Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

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Chapter 176

Aaron’s POV

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I forced my eyes open. Grandfather was slumping toward the floor, the silver-plated revolver slipping from his grip and clattering against the concrete with a hollow ring.

A dark, blooming stain spread across his chest, the crimson liquid soaking into his pristine white shirt.

He looked bewildered, his eyes wide and vacant as he collapsed, his life spilling out onto the cold floor.

David and I whirled around, our chests heaving. Standing by the doorway, framed in the shadows, was my grandmother.

She held a small, delicate pistol with both hands. Her entire frame was trembling so violently I thought she might break apart, the metal of the gun rattling against her wedding ring.

Tears streamed down her face, cutting deep tracks through her makeup.

David rushed to her just as her knees gave out. He caught her before she hit the floor, his strong arms grounding her.

I didn’t wait either. I scrambled toward the chair, my fingers fumbling with the rough fiber of the knots.

I ripped the blindfold off, and Adrian’s wide, tear-filled eyes locked onto mine.

“Dad?” he choked out.

“I’ve got you, Adrian. I’ve got you.”

I pulled him into my arms, holding him with a fierce intensity, my heart finally finding its pace against his back.

He sobbed into my neck, his small hands clutching my shirt as if he were trying to pull himself inside me for safety.

I let my own tears fall, silent and hot, soaking into his hair.

The night air was a shock of cold as we emerged from the suffocating basement.

Sirens wailed in the distance, blue and red lights painting the trees of the estate in colors.

The paramedics swarmed the area, their boots heavy on the grass. They moved quickly, loading Grandfather onto a stretcher.

He was pale, a ghost of the man who had ruled this family with a fist of stone.

I watched as my mother stepped forward. Her lips were trembling, her hands pressed tightly to her chest.

Despite the cruelty, despite the kidnapping and the years of cold distance, she looked at the man on that

17:25 Mon, Mar 2 N

Chapter 176

stretcher and crumbled.

“Dad…” she whispered, her voice breaking into a million pieces.

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She walked alongside the gurney, her sisters following close behind, their faces buried in their hands. It was a haunting sight.

He was a monster who had nearly extinguished his own lineage, but to them, he was still the father they had spent their lives trying to please.

They were mourning the man they wished he had been-the man he never was.

Then, I saw Jessica. She was running, her evening gown trailing in the dirt, her eyes scanning the crowd with a desperate, wild look.

When she saw us, the relief in her eyes was like a sunburst.

She threw her arms around both of us, her cries of relief echoing through the night.

“Oh God, you’re safe,” she sobbed, burying her face between my shoulder and Adrian’s. “I was so scared.”

We stood there, a bruised and broken trio, held together by the simple fact that we were still breathing.

Eventually, we moved to the main living room of the farmhouse.

Usually, the Tyrone estate was a place of opulence, filled with the clinking of crystal and the aroma of expensive wine.

Tonight, it felt like a tomb.

We gathered in the main living room. The mahogany furniture stood like sentinels, and the gold leaf on the frames caught the dying embers of the fireplace.

Grandmother sat in the center of the room in a high-backed, throne-like chair. She looked tiny, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her gaze fixed on a point far beyond the walls of the house.

The entire family was there: my aunts, uncles, my mom, my cousins, Jessica and Adrian.

We waited in a heavy, expectant silence until she finally spoke.

“He was a tyrant,” she said softly. Her voice wasn’t shaking anymore; it was hollow, drained of everything but the truth.

“He used his wealth like a shroud. Every diamond he bought me was a bribe for my silence. Every public display of affection was a mask for the bruises he left where the world couldn’t see.”

A collective gasp moved through the room. My mother leaned against the wall, her hand over her mouth as if to keep from screaming.

I stayed in shock. It felt as though the floor had dropped out from under me.

17:25 Mon, Mar 2 N

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