Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
GRACE
The clammy hands, shallowness of my breathing, and the violent tremors in my thighs are sure signs I’m in the middle of a panic attack. I’m clutching onto the phone so tightly my fingers are cramping, but I can’t let go.
Run.
There’s only one reason he’d say that. He wants to set up the chase, make me terrified, panicked, and in genuine fear of my life. To spend the coming weeks, months, and possibly years looking over my shoulder, constantly moving from place to place, trying to stay one step ahead.
Well, he’s got his wish.
I am petrified.
Stumbling into the walk-in wardrobe, I grab the single suitcase I arrived with before haphazardly shoving clothes and toiletries inside. My gaze passes over the two necklaces Christian gifted me before we were married, and I reach out to stuff them into my bag.
No, I can’t do it. I never wanted his money. I only ever wanted the truth.
I glance down at the third finger of my left hand, but as I go to remove my wedding and engagement rings, I stop.
Juliet was right in what she said all those months ago.
I will need access to fast cash, and pawning jewelry is the best way to get that.
But just the rings. I’m not taking the jewels.
They’re worth far more. Millions, probably.
My heart is in my throat as I peek into the hallway. Empty. On the balls of my feet, I scoot down the stairs, praying I don’t bump into any of Christian’s family. If they don’t already, they’ll know soon enough what a charlatan I am and how I duped them all. Then they will hate me, as I deserve.
Now my cover is blown, I’ll never truly know what happened to Mum and Dad, and maybe that’s my punishment.
I’m more convinced than ever that Christian didn’t kill my parents.
Perhaps his procedures were off, or his checks and balances were poorly constructed, leading to the collapse of Nexus, but outright murder? I don’t buy it.
If it hadn’t been for Daniel dripping poison into my ears from the moment we discovered my parents were underneath the rubble at Nexus, maybe I’d have jumped to a different conclusion, or possibly asked Christian outright what happened.
I had the opportunity at the funeral, but by then our plans were already solidifying.
The decisions were made, and I didn’t even consider a different path.
Grief made me blind to other avenues. All I wanted was vengeance.
I make it outside Oakleigh without bumping into anyone, not even a single staff member. This isn’t unusual. It’s a gigantic monolith of a house, and for once I’m grateful for its size and how spread out everyone is.
Each step I take toward the garages, where my battered old car lives, and that I haven’t had cause to use since I married Christian, I keep expecting my bodyguard Powell to appear, his resident scowl in place, but he doesn’t.
I make it to the garages and locate my car tucked away in a corner.
I dig out the key and unlock it. The indicators flash and the locks clunk.
I open the door and almost fall into the driver’s seat.
Please don’t let the battery be dead.
I turn the key in the ignition. The engine roars to life.
Resting my head on the steering wheel, I take a deep breath and try to slow my racing heart, but it’s pointless.
I’m not sure I’ll ever know what a resting heart rate is again.
I steer out of the garage and make my way up the winding driveway to the main gatehouse, glancing in my rear-view mirror the entire journey.
It takes a full two minutes to reach the grand entrance to Oakleigh.
I brace for the guard to leave his station and demand to know where my bodyguard is.
Instead, as I approach, the gates swing open, allowing me to drive through.
What?
How?
As soon as I’m through, I floor the accelerator and speed away from Oakleigh. It shouldn’t have been that easy. It just shouldn’t. Unless…
Run.
This is his plan. He didn’t want me stopped.
This is much worse than if he’d confronted me and demanded an explanation, and he knows it, because he knows me.
My car doesn’t have a hands-free option for me to call Arron and let him know I’m out, and I can’t risk getting pulled over by the police for using a mobile phone while driving.
The journey home is torturous. Every set of headlights that loom in my mirror send another shot of adrenaline into my bloodstream.
My hands are so sweaty, they’re slipping on the steering wheel, and I grip it tighter.
Stay strong. Almost there.
As my road comes into view, a shaky breath stutters past my lips.
Arron’s car isn’t parked in its usual space.
He must still be out trying to find Daniel.
I turn into the driveway and park, then cut the engine.
My hands are shaking that much it takes me three attempts to pull up Arron’s contact details and hit the call button.
“Grace?”
A sob leaps into my throat, but I swallow it down. I can’t afford to lose control. I need to keep my head on straight and get as far away from here as fast as possible.
