Chapter 75 Alexander Branson’s Scandal
Mia’s POV
+25 BONUS
“Are you sure this dress hides everything?” I twisted in front of my bedroom mirror, studying my reflection critically. The loose navy silk skimmed over my small bump, but I swore it was more noticeable than yesterday.
Mom appeared in the doorway, already dressed in her favorite cream blazer. Her taste seems didn’t change. “You look beautiful. Stop fussing.”
“I’m not fussing. I’m being cautious.” I smoothed the fabric again. You know how observant Linda Morgan is.”
“Scarlett’s mother has always been too nosy for her own good.” Mom checked her watch. “Now come on, we’re going to be late.
“1
The Morgan estate hadn’t changed since I was a teenager. Same elegant fountain gurgling in the circular driveway. Memories of countless sleepovers with Scarlett flooded back as we pulled up to the entrance. 1
“There you are!” Scarlett bounced down the front steps, looking effortlessly glamorous in a red wrap dress. She hugged me carefully – she’d been treating me like I might break since learning about the pregnancy.
Linda Morgan appeared behind her daughter, elegant as always in designer clothes. “Sarah! Welcome home!” Linda embraced Mom warmly. “And Mia! We’ve missed you around here. Haven’t seen you since…” She trailed off delicately.
“Since the divorce?” I supplied, managing a small smile. “It’s okay, you can say it.” I didn’t mention the divorce to anyone, but Scarlett and her parents rarely keep secrets from each other.
“Well, none of that matters now.” Linda linked her arm through mine. “Though I must say, you’re positively glowing. New man in your life?”
“Mom!” Scarlett groaned from behind us. “There is a hot doctor….
“Scarlett!” I was afraid that Scarlett would say those things about Nate again.
Robert’s booming laugh saved me from answering as he emerged from his study. “Leave the poor girl alone, Lin. Though I have to say, Sarah, you’re the one who’s glowing. That hospital stay must have done wonders.”
“Robert!” Linda shot him a look. “We don’t joke about—”
“No, he’s right.” Mom’s eyes sparkled. “Nothing like a good coma to refresh the spirit.”
“It’s fine,” Mom laughed. “I feel wonderful. Though I hear I missed quite a lot of society gossip during my… absence.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” Linda guided us toward the dining room, her eyes sparkling with the promise of juicy stories. Linda gave me a glance. “Mia, it’s good to know you finally divorce Kyle Branson. His father is a monster. I don’t think his son is any better!
”
In the three years we’ve been married, I’ve hardly heard anything about Kyle’s father. Kyle never mentions him. I can sense that he and his father are not close. Catherine once said that Kyle is a lot like his father. I don’t know what she meant by that.
“Have you heard about Alexander Branson’s latest scandal?” Linda continued.
My head snapped up at Kyle’s father’s name.
“Mom loves a good scandal,” Scarlett stage–whispered to me.
“Oh hush. This is serious.” Linda set down her glass. “They’re looking into Alexander Branson’s death again.”
“I thought that was ruled a heart attack?” Mom frowned.
“That’s what they wanted everyone to think.” Linda’s voice dropped conspiratorially. “But Caroline Mills – you remember her from the hospital board? Her cousin’s with the DA’s office. Apparently they found new evidence linking it to Diane Porter’s
death.”
Chapter 75 Alexander Branson’s Scandal
+25 BONUS
“Who’s Diane Porter?” Scarlett asked through a mouthful of salmon.
“Kyle’s father’s ex–fiancée,” Linda said quietly with a misty, reminiscent little smile. “She died mysteriously right before he married Kyle’s mother. Mia, do you know that?”
I pushed my food around my plate. “No, Kyle never talked about it.
“Not surprising.” Robert’s usually jovial face darkened. “Alexander Branson is a piece of work.”
“Robert,” Linda warned. “Not at dinner.”
But the floodgates were already open. Over perfectly cooked salmon, we learned how Kyle’s father had systematically destroyed business rivals, arranged marriages for political advantage, and possibly – though nothing was ever proven – removed obstacles to his empire’s growth through more permanent means.
“Poor Catherine,” Mom murmured, referring to Kyle’s mother.
I didn’t say anything other than eating my food. Kyle’s father is a man of many affairs. This really has nothing to do with me.
“Speaking of family drama,” Robert said pointedly, clearly trying to change the subject. “Darling, tell them who’s coming home next week.”
Linda brightened. “Oh yes! Thomas is finally returning from Hong Kong!”
The fork slipped from Scarlett’s fingers with a clatter. “What? You didn’t tell me it was next week!”
