Chapter 8: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The phone continued ringing in Ethan’s hand.
Charles Pierce.
A name that should have belonged only to old documents, old memories, and a grave.
But it was there.
Alive.
Calling.
Grace stared at the screen.
She waited for Ethan to reject the call.
To throw the phone away.
To look as shocked as everyone else.
But he didn’t.
He simply stood there.
Frozen.
And that scared her.
“Answer it,” Daniel said.
Ethan looked at him.
“What?””
“Answer it.””
Victoria stepped forward.
“No.””
Everyone turned toward her.
For the first time, Daniel and Victoria wanted the same thing.
Neither wanted Ethan to pick up.
That alone told Grace how serious this was.
“Why?”” Grace asked.
Victoria looked at her.
“Because if Charles knows where you are, everything changes.””
Grace’s voice hardened.
“Everything already changed.””
The phone kept ringing.
Five.
Six.
Seven times.
Then it stopped.
Everyone released a breath they hadn’t realized they were holding.
But seconds later, a message appeared.
Ethan looked at it.
Then his face drained of color.
“What?””
Daniel took a step closer.
“Read it.””
Ethan didn’t move.
“Ethan.””
Slowly, Ethan turned the screen around.
The message was short.
*You have something that belongs to me. Bring it, or Grace learns what you did.*
Silence.
Grace looked at Ethan.
“What did you do?””
His eyes immediately moved away.
And that was enough.
The question had answered itself.
Daniel’s voice became dangerous.
“Ethan.””
“I don’t know what he means.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You’re lying.””
“I’m not.””
Grace watched him carefully.
Five years of marriage taught her every expression on his face.
The way he looked away when he avoided difficult conversations.
The way his fingers moved when he was nervous.
The way his voice became defensive when he felt trapped.
He was hiding something.
“Tell me.””
Ethan looked at her.
“Grace.””
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
But firm.
“Not tonight.””
She stepped closer.
“You don’t get to protect me with lies anymore.””
The words hit him.
Because he knew she was right.
Ethan looked down.
“I met him.””
The room became silent.
Victoria closed her eyes.
Lauren whispered:
“Dad.””
Grace felt numb.
“When?””
Ethan swallowed.
“Three weeks ago.””
Daniel’s expression darkened.
“Where?””
“A hotel downtown.””
Marcus stared.
“You met a man you thought was dead in secret?””
“I didn’t know who he was.””
Grace looked confused.
“What?””
Ethan rubbed his face.
“Someone contacted me. They said they had information about Lauren.””
Lauren looked shocked.
“About me?””
Ethan nodded.
“They showed me pictures. Messages. They knew about the affair.””
Grace felt sick.
“So they blackmailed you.””
“No.””
Ethan paused.
“Yes.””
Nobody spoke.
The truth was finally coming out.
Piece by piece.
Ugly.
Late.
Necessary.
“What did they want?”” Daniel asked.
Ethan looked at Grace.
And she already knew she wouldn’t like the answer.
“They wanted access to your accounts.””
Her stomach dropped.
“What?””
Ethan immediately shook his head.
“I didn’t give them anything.””
Daniel stared.
“But you considered it.””
Ethan looked away.
That was answer enough.
Grace felt something inside her go quiet.
Not anger.
Not heartbreak.
Something worse.
Disappointment.
“You were going to.””
“No.””
“You thought about it.””
Ethan couldn’t deny it.
“I was scared.””
Grace nodded slowly.
“Everyone was scared.””
She looked around the room.
“My brothers were scared.””
She looked at Victoria.
“You were scared.””
Then Ethan.
“But somehow I was the only person nobody thought deserved the truth.””
Nobody answered.
A loud noise came from outside.
Everyone turned.
The vehicles.
The people waiting.
The danger approaching.
Daniel checked the window.
“We don’t have time for this.””
He looked at Ethan.
“What exactly did Charles give you?””
Ethan hesitated.
Then reached into his jacket.
Grace’s eyes widened.
“You have something?””
He pulled out a small envelope.
Brown.
Old.
Sealed.
Victoria’s expression changed instantly.
“Where did you get that?””
Ethan looked at her.
“Charles gave it to me.””
Daniel grabbed it.
But before he could open it, Victoria stopped him.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at the envelope.
“That’s not from Charles.””
Grace frowned.
“What?””
Victoria stepped closer.
“Charles doesn’t write like that.””
Daniel looked at the handwriting.
A realization crossed his face.
“No.””
Marcus looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel slowly turned the envelope over.
There was a small symbol in the corner.
A symbol Grace recognized.
Her father’s.
The same symbol that had been carved into the wooden box from her childhood.
Grace whispered:
“My father.””
Victoria looked at her.
“Yes.””
Her voice was barely audible.
“Your father sent that.””
Daniel opened it carefully.
Inside was one piece of paper.
Only one.
He read it silently.
Then his face changed.
Grace noticed.
“What does it say?””
Daniel looked at her.
“It’s a warning.””
“About who?””
He looked toward the broken front window.
“About everyone.””
That answer made no sense.
But somehow, it made perfect sense.
Daniel handed her the paper.
Grace took it.
The handwriting was familiar.
Instantly.
Her father’s.
Her fingers trembled.
The message was simple.
*Grace,*
*If you are reading this, then they failed to keep you away from the truth.*
Her breath caught.
She continued.
*I need you to understand something. The person who betrayed me was not the person you think.*
Grace looked up.
Everyone watched her.
She forced herself to keep reading.
*Do not trust anyone who says they were protecting you.*
Her eyes moved lower.
Then she saw the final line.
And everything stopped.
*Especially the person who has been beside you since the beginning.*
Grace slowly lowered the paper.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood the same thing.
Her father wasn’t warning her about an enemy outside.
He was warning her about someone close.
Someone who had been there from the start.
Daniel looked at Ethan.
Marcus looked at Lauren.
Noah looked at Victoria.
But Grace?
Grace looked at all of them.
Because for the first time, she realized the truth.
The danger wasn’t just who had betrayed her.
It was who had been helping her.
And who had been pretending.
The front door suddenly opened.
Everyone turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Grace stopped breathing.
She knew that face.
She had seen it in photographs for years.
She had cried beside that photograph.
She had believed it belonged to a dead man.
Her hand flew to her mouth.
“No…”
The man looked at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Gracie.””
The nickname broke something inside her.
Because nobody else called her that.
Nobody except him.
Her father.
Charles Pierce.
Alive.
Standing in her home.
Daniel moved immediately.
“You.””
Charles looked at him.
“I know.””
Victoria stepped forward.
Her face was unreadable.
“You’re alive.””
Charles looked at her.
“You knew I would come back.””
Victoria’s expression changed.
A mixture of anger and pain.
“You left me to take the blame.””
Charles looked away.
“I left because staying would have gotten Grace killed.””
Grace shook her head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
She stared at the man she had mourned for years.
“Tell me the truth.””
Charles looked at her.
And the sadness in his eyes terrified her.
Because it meant the truth was worse than she imagined.
“I will.””
He stepped inside.
“But first…”
He looked around the room.
At Ethan.
At Lauren.
At Victoria.
Then back at Grace.
“You need to know which one of them tried to destroy your family.””
The lights flickered again.
And Charles said the name nobody expected.
“The person who started this…”
He looked directly at Ethan.
“…was not Victoria.””
The room went silent.
May you like
Because Ethan suddenly looked terrified.
And Grace realized the next secret would change everything.