“I’m out. I’m at home. I have to go, Arron. Christian knows everything. He told me to run, and I am.”
“Wait. Grace, just wait. Don’t do anything until I get there. I’m ten minutes away. Promise me.”
I say nothing.
“Promise me, Grace.” The roar of a car engine comes over the phone line. “I’m on my way.”
“Okay,” I whisper. “But hurry. I don’t have long.”
As I get out of my car, I scan the neighborhood for anything that looks out of the ordinary.
And so it begins. This is what my life will be like now.
I could call Christian’s bluff, refuse to leave, and just wait for him to turn up here, but I’m too much of a coward.
I can’t hide forever, but I can for long enough to hopefully let the dust settle on his anger.
His family, too. Once he tells them everything, they’ll all be out for my blood.
Time is what I need. After all, I’m only doing what Christian wants me to do.
True to his word, Arron arrives home ten minutes later. Even though I know it’s him, I jump at the slamming of the front door. I slip my hand inside my jacket pocket for my passport, even though I only put it there a few minutes ago.
Arron’s face crumples when he sees me, and it takes strength I didn’t know I had to hold it together. He reaches out his arms, and I tuck myself inside.
“Tell me what happened?”
“Christian got out.”
“How?”
I peel away and prop myself on the arm of Dad’s favorite chair. “I don’t know. He called me. Told me he knows everything and said to run.”
“What about Daniel?”
I shrug. “Don’t know and don’t care. He fucked me over. I had it all under control, and now I’m screwed. I planned to tell Christian everything on my terms, but now that’s impossible. Whatever has happened to Daniel is on his head. I couldn’t give a shit.”
Arron nods, but it’s more in thought than an agreement with what I’m saying. “He’s still family.”
“No.” I shake my head vehemently. “Not any longer. He said things to me I will never forget, and he put me in danger. You can call him family if you like, but he’s no family of mine.” I stand and pick up my suitcase.
“Let me come with you, please.”
“No. It’s better this way. Christian won’t hurt you. It’s me he wants to hurt. You’ll be safe.”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know yet. Somewhere off grid that doesn’t have CCTV on every street corner. His family are powerful. They’ll easily be able to track me, so I need to make it as difficult as I can.”
“Stay, please. We can talk to Christian, make him understand.”
“He won’t listen. Not now when it’s raw. It’s better to wait for things to blow over. When I think enough time has passed, I will face him.”
Resignation pulls Arron’s features tight. “Call me when you’re settled.”
“I will.” I won’t. It’s too dangerous. For all I know, the De Vils have the technology that traces words or phrases, or they’ll find a way of bugging Arron’s phone. Telling him this will only make him worry, though, so I keep quiet.
“I’m sorry I let you down.”
I put the suitcase on the floor again and take hold of his upper arms. “You didn’t let me down.
You did everything you could, but the entire plan was flawed from the start.
We were too embroiled in grief to see it, but what we did was the wrong approach.
We never should have listened to Daniel.
And you.” I give him a little shake. “If he turns up here, my advice is to tell him to leave. He’s toxic.
I’m only sorry I never saw it until it was too late.
I can’t lose you, Arron, not to a man like him. ”
“You’re not going to lose me.”
“I feel as though I did for a while.”
He tucks his chin to his chest. “He made so much sense, and you weren’t here for me to talk things through with. You’ve always been my rock, my common-sense barometer. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”
“It isn’t forever.” At least I hope not, but the future looks murky, and until the waters clear, I can’t be certain of anything. “If Christian comes here, tell him the truth. That you saw me, but I wouldn’t tell you where I was going.”
“Okay.” He kisses me on the cheek.
“Call Juliet and tell her what’s happened. I can’t risk turning my phone on.”
“Use the burner.”
I grimace. “I left it at Oakleigh. I was in such a rush to leave that I forgot.”
“Get yourself another burner.”
“I will. Once I’m settled.”
Arron calls me a cab. For all I know, there’s a tracker on my car. It doesn’t matter if Christian tracks it here. He will already know Mum and Dad’s address from working with them.
Not long after, I’m sitting in the back of the taxi, waving to Arron out of the rear window, with tears pouring down my cheeks. Who knows when I’ll next see him, or the home I grew up in.
I face the front, my heart aching and my chest hollow. I don’t know where I’m going, only that Christian will find me when he’s ready.
What happens until then is my true penance.
One I deserve.