Page 48 of Undeniably Unexpected (Boston’s Irresistible Billionaires #6)

I busy myself with pouring two glasses of water and take them to the balcony, arranging the lounge chairs to face the beginning of the sunset.

The ocean stretches before me, a canvas of blues and golds in the late afternoon light.

A few boats dot the horizon, tiny white specks against the enormity of water and sky, and I can’t help but squint at them, wondering if it’s press.

I miss our bubble. I miss those ten days when it was just us and it was perfect and safe.

Keegan emerges in loose, white linen pants and a thin sweater that slips off one shoulder.

Her hair is pulled into a messy knot on top of her head, exposing the constellation of freckles across her shoulders that I’ve memorized with my lips.

I’m not ready for this to end. I’m feeling petulant and angry about it, and whoever this twat is that’s messing with it, messing with my girl, he’ll suffer.

“Ready for this?” she asks, taking the water from my hand, our fingers brushing in the exchange. A small jolt passes between us I never tire of and never will. Keegan is mine now. Mine to love and mine to protect, and I shall.

“Not really, no,” I answer truthfully, forcing a smile but knowing it doesn’t reach my eyes. “But let’s get it over with.”

Keegan pulls her phone from her pocket and dials, putting it on speaker as we settle into the chairs. The ring echoes in the open air three times before Vander’s voice breaks through.

“Ah, lovely Keegs. Just the redhead I wanted to talk to. I’m glad you called. Is Loomis with you? I was going to call him tonight.”

“He’s here,” she replies. “But we have some things we really need to tell you. A lot’s happened.”

“I’ll say, but you go first.”

“I had an interesting call with Alden.”

Keegan proceeds to explain her conversation with Alden, holding my hand as she does, still reassuring me that it’s me and not him for her.

“Did he say what kind of information?” Vander’s voice is sharp, but we hear him clicking around on a keyboard in the background.

“Nothing too specific other than he knows our relationship is— was —fake. That it was arranged to help Loomis look good for the custody case with Fen. He mentioned video.”

“But you didn’t tell Alden it was fake, did you?” I ask her.

Keegan shakes her head. “No. He asked, and I told him that what we have is very real and that we love each other. I didn’t confirm nor deny how it began.”

“So our mystery man knows something he shouldn’t,” Vander muses. “Or he’s bluffing and Alden is playing a game.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

“He’s not,” Keegan protests.

“Regardless, I’d like to make sure,” I admit and throw Keegan a side-eye. She doesn’t react either way.

“I don’t know Alden all that well,” Vander continues. “I could be wrong and will naturally look into it regardless, but he showed up after you fell. Still, he was pissed about you and Loomis, right?”

“Yes, but he wasn’t today, Van. He said he wanted me to be happy and that he was worried about me. I’ve known Alden my whole life. He’s a good man and wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone.”

“Then I’ll find nothing when I look into him.

If it’s a burner phone, tracing its owner is very difficult, but I can search Alden’s records, and when this person calls him again, I can triangulate where the call is coming from, so that could tell us something.

Maybe,” he tacks on. “Regardless, Alden should play along and possibly meet up with him.”

“So no way to know who it is?”

“Not yet, unfortunately, unless the person is really stupid, which so far they haven’t been.

That said, this is a desperate move. They’re looking for social proof in the form of Alden.

Whatever they leaked about you, Fen, and Keegan has backfired on them.

Child and Family Services is satisfied so far with what you’ve done and what you’re doing with Fen.

The press about the three of you has been glowing, and fans are rabid for it.

They love seeing you as a dad and in a happy relationship.

This person wants to hurt you, Loomis. That much is clear. ”

Frustration slams through me.

“But I’ll find them,” he promises, the confidence in his voice reassuring. “Desperation always leads to mistakes, but if he’s using a burner, that explains why I couldn’t track the photos that were initially shared.”

“I’m worried it’s Fen’s mum or my dad. I understand it could be some deranged fan following me about and sparking controversy, but as you said, they want to hurt me, and with that, this feels… personal. More personal than a fan.”

There’s a pause, and I can almost hear Vander shifting gears mentally.

“Well, about Fen’s mother,” he finally says, taking on a completely different note. “That’s what I was planning to call about tonight.”

The air thins around me and Keegan’s hand clutches mine, her fingers cool against my suddenly clammy skin.

“What about her?” My voice sounds distant even to my own ears.

“I found her, Loomis. I’m so sorry, but she’s dead.”

The world tilts and sways as gravity tethers itself around my neck and squeezes, dragging me down and robbing me of air. The only thing keeping me stable is the pressure of Keegan’s hand in mine.

“Who—” I clear my throat. “Who was she?”

“Her name was Elise Braun and she was a twenty-one-year-old exchange student from Munich studying at King’s College in London.

She came from a very affluent and traditional family.

Old money, old values. When she got pregnant.

