Chapter 79

Chapter 79
Garrett’s POV

The ring of my phone in the middle of the night almost made me lose it. I was half asleep, half awake, Lila’s soft breathing beside me, her body curled close into mine like she trusted me with every fiber in her.

For a second I thought to ignore it, maybe let it ring, but something deep inside told me to pick.

“Hello,” I whispered, voice rough.

It was Dean. His tone wasn’t casual, not his normal type of way he talk when it’s not serious. “Garrett, I’ve been digging… I found something you need to hear.”

I sat up slowly, careful not to wake Lila. My chest tightened instantly as I already knew it was going to be about Tristan. I already prepared myself for the truth but hearing it out loud, I don’t know if I was ready.

“Go on,” I muttered, hand pressing the phone tighter against my ear.

Dean took a breath before saying anything. “Your brother is into some very shady things, Garrett, stuffs I wished I didn’t know. I traced every accounts, every meetings, conversations… only to find out he’s tied with underground people. Not just shady businessmen, but real criminals.”

“The black market is even involved, even threads that connect to the dark web. Arms, laundering, the type of dirty things you would normally avoid.”

I closed my eyes as I let it all sink it. My own brother. Blood. My head spun like a train crashing but I forced myself to breathe. I always suspected he would be involved in things that aren't legal, but this...

This goes all the way. I knew he had the tendencies for such, I just never wanted to believe. “Alright,” I said through clenched teeth. “Thank you, Dean. I’ll send your payment in the morning.”

I was about to cut the call. I wanted silence, I wanted space, I wanted Lila’s warmth to ground me again. But Dean didn’t stop.

“There’s more.”

I paused. My grip on the phone tightened so much I felt it might snap in my hand. “What more?”

Dean’s voice dropped lower, careful. “Tristan… he’s been meeting with Vivian.”

My body went cold. Instantly cold. I stood up from the bed, moving into the corner of the room so I didn’t wake Lila. My heart pounded in my ears. “What did you say?”

“I confirmed it myself,” Dean continued. “They met more than once. I even listened in on them once and heard parts of their conversation. Vivian talked about her baby. She said the child wasn’t yours, Garrett.”

The silence that followed almost killed me. My breath stopped in my chest.

“She pinned it on you because it was easier… but the father—” Dean hesitated, then said it like ripping a wound open, “—is Tristan.”

I felt rage pour into me like hot fire. My vision blurred for a second and I closed my eyes, quickly trying to ground myself. The phone creaked in my hand as if my grip could snap it in two.

Vivian… that lying snake. And Tristan… my own brother? He betrayed me twice over, first in business, now in blood.

My legs carried me without me thinking, pacing the room quietly like a beast in a cage. I wanted to scream, I wanted to smash something, but Lila was asleep, sounding so innocent and peaceful. She didn’t deserve to wake up to this storm.

I forced my voice calm even though inside I was tearing apart. “Dean. Did you hear proof? Anything solid?”

“Yes,” Dean replied. “Vivian said she had proof. Evidence she could use if it ever came to it. She wasn’t hiding it. She sounded proud even.”

That was enough for me. “Then get it,” I said, my tone sharper than I intended. “Find that proof. I don’t care what you have to do, how long it takes. Get it to me.”

“I will.”

I ended the call without another word. My hand was shaking as I lowered the phone, my chest so tight I could barely breathe. I leaned against the wall, trying to hold myself together.

Vivian had lied to me. Tristan had destroyed my company. And now this? He fathered the child she threw on my head, and they both thought I was blind enough to carry it.

I turned to look at Lila. She shifted a little in her sleep, sighing softly, her hair covering part of her face. She didn’t know the war that was exploding in my head. She didn’t know that in this single night, everything I thought I knew about family and betrayal just got darker.

I swallowed hard, forcing my jaw to unclench.

No. I wasn’t going to let rage ruin me. Not now. The old Garrett would’ve snapped, would’ve marched to Tristan’s house this instant, maybe even dragged Vivian out too. But that was reckless. And I couldn’t be reckless anymore.

I had Lila now. I had a future with her. I had something worth protecting now.

I took a seat on the chair by the window, staring out at the dark sky. The night was silent, and my mind wouldn’t stop racing. Every scene of Vivian’s smirk, every memory of Tristan’s fake smile, all that I've seen several times over, it all replayed and replayed until my hands trembled.

But then, calm. Slowly. I breathed in and let it out. I would not lose myself in anger. I would fight smart. I would get proof, undeniable proof, and when the time came, both of them would fall by their own hands.

For the first time, I realized just how deep this hole of betrayal was. At first I thought it was my company, maybe Tristan was being framed, fake evidence planted to ruin his name and all.

But I didn't know there was more to it. I didn't realize he wanted to ruin me so badly, to the point where he would go this far.

But they underestimated me.

I stared back at the bed, at Lila’s sleeping form. My voice was just a whisper in the empty room. “I’ll end this. For us.”