“Yeah, but a craft-beer budget,” I said. “But that’s not why we’re here. What do you want?”

“Like I said,” she went on, “I think we want the same things. I want Connor gone. You want Sophie gone.”

“You can’t be serious,” I said.

“Do I look like I’m joking?” Kristen asked.

The waiter brought our drinks. Maker’s for me, obviously. An expensive merlot for her. It was clear: she had good taste, and more money than I did. I acted like I wasn’t interested in what she had to say, except that I was. I asked her to elaborate while I drank my whiskey.

“What if both Sophie and Connor were gone?” she asked.

“Like dead?” I asked. I felt strangely giddy at the prospect. Like we were playing some stupid and dangerous game.

“Yes,” she said. “Like dead. Look what they did to us, Adam. They fucked up our lives for all time. The chances that I’ll have a baby one day are slim. I can thank Connor for wasting my chance to have a family now. And you, you’re going to end up paying for a child that isn’t even yours for the rest of your life.”

The truth was I no longer felt for Aubrey the way I did before I found out she wasn’t mine. I would never utter the words out loud: it would have made me sound so callous and pathetic. I saw Sophie and Connor whenever I looked at her. That’s the only thing I could see. It made me angry and sick to my stomach. I thought of how the cuckoo pushes the offspring from a host’s nest. I understood.

Inexplicably, however, I defended Aubrey.

“It’s not as if she’s a brat, Kristen. She’s a good little kid.”

Kristen raised her perfect brow and swirled her wine. “In any case, she’s not your brat. She’s Connor’s. I know you hate that. I would. My dad once told me that no man wants to raise a child that’s not his own.”

I ignored her remark. Instead, for some reason, I egged her on a little. I lowered my voice.

“I could never kill Sophie.”

“You don’t have to, because I could.”

Her eyes were ice. She actually meant it. It stunned me.

“And then I suppose you want me to kill Connor,” I said. “Is that it?”

When she shook her head, big fat diamond earrings caught the light and sent sparks off into the room. I looked around to see if anyone was watching. It was a reaction to the circumstances. She was plotting. I was listening.

The conversation was going way too far.

“No,” she said. “You don’t have to kill anyone. I’ll do it all. You just have to help in other ways.”