A Heartwarming Family Portrait: John Edwards, Rielle Hunter & Frances Quinn Hunter

The day prior to John Edwards' admission to an affair with Rielle Hunter, she and her six-month old daughter, Frances Quinn Hunter, were secretly flown out of the U.S. on a chartered Lear jet, the National Enquirer says.

The private flight cost $50,000 and was paid for by John Edwards’ pals. The Hunters were the lone passengers aboard the eight-hour flight.

Their destination: St. Croix in the Virgin Islands!

There, Rielle Hunter and the baby stayed in an oceanfront home owned by controversial trial lawyer Lee Rohn, another close friend of Edwards.

Rohn offered only a terse “No comment!” when questioned about it.

John Edwards insists he is not the father of Rielle Hunter's baby. One of his close staff members, Andrew Young, is claiming paternity, yet Frances' California birth certificate lists no father, and many questions linger.

After the celebrity gossip tabloid discovered Hunter's island hideaway with Rohn, she was moved to a nearby motel on the island before returning to Santa Barbara, Calif., on August 17, according to another source.

An Enquirer reporter then saw Rielle back in her California home, which is being paid for by Edwards’ former finance chairman, Fred Baron.

Rielle Hunter now has an off-duty cop guarding her house.

None of this is paid for by her, of course. The money continues to come from Edwards’ supporters, with no explanation from Edwards as to why his friends continue to support her - especially with the affair public.

Edwards is not only aware of the hush money payoffs but orchestrated it with his team of former campaign advisors, the Enquirer believes.

Moreover, a team of six lawyers has been involved in the coverup and are funneling payments to Hunter, who has no money or no means of support.

The Enquirer also says Hunter's own lawyer advised her to allow Edwards to take a paternity test but she refused out of misguided belief that Edwards will marry her after the death of his cancer-stricken wife, Elizabeth.

Perhaps most astonishingly, the blockbuster investigation also reveals the disgraced ex-senator is still in communication with his mistress!

Also apparently uncovered are some intimate details of the Edwards-Hunter affair - even after Edwards admitted the affair to his wife.

A friend of Rielle’s reportedly said that when she and Edwards met, “She wanted to pick him up. According to her, the chemistry was instant. They ended up sleeping together that same night!”

Hunter told her friend that she was hired to shoot behind-the-scenes videos for his campaign because Edwards wanted them together.

“A friend kidded her she was actually shooting ‘between-the-sheets’ videos!”