Chapter 5 - WHAT GRACE NEVER TOLD HIM
Police filled the house.
This time Nathan trusted none of them.
He hired private security before sunset.
Grace sat in the guest room while Lily slept beside her.
Nathan stood near the window.
“Tell me everything.”
Grace looked exhausted.
“I did.”
“No.”
Nathan held up the photograph.
“You told me my father threatened you.”
He placed it on the table.
“You didn’t tell me people followed you.”
Grace stared at the photograph.
Her face lost color.
“Where did you get that?”
“It was taped outside after someone shot at my daughter.”
Grace closed her eyes.
Nathan’s voice softened.
“Grace.”
She finally spoke.
“Your father gave me one hundred thousand dollars.”
Nathan stiffened.
“I never used it.”
“Why did you take it?”
“He made me.”
“What does that mean?”
Grace looked at him.
“The first time I refused, my mother got fired.”
Nathan said nothing.
“The second time I refused, my brother was arrested.”
“For what?”
“Drugs.”
Grace laughed bitterly.
“He was sixteen.”
Nathan’s stomach twisted.
“They planted them?”
“Yes.”
Grace touched Lily’s hair.
“Your father said the next lesson would involve my baby.”
Nathan lowered his eyes.
“I took the money.”
“Then what?”
“I moved.”
“Where?”
“Wisconsin.”
Nathan almost smiled from disbelief.
“You were three hours away?”
“For six months.”
“Then?”
“They found me.”
“Who?”
Grace looked toward the door.
“Eleanor Sterling.”
Nathan sat down.
Grace continued.
“She came to my apartment with two men.”
“What did she want?”
“She wanted proof Lily existed.”
Nathan’s chest tightened.
“What kind of proof?”
“DNA.”
Nathan stared.
“They tested her?”
Grace nodded.
“She was three months old.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
So Victoria’s family had known for years.
They had known with certainty.
“What happened after that?”
“Eleanor told me Lily changed the trust.”
“She told you?”
“She said if I ever tried to establish paternity, Lily would become a target.”
Nathan frowned.
“Target from who?”
Grace looked directly at him.
“Your family.”
Silence.
Nathan shook his head.
“I don’t understand.”
“Neither did I.”
Grace reached into her bag.
She pulled out an old phone.
“I kept this.”
Nathan took it.
The screen was cracked.
Inside was one saved voicemail.
Grace pressed play.
Charles Cole’s voice filled the room.
“Grace, this is your last warning.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
His father.
“You will not contact my son.”
The recording continued.
“You will not file for support.”
“You will not pursue any claim involving the child.”
Nathan looked at Grace.
Then came the sentence that changed everything.
“If Nathan learns what I did, he will destroy this family.”
The recording ended.
Nathan stared at the phone.
“What he did?”
Grace nodded.
“That’s why I never believed this was only about Lily.”
Nathan replayed it.
If Nathan learns what I did…
He stood.
“Daniel said my father left sealed documents in private storage.”
Grace frowned.
“What documents?”
“I don’t know.”
Nathan called Daniel.
No answer.
He called again.
Still nothing.
A strange feeling crawled up his spine.
“Where is he?”
Nathan checked the location-sharing app they used during high-risk company negotiations.
Daniel’s phone was moving.
Fast.
Southbound.
Nathan zoomed in.
“Why is he heading toward the old Cole warehouse?”
Grace stood.
“What warehouse?”
“My father used it for private records.”
Nathan grabbed his keys.
Grace blocked him.
“You’re not going alone.”
“You were hit with a hockey stick yesterday.”
“And someone shot at us today.”
She took a coat.
“We’re past reasonable decisions.”
Nathan almost argued.
Then Lily appeared in the doorway.
“Mommy?”
Grace turned.
Lily rubbed her eyes.
“Where are you going?”
Grace crouched.
“Nowhere.”
Lily looked at Nathan.
“Daddy too?”
Nathan’s chest tightened.
“I’ll be back.”
Lily reached for him.
Nathan picked her up.
She whispered.
“Don’t disappear.”
Nathan froze.
Grace looked away.
Nathan kissed Lily’s forehead.
“I won’t.”
He handed her to the security woman.
Then Nathan and Grace drove toward the warehouse.
Twenty-five minutes later, they arrived.
Daniel’s car sat outside.
Driver’s door open.
Engine running.
Nathan rushed inside.
“Daniel!”
No answer.
Grace saw blood on the floor.
Nathan followed the trail.
Behind a stack of crates, they found Daniel unconscious.
His forehead was bleeding.
Beside him lay an open safe.
Empty.
Nathan shook him.
“Daniel!”
Daniel groaned.
His eyes opened.
“They took it.”
“What?”
“The envelope.”
Nathan’s heart dropped.
“What envelope?”
Daniel grabbed his sleeve.
“From your father.”
He coughed.
“Nathan…”
“What?”
May you like
Daniel looked terrified.
“Your father knew he was going to die.”
