Thank you to everybody who read or left kudos for the last chapter. I appreciate it. Onward we go.

Chapter 82: How to Break Bad News

"Wake up, pretty boy, you have a lot to do today," Matt opened his eyes to see Cory hovering above him, his lips millimeters away from where he just kissed moments before.

"Normally, I would be perfectly OK with you waking me up with a kiss, but I'm pretty sure I didn't fall asleep till 4 AM, and not for my preferred reason." The black-and-white ball was obviously a success because they weren't done until 3 AM.

"I know. You woke me up when you got back. Unfortunately, Vivian just texted, and she'll be here in 30 minutes with brunch and your aunt. I let you sleep as late as I could. I'm sure you'll want at least a shower before…" Cory stopped, not sure what to say.

"I rip my baby brother's heart out." Matt finished for him.

"I was thinking intervention, but we can go with that."

"I don't want to have this conversation." Matt sighed, sitting up in bed. "I don't even know where to start." This was so messy, and Matt regretted waiting because it just made things worse.

"Austin knows that you have an investigator checking up on Tiffany. Start there." Cory put an arm around him.

"The current plan is to let my aunt and Vivian deal with that part." He's had several conversations with both women over the last few days. It was decided that the two women would take care of telling Austin about Tiffany, but he would have to deal with everything else. "I get to tell him about Cal, and I don't know where to start." And yes, that was the easier of the two tasks, but Matt still wasn't sure how to approach it.

"You could tell him about Cal coming to Tyler's defense." Cory suggested.

"Tyler did that last night when he moved to Brianna's table."

"There's your opening."

"It's a horrible opening. Can I go back to bed?" Matt laid his head back down on the pillow.

"Do you really want Vivian to break this news to Austin alone?"

"No," Matt said, getting up from the bed and going to the closet. He wanted to grab his clothes before going to the bathroom to take care of business. He's very grateful that Vivian arranged for him to have a room in the hotel where the event occurred. "He needs me there for emotional support." Matt started to rummage through his suitcase to find a more casual outfit he had packed for the family brunch/intervention.

"Do you think blue jeans are too casual for this?" He asked Cory.

"You should know by now not to ask me fashion questions. Remember, I had to get professional help for the yacht party. Fortunately for you, your aunt's assistant, Gigi, dropped off an outfit about half an hour ago. I have an outfit too because I'm also going with you."

"She would. I'm glad you're coming." He needed as much emotional support as possible.

"Go shower," Cory put the garment bag in Matt's hand. "And I will pack."

"Or you can shower with me, and we can pack afterward. Vivian now owns this hotel, so I don't think we are subjected to the noon check out." Matt joked.

"That seems like something she would do. She took over management of Monique's condo and is slowly buying all the units up on Monique's floor." Cory explained. "As much as I would love to join you, we don't have time for that."

"Maybe next time," Matt said as he grabbed his London cell phone from the table near the bathroom.

"You're checking your phone now?" Cory asked, surprised.

"I want to see if Daniel got back to me. Which is obvious since I have like 20 messages."

"Shower first." Cory took the phone from Matt. "Vivian is expecting us."

"What if something happened?"

"I'm pretty sure you would've gotten a phone call if Amanda went into labor. From your aunt if no one else. You can read for the messages after." Cory pushed him to the bathroom.

"Very true."

With that, Matt put the phone down and took his shower. He regretted that decision when he read through the messages 15 minutes later.

Xxx

Unknown number London: Hey, this is Daniel. This is a new phone because I gave the other phone to Amanda. As I said in my previous message, she knows your mother switched the test.

Unknown number London: She's not as mad as I thought she would be. Nothing was thrown at my head. However, we do need to have a conversation about going forward.

Unknown number London: With Tiffany's still missing, I don't think you can be the public father of the twins.

Matt #6: You still want to be that person?

London Daniel 2.0: Your mom won't attack Vivian's foster son. I'm hoping she won't attack my children, either.

Matt #6: I hate this. I want things to be easier than this.

London Daniel 2.0: Nothing is ever easy.

Matt #6: We're telling Austin in five minutes.

London Daniel 2.0: DJ will be back from the movies in about an hour, so he is ready to accept angry text messages.

Matt #6: And I'm sure there will be plenty.

Matt #6: I am reading through Amanda's angry messages now. She also wants to talk. She suggested a group call.

London Daniel 2.0: We can set up something for Wednesday while you're at work. That way, we can give you a readout of the Tuesday doctor visit.

Matt #6: That works out well. I want Cory on the call.

London Daniel 2.0: So, your relationship is to that point?

Matt #6: I need support and would rather have Cory there than Monique.

London Daniel 2.0: I understand, but I'm not sure Amanda would be ready to spend quality time with your boyfriend.

