Page 55 of Always Us

“Yes. But he didn’t like my answer. That’s why he showed up here.”

“To tell you to work for the company?”

“Not tell, but force. He was going to force me to work there. And force me to transfer to Yale. He already got me accepted.”

“Yale? But we have a life here, in California. And what was I supposed to do? I can’t get into Yale.”

“You weren’t part of the plan, Jade.” Garret won’t look at me. He won’t even look in my direction.

“He told you to divorce me?”

“Yes. And to never speak to you again.”

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him he couldn’t control me like that. I told him I’d never leave you and I’d never work for the company.”

“And what did he say?”

Garret shuts his eyes, then opens them again, his gaze still on the floor. “He said—” He stops and takes a deep breath and lets it out. “He told me if I didn’t do what he said, he would—” He stops again. “He would kill you.”

I inhale sharply and the muscles in my chest immediately tighten, making it hard to breathe. I turn so that I’m facing Garret. “No. Your grandfather wouldn’t do that. He was just trying to scare you into doing what he wanted.”

“He was serious, Jade. He would’ve done it.” Garret pauses. “He killed my mom.”

“What? No. That’s not possible.” Now I really can’t breathe. I’m shaking. “The organization killed her.”

“Yes, but it was his idea. The organization wanted to do something to the company to punish my dad for marrying my mom. But my grandfather convinced them that getting rid of my mom was a better punishment. It was all his idea. He had her killed. And he determined when it would be done. They wanted to kill her right after my dad married her but my grandfather made them wait. He wanted my dad to suffer. He wanted my dad to have all those years with her, to love her, to have a child with her, and then take it all away.”

“No.” I shake my head, tears falling again. “A father wouldn’t do that to his own son. And his daughter-in-law. Your mom.” I cry even harder as the realization of what he’s saying hits me. “Oh my God. Your mom. She’d be alive if he didn’t—”

He nods. “Yeah.”

I hug his chest. “Garret, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry she’s gone. I’m sorry he did that.” More tears fall, my heart aching for him. “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know how anyone could be that evil.”

“Evil is everywhere, Jade. Your own father tried to kill you.”

I sit back and look at him. “Yes, but he didn’t know me. He didn’t raise me. This is different. Holton raised your father. Pearce is his only son. Why would he do that to his son? And his grandson? You were just a little boy. How could he take away your mom?” I’m still crying, but Garret’s expression is blank, his gaze on the bed behind me.

“Because he wanted to punish my dad. My dad didn’t listen to him. He didn’t divorce my mom. And he didn’t raise me the way my grandfather told him to. My grandfather hates not being the one in control, which is why he was trying to take over my life. He was determined to make sure I followed orders. To do exactly what he had planned for my life. He was even trying to get me accepted back into the organization. That’s another reason why he had to get rid of you.”

My whole body is shaking. I don’t believe this. It’s too evil, too vicious, too cruel to be real. I wipe my tears and take some deep breaths.

My focus shifts from what Holton did in the past to what he’d planned to do in the future. To me. “When was he going to do it? When was he going to kill me?”

“He gave me a deadline. He said you were safe until the end of the year. After that, I had to make a decision. If I divorced you, you’d be safe. Otherwise, he’d kill you, but I wouldn’t know when. He said he’d pick the time, just like he did for my mom. When he told me this, I swear I almost killed him with my bare hands. But he had a gun.”

I’m so shocked, I can’t even come up with a response. Why would Holton bring a gun? Did he plan to hurt his own grandson?

Garret continues. “After he left, I called my dad and told him to come out here right away. He flew out that night and that’s why he was here Tuesday morning. He said he’d take care of it. He was going to talk to my grandfather on Thanksgiving. I don’t know if he ever did. He didn’t tell me.”

No wonder Garret was so out of it last week. No wonder he didn’t sleep and could barely eat.

I lean my head on his shoulder and take his hand, threading it with mine. “I wish you would’ve told me this, Garret.”

“I couldn’t do it, Jade. How could I tell you something like that? All I ever wanted is for you to be happy. And you finally were, and then this happens. I just wanted you to be happy for a little longer. I thought maybe I could find a way to fix this. Then my dad said he would, and I believed him. I wanted to give him time to at least try before I told you.”

I understand why Garret didn’t tell me, and part of me is glad that he didn’t. If I’d known about this, I would’ve been so scared and so angry that I wouldn’t have gone home for Thanksgiving. I couldn’t have been around Frank and Ryan. They would’ve known something was up. I couldn’t hide something like this from them.

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