The Billionaire Ex-Wife's Return (Cynthia and Ethan) novel Chapter 239

Chapter 239

Anna's POV

Grace rolled her eyes, the gesture so dismissive and contemptuous it made my stomach turn.

"You really thought your parents were heroes, didn't you?" she said, her voice dripping with mockery.

I stared at her, my hand still pressed against my scalp where she'd yanked my hair, my cheek still burning from the slap.

"What?" I whispered.

Grace's smile widened, cruel and satisfied.

"You actually believed they were the brave police officers who died trying to save precious little Cynthia and Ethan?" she continued. "Were you really that dumb as a child? That naive? That you couldn't see what kind of people your parents really were?"

My chest tightened painfully.

"My parents were heroes," I said, my voice trembling. "They died in the line of duty. They were trying to rescue kidnapped children…"

Grace laughed like a witch.

A sharp, bitter sound that echoed through the room.

"Is that what they told you?" she asked. "Is that the story you've been clinging to all these years?"

"It's the truth," I shot back. "They were police officers. They were investigating a kidnapping case. They died saving…"

"They died because they were corrupt," Grace interrupted coldly. "They were accomplices, Anna. Not heroes. Accomplices."

The word hit me like a physical blow.

I shook my head, backing away from her.

"No," I said. "You're lying."

"Am I?" Grace asked, tilting her head slightly. "Then let me tell you the real story, Anna. The one only I know about."

She settled back in her wheelchair, her expression shifting into something almost nostalgic.

"I was beautiful," Grace said. "Stunningly beautiful. Men desired me. They would have done anything to have me. Anything."

Her voice turned bitter.

"Except one man," she continued. "The only man I actually wanted. Cynthia's real father."

My breath caught.

"He chose Victoria over me," Grace said, her eyes darkening with old rage. "That foolish man chose her—plain, boring Victoria Laurent—over me. Can you imagine?"

She let out a short, humorless laugh.

"So I did what I had to do," Grace continued. "I settled for the only son of the Walker family. Harold Walker. Wealthy. Powerful. Respectable."

She paused.

"But before I married Harold," Grace said quietly, "I was already having an affair."

My stomach dropped.

"With Jerome," Grace continued. "Pascal's real father."

Pascal, who had been standing silently near the window, didn't react. He'd clearly heard this story before.

"Jerome was… obsessed with me," Grace said, a strange fondness creeping into her voice. "He loved me with a desperation that bordered on madness. He wanted me to leave Harold. To divorce him. To run away with him and Pascal."

She shook her head.

"But I couldn't," Grace said. "I needed Harold's money. His status. His name. Jerome didn't understand that. He couldn't accept it."

My heart was pounding now, dread coiling tighter and tighter in my chest.

"So Jerome decided to force my hand," Grace said. "He came up with a plan. A way to destroy my marriage to Harold. A way to make me leave."

She leaned forward slightly.

"Your parents, Anna," Grace said, her voice cold and final. "They weren't investigating the kidnapping. They were part of it. They were helping Jerome. Covering his tracks."

Tears burned at the corners of my eyes.

"You're lying," I said, my voice breaking. "My parents wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't they?" Grace interrupted. "They were broke, Anna. Desperate. Struggling to make ends meet. And Jerome offered them money. A lot of money. All they had to do was help him keep two children hidden for a few days."

I shook my head violently.

"But it went wrong," Grace continued. "Because stupid Harold didn't give up. They kept searching. They brought in the FBI. They put pressure on the local police. And eventually, someone found the location."

She paused.

"There was a raid," Grace said. "A confrontation. Gunfire."

My hands were trembling now.

"Jerome died," Grace said flatly. "And so did your parents. Not because they were heroes trying to save those children. But because they were accomplices caught in the crossfire."

I felt like I was going to be sick.

"The official story," Grace continued, "was that two brave police officers had died in the line of duty. That they'd sacrificed themselves to save two innocent children. Because that was just a lie."

She smiled coldly.

“Then I took pity on you and had you adopted.”

I looked at Pascal, desperate for him to say something. To tell me this was a lie. To tell me Grace was manipulating me.

But Pascal just stared back at me, his expression unreadable.

"So now you understand," Grace said. "Your parents failed."

She leaned forward, her eyes boring into mine.

"But you won't fail, Anna," Grace said. "You're going to finish what they started."