Matt #6: He's going with me to talk to Austin. But that might be more for Austin than me. He adores Cory.

London Daniel 2.0: It's good Cory is there for that conversation. This is not the same situation.

Matt #6: I'm going to message Amanda. I'll tell you more later.

London Daniel 2.0: OK. Just remember to take Amanda's feelings into account for all of this.

Xx

Matt #6: You're right. We do need to talk. I also talk to Daniel; he wants to arrange something for Wednesday.

Matt #6: I am sorry we didn't tell you what my mom did. I just wanted you to stay safe. And maybe I was worried that if you knew what was happening, you wouldn't be able to keep up with the lie.

Matt #6: That wasn't fair to you, and I'm sorry.

Mandy: I definitely could have kept up the pretense of Daniel raising my twins. He's good at being a dad.

Mandy: I'm not an idiot and very good at lying.

Matt #6: I know that.

Mandy: I'm not so sure.

Matt #6: But you're right. We need to talk.

Mandy: Wednesday works for me. Also, I want apology shoes.

Mandy: As soon as I go back to my normal shoe size.

Matt #6: Noted.

Xxx

"Matt invited you to a family brunch," Austin stated, allowing Cory and Matt into the room. Only Cory walked inside because Matt was too distracted with his phone. "Things must be serious."

"Your aunt invited me, but you could be right," Cory said as Matt returned his phone and walked into the room.

"Hey, sorry we're late. I had to text Daniel and Amanda." Matt explained.

"It's okay. I just returned with the food. Is everything OK with Amanda?" Vivian asked from the dining room. Yes, the hotel room had a dining room. Austin wonders why they're doing the breakfast here and not returning to the apartment. Maybe it is because most of the family is staying nearby.

"Amanda figured out what my mom did. So no, things are not okay in London right now." Matt sighed as he sat down on one of the couches.

"I am sorry," Austin said as he sat beside Matt. Justin took the seat next to him.

"She didn't tell me to go fuck myself, so I consider that a good thing, but we're gonna have to do a call to work out logistics." a.k.a. how to keep Amanda safe now that she knows.

"Do you want me there for that call?" Austin asked.

"No, Cory can join me. Besides, you should concentrate on teenage things." Austin rolled his eyes at that.

"I don't think having your new boyfriend be on the call with your ex-girlfriend when you work out custody arrangements is the best thing to do," Justin commented.

"As somebody who has gone through some very complicated custody situations, I'm going to have to agree with Justin," Vivian commented.

"They both have a good point. I think we need to be together for at least six months before I spend quality time with the mother of your children." Thank the universe, Cory got it.

"What about bringing Tyler?" Austin suggested.

"Maybe. I probably should tell Tyler anyway."

"Tell Tyler what?" His aunt asked, coming through the front door by herself. Of course, she had a key card. Vivian probably gave her one to check on the kids last night since she wasn't attending the after-party. He thinks only Jordan went. At least, that's what he gathered from the Mode Twitter feed. Megan was in charge.

"Amanda knows who the biological daddy really is, and she wants to have a meeting Wednesday. Matt wants to bring Cory as his plus one. I think Tyler should sit in since he won't let me come. Thankfully Cory knows better than to be there."

"I will be your plus one. And possibly one of our lawyers. Let's not have more people involved until we have to." Brianna said as she sat on the large couch across from him. Vivian took the seat next to her. Cory ended up in a large chair beside Matt.

"Amanda already knows. I think Tyler should know now too." Matt argued. "All this lying has been exhausting."

"Victoria doesn't know that Amanda knows unless she has everybody's phone tapped. Let's keep it that way." His aunt remarked.

"That is a possibility," Vivian second, "but we'll cross that bridge when we get there."

"You should talk to the PI about that possibility." Cory turned to Aunt Breanna.

"I'll add it to the list." His aunt sighed in exhaustion. They were all tired of Victoria Hartley's antics at this point. Antonella showed him the woman's comments about Andie before leaving to return home.

"I think they've been keeping an eye on our phones ever since Victoria tried to hack into the Meade publications computer system a couple of weeks ago." Matt added.

"I am not surprised. My former sister-in-law is a mess." Breanna commented.

"Very much so." Several nodded along with Cory's comment.

"Okay, I want at least one hug from my baby nephew." Brianna extended her arms to him.

"It's good to see you, Aunt Breanna." Austin walked over to hug his aunt.

"It's good to see you too. I'm sad I'll be leaving New York tomorrow. Are you sure you don't want to come to Cleveland with me?" Breanna asked.

"I don't want to leave Justin behind, and I am not sure his mom would let me bring him as my carry-on item."

"I am very flexible. We could always spin it as me being her intern. I can study fashion directly at the source." Breanna chuckled at that.