“I thought you’d be pleased, dear. Your brother’s been gone for so long…”
“Pleased?” Scarlett’s voice rose slightly. “The last time Tommy was home, he caught me sneaking in at 3 AM and lectured me for two hours about ‘appropriate behavior befitting the Morgan name“!”
The memory hit me suddenly – teenage Scarlett being carried home like a sack of potatoes by her tall, serious older brother while I watched from her bedroom window, trying not to laugh.
“He means well,” Robert said mildly. “Someone had to keep you out of trouble.”
“I was sixteen! Everyone snuck out sometimes!”
“Not everyone got caught trying to climb the garden trellis in a cocktail dress,” Mom pointed out, making me snort into my water glass.
“Sarah!” Scarlett looked betrayed. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“I remember Tommy finding us raiding the liquor cabinet during that New Year’s party,” I said, grinning at the memory. “He just stood there pinching the bridge of his nose like he couldn’t believe we were related to him.”
“God, he was such a killjoy.” But Scarlett’s voice held fondness beneath the complaint. “Remember how he used to help us with our math homework? He’d get so frustrated when we couldn’t focus.”
“Because you kept doodling boy band names in your textbook instead of learning algebra.”
“Those doodles were art!”
The conversation flowed easily after that, old stories mixing with updates about Thomas’s life in Hong Kong. Apparently, he’d become some sort of financial genius, which surprised exactly no one who knew him as a teenager.
“He’s still single, you know,” Linda said casually, her eyes fixed on me. “Very successful, very stable. We really hope he can find
a girlfriend.”
a
I choked. I never thought that Linda would try to set me up with her son, especially after my divorce. Actually, it’s kind of sweet.
She doesn’t think anything bad of divorced women. But I haven’t told her I’m pregnant yet,
“Mom!” Scarlett kicked her under the table. “Stop trying to matchmake!”
Chapter 75 Alexander Branson’s Scandal
+25 BONUS
My phone buzzed with a text from Scarlett: “Sorry about Mom. Want to escape to the garden? I need air.”
“Actually,” I stood carefully, mindful of my loose dress, “would you mind showing me those wedding magazines you mentioned? I’d love to see the flower options you’re considering
“Yes!” Scarlett jumped up with suspicious enthusiasm. “Come on, they’re in my old room.”
Her childhood bedroom was exactly as I remembered – pink walls, fashion magazines everywhere, and about a million photos covering every surface. Including, I noticed with a pang, several from my wedding to Kyle. I quickly looked away.
“God, I needed a break.” Scarlett flopped onto her bed. “Are you okay? I know it must be weird hearing about Kyle’s family.”
“I’m fine.” I settled into her window seat. That’s our favorite spot for late–night conversations as teenagers. “It actually explains a lot about why he is the way he is.”
“Still. Mom didn’t need to drag up ancient history.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “Though I have to admit, the idea of straight–laced Thomas coming home is kind of freaking me out. He doesn’t know that Morton and I are in a contract marriage.”
“He loves you.” I smiled at her dramatic sigh. “Even when he was confiscating our wine coolers and grounding you for sneaking out.”
“Easy for you to say. You were his favorite – ‘Why can’t you be more like Mia? She actually does her homework!“” Her impression of teenage Thomas was eerily accurate.
Iwasn’t his favorite. I was just less likely to give him grey hair before thirty.”
“True.” She studied me for a moment. “You really do look different, you know. Pregnancy suits you.”
I touched my stomach instinctively. “You think anyone else has noticed?”
“Mom definitely suspects something. But she won’t say anything she’s too busy planning my wedding and Thomas’s imaginary romance with you.”
“Great.”
“Hey.” She grabbed my hand. “It’s going to be okay, you know that right? These babies are going to be so loved.”
“I know.” And sitting there in her childhood bedroom, surrounded by memories of simpler times, I actually believed it.
My phone buzzed – Mom letting me know she was ready to head home. As we said our goodbyes, Linda hugged me extra tight. “You’ll come to dinner again soon?” she asked. “Thomas would love to see you.”
“Mom,” Scarlett warned.
“What? Can’t I want all my children to be happy?”
In the car, Mom was suspiciously quiet until we turned onto our street. “Linda’s right about one thing,” she said finally. “You do look different. Happier, somehow.”
“I am happy, Mom.” I rested my hand on my growing bump. “I have everything I need.”
The babies shifted, too small to feel but somehow making their presence known anyway. My tiny miracles, given back to me for reasons I might never understand but would always be grateful for.
“Everything okay?” Mom asked as I wiped away sudden tears.
“Hormones,” I blamed.
