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“The results just came in,” he breathes out, and I’m unable to talk. “Figured you’d want the results before he emails you with them.”

I make a noncommittal grunting noise.

“Congrats, man, you’re going to be a father.”

“Fuck!” I launch the phone against the wall, causing it to shatter. “Fuck!” I scream louder than ever as anger with myself consumes me.

I shouldn’t care; I’ve no intention of being a father.

Especially knowing what’s at stake with Fanzio.

So why does my life feel like it’s spiraling when I have the perfect get-out clause?

CHAPTERNINE

REED

My tie feelslike a noose around my neck, so I tug it loose and open my shirt buttons with the hope I can breathe more freely. Swallowing back another glass of whiskey, I savor the burn in my throat.

Whoever invented ties is a twisted fuck with a vendetta against businessmen. Yeah, it was probably a woman who wanted to secretly torture someone who scorned her by slowly depleting their brain of oxygen.

Why the hell does it feel like my life is over? When really, I’m getting what I want. If the baby is mine, then I can sign the contract for the land. Gia gets to keep the baby, and I can provide for them all. That way, we’re both happy.

So why does the thought twist me up inside? Is it because my own father was so absent, and I loathed him for it?

A knock at my office door has my eyes narrowing. Please tell me it’s not those women again. I already sent them a substantial lump sum to leave me the hell alone.

Owen steps inside, and his gaze roams over me. “What the hell happened to you?” He heads toward my desk, then spins a chair around for him to straddle while he stares at me head-on.

Great, a therapy session. Just what I fucking need.

The look on my face must tell him I’m unimpressed with his intrusion, because he chuckles. “Tell me what the fuck’s happened now.”

He and my best friends are aware of my predicament, but I haven’t admitted I plan on signing over rights to my child to get the land I so desperately want.

“If the baby is mine, I’m going to blackmail Gia into handing over her shares of the land in order for her to keep the baby.”

His jaw falls lax, then it tightens, his shoulders bunch tight, and his stare darkens. “You’re giving up your kid?”

I laugh, but it’s humorless. “What the fuck do I know about kids, Owen? I don’t even like them.”

His hands ball into fists, and my friend looks two seconds away from ruining me with them, but I don’t care.

“I want the land.” I change the subject before we go any deeper into my self-loathing. I’ve had abandonment issues since my childhood; I guess leaving a kid in boarding school and never returning does that to you.

Owen sighs. “You’re really going to give up your child for some land?”

“It’s a good business move,” I retort.

“Fuck the business, Reed,” he barks, causing me to jolt. “You’re making a huge mistake, man, huge. You’re going to regret it every day of your goddamn life, because what you’re doing is far worse than what your father did to you and your brother. Your kid won’t even know who you are, only that you’re the bastard who sold them.”

Sickness knots my insides at the thought.

I lift my head and glare back at Owen. “Maybe I’m just like him.”

He shakes his head. “I refuse to believe that. Listen to what’s in here.” He taps his chest right over his heart. “Not what’s going off up here.” Then he taps his forehead. “I mean it, Reed; you’re going to destroy so many lives if you do this.”

I swallow back the bile in my throat and consider the move I made earlier today. I’ve already set the ball rolling, and I don’t intend on backing down.