Grayson, were you aware before today that Tessa Monroe would be working on this floor?”
Riley’s mouth tightened.
“Yes.”
“And did you come here intending to confront her?”
“No.”
Rocco quietly set another report on the table.
A staff member had given a statement saying Riley asked that morning whether Tessa had arrived and whether she was wearing anything expensive.
My skin went cold.
The necklace had not started the confrontation.
Riley had been looking for a reason.
“Why?” I asked.
She stared at me.
“What?”
“Why were you looking for me?”
Her eyes filled with the old resentment I knew better than any expression in the world.
“Because you disappear for months and then stroll into this company like you belong here.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“You took my place.”
The room went still.
I almost could not believe what I had heard.
“Your place?”
“With them.” She gestured toward Mason and Eleanor.
“With this family.
With this company.”
I stared at her.
“You begged not to marry him.”
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
“You weren’t supposed to become important.”
There it was.
Not a legal conspiracy.
Not some elaborate plot.
Something smaller and, somehow, crueler.
Riley had wanted me to take the risk she refused to face.
She had simply never imagined the life on the other side might be worth having.
My father whispered her name.
“Riley.”
She turned on him.
“Don’t act shocked.
You thought the same thing.
We all thought she would go there, fulfill the agreement, and stay out of our lives.”
My mother began sobbing openly.
I felt strangely calm.
For years, I had imagined hearing the truth would destroy me.
Instead, it removed the last doubt.
I had not misremembered my childhood.
I had not been too sensitive.
They had loved me conditionally, and when the condition became inconvenient, they had spent me.
Mason stood.
“This company will refer today’s assault and unauthorized access to counsel and law enforcement as appropriate.
Riley’s building credentials are permanently revoked.
The Grayson consultancy is suspended pending review.”
My father paled.
“Mason, our companies have worked together for years.”
“This is not retaliation for a family dispute.”
He gestured toward the reports.
