Chapter 4 - The Truth In The Ledgers
Grant stepped out of the vehicle and walked toward Lily, shedding his heavy coat to drape it over her shivering shoulders.
The fabric was instantly warm, smelling of rain, clean cedar, and that familiar, honest scent she had trusted for weeks. Lily looked up at him, her eyes burning with a mixture of betrayal and raw exhaustion.
"You're Grant Hale," she said, her voice shaking not from the cold, but from the realization.
Grant didn't look away, nor did he offer a quick corporate excuse to soften the blow. "I am. But the man who sat in your diner wasn't a lie, Lily."
"You let me talk about my mother like you were just an ordinary guy trying to survive," she said, stepping back from his reach.
"Because around you, I didn't want to be the guy with seven contracts and twenty lawyers," he replied quietly, catching the edge of the coat before it fell into the snow. "Around you, I was just Grant."
"Your fiancée just bought that dress," Lily said, pointing toward the empty road where the sedan had vanished. "She’s cutting it apart tomorrow for your wedding."
Grant’s face darkened with a fury she hadn't seen in him before.
"She is not my fiancée, and there will be no wedding. Come with me."
Before Lily could object, Frank appeared at the diner doorway with her coat and handbag in his arms.
"Go with him, Lily," the old diner owner said, his voice surprisingly firm. "Your dad called my landline five minutes ago. You need to look at something at your house right now."
Grant opened the door of his town car without hesitation, guiding Lily inside while instructing his driver to head toward the west side.
May you like
Inside the quiet vehicle, Lily’s hands remained clamped in her lap, her breathing uneven. "What does my dad have to do with any of this?"
"I had my research team pull the original trademark filing for Vale Bridal an hour ago," Grant said, opening a digital tablet on his lap. "Marianne didn't design that gown, Lily. In fact, she hasn't designed a single dress in twenty-five years."
