Chapter 17
ASHTON
After meeting Marie and hearing her plan, Ashton found himself haunted by a single, terrifying question.
What if he was wrong all along?
The thought wrapped around his chest like a vice. He hated it. He had lived with this doubt since the day everything fell apart, pushing it down, refusing to name it. But Marie’s words had torn it back open. Now it would not leave him alone.
He wanted to face Bailey one last time.
But she was gone.
She had left town with her mother without a word, and the anger surged back like fresh fire.
If she had been innocent, why run? Why disappear instead of standing on her ground?
If she had been guilty, she should have admitted it, begged for forgiveness, taken responsibility.
Instead, she vanished, leaving him alone with rumors, assumptions, and a silence that poisoned everything it touched.
His phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and turned it face down.
He knew who it was. His fiancée. She had been calling nonstop since he left Brookvale after getting Chase’s address from his mother. He had told no one where he was going. He did not trust himself to explain it yet.
Since discovering Bailey’s supposed betrayal, Ashton had confronted Chase once before. Chase had admitted to the affair—or at least, that was how Ashton remembered it. Rage had taken over. He punched him until his knuckles split, until Chase fell. Then Chase disappeared from town entirely.
Ashton assumed he was doing what he always did—partying, drinking, wasting his family’s money in different cities, untouched by consequences.
He was wrong.
After hours of driving, Ashton reached the remote town where Chase’s family owned a sprawling estate. His mother had told him Chase had been staying there after an accident. Illegal racing. A GTI spinning out of control. A collision so violent the other driver died instantly, trapped in flames.
Chase survived.
Barely.
Ashton had not asked about the extent of his injuries. He had not cared. When his aunt begged him to visit Chase in the hospital, he refused. Cousin or not, he wanted nothing to do with him.
But now, if he wanted the truth, this was where he had to begin.
The property was isolated, surrounded by vast, empty land. Chase lived there alone, with only a handful of staff. His parents rarely visited, too busy traveling, too detached to deal with the wreckage of their son.
When Ashton gave his name at the door, the staff ushered him inside without question. They led him to the library, explaining that Chase spent most of his time there.
The door opened.
Ashton stopped short.
Chase sat slumped in a wheelchair, his leg hidden beneath a thick blanket. His face was swollen, bruised, and drawn. The sharp, arrogant edge Ashton remembered had dulled into something bitter and broken.
The room mirrored him.
Books lay scattered across the floor. A glass shattered in one corner. A lamp overturned, its shade cracked. The air smelled faintly of alcohol.
“I’m sorry, sir,” the staff said carefully. “You have a visitor.”
Then they left.
Chase looked up.
It took a few seconds before recognition settled in. When it did, his expression twisted into surprise—and anger.
“Well, well,” he said hoarsely. “If it isn’t my beloved cousin. The golden heir of the Millers finally decided to grace me with his presence.”
Ashton ignored the mockery. “I wouldn’t be here if this wasn’t important.”
Chase snorted. “Still arrogant. I begged you to come before. You never did.” His jaw tightened. “And now you show up. Don’t you think it’s a little late for whatever unfinished business you think we have?”
“Someone told me it’s better late than never.”
Chase laughed bitterly. “Then say what you came to say and leave. Like everyone else. Even my parents don’t give a damn about me.”
“Don’t blame others for your choices, Chase,” Ashton said quietly. “You’ve lived recklessly for years. You never thought it would catch up to you?”
“Cut the crap,” Chase snapped. “You’re wasting my time. Even though I’ve got all the time in the world now—stuck in this chair.”
Ashton stepped closer. “I’m here for the truth.”
Chase’s eyes narrowed. “About what?”
“About Bailey,” Ashton said. “Did you really have an affair with her?”
Chase leaned back, studying him. “If you came when I asked you to, I would’ve answered that. I thought I wasn’t going to survive my surgery.” He smiled without humor. “Now? I’m already living in hell.”
“The truth might still set you free,” Ashton said. His voice wavered. “I need it—for my conscience. For peace. Did you sleep with her? Did you seduced her? Was she pregnant with your child? Did you make her terminate it?”
Chase burst out laughing.
The sound was sharp and ugly.
“How could she be pregnant with my child,” he said, “when she never let me touch her?”
Ashton froze.
Chase continued, his voice low. “Bailey’s like a wild cat. Get too close and she’ll tear you apart. The one time I crossed a line—just touched her—she kicked me so hard I thought I was going to pass out.”
Something snapped inside Ashton.
He lunged forward, grabbing Chase’s shirt, trying to haul him up in the wheelchair.
“What did you do to her?” Ashton growled. “Did you force yourself on her?”
Chase didn’t resist. He didn’t even look scared.
“It never went that far,” he said calmly.
“It was supposed to be a prank. Something convincing enough for people to see. But she looked at me like I was nothing. Like I was beneath her.” His eyes darkened.
“I wanted to scare her. Teach her a lesson. That’s all. ”
“Why her?” Ashton demanded.
Chase exhaled. “You really want to know?” He met Ashton’s eyes. “Because your father told me to.”
The world tilted.
“He pushed me into it,” Chase continued. “I admired him. The way he controlled everything. Protected his own. I wanted him to see me as more than a useless screw-up.” His lips curled. “He paid me to leave town after. Paid me to disappear so you’d never know the truth.”
Ashton released him.
Chase slumped back, and the blanket slipped from his lap.
Ashton’s breath caught.
Chase had only one leg.
Realization flickered across his face, and Chase noticed. He scoffed softly. “Don’t look so shocked. Guess I got what I deserved.” He paused. “But tell me—do you think I’m worse than the man who planned it all?”
Ashton bent down, silently lifting the blanket and covering him again.
“It was never my baby she was carrying,” Chase said quietly. “Now you understand whose it belongs to?”
The words crushed him.
“Yours,” Chase continued. “And you’re the one who drove her to end it. Your lack of trust did exactly what your father wanted.”
He turned his wheelchair away. “Now leave. I’m done.”
Ashton walked toward the door, his mind unraveling.
Just before he reached it, Chase spoke again.
“Oh, and Ashton?” He didn’t turn around. “I heard you’re engaged to her best friend.”
Ashton stopped.
“She’s not what you think,” Chase said. “She knew I never touched Bailey. When I invited her to that party and asked her to bring Bailey along, she agreed without hesitation. She even promised to make sure Bailey had time alone with me.” A pause. “She knew the plan.”
The silence that followed was deafening.
Ashton stepped outside, the truth crashing down on him piece by piece.
And for the first time, he understood—
the betrayal had never come from where he thought it did.