."
"I know that," Julius said, surprising his son with this rare moment of straightforwardness. "Which is why I'm calling you instead of helping her. The girl, Iris. She seems to matter to you."
Tony hesitated, unused to discussing personal feelings with his father. "She does."
A brief silence followed before Julius spoke again. "Then protect her and her family. Your mother is resourceful, but she's not infallible.”
“I’m guessing you both saw the photo of me kissing Iris as we left. Is this why Mother is going after the people who gave Iris everything? You know, Iris was entering the competitions not just for herself but to help out her adoptive family.”
Julius Kennedy fell silent for a moment, absorbing his son's words. The raw emotion in Tony's voice was something he'd rarely heard from his typically reserved son.
"Your mother believes this is an opportunity," Julius finally said, his tone carefully measured. "The Lawson shipping contract has been a priority for years. Finding leverage was always the goal."
"And now I'm the leverage?" Tony asked, anger seeping into his voice. "Or Iris is?"
"Both, in your mother's view," Julius admitted. "But I'm beginning to think there might be more at stake than business arrangements."
Tony leaned against the wall, processing his father's unusual candour. Julius Kennedy had always been the quieter force in the family, allowing Helga to direct their business and social maneuvers while he provided strategic support from the background. This direct warning represented a significant departure from their typical dynamic.
"I need to warn Iris," Tony said. "And the Maxwells."
"Be discreet," Julius advised. "Your mother has already dispatched investigators to gather information on the fire station where the girl was found. She's determined to control the narrative when this story breaks."
After ending the call, Tony stood in the hallway for a moment, weighing his options. The Lawson family had resources that could protect the Maxwells, but involving them meant pulling Iris deeper into the complex dynamics between the two powerful families.
In the studio, Iris and Dianne had moved to a large worktable where they were arranging Iris's designs alongside sketches from Dianne's old notebooks. The visual conversation between their work revealed striking similarities in approach despite the different media and the nearly twenty-year gap.
"Your understanding of negative space is intuitive," Dianne observed, indicating an area in one of Iris's pendant designs. "The void becomes as important as the material itself."
Richard watched them from the doorway, reluctant to interrupt the artistic connection forming between his wife and daughter. For twenty years, he had carried the weight of their family's grief, watching helplessly as Dianne retreated further into herself with each passing year. Now, seeing her animated and engaged, discussing creative techniques with the daughter they had lost, he felt a hope he had almost forgotten how to recognise.
Tony appeared beside him, his expression troubled. "Mr Lawson, could I speak with you privately?"
Richard nodded, sensing the urgency in the young man's tone. They stepped into the hallway, moving far enough away that their conversation wouldn't reach the studio.
"My mother is investigating the Maxwells," Tony said without preamble. "She's looking for leverage."
Richard's face hardened, years of business negotiations making him instantly alert to potential threats. "What kind of leverage?"
"Anything she can use to control the situation," Tony explained. "Financial pressures, past mistakes, legal vulnerabilities, anything that would give her an advantage."
Richard's jaw tightened, his protective instincts flaring. "The Maxwells.”
Tony nodded, “Some of Iris’s competition winnings and what she makes from her cafe job were sent home to help her adoptive parents. She was also saving to buy herself a place of her own, a bigger one closer to her family. To give her adoptive brothers opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise, from my understanding, they look up to her and wanted to work for her once they went to college.”
Richard's expression softened as Tony's words revealed the depth of Iris's commitment to her adoptive family. The image of his newly-found daughter working multiple jobs to support the people who had raised her touched something deep within him.
"She never mentioned this," he said quietly. "Not a word about helping her family financially."
"She wouldn't," Tony replied. "Iris doesn't draw attention to her sacrifices. She just makes them."
Richard nodded, a newfound respect mingling with the paternal pride already growing in his heart. "The Maxwells will be protected," he said with quiet determination. "I'll have our legal team draw up preventative measures immediately."
"There's something else," Tony added, his voice lowering further. "The fire station where Iris was found, my mother is investigating the circumstances. If there was anything irregular about her adoption..."
Richard's jaw tightened. "It was twenty years ago. Small-town fire station, abandoned infant, the legal process might not have been as rigorous as current standards."
"Exactly," Tony confirmed. "My mother will look for any technical violations that could be leveraged."
In the studio, oblivious to the conversation in the hallway, Iris and Dianne continued their artistic exchange, each discovery of shared aesthetic sensibilities strengthening the tentative bond forming between them.
"I've always been drawn to asymmetrical balance," Iris explained, indicating one of her more complex designs. "The tension between opposing elements creates energy."
Dianne nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, exactly! I explored similar principles in my suspended sculptures. Look..." She flipped to a page in her sketchbook showing a design that eerily mirrored the underlying structure of Iris's pendant.
Across town, in the Kennedy penthouse, Helga paced the luxurious living room as her team of investigators reported their preliminary findings via conference call.
"The Maxwell family finances are precarious," the lead investigator informed her. "Leo Maxwell's firefighter pension barely covers their mortgage. Carol Maxwell's nurse's salary handles basic expenses; however has taken up tutoring English and Math, but with four growing boys still at home, they're living month to month."
Helga's perfectly manicured nails tapped thoughtfully against her crystal tumbler. "And the girl? How much does she contribute?"
"Significantly, from what we can determine. Regular bank transfers coinciding with her competition winnings and paychecks. Without her support, they'd likely lose their home within six months."
A calculating smile curved Helga's lips. "Excellent. And the adoption paperwork?"