you’re going to be a father.”
“Yeah, but it was how methodical she was that made it clear to me that she had planned it.” He pushed from his desk and walked to the window. “She was only sixteen.”
Trace was incredulous because that was brazen even for Heidi. “Shit. She set you up for blackmail.”
“She knew that if my affair with her got out, my career and life would have gone up in smoke, so she made her proposition.” He turned to Trace. “If we paid her a monthly sum, she would keep quiet.”
“And you agreed.”
“Vivian wasn’t about to give up the lifestyle she had become accustomed to and insisted that I agree. She didn’t even care about the affair, only about the idea of losing her status in society. That was a hit, but one I should have seen coming.”
“So why the hell did Heidi tell me that Seth was my father’s?”
“She was fixated on you and even moved herself to St. Agnes to be closer to you. By claiming her child was your father’s, it gave her a hold over you. I knew what she was doing but I didn’t stop her; yet another opportunity I had to help you that I didn’t take.” He paused for a minute before he added, “I need you to know that I didn’t help you when your father was alive because I was dealing with this shit with Heidi, but I should have, because nothing comes close to the horror that animal inflicted on you and your sister. I’ll have to live with failing you and Chelsea for the rest of my life.”
Charles sat back down, but there was conviction burning in his eyes. “I didn’t kill her. I was willing to pay for my sins, but we weren’t the only ones she was blackmailing.”
“How do you know that?” Trace asked.
“She took delight in it. She made it her job to find dirt on people and exploit them with it. We were small potatoes compared to the others.”
Trace’s thoughts turned to Dane and how he believed Heidi had been blackmailing his family. But how had she met them, since Dane seemed too afraid to have made the introductions? “Do you know if Heidi knew the older Carmichaels?”
“Yeah, meeting them was part of her blackmail demands.”
“What does that mean?”
“She wanted to be introduced to rich and powerful people, that family specifically. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she was blackmailing them too. It was what she did.”
He wasn’t wrong, but Trace moved on. “You said you didn’t kill her. Do you think Vivian could have?”
“And miss a gala because of a jail sentence? No. Vivian is many things, but she isn’t a killer.”
“It’s going to come out about you and Heidi. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do about Seth?”
“You mean, am I going to claim him as my son?”
“Yeah. He’s at St. Agnes. Did you arrange that?” Trace asked.
“Yes, he’s a ward of the state with Heidi gone, but at least at St. Agnes he has a friend. Seth deserves more than me. I’ve never been there for him and his life is in turmoil enough without adding me to the equation.”
Trace studied the older man for a minute. It wasn’t often that people took him by surprise, but it seemed that Charles Michaels wasn’t as much of a selfish prick as he’d thought. “Would you consider making me his legal guardian?”
Surprised flashed over Charles’s face. “You would do that?”
“I’ve sort of been doing it already. Might as well make it legal.”
“I think Seth is very lucky to have you. I’ll take care of it.”
Trace stood. “Thank you for sharing that with me. It couldn’t have been easy. It might get out about you and Heidi, but it won’t be coming from me.”
It was as close to absolution as Trace could offer before he turned and walked out.
Trace walked into his apartment to see Chelsea in the living room watching television and eating ice cream. She turned to him and smiled, her lips covered in chocolate.
“Hey, Trace.”
He walked over and knelt down in front of her. “Chocolate, chocolate chip, yum.”
“You look sad. Why are you sad?”
“Not so much sad, but thankful. I love you, Chelsea.”
“I know that.”
He grinned before he pressed a kiss to her forehead and stood. “Where’s Ember?”
“Sleeping.”
He walked down the hall to their room and saw Ember curled up in a ball on their bed. He closed and locked their door before he kicked off his