Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

The doorbell rang. Aiden checked the security camera. "It's Emma and Rachel."He let them in. Both women rushed to Grace. Hugged her carefully. Avoiding her injured shoulder."You look better," Emma said. "Still pale but better.""I feel better. Aiden's been taking good care of me."Rachel set her briefcase on the coffee table. "We have a lot to discuss. Are you ready?"Grace nodded. They all sat. Aiden brought coffee and pastries. Then sat next to Grace.Rachel opened her briefcase. Pulled out thick folders. Documents. Papers."I've been working nonstop," she said. "Preparing everything. And I have good news. We have more than enough evidence to destroy Mason in divorce court."The lies Mason's telling. Public sentiment is shifting. More people are believing you now.""But not everyone," Grace said."No. Not everyone. The Hartwells still have supporters. People who think you're lying for money. But the tide is turning."Rachel spread papers across the table. "These are the divorce pa

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Aiden asked.Grace stood outside the psychiatric facility. Gray building. Barred windows. Security everywhere."I have to," she said. "If Sophia really has information that can help, I need to hear it.""I'll wait here. Call me if you need anything."Grace nodded. Walked to the entrance. Security checked her ID. Made her leave her phone and bag in a locker. Then led her through locked doors. Down hallways that smelled like disinfectant and despair.A nurse met her. Middle-aged woman with kind eyes. "Ms. Hartwell? Sophia is in the rec room. She's been asking about you.""How is she?""Stable. Medicated. We have her on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication. She's much calmer than when she first woke up."They walked to a large room. A few patients watching TV. Others sitting quietly. And in the corner, by a window, sat Sophia.She looked terrible. Hair unwashed. Face pale. Wearing hospital scrubs. Nothing like the polished woman Grace used to kn

Grace was having breakfast when the courier arrived. Official-looking envelope. Legal papers."What is it?" Aiden asked.Grace opened it. Started reading. Her face went pale."He's suing me.""What?""Mason. He's filing a countersuit. Against me."She read faster. Her hands started shaking. Not from fear. From disbelief."This can't be real."Aiden took the papers. Read them himself. His jaw dropped. "He's claiming you committed fraud?""Yes. Says I faked the amnesia to entrap him. That it was all a calculated plan to gather evidence illegally.""That's insane.""There's more." Grace pointed to another section. "He's suing for alienation of affection. Says I had an affair with you during our marriage. That you deliberately seduced me to hurt him.""We didn't even start anything until after he'd already thrown you away!""He's also claiming mental cruelty. Says I emotionally abused him for years. Made him feel inadequate. Drove him to seek comfort elsewhere." Grace laughed bitterly. "H

Grace stared at the photos on her phone. Judge Brenner and Richard Hartwell. The handwritten note about payment to a Cayman account."This is evidence of bribery," she said. "Real evidence."Aiden looked at the photos. "Who sent this?""I don't know. Anonymous email.""Should we send it to Detective Floyd?""Yes. But first..." Grace forwarded the email to Rachel. Then to Detective Floyd. "Now it's documented.""What about your business? The thirty days?"Grace sighed. Put her phone down. "I don't know. I need to think.""Grace, let me help. Please.""Aiden—""Just hear me out. Five million dollars. Invested in Tessa Designs. I get twenty percent equity. You keep control. You keep your vision. I'm just a silent partner.""That's too much money.""It's not charity. It's business. Your company is worth investing in. The designs are incredible. The brand has potential. This is smart business for me.""Or you're just saying that because you love me.""I'm saying it because it's true. Yes,

She did not sleep.Aiden offered to stay on the couch. Grace told him he could stay in the bed if he wanted. He said he would take the couch. Neither of them argued about it. They both knew sleep was not really the conversation.At six in the morning she was already at the kitchen table with Floyd's file list printed out in front of her. Three pages. Single-spaced. Every filename from every server they had accessed so far.Aiden appeared in the doorway at six-fifteen, hair still messed from the couch, and looked at the papers spread across the table."You should have woken me," he said."I'm fine.""I know you're fine." He moved to the kitchen and started the coffee. "That's not why I said it."He sat down across from her with two mugs and she let him pull half the stack of papers toward himself. They worked like that for a while. Quiet. Two people going through a list, one name at a time.The filenames were mostly numbers. Dates and camera designations. Some had location codes that F