CHAPTER 6 The Hamptons Invitation

Kate

I couldn't sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Sarah's hand on that little boy's shoulder. Six years old, maybe seven. The same age as my twins.

The math kept spinning in my head, making me sick.

If Sarah's son was six, that meant David had been cheating before Tehilla and Theo were born. Maybe even before I got pregnant. Maybe our entire marriage had been a lie from the start.

I sat up in bed and checked my phone. Three a.m. The apartment was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator.

My fingers hovered over the blocked contacts. I could unblock David, read whatever poison he had sent. But what would that change?

Nothing. It would change nothing.

I put the phone down and went to the kitchen. Made tea I wouldn't drink. Stared out the window at the city lights and wondered how I had been so blind.

Friday morning came too fast. I dropped the kids at school and drove straight to my lawyer's office.

Lily Gregory looked like she belonged in a courtroom. Sharp suit, sharper eyes, the kind of woman who didn't lose.

"Tell me everything," she said, pouring coffee I desperately needed.

I told her about Sarah's son. About the principal's office and the way Sarah had walked in like she had every right to be there.

Lily's eyes went wide. "Six years old? Kate, are you sure?"

"I saw him. He looked exactly like David."

She set down her coffee cup carefully. "This changes everything. We're not just talking about an affair. This is a sustained double life."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he has been lying to you for years. Secret child, financial support he hid from you, possibly marital assets funding his mistress." Lily pulled out her laptop and started typing. "We need to revise the divorce petition immediately."

My hands were shaking. "How bad is this?"

"For him? Very bad." She looked up, and her smile was sharp. "For you? This is leverage. He wants full custody? We'll show the court exactly what kind of father he is."

We spent the next two hours going through everything. Bank statements, credit card bills, every financial record I could access.

Lily made notes, her expression getting darker with each page.

"He has been transferring money to an account I can't trace. Five thousand a month for the past six years." She circled the transactions in red. "That's child support, Kate. He has been paying for that boy while you struggled to make ends meet."

The room tilted. "I didn't struggle. We had money."

"You had his money. And he controlled all of it." Lily leaned forward. "When was the last time you had your own bank account?"

I couldn't remember. David had insisted on joint accounts when we got married. For transparency, he had said. For trust.

More like for control.

"We're demanding full financial disclosure," Lily said. "Forensic accounting of all marital assets for the past seven years. And we're filing for primary custody citing his pattern of deception and maintaining a double life."

"Will that work?"

"He wants to play dirty?" Lily's smile was cold. "We'll bury him."

I left her office feeling lighter and heavier at the same time. David had been lying for years. Our whole marriage had been a performance.

But now I had proof.

My phone rang as I got to my car. Alex.

"How did it go with your lawyer?"

"Good. Really good." I started the engine, hands still shaking. "She thinks we can win."

"Of course you can win. You're Kate Taylor." He paused. "Wrong last name. But you get the point."

I smiled despite everything. "I'm not a Taylor anymore."

“True." His voice went softer. "About this weekend. The Hamptons. My father really wants to see you. Will you come?"

I hesitated. "Alex, I have the kids this weekend. And David is already threatening me. I can't just leave town."

"So bring them. The house has a pool, a beach, rooms for everyone. Let them see what life looks like outside of David's control."

"I don't know."

"Kate." He sighed. "When was the last time you did something just because you wanted to?"

I couldn't answer that.

"Let me help you," Alex said quietly. "Let me show you what you deserve."

Before I could respond, I heard Tehilla's voice in the background of my thoughts. Not on the phone. In my memory. Begging to go to the beach last summer while David said it was too expensive.

While he was sending five thousand a month to his other family.

"Okay," I said. "We'll come."

"Good. I'll pick you up Saturday morning. Pack light. Everything you need is already there."

He hung up, and I sat in my car feeling like I had just jumped off a cliff.

That afternoon, I picked up the kids from school. Tehilla ran to me immediately, but Theo hung back like always.

"How was your day, baby?" I hugged Tehilla tight.

"Good! We learned about the ocean in science class." She looked up at me with David's eyes and my smile. "Can we go to the beach sometime?"

"Actually," I knelt down to her level, "how would you like to go this weekend?"

Her face lit up. "Really? To the real beach?"

"The real beach. With a pool and everything."

Theo stepped closer, trying not to look interested. "A pool?"

"A big one. And a beach house. My friend Alex invited us."

"Miss Sarah's friend?" Theo's face closed off.

"No, baby. My friend. From when I was a chef." I reached for his hand. "You'll like him. He's nice."

Tehilla bounced on her toes. "Can we build sandcastles?"

"We can build a whole sand kingdom."

Even Theo smiled at that.

That night, after the kids were asleep, I started packing. Swimsuits and sunscreen and the summer clothes I hadn't worn in years.

My phone buzzed with an email.

From David's lawyer.

My stomach dropped before I even opened it.

The subject line read: Evidence of Adultery and Parental Unfitness. Emergency Custody Hearing: Monday 9 AM.

I clicked it open with shaking hands.

Photos loaded one by one. Me and Alex leaving Morrison's together. His hand on my shoulder. Us laughing outside the restaurant. More photos I didn't even remember being taken.

All of them made to look like something they weren't.

The email continued: Based on photographic evidence of Mrs. Taylor's inappropriate relationship with Alex Morrison and her abandonment of parental duties to pursue selfish career ambitions, we are filing for emergency full custody of both minor children effective immediately.

The hearing was Monday. Three days away.

David wasn't just threatening anymore.

He was coming for my children.