Chapter 2

Grace's POV

Blake's face went white as a sheet.

He stared at that emerald ring, his whole body starting to shake.

"This... this can't be..."

"Three years ago!" I kept going. "We picked it out together for your mom's birthday! I blew my life savings trying to win her over. Even sold Mom's necklace!"

We were broke back then. That ring cost us everything. But I wanted Margaret to like me.

Too bad that stuck-up bitch never gave me the time of day.

"No... no way..." Blake shook his head, panic in his eyes. "My mom's in London... How could she..."

Jessica laughed. "Oh my God, Blake! Don't tell me you're actually buying this crazy bitch's story."

She raised her left hand. In the sunlight, the same emerald ring sparkled on her finger.

"Look. The ring's right here. Where your mother put it."

I stared at her hand in shock.

"How... how do you have it?"

"Because Margaret GAVE it to me, obviously." Jessica's voice turned sickeningly sweet. "When we visited her in London last year, she took one look at me and just knew. Said I was perfect for her son."

The words hit like a punch to the gut.

"She said some people just don't deserve precious ring." Jessica's smile was venomous. "Wonder who she meant?"

Blake's shoulders relaxed. The doubt disappeared from his eyes.

"There you go. Ring's right where it should be—with Jessica. Mom's fine in London. Grace, quit making up crazy shit."

But I wasn't giving up.

As a jewelry graduate, I studied Jessica's ring carefully. In the sunlight, something was off.

"Wait." I stepped closer. "Let me see that ring."

"What? Why?" Jessica pulled her hand back.

"Natural emeralds have inclusions—flaws you can see in bright light. But yours is too perfect." I pointed at her finger. "That's synthetic."

The guests started whispering around us.

"You're lying!" Jessica screamed.

"Margaret was too cheap to give away the real thing, so she gave you a fake!" I spun around, pointing at the corpse. "The real ring is on HER hand!"

Blake's face went white again, but then his expression twisted with rage.

"ENOUGH!"

CRACK!

His backhand sent me flying. I hit the lawn hard, blood filling my mouth.

"Stop making shit up!" Blake stood over me, shaking with fury. "When did my mom ever have a scar on her wrist? You think I wouldn't know my own mother?"

I spit out blood and looked up at him.

"You never paid attention to her, Blake. That scar's from when she saved your life in the apartment fire. You were five years old."

For just a second, Blake's face flickered with something—a memory, maybe. But Jessica was already there, wrapping her arms around him.

"Baby, don't let her mess with your head," Jessica cooed. "This is what manipulative people do when they're cornered. They make up elaborate stories."

"You're right." Blake's voice hardened again. "Grace always was good at playing victim."

I struggled to my feet, wiping blood from my chin.

"Play victim? Five years ago you were flat broke, couldn't make rent. My mom sold everything and gave you every penny! And this is how you repay us"

Jessica laughed coldly. "Oh come on, Grace. Blake's been paying dividends for years. Luxury lifestyle for you, fat checks for mommy. You've been paid back ten times over."

Blake nodded, eating up every word. "Jessica's right. You two are greedy parasites! Now that we're divorcing, Mary tried to steal on her way out and got caught red-handed!"

"You're a fucking animal..."

Blake's eyes went ice cold.

"Alright, alright, Blake." Jessica cuddled closer to him. "Don't waste energy on trash like her."

She glared at me with pure hatred, then snapped her fingers. Her assistant immediately handed over documents.

"Grace, let's end this circus." She threw the papers at my feet. "Sign these."

Settlement Agreement. Divorce Papers.

"Admit your mom broke in to steal and died accidentally. Leave with nothing—no assets, no shares. I'll be generous and not call the cops. You can even take this disgusting corpse away."

I looked down at the papers scattered on the ground, then at the stiff body.

Margaret's scarred hand pointed weakly toward Blake, like a final accusation.

They were using Blake's own mother's death to blackmail me into walking away with nothing.

"What if I don't sign?" I looked up coldly.

Jessica's face darkened instantly.

"Don't sign? Then don't blame me for what happens next." Her voice turned icy. "It's hot as hell, and having a rotting corpse on my lawn is disgusting."

She turned to Blake, her voice suddenly turning sugar-sweet.

"Honey, that old septic tank out back still needs filling, doesn't it? Why don't we just dump this old hag in there? Think of it as... organic fertilizer."

Dump his own mother in a septic tank?

I stared at Blake in horror.