Is Paul McCartney hoping a mountain of moolah will make Heather Mills hide their love away? The London Daily Mail claims the beleaguered ex-Beatle is contemplating whether to offer his estranged wife a hefty lump sum settlement, along with oodles more in future compensation if she keeps her cakehole closed.

"Paul is absolutely terrified that Heather plans to exploit their time together," a Mills mole asserts to the paper. "Nothing concrete has been decided yet but basically one of the main ideas being laid out on the table is that of the staggered divorce. With this, Paul will offer Heather a one-off ... payment -- something between [$66 million and $94 million] -- as well as around [$5.6 million] every two years, for as long as she keeps [quiet]."

According to the London Guardian, Mills, who has a two-year-old daughter, Beatrice, with McCartney, has already been approached to pen a tell-all. She has, however, denied reports that she's keeping a "video diary" of the split, with her rep maintaining that her ever-present camera is being used to document the paparazzi who trail her.

And the insider insists to the Mail that Mills, who was snapped last week hitting some swanky boutiques in Los Angeles, isn't looking to unbutton her lip: "Although Heather's a little insulted by the implication of the deal -- that she might be prepared to 'sell out' her husband -- she knows it makes sense for both of them. Because she has no intention of doing any kind of kiss and tell, it really is easy money."

As for her sojourn in sunny California, where she's rumored to be meeting with divorce lawyers (McCartney, meanwhile, has reportedly been holed up in the Hamptons), a confidante says, "Heather is holidaying in L.A. because she wants to get away from everything."

Except, perhaps, the paparazzi, who were treated to plenty of shots of Mills emerging from a convertible in Beverly Hills decked out in subtext-laden sunglasses. Seems the shades not only protect from harmful UV rays, but also send a message to Paul's fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney, whose collection they're from.

"She is only too aware of how much Stella detests her," the sympathetic Heather source tells the Mail. "Over the past four years Heather feels that she has made every effort to endear herself to her stepdaughter -- wearing her clothes, attending her parties and fashion launches, supporting her causes, everything -- only to be rebuffed time and again. So this is her way of saying to Stella, who was against her marriage to Paul from day one, 'You may have won the battle, but you haven't won the war.'"