---- Chapter 34 "He might not be my problem, Serena, but he's your son!" Michael's voice rose, attracting stares. Serena's new companion, a burly man with a shaved head and tattoos, stood up. "Hey, buddy, you bothering the lady?" "This is between me and her," Michael snapped. "Serena," Michael said, his voice dropping to a dangerous hiss. "You lied about everything, didn't you? Your 'deceased' partner. Your tragic story. It was all a con." Serena laughed, a brittle, ugly sound. "Took you long enough to figure it out, genius." The confirmation, so casually delivered, hit him like a punch. "And Mikey?" Michael pressed, a sickening suspicion dawning. "Is he even... who you said he was?" Her eyes flickered. "What are you implying?" "His father. The one who supposedly died. Was he even real?" 7 Just then, a woman approached their group, looking harried. "Serena? The sitter for 'Jason' called. His mom is back in town. She wants him back. Now." Jason. Not Mikey. And "his mom." Not Serena. The pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity. Serena wasn't Mikey's, or Jason's, mother. She was a "bunny girl,"a term he'd heard for women who rented babies to ---- appear more sympathetic or to run scams. @ The child she had used to trap him, to destroy his marriage, wasn't even hers. The deception was so monstrous, so complete, it stole his breath. Devastation, followed by an explosive rage, consumed him. "You bitch!" he roared, lunging at her. The burly man intercepted him, shoving him back. Michael, fueled by adrenaline and a primal fury, fought back. The bar erupted into chaos. In the midst of the brawl, Michael screamed at Serena, "You used a rented child! You lied about everything!" Serena, her face a mask of fury and fear, tried to slip away. Her new partner, realizing he'd been caught up with a con artist, backed off, looking disgusted. Michael, bruised and bleeding, cornered Serena. "You're not getting away with this," he snarled. "I'll see you in jail." He wasn't sure what crime she'd committed beyond moral depravity, but his assertion was firm. He felt a strange, twisted sense of legal claim over her, the claim of the utterly duped