Chapter 8 - A MOTHER’S LIE
Beatrice Holloway had always treated Grace with cold politeness.
She never shouted.
She never insulted Grace directly.
Her cruelty arrived through soft smiles and private warnings.
When Grace married Nathan, Beatrice told her that love did not make someone worthy of the Holloway name.
Grace had believed it was ordinary disapproval.
Now she saw hatred.
Beatrice held a gun at her side.
Lily sat in a chair behind her.
The child’s wrists were loosely tied.
Grace placed the suitcase on the floor.
“Let her go.”
Beatrice laughed.
“You disappeared for six years, and now you suddenly understand motherhood?”
Grace forced herself to remain calm.
“You helped Olivia.”
“I created Olivia.”
Nathan struck the metal barrier from the other side.
“Mother, open the door.”
Beatrice ignored him.
Grace looked toward Lily.
“Are you hurt?”
Lily shook her head.
Beatrice raised the gun.
“Stop talking to her.”
Grace stared at the woman.
“Why did you do this?”
Beatrice’s expression hardened.
“Because you made Nathan weak.”
“He was happy.”
“He was distracted.”
Grace realized the truth.
Nathan’s company had been near bankruptcy six years earlier.
Grace had wanted him to sell it.
She believed the stress was destroying their marriage.
Beatrice believed the Holloway name mattered more than any marriage.
“You convinced my father to help you.”
“Charles did not need convincing.”
“What did you offer him?”
“Control.”
Beatrice explained that Charles had invested secretly in Holloway Technologies.
If the company failed, he would lose everything.
Grace’s attempts to persuade Nathan to sell threatened both families.
Beatrice proposed a solution.
Grace would be declared mentally unstable.
Nathan would gain control of Grace’s shares.
Charles would receive a private percentage of the company.
Olivia would eventually marry Nathan and unite the families permanently.
Grace felt sick.
“My father traded me for stock.”
“He traded you for power.”
Nathan stopped striking the barrier.
His face was visible through a narrow window.
“Did Olivia know everything?”
Beatrice smiled.
“She suggested the medication.”
Grace glanced toward Lily.
“What was she giving my daughter?”
“A mild sedative.”
“Why?”
“Lily remembered you.”
Grace’s heart twisted.
Beatrice continued.
“She remembered your songs.”
Lily looked at Grace.
“I never forgot all the way.”
Grace fought back tears.
Beatrice pointed toward the suitcase.
“Slide the files to me.”
Grace pushed it across the floor.
Beatrice picked it up.
She opened the case and examined the records.
Then she smiled.
“Good.”
The building’s alarm began ringing.
Red lights flashed along the hallway.
Jonah’s tactical team had entered the tunnels.
Beatrice grabbed Lily.
She pressed the gun against the child’s side.
Grace stepped forward.
“Take me instead.”
“You were always the target.”
Beatrice pulled Lily toward a stairway.
Nathan screamed from behind the barrier.
“Mother.”
Beatrice looked back at her son.
“You knew Grace might be alive.”
Nathan closed his eyes.
“I know.”
“You made the correct decision.”
“No.”
His voice broke.
“I made the easiest decision.”
Beatrice laughed.
“They are usually the same.”
She disappeared up the stairs with Lily.
Grace searched the wall.
A fire ax hung inside a cracked emergency box.
Nathan pointed toward a control cable.
Grace swung the ax.
The cable snapped.
The metal barrier rose several inches.
Nathan crawled underneath.
Together, they ran after Beatrice.
They reached the roof just as a helicopter appeared above the river.
Beatrice stood near the edge with Lily.
Olivia was waiting beside the helicopter.
Grace stopped.
The two women looked at each other.
May you like
Olivia smiled.
“You didn’t think I was going to let your mother-in-law take all the blame, did you?”
