"Did you kill the story?" Her voice cut through my explanation before I could start. "Yes or no?"
"I'm working on it," I said, pulling out my phone to show her Thompson's texts. "My lawyer is handling"
"That's not good enough." She grabbed my arm, her fingers digging in with surprising strength. "Damien, if Noah's face ends up in the newspapers, if his life gets destroyed because you're his father"
"It won't." I covered her hand with mine, feeling the tremor in her fingers that belied her harsh tone. "I swear to you, Aria. I'll do whatever it takes to protect him. Buy every newspaper. Threaten every editor. Whatever it takes."
She pulled away from my touch like I'd burned her. "You've sworn a lot of things over the years. Your track record isn't exactly inspiring confidence."
"I know," I admitted, pocketing my phone. "But this is different. This is Noah. This is our son. I won't fail him again."
