Trapped Read Free Page A

Scotty to meet me for dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s. I dreaded talking to them, but I asked Nick to at least give mom and dad a heads-up on the topic of discussion that day. Mom had already called me, hysterical at the thought that I was thinking of terminating my child. I had to talk her down off the ledge, but I managed to get it under control when I reassured her that I wouldn’t be depriving her of a grandchild after all.
    They met me, and we all sat down.
    “Okay,” I said, addressing the four people at the table. The four people who, aside from Luke, meant the absolute most to me in the world. “I guess Nick has filled all of you in on the fact that I’m pregnant, and what that means, considering my situation with Nottingham.”
    “Yes,” my dad said. “I’ve already gotten in touch with some of the best family law attorneys in the city. I’ve gotten a few lined up that will help you fight this one all the way.”
    I shook my head. “You’ll be fighting fire with fire. Whoever you find to represent me, Nottingham will have better. You aren’t the only billionaire involved in this situation, dad. You can’t throw money at this and hope that it resolves itself.”
    “I don’t understand,” mom said. “You assured me that you would keep this child. And you don’t seem to want to fight Nottingham in court. So, what is your plan?”
    I took a deep breath. “My plan is to move to London and start fresh. Luke and I have already talked it through, and we know the possible consequences.”
    My dad was shaking his head. “No, you can’t do that. That is essentially kidnapping, I hope you know that. You’re going to be acting like a criminal by doing that, and you will also be treated like a criminal when Nottingham finds out what happened. You have to face this. I didn’t fight enough when I found out that you were going to marry that man, but I’m putting my foot down now. You can’t do this.”
    I sighed. I was prepared for this. “Dad, once again, it’s not a matter of my asking permission. I’m an adult. You can’t stop me. And believe me, I’ve thought about this situation eight ways to Sunday. I see no other solution. Yes, there could be devastating consequences if Nottingham sees what I’ve done, but I’ll just have to face them if it comes to that. The other solutions to this situation are untenable. Either I terminate or I let Nottingham ruin this baby. Neither of those are options for me. I mean, I admit, the first idea I had was to have an abortion. But Luke made me see that there was possibly another way. And I’m going to take it. The odds are against us living our lives in peace, but I like the odds of Luke and I getting away with this a helluva lot more than the odds that Nottingham won’t get custody of this child.”
    Dad was still shaking his head. “I won’t see my daughter become a criminal.”
    I took a deep breath, and looked at Nick, who, surprisingly enough, wasn’t saying a word.
    I raised an eyebrow. “Sometimes, dad, you have to break the law if a situation is bad enough. I would think that you, of all people, would know this.” I looked at Nick again, pointedly, and he shook his head.
    Dad looked over at Nick, and then back at me. “How did you know?”
    “I just do,” I said. “I was a bratty kid, and wanting to learn how to do subversive things. I taught myself to hack, and I found out about Paul Lucas, and what really happened to him. And all that I can say is that Uncle Nick is in no position to…”
    Scotty’s face got white, and I immediately felt bad. Nick looked like he was going to come over to my side of the table and strangle me with his bare hands. He turned to Scotty. “Scotty, honey, I need to speak with Dalilah alone.”
    Scotty just put her hand on his, and said “no need. I know. I’ve always known what happened to that bastard. I’ve just never told you that I knew.”
    I immediately felt terrible for bringing up this can of worms,