Hearing me come in, he turns around with his phone to his ear, and his eyes widen when he sees me. “Steven, I’m going to call you back.” He says as I close the door. “Yes, I’ll call you back.” He hangs up, tucking his cell phone into his pocket. “Dayton, I’m getting ready to leave for court.”

“That’s okay. This won't take long.” I lean back against the door and cross my arms over my chest. “I just wanted to let you know that you’re going to have to find someone else to blackmail.”

“Dayton.” He sighs.

“I’m done, Billy. Barrett knows about the baby, he knows Franny and I are together, and Franny knows about you and Jamie. I’m not keeping your secret.”

“You told Franny about Jamie and me?”

“I did, you might not have an issue hiding shit from your woman, but I got a problem doing that with mine.”

“Is she going to tell Shelly?”

“I doubt Franny wants to be the person to share that kind of news with your wife.” His shoulders sag. “But given what just happened, I would say you’re not going to have much of a choice but to be honest real fucking soon.”

“That kid is not mine.” He waves me off.

“If you say so.”

“It’s not.”

“That’s not my problem, Billy.” I turn to open the door.

“Dayton.”

“What?” I look back at him over my shoulder.

“Never mind.” He falls back into his chair, looking defeated.

I don’t fucking care. He made his bed. He can fucking lay in it and rot away.

When I get to my office, Jamie isn’t at her desk, and I don’t know how long it will be until she gets back, so I leave my door open.

Taking a seat at my desk, I take out my cell phone and dial Barrett’s number. He doesn’t answer so I leave him a message asking him to call me back. I don’t want to add to the stress that he is already dealing with, but I’m not stupid enough to believe that I don’t need to cover my own ass at this point. He and Billy have been friends for years, and they have a history Barrett and I don’t have. I’m not worried in the least about Franny believing the bullshit, but she loves her family, and if they decide that they don’t believe me, that could cause issues for us.

While I wait for Barrett to call me back, I make sure that I have everything in order for when Alice’s sisters arrive. If I’m going to have a shot in hell at convincing them that Charles killed their sister, everything needs to be presented with clear and precise accuracy, leaving nothing open for interpretation.