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Becka. A nod to Beckett? This thought pushed him over the edge of feeling and into straight numbness.
“And no, Calista wasn’t interested in you having custody. Neither is Madi. I had been trying to reach you before she died to move for child support. Or a private arrangement if you didn’t want the public to know about Becka. But now that Calista is gone, Madeline—Madi—has been taking care of Becka. She has petitioned for full custody, but wanted to be sure that she wouldn’t be in a custody battle later. The financial aspect is a distant second. Though I will say that Madi is now in a precarious position. She had been paid as Calista’s full-time nanny and is now without a source of income with a child.”
Beckett’s mind was reeling with all this new information. A woman he hardly knew seemed to have gotten pregnant with his child intentionally—almost impossible since Beckett was always careful—and now had died. Leaving behind a daughter, Becka, and a destitute sister who wanted money to take care of his child. This sounded like a bad soap opera.
And something about the way Bret said Madi’s name had his guard up. Was Bret involved with this woman? Was this some kind of scam? The whole thing made him distinctly uncomfortable, and Beckett was sure it was more than the shock of finding out that he might be a father.
And then suddenly a thought that had eluded him, likely because of sheer shock, hit Beckett between the eyes. He had an heir.
The realization filled him with an excitement he didn’t want Bret to see. He blamed the shock for not seeing it sooner: this was the answer to his father’s ridiculous requirement.
Beckett needed to look back over the contract his father had written up, but he was almost positive the language in it didn’t say the heir had to be male. It also didn’t say that Beckett had to be married. If he had a child, this child, he didn’t have to give the company over to Graham’s control. Certainly, he could come to some kind of financial arrangement with this Madi, fulfill his father’s obligations, and continue life as normal with VDKI.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about. Why don’t you leave this—” Beckett tapped the folder. “—and a way for me to contact you. I’ll set up a meeting for next week after I speak with my legal team.”
Bret smiled and put a card on Beckett’s desk. “Thank you for your time.” He paused, probably waiting for Beckett to shake his hand, but walked at a fast clip to the door when Beckett ignored him.
As soon as Bret had closed the door, Beckett had his lawyer on the phone. “George, I’m faxing you over a series of documents related to a paternity test. I didn’t consent to them, so I don’t believe they would hold up in court. I’m more interested in whether they seem legitimate in an unofficial way. I also want you to look at my father’s contract again. Specifically, the wording related to the heir. I need to know if it’s possible for me to fulfill my father’s contract with a daughter.”
He paused, shoving away the guilt before saying the next words. “And find out if just having a blood heir is enough, even if I don’t have a relationship with the child.”
Hanging up the phone, Beckett’s stomach roiled with discomfort. This solved his problem, so why did he feel so … horrible?