Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 05

Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 05

Savannah froze for a heartbeat, then threw her arms around his neck, her voice a sultry purr. “Mr. Grayson, I’ve waited so long for this day…”

The two of them became a tangle of limbs and shedding clothes.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, forcing the words out.

“Federico, we’re getting a divorce. You can do this any other time. Must you humiliate me like this?”

He stopped and wrenched my chin up. “Humiliate you?” He scoffed. “Berry, you think you’re even worthy of my humiliation?”

“Darling, don’t let her distract you…”

Savannah coiled around him from behind, her breath hot on his ear.

He let go of me and turned, sinking back into her embrace.

I closed my eyes, silent tears tracking a path down my temples into my hair.

Until the phone I’d dropped vibrated against the floor, jolting me back to reality.

It was my mother’s number.

I struggled to reach the phone and swiped to answer.

The frantic, trembling voice of a nurse crackled through the speaker.

“Ms. Blackwood, you have to get here now! Your mother heard you’re getting divorced and thinks she’s a burden. She’s on the roof of the nursing home—”

“What?”

“She said… she said—”

Before she could finish, the line went dead.

My world exploded.

“Federico!” I screamed.

“Something’s happened to my mom! Let me go, I’m begging you, let me go!”

He glanced back at me over his shoulder.

A mocking smile played on his lips. “Berry, didn’t you just call us indecent? I let you watch. Now you’re making up excuses to leave?”

“It’s not an excuse! The hospital called! My mom found out about the divorce, she’s going to jump—”

“Enough.” He stood. “You just signed the papers. How could your mother possibly know?”

“You knew she couldn’t handle the shock, but you told her anyway. This is on you!”

He turned and walked back toward Savannah.

I fought against the silk scarf, my voice raw with panic. “Federico! I didn’t tell her! Just let me go, there’s still time!”

“My mom threw herself in front of a car for you and our son! I’m begging you, Federico, don’t treat her life like it’s worthless!”

“Berry!” His voice was laced with exhaustion. “Is that your only trump card? Every time you screw up, you either use our son or you bring up the fact that she saved me!”

“I didn’t—” The tears were a torrent now. “This time it’s real, I swear it, I’m begging you…”

Savannah wrapped her arms around his waist. “Mr. Grayson, everyone knows she was just saving her grandson. You’ve more than fulfilled your obligation to her.”

“Come on, don’t let her ruin the mood…”

The last flicker of doubt in his eyes died.

I gave up on his conscience and scrambled desperately toward the door.

My head slammed against the wood, the impact splitting the skin above my eye.

He strode over, grabbed me, and threw me back on the floor. “Berry!”

“You asked for this. Now you’re going to watch, whether you like it or not.”

He ripped a strip of packing tape from a nearby box and brutally sealed my mouth with it.

Then he hauled me to my feet, dragged me to the mansion’s built-in panic room, and shoved me inside. “Now you can listen to just how indecent we can be!”

The heavy door slammed shut, and the lock clicked.

The last sliver of light vanished.

In the crushing darkness, I could hear them.

Over and over…

The next day, Federico returned from a business dinner and stood in the living room for a moment.

He rubbed his temples, calling out by habit.

“Berry, my head is killing me. Get me some ice water.”

Silence.

He frowned, turning to the butler. “Where’s your Madam?”

The butler looked confused. “Sir, I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“The young master came down with a fever this morning, sir. He’s been crying for his mother. It hit 102. And… the hospital called. They said Madam’s mother… she fell from the roof last night. Her body is at the morgue, unclaimed…”

Federico froze. “What did you say?”

A memory clawed at him, and his voice tightened. “Did you… you didn’t let her out?”

The butler looked utterly baffled. “Let… what out, sir?”

He turned and sprinted up the stairs, his footsteps frantic.

The moment he tore open the panic room door, he froze—

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