Chapter 5 - THE SECRET MY FATHER TOOK TO HIS GRAVE
I returned to the villa before sunset.
Grant was waiting on the porch.
Alone.
“You went to see someone.”
I didn't answer.
He looked exhausted.
For the first time since the pool incident, he didn't look arrogant.
He looked frightened.
“Who did you meet?”
“Someone who knew my father.”
Grant's jaw tightened.
“What did she tell you?”
“That you were involved.”
He looked away.
I felt something inside me break.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I can explain.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You've had nine years.”
He swallowed.
“I never wanted this.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because my mother—”
He stopped.
“Because your mother what?”
He looked at me.
“She said your father destroyed our family.”
“That doesn't explain stealing eleven million dollars.”
“He ruined my father.”
“No. Your father ruined himself.”
Grant's eyes filled with anger.
“You don't know what happened.”
“Then tell me.”
He remained silent.
I walked past him.
“I'm done asking.”
That night, I found a small envelope beneath my hotel room door.
No name.
Inside was a flash drive.
I plugged it into my laptop.
A video appeared.
My father sat at his desk.
He looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
Afraid.
He spoke directly to the camera.
“If you're watching this, then I failed to protect you.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“I discovered that Marianne and several others were moving money through shell companies.”
He paused.
“Grant knows.”
My breath caught.
“He was twenty-six when he first accessed the accounts. I confronted him. He swore he would stop.”
My father's expression hardened.
“He didn't.”
The video continued.
“Then Marianne threatened you.”
I covered my mouth.
“She told me that if I exposed her, my daughter would pay the price.”
The screen went black.
A second video started.
This time, Grant appeared.
Younger.
Terrified.
He was sitting across from my father.
“I'll fix it,” Grant said.
My father's voice answered.
“You have one chance.”
Grant nodded.
“I'll marry her.”
I froze.
The video ended.
I sat motionless in the darkness.
My entire marriage had been built on a lie.
Grant hadn't married me because he loved me.
He had married me because my father believed he could use that marriage to keep Grant close enough to stop the theft.
But somewhere along the way, the plan had failed.
And Grant had chosen his mother.
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Then another message appeared on my phone.
YOU HAVE 72 HOURS BEFORE THEY TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR COMPANY.
