Chapter 220: Final Truth

Blood started dripping from Grant’s hand, sliding down his wrist and along his arm. Before I could even move, Mom came downstairs and saw everything the shattered calm, the report on the table, the red stains spreading where they shouldn’t be.

Mom knelt beside him with the first-aid kit. Grant looked like he hadn’t slept at all. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He tried to pull his injured hand away, almost instinctively hiding it like shame.

Mom caught his wrist gently and held it in place. Then she dipped cotton into iodine and began to clean the wound slowly, carefully. Her movements were calm, steady, almost clinical like she was forcing peace into the room with her hands.

“These next three days,” she said softly, “I’m still your wife.”

Grant didn’t answer. He leaned back against the sofa, his other hand wiping at tears that fell without sound. Mom kept working, wrapping the bandage around his knuckles, tightening it just enough.

But I could see it clearly his shoulders were shaking.

How could anyone accept that the child they had loved for twenty years wasn’t theirs?

How could he not break?

Grant’s voice came out rough when he finally spoke. “If you want to laugh at me… go ahead.”

Mom didn’t even look up as she finished taping the bandage down. “No one is going to laugh at you, Grant,” she said quietly. “At least you still have Riley. She will always be your daughter.”

She didn’t mention the baby inside her. I could tell she couldn’t bring herself to. She wasn’t even sure whose child it was, and saying it now would only set the room on fire again.

Grant’s control snapped. He pulled Mom into his arms suddenly, holding her tightly like he was afraid she would vanish. His voice cracked as he repeated the same words over and over.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Mom sighed and patted his back gently.

Sometimes silence is the kindest comfort.

But I knew Grant knew it too there were only two and a half days left. In two and a half days, he would lose her completely.

When his breathing finally steadied a little, I spoke again, keeping my voice firm so the truth wouldn’t slip away.

“From the start, Monica didn’t get close to you because she loved you,” I said. “She had a plan. Years ago, she drugged you and made you believe you slept with her. Then she used the pregnancy to wedge herself between you and Mom. She did all of that to gain something money, security, a lifestyle. And she used you to support her lover.”

Grant wiped his eyes and looked at me, his face dark and cold. “You mean Zack?”

Of course he already knew. He had probably pieced it together last night.

“Yes,” I said. “Zack.”

Mom’s eyes widened slightly, like something finally clicked in her head. Now she understood why that man had dared to approach us that day, smiling like he belonged near us. Vanity made him bold. He thought standing close to power would make him powerful too.

But an ant is still an ant.

Mom turned toward me. “Riley… you knew about all of this?”

I shook my head. “Not immediately. I found out when I followed Monica the day she came to town. I overheard everything every part of their plan from their own mouths.” I paused, then looked at Grant. “Dad, has Monica bought you a life insurance policy recently?”

Grant’s gaze turned sharp, icy. “Yes. After I cut ties with her, I still helped her and Lincy find a place to live. She cried and said they had no security. She bought me several policies and claimed that if something happened to me, she and Lincy would be the beneficiaries.” His jaw tightened. “I already had plenty of insurance, so I didn’t think it mattered. I agreed.”

Mom’s voice dropped. “Riley… do you think she’s planning something against your father?”

“It’s not just Monica,” I said carefully. “It’s her lover pushing her. Their original plan was to get Monica pregnant with your son, but Dad refused to touch her after what happened all those years ago. So that plan failed.” I looked at Grant, then back at Mom. “Dad wouldn’t let Lincy enter the company, and he didn’t give them shares. And now you’re pregnant. That’s a threat to them.”

Mom went stiff. The words hit her hard. “So you and Monica never ”

Grant lowered his head, shame flooding his face. “No. I was unconscious that night. She took advantage of me.”

Mom’s cheeks flushed bright red, like she had just realized something she didn’t want to admit out loud. I could guess what was spinning in her mind.

All these years, Grant had only ever wanted her. And she had spent years rejecting him because of Monica refusing him, guarding herself, taking medicine afterward, doing anything she could to avoid getting pregnant by him.

Her rejection only fed his obsession. He mistook her resistance as proof she still loved Nicholas, and that misunderstanding turned him harsher, more controlling, more cruel until everything between them became poison.

Who was to blame?

From where I stood, I didn’t even want to argue anymore.

In the end, Grant had still chosen the worst way to love someone. What kind of man hurts the woman he claims to love the way he did?

Still… even if my actions were pushing them toward divorce, at least the truth was finally cutting through years of misunderstandings.

I let out a small breath, forcing both of them back to the present.

“Zack has been manipulating Monica,” I continued. “They’re using drugs to slowly make you lose your senses, Dad. Confusion. Memory loss. Then they’ll pressure you into signing documents that benefit them. When you’re no longer useful, they’ll arrange an ’accident’ and collect the insurance payout.”

Mom’s face went pale as she absorbed it.

“And the baby,” I added quietly, “their plan was to make Mom lose it, so there would be no new heir. That would leave me as the only option, but I’m already married. They’ve been trying to move your assets, and they want the company in the lover’s hands.”

Mom’s lips parted. “What a vicious scheme…”

This wasn’t jealousy.

This was murder.

“If I’m right,” I said, “Monica will brainwash Lincy next and use her to deliver food every day. Because who would suspect their own daughter?”

Grant’s hand lifted again, trembling with rage like he wanted to smash something else, but Mom grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Calm down,” she said firmly. “At least Riley knows everything now. There’s still a chance to fix this.”

Grant looked at her with raw sorrow in his eyes, like a man standing at the edge of a cliff.

“But what about us?” he asked quietly. “Do we still have a chance to fix this?”

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