Page 58 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

She was right about that, but I’d thought it was because I’d turned him down several times when he asked me out. He seemed happy with Gabriella even if he didn’t like talking about her. We were friends. Would he really try to kill me?

“How?” I asked.

“I don’t know. He just seemed off. He doesn’t even like talking about Gabriella. He gets mad every time I ask about her.”

“True,” I agreed.

“And every time he comes over, he drills me with questions about you that sometimes feels too personal. I thought it was just because he was still into you.”

“Hmm,” I mumbled, not sure of what to say.

The rest of the ride was Vina screaming the lyrics to her favorite Bad Bunny album while I tried to protect my eardrums. We arrived a few minutes later, and I was dreading the walk to the building. I took a deep breath as we walked into the building. Detective Emily took us into her office.

“She is my best friend,” I told her when I saw the way she was staring at Vina.

“I know. She was one of those we interrogated.”

“You mean, bullied?” Vina scoffed.

“So, who is it?” I asked, leaning on the table with my hands trembling.

She dropped three photos in front of us. We both leaned closer, not believing our eyes. Actually, I was more shocked than Vina.

“Told you,” Vina whispered.

“Grey?” I stared at the picture of him removing a Halloween mask. In the second picture, he was getting out of the car with a gun. In the last picture, he was walking into the woods.

“We got those pictures this morning. We’ve been searching every street camera. He drove all the way to another city to discard his weapon and change his clothes. He also dumped the car on the interstate.”

I was still speechless. I was trying to analyze everything in front of me. She placed another set of pictures before me.

“It seems Mr. Ashton has been following you around—or I should say,stalkingyou.”

My jaw dropped as I picked up the pictures from the table. Pictures of me knocking on Mrs. Porter’s door, pictures of me playing with Kayden at the park and in Mrs. Porter’s backyard. A redXwas drawn on Kayden, and in a picture of me speaking to Tristan outside the diner, there was another redXon Tristan. The picture where I was playing with Kayden had been taken when he was one. Grey had known all along. He had been watching me all this time.

“He’s known about Kayden for a long time. He’s been following me,” I said, looking up at the detective in disbelief. I always felt like I was being watched, but I’d thought it was just me being paranoid.

“He already pleaded guilty to all the charges.”

I tried to stop my tears but failed. Vina took my hand.

“Can I talk to him?” I asked.

“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Vina whispered, and I nodded.

“Okay, but you only have five minutes.”

I followed her to the visiting section. I took a seat and waited for Grey. A thick glass was separating us. I grabbed the corded phone at the corner as a cop dragged him to the room. The look on his face was stoic. He took the seat in front of me and looked me in the eyes. The Grey I’d thought I knew was gone. This human in front of me was different—enraged and hungry for blood.

“Hey, Chlo.” He smirked.

“Why? He’s just a baby, Grey!” I asked him with a hard stare.

His lips quirked into a lopsided grin, and he snickered. “Funny how you are just finding out. Did you know I used to sit behind you on that bus you took every day when you wanted to go and visit that bastard child of yours?”

My grip on the corded phone increased at him calling my baby names; if I could reach between this glass and give him a hard slap, I would.

“Why did you do it?” I asked again, this time with a murderous glare. I couldn’t stand the sight of him anymore. I felt sick to my stomach.

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