Like I said, a development has occurred. Meet me tomorrow at that cafe near your work.
No. I want nothing more to do with you. Don’t contact me again.
Hannah’s fingers trembled as she hit the send button on her phone.
Not your call. Meet me at the cafe at eight a.m. tomorrow. I only need a few minutes of your time. If you’re a no show I’ll pay a visit to Damien instead. I’m not sure if he’d find meeting me devastating or enlightening. See you at eight and don’t be stupid. I have the potential to ruin you.
Hannah stared at the message before turning off her phone and closing her eyes. He was right. One conversation with Damien and he could ruin her completely.
Hannah tossed and turned most of the night, waking in a pool of sweat. Amy had been the focus of her dreams; riding a horse at breakneck speed, bareback and at times standing up. Her mother was on the sidelines cheering her on. It was a relief to wake up, but then the thought of the day ahead, particularly the meeting with Zane Fox, rattled her. She’d elected to wear a grey pencil skirt and jacket with her heeled ankle boots. Today she needed the extra boost a favourite pair of boots would give her. Her hair was secured in a high bun, and she hoped that she exuded a don’t mess with me air. There was only one scenario she could imagine would bring Zane Fox back into their lives and, no, she wasn’t going to allow herself even to think it.
Hannah pulled into her parking space underneath No Risk’s offices and switched off the engine. She got out, took a deep breath and walked swiftly to the lifts. There was nothing to worry about. She said this over and over in her head, trying to convince herself the words were true as she caught the lift to the ground floor and walked out of the building toward Cafe Reiki.
Zane, balding and at least ten kilos heavier since she’d last seen him twelve years ago, was sipping his coffee at a table at the back of the cafe, partially hidden by a large plant. That was good at least; no one was likely to see them together.
He stood and held out his hand when she approached the table. Was he kidding? She was not going to enter into any pleasantries. Her only objective was to get rid of him. She ignored his hand and sat in the seat across from him.
‘Coffee?’ He nodded toward the menu.
‘I’m not interested in anything other than having you confirm you’ll never contact me again. Why am I here and what do you want?’ Hannah was relieved that her voice sounded strong and steady. Luckily he couldn’t see her knees trembling beneath the table.
He raised an eyebrow as if to suggest her rudeness was uncalled for. ‘There’s been an unexpected development.’
She felt her heart rate increase as he took a notepad from his briefcase and laid it on the table. It was open on a page full of writing.
‘I had a phone call from Family Information Networks and Discovery last week. As you may recall, FIND was the agency that helped us find out what happened to Damien’s parents.’
Hannah nodded. She remembered the name.
‘Damien’s biological mother, Janine Markinson, contacted them and was subsequently put in touch with me. She would like to meet her son.’
A cold chill ran through Hannah. ‘Why?’
‘What do you mean why?’
‘I mean, why after all these years does she suddenly want to find Damien, and why did they refer her to you?’
‘She wants to find her son as his biological father died recently and she feels she now has closure with what he did to her. As for why they referred her to me, when we did our investigations years ago to provide Damien with information about his family, we had him sign a document that said he was preventing any future contact from anyone related to his biological family. I was listed on that form as his legal representative.’
Hannah thought back to the original findings. It had been a devastating shock to learn the truth about Damien’s biological parents; that his mother, at seventeen, was the victim of a brutal rape from which Damien resulted. Hannah had made the excruciating decision to keep this information from him. She’d explained to Zane at the time her reasoning for this decision, and for an additional fee he’d agreed to help her. At the last minute he’d increased his fee by five thousand dollars, threatening to tell Damien everything, including Hannah’s request to keep the information from him if she didn’t pay. What had started as an honest business transaction turned sour very quickly.
‘What happened to his father?’ Hannah asked. ‘You said he died. Did you find out how?’
Zane nodded. ‘Of course. I found out everything I thought you’d want to know.’ He consulted his notebook. ‘He was stabbed in a prison riot two months ago. He’s been in and out of prison over the past twelve years for a range of offences. The last one was a hit-and-run involving a three-year-old child.’
Hannah swallowed. A three-year-old. How could anyone live with themselves after doing that? ‘Nothing’s changed,’ she said to Zane, ‘I don’t want Damien learning any of this.’
‘His mother hasn’t done anything wrong,’ Zane said. ‘I did a bit of poking around, and she’s a schoolteacher. She never married and has no other children. From all reports, she’s a good person who suffered terribly as a consequence of what happened to her.’
She certainly had – the poor woman. ‘As I said, it doesn’t change anything. I feel sorry for her, but I can’t even begin to imagine how Damien, or his adoptive mum, would take all of this. Please tell the agency that our position hasn’t changed. That we don’t want any information released.’
Zane’s eyes were on Hannah. He picked up his coffee and sipped it.
‘What? You have a problem with my decision?’
‘No. To be honest, I don’t care what your decision is. But you’ve put me in a compromising position. I’m the gatekeeper to whether Janine can find information about her son. I’m no longer comfortable having my name all over the documentation that prevents her from gaining any knowledge about Damien.’
Hannah breathed a sigh of relief. ‘If that’s all, let’s have the documents changed. Get my name put on them, or a lawyer’s. I’m sure that’s not a big deal.’
‘You’d have to get Damien to sign them again.’
Hannah smiled. ‘Damien blindly signs anything I put in front of him. That’s not a concern.’
‘So, he trusts you.’
‘Of course he does. He’s my husband.’
‘But he shouldn’t, should he? Not with the lies you’re capable of telling him.’
Fear flooded through Hannah. ‘What is it you’re after, Zane?’
‘Compensation. I will have my name removed from the forms and sign a document saying I’ll never reveal anything about the case. My fee for this is ten thousand dollars.’
Hannah gasped. ‘What? You’ve already been paid, and you’ve signed a confidentiality agreement. I have a copy of it. You’ve had twelve years to blackmail me since then, why now?’
‘The agreement from twelve years ago clearly states I won’t reveal any information that we discovered about Damien’s birth parents. It says nothing about his birth mother making contact twelve years later, requiring me to tell more lies. If you wish me to continue lying for you, I expect compensation. It’s as simple as that.’