Chapter 10 - THE SECRET GRANT’S FATHER TOOK TO HIS GRAVE
Grant’s father, Henry Vance, died seven years ago.
I had loved him.
Chloe adored him.
Now a photograph suggested he had known about my father’s buried scandal.
Grant looked at it for a long time.
“I’ve never seen this.”
Daniel found financial transfers.
My father paid Henry $2.4 million over eight years.
Consulting fees.
No consulting work.
Grant’s face hardened.
“He blackmailed your father.”
Maybe.
Then we found Henry’s private journal.
Grant kept it in storage after his mother moved.
The truth was stranger.
Henry had not blackmailed my father.
He had discovered the unethical clinical relationship.
He threatened to expose it.
My father begged for time to unwind contracts and protect patients.
Henry agreed.
The payments funded independent medical monitoring for trial participants through a hidden nonprofit.
He wasn’t being paid to stay silent.
He was using my father’s money to protect the people my father had failed.
Grant read the journal.
“My father knew all this.”
“Yes.”
“And never told me.”
“Apparently secrecy is hereditary.”
He almost smiled.
Then one entry changed everything.
STEPHEN KNOWS.
If he ever controls the trust, he will use Arthur’s scandal to force the board into dependence.
Arthur.
My father.
Stephen’s plan had existed far longer than we knew.
He was not improvising around Chloe’s allergy.
He had spent years positioning himself.
Then Henry wrote:
Grant is becoming too comfortable with Arthur’s money. I worry he believes marrying Evelyn means he no longer needs a life of his own.
Grant closed the journal.
That one hurt him.
It should have.
For years, Grant had lived inside my wealth.
My yacht.
My company accounts.
My family homes.
His consulting firm existed, but my resources cushioned every failure.
The affair with Miranda had been partly fueled by his resentment.
He later admitted that.
“She made me feel like I built something myself.”
“By spending my money?”
His eyes lowered.
“Yes.”
Pathetic.
Honest.
Both.
Then we found Henry’s final letter.
Addressed to Grant.
Never opened.
Son,
If you ever resent Evelyn for being stronger financially, leave before you punish her for it.
Grant read the sentence twice.
He started crying.
Quietly.
I did not comfort him.
Not because I hated him.
Because some grief must belong entirely to the person who earned it.
Then Chloe’s therapist gave us unexpected news.
She wanted Grant at the next session.
Not because Chloe forgave him.
Because Chloe had written one question on a card.
May you like
WHY WAS THE BLONDE LADY MORE IMPORTANT THAN ME?
Grant would have to answer without lying.
