Page 10 of All the Forbidden Things

The room falls silent for a long moment before Mel asks, “What if she denies adultery once she gets served?”

“She requested a paternity test, so it’d be a moot point,” Aaron tells her.

“She might deny that as well,” Cal ads. “Requesting a paternity test, I mean.”

“She might, but I already have a few things in place. I’ll need the security camera footage from the front of the house, showing her being picked up by Gardener. I’ll also check whether or not she was at the spa yesterday. I’ll go through her bank and credit card transactions and pull up her phone records, anything I can think of to come up with some solid evidence of her infidelity. The prenup I drew up before the wedding is airtight. She's coming out of this with exactly what she came in with. And that’ll amount to just about nothing. Once we get the paternity test results back, we’ll file for temporary, emergency custody. That can be done straight away, you won’t have to wait a year for that.”

“Thank fuck,” I mumble.

I feel all eyes on me. “How’d you wanna handle that, Max?” Aaron asks. “You want full or joint custody?”

“Full.” I don’t hesitate. “Whitney can have access, but I don’t want that junky anywhere near my baby.”

“Gardener’s addiction, rehab stays, and criminal records can also be used as a part of my case against them. I’m not up to speed on family law, so I’ve already made a few calls to get you the best legal team on board.”

“Is my past gonna be a problem?” Panic rolls through me like a tidal wave of ice, and for a few moments, I struggle to breathe.

Aaron shakes his head, and I calm marginally.

“Most of what’s been reported about you has been overly exaggerated, some things completely fabricated. With exception to your stays at Winslow House, it’ll be easy to disprove if we need to.”

“And what about my stays at Winslow. It’s known as beingtheplace to go if you have a drink or drug problem. Will my stays there work against me?”

“You were officially admitted for exhaustion, so that’s what the judge will see. There’s no record of you being there to dry out, I made sure of that at the time.”

Mel makes us all coffee, and Aaron makes notes as we talk through everything that Whitney had said the previous morning. We’re just finishing up when my intercom buzzes.

My stomach lurches at the sound, and I’ve no idea why.

My phone’s still upstairs where it’s been for most of the day, and it’s just after nine, so I’ve no clue who’d be calling at this time of night.

“Dude, you gonna get that?” Callum's voice interrupts my drifting mind. My tired eyes meet his.

“I’m fucked. I really don’t want visitors right now.”

“I’ll get it and get rid of them if I can,” Mel says, and I nod, offering a small smile of thanks.

Aaron stands, holds out his hand, and I shake it. “Try and get some sleep tonight. I know that’s easier said than done with a newborn, but try and get your head down between her feeds. I’ve asked that the results come directly from the lab to me, and I’ll be in touch with the results and news on which divorce lawyers we’ll be using.” He stares down at me in silence for a few moments.

“Look, I know it’s not something you wanna do, but you probably need to talk to Jerry Gardener. He’s the manager of your band and needs to be made aware of what’s happening between your wife and his son. The pair of you need to decide how you want to handle the attention this is likely to draw. You’ll also need to let Gaynor at the office know to expect calls from the press, Lennon from the label needs to be in the loop … Maybe I should handle that, and give the delightful Jaimie a call.”

Aaron wiggles his eyebrows. He’s pushing fifty-five, still a good-looking bloke in that silver fox kind of way women seem to love, keeps himself in shape, and has been divorced for around ten years. He also has a thing for Jaimie Layton who works for the agency that manages us. It’s owned by our record label, Carnage Creations. The owner of that label and agency, Lennon Layton, also happens to be Jaimie’s husband, who I know for a fact, will have Aaron’s balls if he ever finds out about his not-so-secret crush.

Still, Aaron has always been there for us with more than just legal advice, and when I stand from my chair, he pulls me in for a back slap.

“Sorry this is happening to you, Max, I really am. I won’t lie, it’s probably gonna be a shitshow for the next few months, but we’ll get this dealt with as quickly as possible so everyone can move on.”

I nod.

He turns to leave and raises his hand, his car keys dangling from his finger, and calls out, “Get some sleep. I’ll be in touch tomorrow. See ya, Cal.”

Cal raises his hand in response, and as he opens his mouth to speak, Aaron pivots and turns back around to face me. “Aaaand, it looks like I’m staying.”

I frown, my headache returning, reminding me, it’s been a long fucking day.

Just as I open my mouth to ask Aaron what he's forgotten, Mel appears behind him, trailed by two policemen.

Aaron places his briefcase down on the dining table.