Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 13

Three Instances of a Lie Chapter 13

Federico pulled every string he could to see Berry again.

He had news of their “final divorce proceedings” leaked to the press.

This was all a ploy to lure her out. He didn’t want a divorce; he was desperate to win her back.

Finally, she appeared.

On the steps of the state courthouse, Berry stood in a black trench coat, her eyes as calm and deep as a pool of still water.

Erik huddled by his father’s leg and whispered, “Mom.”

Berry’s gaze flickered over him, but her expression didn’t change.

“Berry, that divorce agreement… I never signed it.”

“Our son and I have been waiting for you. But you… how could you be with someone

else?”

His voice grew tight. “The Sterlings are not people to be trifled with, not even for us. Do you have any idea what you’re getting into by associating with Mathew Sterling?”

“You orchestrated those three affairs, didn’t you?” Berry cut him off, her voice deceptively light. “Isn’t this the exact outcome you were hoping for?”

Federico’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“The first man. It was him. He was drunk and stumbled into my gallery’s break room.” Berry watched his face as she spoke, her words slow and deliberate. “Didn’t you arrange for him to be there?”

Federico’s eyes bulged.

The memory crashed down on him…

That man. That blurry figure from the security footage. It was Mathew Sterling.

“No-Berry, I didn’t arrange that!”

“Then you couldn’t tell?” Her gaze bored into him, and she enunciated every word with chilling precision. “Three times, Federico. Three separate times. And not once did it

-occur to you to investigate it yourself?”

Federico’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Something inside him shattered.

“You didn’t arrange it, but you allowed it to happen,” Berry’s voice was soft now, almost gentle, as if the outcome no longer mattered to her. “Otherwise, it never would have happened three times.”

His throat felt like it was closing up.

After a long, suffocating silence, his voice emerged, low and broken.

“That incident… and what happened to your mother… Berry, I am so sorry.”

At the mention of her mother, a flicker of pain crossed Berry’s face. Her eyelashes trembled for a fraction of a second.

“Federico, let’s finalize the paperwork.”

It was the last time she would ever say his name.

A strangled sob escaped Federico’s throat. Tears’ streamed down his face, unchecked.

The sound of the judge’s stamp was a small, neat click, but it severed their final connection like a guillotine.

She stood up and turned to leave.

Erik finally broke, his wails echoing in the sterile room. “Mom-Mom, don’t go! I’ll be good, I promise! I won’t say mean things, I’ll listen to you—”

Berry’s stride never faltered.

Federico moved and held Erik back.

As Berry stepped out of the courthouse, the harsh sunlight made her squint.

She raised a hand, not to shield her eyes, but to wipe away a single, treacherous tear before it could fall.

She made a call. “It’s done. Spread the news.”

“And release the surveillance video from the bedroom that night. I want his reputation utterly destroyed.”

Three years. Three years of chipping away at the Grayson empire, piece by piece, squeezing it, pushing it to the brink.

Now, it was time to close the net.

The sound of her son crying faded behind her.

She did not look back./

She had promised herself that this time, her knees would never bend again.