Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 10

Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 10

After what felt like an eternity, his phone vibrated.

It was the private investigator.

“Mr. Grayson, we have something. The second and third men both received large wire

transfers from the same offshore account…”

“As for the first man, we only have a grainy security photo. We haven’t been able to get a positive ID.”

“It’s highly likely, Mr. Grayson, that all three ‘infidelity’ incidents were meticulously staged.”

Federico stared at the screen, his knuckles white as his grip tightened on the phone.

He remembered after the first “affair,” Berry on her knees, crying, “I don’t know him,” and he hadn’t believed her.

The second time, she’d said, “I don’t know how I got here,” and he still hadn’t believed

her.

The third time, she said nothing, and he’d taken her silence as an admission of guilt.

It wasn’t that he had completely disbelieved her.

It was just that each time, he had tasked Savannah with the investigation.

And the evidence Savannah presented was always so damning…

He’d had his doubts, but he couldn’t be bothered to dig deeper.

Or maybe, he had needed a reason to punish her-to punish her for trapping him into marriage with a pregnancy.

He’d had Savannah draft that ridiculous prenup just to humiliate her. The irony was suffocating. Three affairs? He wouldn’t have tolerated one.

But in the end, it seemed he had, indirectly, orchestrated all three…

“Call the police,” he said, his voice a rasp. “Give them the evidence. And look into filing charges against Savannah for inciting a minor to commit intentional harm.”

After hanging up, a profound emptiness settled in his chest.

Over the next few days, he split his time between Erik’s hospital bedside and waiting for a reply from Berry that never came.

His son, in his feverish sleep, would whimper, “Where’s Mommy?” and he had no

answer.

Just like that, Berry had erased them both from her life.

A short time later, he went to pick Erik up from his private school and found him squatting alone in a corner, his face bruised.

“What happened?”

Erik wouldn’t speak.

The teacher pulled Federico aside. “Some of the other children were saying he doesn’t have a mother,” she whispered. “Erik started a fight.”

On the drive home, Erik suddenly asked, “Dad, does Mom not want me anymore?”

Federico glanced at his son in the rearview mirror.

The little boy’s eyes were red, a small bandage on his nose.

“Why doesn’t she want me? Is it because I broke her watch? Or because I spat on her?”

He sniffled. “Dad, Aunt Savannah told me if I was mean to Mom, she would pay more

attention to me…”

“That day, I saw her packing to leave. I didn’t want her to go, so I did what Aunt Savannah said…”

“I’ll never say bad things about Grandma again. Can you please ask Mom to come

back?”

Federico’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.

He wanted to say, Mommy wants you more than anything. It’s Daddy who lost her.

But the words wouldn’t come out.

Half a month later, Savannah was arrested.

But not for framing Berry or for inciting a child. The evidence was circumstantial; the sentence would have been light.

Federico had laid a bigger trap.

He used an informant to blow the whistle on Savannah and her father for years of

falsifying accounts and embezzling from the Grayson Group. The amount was staggering, the evidence trail irrefutable.

When federal agents kicked in her door, Savannah’s face was a sheet of white.

As they escorted her past Federico, she suddenly burst into a wild, cackling laugh.

“You think getting me arrested will bring her back? Federico, you’re dreaming! Her mother is dead because of you. She will never forgive you, not in this lifetime, hahaha

The police car sped away.

Federico stood there, pulled out his phone, and opened his chat with Berry.

Over the past two weeks, he had sent hundreds of messages.

From “I’m sorry,” to “Our son misses you,” to “I was wrong.”

Not a single reply.

She hadn’t blocked him. She just… ignored him.

He put the phone away and turned, walking toward the school.

He had to pick up his son.

The teacher had told him Erik spent most of his days staring out the window.

When she asked what he was thinking about, he would say, “I’m thinking about when Mom will come get me.”

Federico took his son’s small hand as they walked out of the school gates.

The setting sun cast their shadows long on the pavement.

Erik suddenly looked up, his small voice trembling. “Dad.., did Mommy leave because I liked Aunt Savannah more than her?”

Federico’s throat tightened.

After a long moment, he finally spoke. “No. Dad made her leave.”