Chapter 17 Don't Leave
The words don't register at first.
My brain can't process what I'm seeing. What she's saying.
Recording.
She's been recording.
Recording what?
Then it hits me fast.
Recording our entire conversation.
Every word I said. Every admission I made. Every single thing that came out of my mouth since the moment she walked into this penthouse.
'It's about Leo. The custody case. Caius needed to prove he could provide a stable home.'
'I signed a contract.'
'This marriage is fake.'
Oh God.
Oh God, oh God, oh God.
I said all of that out loud. While she was recording.
I admitted that the marriage is about the custody case. I admitted there's a contract. I basically admitted the whole thing is an arrangement.
And she has it all on tape.
My knees go weak.
"You..." I can barely get the words out. "You recorded me?"
"Every word," Vanessa confirms. She's still smiling that terrible smile. "From the moment I brought out my phone to show you the photo... I had a feeling this conversation was going to be interesting. So I started recording. Just in case."
She taps the screen, and the recording stops.
Twenty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds total.
"I have to say, you made it very easy," Vanessa says. "I barely had to push at all. You just... confessed everything."
My mind is racing.
Trying to remember exactly what I said. Trying to figure out how bad this is. Trying to calculate the damage.
But I already know.
It's bad.
It's really, really bad.
If Vanessa takes that recording to Catherine... if she plays it for the social worker... if the court hears me admitting that this marriage is about the custody case...
Caius loses Leo.
Immediately.
No appeals or second chances. No time to fix it.
The court doesn't look kindly on people who try to manipulate the system. Who lie to social workers. Who enter into fraudulent marriages just to meet custody requirements.
They'll take Leo away from Caius and place him with someone else. Some stranger. Some foster family who doesn't know him. Who doesn't understand his trauma. Who doesn't know that he finally started speaking again after seven months of silence.
"You can't," I whisper. "You can't show that to anyone."
Vanessa tilts her head.
"Can't I?" she asks. "I think you'll find that I can do whatever I want with it. It's my recording. My property."
"It's illegal," I say desperately. "You can't record someone without their permission. That's... that's against the law."
"Actually," Vanessa says, like she's explaining something to a particularly slow child, "This is a one-party consent state. Which means I only need one person's permission to record a conversation. And I have my own permission."
She slips her phone back into her bag.
"So everything I just recorded is completely legal," she continues. "And completely admissible in court. Should I choose to submit it."
Should she choose.
Those are the key words.
She's giving herself leverage. An out. A bargaining chip.
"What do you want?" I ask, my voice hollow.
"I told you what I want," Vanessa says. "I want you gone. Out of Caius's life. Out of this penthouse. Out of this marriage."
"And if I leave?" I ask. "If I do what you want? Will you delete the recording?"
Vanessa considers this for a moment.
"Maybe," she says finally. "If you leave quietly. If you don't make a scene. If you disappear completely and never contact Caius again, then maybe I'll delete it."
Maybe.
Not definitely or certainly. Not a promise.
Maybe.
Which means even if I do everything she asks, she could still use that recording against us.
Against Caius. Against Leo.
There's no guarantee.
No way out.
And I can't come up with a solution on the spot. Which means one thing. I need time to strategize.
"I need time," I say. "To think and make my decision."
"You have twenty-four hours," Vanessa says. "Twenty-four hours to make your decision. Leave voluntarily and I'll consider deleting the recording. Stay, and I'll send it to the court, to every news outlet in the city if I have to."
She stands up, beginning to walk away when she turns.
"Oh, and Lia?" she says. "One more thing."
I don't want to hear it.
I don't want to know what other bomb she's about to drop.
But I can't help myself.
"What?" I ask.
Vanessa places one hand on her flat stomach.
"I'm pregnant," she says softly. "With Caius's baby. That's the main reason why I came back."
My vision blurs.
"What?" I whisper.
"Pregnant," Vanessa repeats. "I told you we met a month ago. We actually did spent the night together. And now I'm carrying his child."
No.
No, no, no.
This can't be happening.
"So you see," Vanessa continues, "you're not just standing in the way of me and Caius getting back together. You're standing in the way of a family. A real family. With a real baby."
She smiles.
"How do you think the court will feel about that?" she asks. "About Caius abandoning his pregnant girlfriend to marry you in a fake marriage? About him prioritizing a contractual arrangement over his own biological child?"
My throat runs dry.
"Twenty-four hours, Lia," Vanessa's voice drifts out. "Choose wisely."
She goes out and shuts the door.
I sit there frozen in the armchair.
I'm unable to move, think or process any of this.
She recorded me.
She has evidence.
She's pregnant with Caius's baby.
Oh God. I can't breathe.
My chest feels tight. Like someone is sitting on it and crushing me in the process.
Is this what a panic attack feels like?
I press my hands against my chest, trying to force air into my lungs.
But it doesn't work.
The panic is rising.
She's pregnant.
The thought keeps repeating in my head.
Vanessa is pregnant with Caius's baby.
He slept with her one month ago. Before he offered me two million dollars to pretend to be his wife.
Did he know?
Did he know she was pregnant when he married me?
Or did she just find out?
