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My mom died when I was eight, and after thirteen years, I barely remembered her. But having Willow around this summer reminded me of what it was like to have a mother.
I heard footsteps in the hallway, glanced at the room’s entrance, and saw Cole’s shadow. It was too dark to see his face or reveal his features.
Willow moved toward him. “Honey, I know you’re upset about what Rhys did to Grace. But you can’t plan things like this without speaking to your father.”
I looked at him, wondering what I should do.
“It’s okay, Grace,” he said in a hushed tone. “My mom is right. I shouldn’t have asked you to go. I was drinking and not thinking clearly. This wouldn’t have worked, anyway.”
Willow turned to look at me. “Your grandfather would have found the two of you and punished our family for it. And I can’t imagine what he would have done to you.”
I lifted my bag from the floor and joined them. “I want to be free of him and go home with my dad.”
Willow hugged me with one arm. “I know, sweetie. The Colonel will be home before you know it.”
I glanced at Cole. “What is Rhys planning with my grandfather?”
He rolled his broad shoulders. “I don’t know yet. But I wanted to get you out of the crosshairs before you find out.”
There was something he wasn’t telling me.
“What could Rhys possibly hold over my grandfather?”
Cole dug his teeth into his bottom lip and looked at his mother.
Willow pulled me closer. “Grace, I hate to be the one to tell you this… but Rhys filmed the two of you together.”
Her confession sucked the air from my lungs.
“No one has seen the video,” Willow added. “But Rhys mentioned it to Cole before he left. The Vanderbilts are trying to use you to extort your grandfather.”
I balled my hands into fists at my sides, teeth gritted as the rage bubbled up inside me.
“The boys are not to touch you,” my grandfather said when he dropped me off at Fort Marshall. “They are under strict orders to keep their filthy hands to themselves. And I expect you to act like a lady.”
I broke his rules.
Fuck.
He was going to kill me or, worse, torture me. Could he use Rhys to do that? I didn’t know therealRhys Vanderbilt. After we had sex, he became a completely different person.
He used me.
Manipulated me.
Within seconds of Cole walking in on us, Rhys transformed into an asshole, making it clear I was nothing more than sex to him.
“Has anyone spoken to my grandfather?”
Willow nodded. “Mark received a call from him earlier. We’re hosting a party in his honor tomorrow.”
So, in other words, I had to wait for the other shoe to drop. With my grandfather, no sin ever went unpunished.
ChapterThirty-One
GRACE
My grandfather forced the Marshalls to host a party in his honor, but no one knew why. All night, I couldn’t sleep thinking about seeing Fitzy again. And as I sat in front of the vanity, my stomach churned. I couldn’t keep down anything I ate all day.
