Chapter 79

Chapter 79: The Anonymous Donor

Edrick

As soon as I saw the picture on the tabloid, I knew that I had to have it taken down as soon as

possible. I immediately felt my heart sink and, without another word to Selina or Moana, I called the

tabloid straight away. This specific tabloid had been known to cause trouble in the past, so it was

needless to say that I already knew the CEO somewhat well.

When I called his office, however, he didn’t sound too keen on selling me the image.

“I don’t know…” he said into the phone. “Tell you what; let’s talk about this in person, and maybe we

can make a deal.”

I frowned. Why couldn’t he just speak over the phone, just like he always did? Either way, I had to get

that image taken down; if my father saw that picture, and it was very possible that he already did, it

would cause an uproar. So, I did what the CEO asked and immediately drove over to his office.

When I arrived, he was waiting for me in his dinky little corner office. It was honestly laughable to me

that I had to meet a weasel like this in person.

“You can take your mask off,” he said, leaning back in his chair as I entered his office. I closed the door

behind me and warily slid my mask down once I was certain that I wouldn’t be seen.

“So… You wanna pay me off, huh?” he said with a condescending chuckle. “You know, that’s a very

valuable image I’ve got. You’re gonna have to offer more than the first person did.”

I felt my eyes widened. “Someone else paid for it already? Who?”

He shrugged. “That’s confidential, unfortunately,” he said. “They paid me a pretty penny to keep it on

the website, if you’d believe that. How much are you willing to pay me to take it down?”

I was flabbergasted by this situation. Who would seriously pay this tabloid to keep that photograph

public? I couldn’t imagine anyone who would be willing to pay so much money for something like that.

“Fine,” I said with an exasperated sigh. “How much did they pay you?”

The CEO grinned. “A hundred thousand.”

My jaw practically hit the floor. I stood, shaking my head and folded my arms. “You’re bluffing,” I said

angrily. “No one would pay a hundred thousand to keep that photo up.”

However, the CEO merely shrugged. He then pointed to a check that was sitting on his desk; when I

leaned over to look at it, I saw that it was made out to the amount of one hundred thousand dollars.

The beneficiary seemed to use only their initials: K.M.

I frowned, holding the check up to the light. It looked legitimate.

“Time is ticking,” the CEO said as he tapped his wristwatch. “Do you want the picture to stay up or

not?”

A deep, agitated groan escaped my throat, but nonetheless, I pulled out my checkbook and began to

scribble furiously. When I was finished, I tore it out and slammed it down on the CEO’s desk.

“Here. And I don’t want you publishing photos of me or anyone else in my personal life on your shady

little tabloid again,” I snarled. “Got it?”

The CEO picked up the check, his eyes widening as he saw the amount. “A… Million?” he croaked.

I nodded as I tucked my checkbook back into my suit jacket pocket. “Consider it a gift, and keep it off

the books,” I said. “Do anything like this again, and I’ll sue you.” I pressed my fingers into his desk then

and leaned forward, coming face to face with him. This close, he was fairly greasy-looking, and one

eye was lower than the other. “My lawyers are a whole hell of a lot better than yours,” I growled. “I’ll get

not only that money back, but I’ll take everything from you if you cross me again.”

The CEO gulped, nodding vehemently. I watched with disdain as he slowly took the check off of his

desk with a shaking hand and folded it, slipping it into his pocket. “Right away, Mr. Morgan,” he said

quietly. “It won’t be a problem anymore. I-I’m sorry.”

Satisfied, I stood and put my mask back on, straightened my jacket, and stormed out.

…

After visiting the CEO, I sorely needed to relax. I had the driver take me to the Morgan-owned bar,

where I had a few drinks and sat by myself for a while. As I drank, I couldn’t stop thinking about the

mystery donor who tried to pay the CEO into keeping the image up. K.M…. Who could that be? I didn’t

know anyone with those initials.

A few drinks later, however, and I was finally feeling a little more relaxed now that the business was

over. It was getting late, so I decided to return home.

When I arrived back at the penthouse, everything was dark except for a single lamp in the living room. I

sighed, loosening my tie as I walked over to shut it off, but stopped when I saw the reason behind why

the lamp was left on.

Moana had fallen asleep in the armchair. There was a book sitting on her lap; she must have fallen

asleep while reading.

I went to shake her shoulder and wake her up, but then paused. She looked so peaceful. Her chest

was rising and falling gently with her head leaning to one side on the back of the chair, causing a loose

curl from her hair to fall into her eyes.

For several moments, I just stood there, admiring her. Maybe it was the alcohol… But I thought that she

was beautiful. I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up when she was sleeping so soundly, especially

after all the stress she’d been under lately — so, slowly and quietly, I gently took the book out of her

hand, then slid my arms underneath her and picked her up.

Surprisingly, she didn’t even stir when I lifted her up. She let out a small, content sound that made a

slight smile twitch at the corners of my lips, then nuzzled her head against my chest.

I gently carried her to her room, where I laid her down on her bed and pulled her quilt up to her waist.

In the moonlight, she looked even more beautiful. She was like a sleeping angel, and all I could think

about was the baby inside her belly. For the longest time, as I watched her sleeping, I didn’t think about

the tabloid or the mystery donor. I didn’t think about my father or the differences between her status

and mine. I only thought of how lovely and peaceful she looked, and for a brief second, I couldn’t help

but hope that our baby had her curly red hair.

As I watched her sleep, something strange happened. Maybe it was the alcohol after all — but, without

thinking, as though I was in a trance, I slowly walked around to the other side of the bed and laid down.

And within just a few moments, I was fast asleep beside Moana.