Does he know now?
My phone.
I need my phone to call him. I need to ask him if any of this is true.
I stumble to my feet, my legs shaking.
Where did I leave my phone?
The bedroom. I left it charging in the bedroom. I get up immediately, moving to my room. I pass Leo's room.
The door is cracked open.
I can hear him inside, making quiet car noises as he plays.
Sweet, innocent Leo.
Who has no idea that his entire world might be about to fall apart.
Again.
I keep walking until I finally make it to my bedroom. I find my phone on the nightstand where I left it.
My hands are shaking so badly I can barely unlock it.
But I manage.
I pull up Caius's contact.
My finger hovers over the call button.
What am I going to say?
'Hi, your ex-girlfriend just showed up and told me she's pregnant with your baby. Is it true?'
'Did you sleep with Vanessa one month ago?
'Did you know she was pregnant when you asked me to marry you?'
'Is everything she said true?'
I can't. I can't have this conversation over the phone.
I can't ask these questions while he's in Boston, while he's in meetings, while he's miles away.
This conversation needs to happen in person. Face to face.
Where I can see his eyes. See if he's lying.
But he won't be back for two days.
Maybe three.
And Vanessa gave me twenty-four hours.
One day to make a decision that will affect the rest of my life. The rest of Leo's life. The rest of Caius's life.
One day to decide whether to stay or go.
Whether to fight or surrender.
How could I have been so careless?
How could I have admitted so much?
How could I have let her manipulate me so easily?
If I take the option of leaving,
I lose the two million dollars that's supposed to save my mother's life.
My mother.
Oh God.
She's in the hospital right now, experimental drugs flowing through her veins, fighting for her life.
Fighting because I made a deal with Caius.
Fighting because he transferred almost a million dollars to pay for her treatment.
If I leave now... if I break the contract... do I have to pay him back?
Can I pay him back?
The treatment has already started. The money has already been spent.
I don't have it.
I don't have anything.
My mother will die.
And it will be my fault.
Because I couldn't keep my mouth shut for five minutes.
Because I let Vanessa manipulate me.
Because I'm not smart enough or strong enough or good enough to play in this world.
A sob builds in my throat.
This was supposed to be simple.
Six months.
That's all it was supposed to be.
Six months of pretending. Six months, and then I could walk away with two million dollars and my mother's life saved and everything would be fine.
But nothing is fine.
Nothing is simple.
And I don't know what to do.
I don't know how to fix this.
I don't know how to save Leo and my mother and myself all at the same time.
There's a soft knock on the door.
I freeze.
"Mummy?"
I hear Leo's soft voice.
Oh God.
Not now.
Please, not now.
"Okay?" he asks.
I force myself to sit up and wipe my face with my hands.
"I'm fine, sweetheart," I reply.
My voice is thick from crying. He'll know I'm lying.
"Come... In?" Leo asks.
I look down at myself. I'm still in my ratty t-shirt.
My face is probably blotchy and red.
My eyes are definitely swollen.
I look like a mess.
But I can't send him away.
Can't tell him no.
"Yes," I say. "Come in."
The door opens slowly. Leo peeks his head in first, like he's not sure if it's safe.
When he sees me sitting on the bed, he pushes the door open the rest of the way and walks in.
He's still clutching his toy car.
His eyes are big and worried.
"You cry," he says.
"A little bit," I admit. There's no point in lying to him.
He can see right through me.
"Why...?" he asks.
How do I answer that?
How do I explain any of this to a four-year-old?
"Sometimes grown-ups cry when they're sad," I say carefully. "Or when they're worried about something."
"You... sad?" Leo asks.
"A little bit."
"You ... worried?"
"Yes."
He climbs up onto the bed next to me.
"About... what?" he asks. I realize he's speaking more to me and a warm smile breaks on my face.
"I'm worried about making the right choice," I tell him honestly. A very important one that will affect a lot of people."
Leo nods seriously like he understands.
Like he knows what it's like to have the weight of impossible decisions on your shoulders.
I close my eyes for some time, trying to relax and think more of the situation.
I can't let Vanessa win and abandon Leo.
I've only known him for two days.
That's not enough time to love someone.
But when I think about leaving him...
My chest aches.
Maybe I do love him.
This sweet, broken little boy who lost everything and somehow found the courage to speak again.
Because of me.
But if I choose to stay, Vanessa sends the recording to Catherine.
The court finds out the marriage is fake.
Caius loses custody of Leo.
Leo gets placed with someone else.
My mother might lose her treatment if Caius voids the contract.
Everyone loses.
But if I leave...
If I walk away now, before Vanessa can use that recording...
Maybe Caius can salvage this somehow. Maybe he can work things out with Vanessa.
Maybe they can get back together.
Maybe they can raise Leo together.
And their baby.
The baby I still can't quite believe is real.
Maybe that's the better outcome.
Maybe Leo needs a real family and not a fake one built on lies and contracts.
"Mummy?" I hear Leo's voice and open my eyes immediately.
"Yes?"
"Please... don't leave me," he whispers. "Don't leave... like Mama and Papa did."
And just like that, my heart shatters into a million pieces.