..” Vander pauses. “I’m not sure what happened there, but it seems her family circled the wagons and had Fenric’s name and parentage wiped.

Clearly, they didn’t want you as part of it.

I’m not even sure they wanted Fenric since they all but erased his record.

That’s why it was so difficult to find her. ”

“Bloody hell.” My hands meet the top of my head, and I bend forward, pressing them into my knees. “She’s dead?”

“Yes. She died six weeks after leaving Fen with your mother. She had a rare and aggressive form of cancer that had been diagnosed during her pregnancy, and she delayed treatment for him.”

My throat starts to close up, and I gasp, unable to draw in air. “How did you… how did you find her?”

“I had been searching for Fenric’s name since it’s so uncommon, but I switched over to women delivering babies around the time he would have been born, and then I started branching outside of the UK.

I found her that way. There was a hospital note the family didn’t wipe, likely an oversight, but it mentions a baby boy, Fenric Loomis Braun. ”

The words hit me like a physical blow. I find myself on my feet without remembering standing, pacing the length of the balcony while Keegan watches me with concern and heartbreak etched across her face.

“She knew?” I ask, though the answer is already clear. “She knew she was dying when she left him?”

“Yes,” Vander confirms. “I found her medical records. The prognosis was terminal from the start. The doctors recommended terminating the pregnancy to begin treatment immediately, but it would have only bought her a few extra months, if that, and she refused. Much to the dismay of her family, who apparently fought with the doctors to do it against her wishes. They wouldn’t, obviously.

She clearly didn’t want her family to keep Fen. She wanted him with you.”

“Then why not give me his full name? Some documentation? Hell, why not ring the sodding bell and tell my mum everything?”

“Honestly, I have no clue. She was afraid, is my best guess. Maybe she was afraid you’d reject him if you had the option to, or maybe she was afraid of her family somehow being notified and involved.

I can’t say, and I’m sorry I don’t have more details.

I’m afraid that will likely always remain a mystery to us. ”

The implications of her choices cascade through me.

She chose Fen’s life over her own. Left him not out of callousness or fear, but out of a desperate kind of love, ensuring he would be with me rather than with grandparents who wanted no part of him.

I don’t even recognize her name, and that makes me sick. What kind of bastard was I?

“Fuck,” I breathe, running a hand through my hair. “All this time, I thought?—”

“I know,” Vander says simply.

The things I said about her without knowing.

I feel Keegan beside me before I see her, her arm sliding around my waist, her head resting against my shoulder.

She’s trembling with emotion, sniffling lightly as she tries to hide her tears.

I lean into her, grateful for the anchor she provides as the foundation of my resentment crumbles around me.

“Do you have... anything of hers?” I ask. “Photos? Posts. Anything I could someday show Fen?”

“Some,” Vander confirms. “Her social media is set to private, but I’ve already accessed it. I just found this late last night, so I’m still working on her university records, her family history, and anything else I can get on her.”

I nod, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat. “Thank you, Vander. That seems wholly inadequate but thank you.”

He blows past my gratitude. “Which brings me to my next point. I think you should come home. Tomorrow morning, if possible. I agree that the threat seems personal. You were already spotted all over Key West, so it’s really only a matter of time before they put it together that you’re on Kaplan’s island. ”

“He’s right,” I agree, still feeling winded and wanting to go wake my son and hug him.

The pragmatic part of me agrees immediately that we should leave as soon as we can.

The rest of me wants to hide here on this island forever so I can shield Fen from the truth that will someday break his heart just as it’s breaking mine.

Still, he’ll know how loved he was, and that’s all I can ask for with this, I suppose.

“I’ll arrange the plane,” Keegan offers, making the decision when she sees I’m still lost in thought. “First thing tomorrow we’ll fly home.”

“Good,” Vander says. “And I’ll keep digging on both fronts, and if I find anything, I’ll let you know immediately.”

The call disconnects and I stare out at the horizon, watching the sun start to set.

“Fen will never know her,” I utter, the words spilling out raw and unfiltered. “Never know that she chose him. That she—” My voice breaks, and I look away, out toward the endless water.

Keegan holds me tighter, her face tilted up to mine. “But you’ll tell him,” she says softly. “You’ll tell him everything Vander finds. Every beautiful, painful truth. And he’ll love her as she deserves to be loved.”

“I didn’t know her. Her name… I didn’t recognize it. How do I tell my son that?”

“Maybe when you see her picture, it’ll jog your memory and you’ll tell him what you know.”

I look down at her, wondering how she’s still here and comforting me after what I just told her, and feel something loosen in my chest. A band of tension I’ve carried since the day I learned of Fen unwrapping.

I hold her close, breathing in the scent of cherries and vanilla on her skin, feeling the solid reality of her against the blackness of my thoughts.

Tomorrow we’ll return to face whatever threat awaits us.

But tonight, I have this. Even if it all feels like it’s about to be ripped away from me.