Page 65 of Discretion at Its Finest

But as I flipped the page, every single line item had the same notation beside it.

PAID IN FULL — R. KAUFMAN

I could only blink as I flipped through. Jamie’s hospital stays, her experimental treatments, chemotherapy appointments, surgeries, therapy, medications, specialist fees… Reid had been paying for all of it?

My throat went dry, burning as I scanned further. More dates, receipts, follow-up consultations, new scans.

…Her second tumor.

The same tumor Raymond had told me about and that Jamie had kept hidden from me.

My vision blurred for a moment. Jamie had tried to act strong. She smiled through it and brushed off my concerns with soft jokes and motherly dismissals.

And all the while…

Reid had been paying for everything.

In secret with his own resources. With no recognition or as much as a simple thank-you.

I recalled briefly picking up Eugene while she watched him and Reid having a small chat with her before we left. Was it to talk about this?

My throat tightened, burning as I flipped to the next page. This one wasn’t medical. It was administrative.

A billing transfer form from…two years ago?

Effective immediately, all statements and payment responsibilities to be forwarded to:

Kaufman Industries, Attn: R. Kaufman.

My heartbeat skipped. The signature authorizing the transfer beside Reid’s wasn’t Jamie’s or the hospital’s… it wasRaymond’s.

The signature date seemed familiar, around the same time Gregory had started being reckless with the company investments. At the same time Jamie was admitted for one of her heaviest surgeries. That was when the perfect picture family began to crack.

I could only let out a scoff…So Raymond knew.

He knew Reid was paying and that Jamie was getting worse. He knew Gregory was failing the company… and he didn’t say anything. Not even a word. No wonder he was ready for Reid to save his drowning legacy… That’s because he was already saving us from the beginning.

This family hid everything.Everything except their failures.

A wave of nausea crawled up my throat.

I set the folder down in my lap, my fingertips pressed into the paper until it crinkled.

Thiswas Reid. The Reid they cast away, the bastard child, the man who pretended he didn’t care. Who kept his voice cold, distant, clipped… he was paying every bill, every surgery, every treatment to keep his mother alive.

And he never once said a word. Not out of pride or out of hurt. My vision blurred, a tear falling before I could reel it in.

This… this wasn’t the Reid I left… This wasn’t the man I built my escape around, the one I convinced myself I didn’t need… that he didn’t need me.

This was a man who loved harder than anyone ever gave him credit for. Who would’ve been a better father from day one. Who would’ve never abandoned me.

And I—

I let them erase him.

Guilt surged, hot and suffocating, tightening around my throat.

When he walked back over to his desk, face stoic from his call, I stood from the chair, breaking the silence as I held the folder in my hand.