Chapter 6 - When the Family War Began
The moment Grace saw her name, Miles stopped being her ex-boyfriend and became something else entirely.
A witness.
A liability.
And possibly the only person capable of getting her out alive.
She hated that reality.
But she accepted it.
Julian moved them to a secure house outside the city.
Vanessa joined them because she had nowhere else to go.
For the first time, four people who had once occupied completely different corners of Miles's world sat around the same kitchen table.
Grace looked at the others.
“What's the plan?”
Julian said, “We expose Richard.”
Miles shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Grace glared.
“Why?”
“Because the evidence isn't enough.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“You have recordings.”
“Circumstantial.”
Julian added, “We need financial documentation.”
Miles nodded.
“Which is why we need Lakeview.”
Grace remembered the anonymous message.
“What is Lakeview?”
Miles finally told her.
A hotel development project had been used to move millions of dollars through fake construction expenses.
The shell company behind it was controlled by Theodore Voss.
“And my mother discovered it,” Grace said.
“Yes.”
“Then why involve me?”
Miles swallowed.
“Because your mother copied the original records.”
Grace's face went pale.
“Where?”
“No one knows.”
“Then how do you know they exist?”
“Your grandfather mentioned them before he died.”
Grace looked at Julian.
“Did he know where they were?”
Julian nodded.
“Maybe.”
The clue led them to an abandoned theater where Grace's grandfather had once invested.
Behind the stage, they found a locked office.
Inside was a film reel.
An old recording.
Grace played it.
Her grandfather appeared on screen.
“I made mistakes,” he said. “I trusted the wrong people. But I kept one copy of everything.”
He lifted a book.
“The truth belongs to whoever is brave enough to carry it.”
Then the screen flickered.
A second person entered.
Grace recognized him.
Theodore Voss.
The two men argued.
Then Richard appeared.
Grace watched in horror as the truth unfolded.
Richard had manipulated both men.
He had used the hotel company to conceal illegal transactions.
He had orchestrated false accounting.
And when Grace's mother discovered it, Richard had ordered someone to scare her.
The accident that killed her had been arranged by a driver working for Voss.
Grace covered her mouth.
“She was murdered.”
Miles stepped closer.
“Yes.”
Grace looked at him.
“And you knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You suspected?”
“I couldn't prove it.”
Grace pushed him away.
“You should have told me.”
“I was trying to find proof.”
“I spent twelve years thinking my mother died in an accident.”
“I know.”
“Did you ever understand what that meant?”
Miles had no answer.
Grace turned away.
For the first time, he didn't try to defend himself.
That mattered.
Not enough to heal her.
But enough to matter.
The next step was Lakeview.
They entered the construction site after midnight.
Behind a false wall, they found boxes of financial records.
Then the lights came on.
Richard stood at the other end of the room.
Security surrounded them.
“I knew you would come,” he said.
Grace stepped forward.
“You killed my mother.”
Richard sighed.
“You insist on simplifying everything.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Richard smiled.
“Theodore.”
“And you ordered him?”
“I ordered him to make sure she stopped digging.”
“That got her killed.”
“I never instructed him to kill her.”
Grace stared at him.
The distinction meant nothing.
Richard looked at Miles.
“You betrayed your family for her.”
Miles stepped forward.
“I betrayed you.”
“You're my son.”
“You stopped being my father a long time ago.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“This is your last chance.”
“No.”
Richard nodded.
“Then she dies with you.”
The gunshot came from behind.
Everyone froze.
A security guard fell.
Julian pulled Grace down.
Vanessa grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher.
The room exploded into chaos.
Miles tackled his father's head of security.
Grace ran toward the evidence.
She grabbed the original files.
Then another shot.
Miles shouted.
Grace turned.
He was on the floor.
Blood spread across his shirt.
“Miles!”
She ran to him.
He looked at her.
“Go.”
“I am not leaving you.”
“You have the evidence.”
She pressed her hand against the wound.
“No.”
Julian pulled out his phone.
“We need an ambulance.”
Richard disappeared into the darkness.
Sirens approached.
Grace stayed beside Miles.
He looked at her.
“I never deserved you.”
She shook her head.
“Not now.”
“I mean it.”
“Don't talk.”
“I loved you.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I know.”
He smiled weakly.
May you like
“That is enough.”
Then his eyes closed.