"Maybe that's something we can do for spring break," Vivian stated. "I will work out the details with Hilda. Besides, you're both going to Europe in two weeks."

"This is true." Austin was really looking forward to the vacation and getting to see DJ. They've become excellent friends over text messaging.

"Is it just you, or are we waiting on the others? I have breakfast set up in the dining room."

"Just me. I dropped baby Alexis at Cal's hotel room so big Alexis could sleep in. Andie was happy to meet the niece. Cal is sad about losing naked hot tub time this morning."

"You could've brought her. I want more quality cousin time." Austin tells her.

"I'll have Andie bring her over in a little bit." Not Cal, thank the universe. "But it should be just us right now."

"This isn't going to be a conversation suitable for a six-year-old, is it?" Austin asked as Justin laced their fingers together. He had a feeling this wouldn't be a regular family breakfast since Antonella decided to return home an hour ago.

"No, it's not. Do you want the bad news or the horrible news first?" Aunt Breanna asked.

"There's usually a good option," Austin mumbled.

"Victoria was dragged by Page 6 this morning. Hillary sent me hyperlinks." Cory told the group. Matt smirked at that.

"She's also on six separate worst dress lists," Justin added.

"This is unsurprising because she's never actually learned to style herself. It's why she was always bitter about me becoming a designer." Breanna explained. "In contrast, Monique is on seven separate best dress lists. We will make a small fortune from the auction of the dress."

"Can you send me those?" Vivian asked. "I want to add them to my Monique scrapbook."

"I will. Are you keeping one for Austin?" Breanna asked. "If so, I'll send you shots from Thursday."

"Of course, I am. I keep one for all my kids." Vivian smiled at him.

"You should give a copy to Cal since obviously the bad news is he knows about me." All the adults in the room seem surprised. Justin just smirked. His boyfriend already knew that he knew. He even confirmed Austin's suspicions this morning.

"Yes," Matt confirmed. "How did you figure that out?"

"During our awkward meet-up, he mentioned that my mom used to be his assistant. But there's no way he could've known that since I have a different last name then what she had back then." Austin explained.

"My brother is an idiot." Breanna started to rub her temple.

"He also stared at me for most of the night," Austin added.

"Cal is definitely an idiot," Breanna mumbled, and Vivian nodded in agreement.

"How did he figure it out?" Austin asked.

"Never piss off your assistant." Vivian started to explain. "Vivian's former assistant's parting gift for getting fired at the yacht party was to give Cal enough information to start looking into your paternity. That was why he set up a meeting with me last Wednesday. I wanted to wait until after the ball to tell you." Austin was a little annoyed with Vivian's explanation.

"I should've been told right away. I'm not a child," Austin argued.

"But I still want to protect you," Vivian answered.

"What does he want from me? I doubt he wants anything to do with me."

"He asked too many questions for me to believe that," Matt commented.

"I think he wants to get to know you on your terms. I'm not going to bring you over to his room right now. It's your choice how much involvement he has." Breanna explained.

"I made it clear that I have custody of you and don't plan to relinquish it to him. The lawyers are ready to fight him if necessary." Vivian explained.

"That's a possibility?" Austin asked, concerned. Vivian nodded her head yes. "Why does he want a relationship with me and not Tyler?"

"We established that my brother is an idiot," Breanna remarked.

Also, I feel that Andie may have yelled at him for his stupid Tyler choices." Matt commented.

"I also feel that some of it was the economics of everything. When you're as wealthy as us, people come out of the woodwork wanting money. It's hard to form relationships with people because you think they want money. I feel like my brother thought that was what would happen again and reacted badly. After six months, he started to reevaluate those choices."

"I want nothing to do with the Hartley money. I doubt Tyler wants it either." Austin added as Matt winced. Why does he feel like he's missing something?

"Not want, but entitled to. That's something I will work out." Vivian explained.

"I don't know if I want anything to do with Cal Hartley right now." He hasn't had the best luck with father figures. He's not sure he wants to try another one after the disaster that was George.

"I get that. Just think of him as an asset in the fight against Victoria. Maybe if this goes well, you can reconsider." What Vivian said sounded reasonable. Cal needs to prove that he's worth knowing, and so far, he isn't doing a very good job, but maybe he can turn it around.

"Tyler told me last night that he stood up to Victoria for him." And Antonella showed him the video. He was stunned by what happened.

"He did. Victoria stayed away because Dad and Tyler were willing to go to the press about him being a Hartley." Matt explained.

"Why is she so obsessed with the illegitimate children?" Cory asked. "Hillary's mom never saw me as the enemy. She gave me a $1000 check when I graduated high school. I was even in her will."

"Not everybody is as kind as the late Cherry Malick. She was a compassionate woman who didn't deserve what that man put her through. She put up with the cheating, and he divorced her after she was diagnosed with breast cancer." Cory just nodded his head.

