Chapter 42 - The Calls

The sharp, insistent brrrrrrt of the burner phone shattered the peaceful haze of sleep. Steve groaned, the sound thick and unformed in his throat. He was buried in a warm, soft tangle of limbs and sheets, the sweet, musky scent of sex still hanging heavy in the air. Disentangling himself was like swimming up through layers of warm honey. Nora murmured a sleepy protest, her hand flailing out to pat his chest as he shifted. Lily, curled against his other side, just sighed and nuzzled deeper into her pillow.

He finally snagged the phone from the nightstand, squinting at the harsh screen light. Matthew. He answered, his voice a gravelly rumble. “I hear congratulations are in order. You’ll be a daddy ten times over!” Matt’s voice was a cheerful chuckle down the line.

Steve groaned again, dropping his head back onto the pillow. “I’m too sleepy still to be teased this way.” He couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips at Matthew’s teasing tone.

“You know it’s noon, right?” Matt replied.

Steve’s eyes rolled. Noon? He fumbled for his watch on the nightstand, the heavy chronometer confirming the time. “Yeah, I was busy last night,” Steve said, the memory of the chaotic, passionate hours with his family sending a fresh, lazy heat through his veins.

Matt chuckled again, a low, knowing sound. “I bet you were.”

The cobwebs were clearing from Steve’s brain now. “Wait ... How did you know? I’ve learned about it yesterday only!” The news had been a gut-punch at the clinic barely twenty-four hours ago. It shouldn’t have traveled this fast.

“Oh! Simple, I talked to Chloé this morning,” Matt said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway, I have news for you.”

Steve’s mind raced. Chloé? I should have known. Before he could further his thinking, Matt continued, his voice carrying a hint of excitement. “I’ve found our journalist. A BBC correspondent based in Paris. Her name is Françoise L’Heureux, and she’s very eager to meet you!”

The mention of a BBC journalist piqued Steve’s curiosity, but the idea of someone across the Atlantic—a seasoned professional at that—being eager to meet a simple student from North Carolina was almost surreal. He glanced down briefly at the tangle of sheets beside him, where two beautiful sisters lay naked, their warmth imprinted in the bed. The faint scent of their shared intimacy lingered, grounding him even as his mind spun with possibilities.

Steve couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself. Simple student. That wasn’t him anymore, was it? He was about to attempt the biggest hoax in history, an audacious scheme that if done right, no one would know but a select few. And then there was the other thing—the other life-altering revelation. Ten pregnancies. Ten lives he’d helped create within his own family. It was staggering, surreal, and far from anything resembling normalcy.

He lay back against the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. The weight of it all pressed down on him, but strangely, it wasn’t crushing. It was exhilarating. He wasn’t just some kid from North Carolina anymore. He was ... something else entirely. Something far more complicated. Something far from normal. And maybe, just maybe, that wasn’t such a bad thing.

“Okay, when does she want to meet?” Steve’s voice was low, but his mind was already racing with possibilities. Paris. The most romantic city in the world. Why not rent a private jet this time? His ladies deserved the adventure—a shopping spree they’d never forget, champagne on the Champs-Élysées, maybe even a moonlit stroll by the Seine. The idea brought a faint smile to his lips, a rare moment of indulgence amid the chaos.

“That depends on when you can get there. She said she also has information about the interventionists that might be pertinent,” Matt added, his tone shifting slightly, hinting at the gravity of the situation.

Steve stared at the ceiling, the faint cracks in the plaster suddenly fascinating. “I’ll have to talk to Heather about this,” he murmured, more to himself than to Matt. “But I’d do this as fast as possible. We need to get the full team assembled as soon as possible.”

“I might be able to attend the meeting myself,” Matt’s voice crackled through the line, a hint of excitement barely contained. “I have some work to do in the area, so call me when you’ve made arrangements.” With that, Matt said his goodbyes and hung up, leaving Steve with a head full of swirling thoughts.

Steve closed the burner phone, the screen dimming as he placed it back on the nightstand. He turned to find both Nora and Lily wide awake, their eyes gleaming with curiosity and mischief. Their resplendent smiles lit up the room, and Steve couldn’t help but grin back at them.