"Obviously, Victoria is the not-so-nice one. But I don't understand her going to such extremes. It can't be about money. Austin and Tyler's existence doesn't mean she will get less money. They are divorced. Everything goes to you and Breanna, right?" Justin asked Matt.

"Yes. And she was always mad about that." Matt explained.

"Cal changed his will a couple of years ago. Everything outside the money for the foundation will go to Matt and Lexi Junior via a trust now. I am the executor. I asked for the change myself after my daughter was born. However, I do expect his will to get rewritten again." Brianna explained.

"I am her legacy. Victoria wants me to be exactly who she wants me to be." Matt added.

"Which is definitely not a bisexual co-parent of twins with your ex-girlfriend," Cory remarked.

"Per Amanda's cousin, Victoria is lamenting that you're dating the wrong Malick. There was an entire rant on the limo ride home." Vivian added.

"Please tell me she recorded it?" Cory asked. "Hillary would find it amusing."

"New York is a one-party state. Of course, she recorded it." Vivian answered.

"Good, the lawyers are going to need everything," Breanna replied.

"Are you finally getting a restraining order?" Austin asked.

"Not yet. It would just make her angry, and chances are high she would buy her way out of it." Matt explained.

"We need to be extra careful right now. Especially because of what the private investigation team found out." Breanna started.

"What did they find out?" Austin asked.

"As I explained earlier, Victoria's former assistant tipped Cal off to look closely at your paternity. Because I was in Japan, he couldn't reach me directly. So, he went looking for your mom." Vivian explained.

"Shit. I don't think she ever wanted to see him again. I'm sure George was upset about that. He probably threw a fit." He's expecting at least one plate would be broken during that fight.

"I'm not sure how George would've responded because Cal's investigation team never found them," Vivian's statement confused Austin.

"What does that mean?" Austin asked.

"You're aware that we were suspicious about the postcards because you said Tiffany doesn't like sending postcards," Breanna mentioned.

"She doesn't want to ruin the artwork. She's more of a text message person." Austin explained.

"The return address is an under-construction Hartley property," Vivian told him. That was concerning.

"What about George's new job?"

"It is also a under construction Hartley property. We are pretty sure there was never a job."

"What does this mean?" Austin asked as Justin wrapped his arms around him.

"Your mom and stepfather are both missing persons." Vivian said bluntly. "Nobody's heard from Tiffany outside of postcards since she left in August."

"Have you checked with all of her friends?" Austin asked, concerned.

"Our private investigator has contacted every number in her phone. If you know of someone not there, you can hand the contact information to the investigator." Breanna added.

"George's family?"

"Your step-aunt hasn't heard from him since leaving for Chicago either," Vivian answered.

"They're not on good terms, though, so that wouldn't be unusual. What does this mean?" Austin asked, on the verge of shaking.

"That your mother and stepfather have been missing for almost a month. Under different circumstances, we would be filing a missing person's report." Vivian says gently.

"But we're not for the same reason Matt's not getting a restraining order." Austin doesn't like this.

"Not just the same reasons. My mother has a lot of cop friends." His brother answered.

"Our private investigation team can do more if Victoria doesn't know we're looking. We've already placed an ex-cop in her inner circle." Brianna explained.

"What has the team done so far? Do you think she's dead?"

"I don't know what I think. It's entirely possible that my mother gave Tiffany and George a ton of money to go off and live in the Caribbean. I think we have a better shot of finding out if that's the case if she doesn't know we're looking." Matt answered.

"We brought in a team of cadaver dogs to search both properties and found nothing." Austin is trying to decide if that is a good thing. He doesn't know. Whatever he was expecting to happen this morning, this was not it.

"How long have you known that she was missing?" Austin asked, his voice shaky.

"We've been concerned since we talked to you earlier this week. You knew we were doing a welfare check. But we didn't want to tell you that we believe she was missing until the investigators finish the search of the two Chicago properties." Part of Austin feels that Victoria's explanation is reasonable, but he is still upset that they didn't tell him as soon as they were suspicious.

"I don't think telling me you found my mother's dead body would have been better." Austin was on the verge of almost throwing up at this point.

"It would've at least been closure and an answer to the question. Now we have no answers except that she isn't in Chicago." Vivian explained.

"I want to talk to the investigator." He needs to know that they're doing everything possible to find his mother.

"OK. I'll see if someone can interview you later today, maybe when we return to the apartment." Vivian offered.

"Ok. I need a few minutes." Austin said, getting up from the couch, on the verge of being ill. "Can you bring my breakfast into the room?" He asked Justin. Not because he thought he would eat but because he wanted a few moments alone without his boyfriend.

Thankfully, Justin understood and let Austin go to the room alone. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he began to cry.

To be continued…