Chapter 108 #108

Chapter 108 #108
Chapter 108
~Dwayne's POV~

I stepped out of Shailyn's room, closing the door as quietly as possible.

Hannah was in the waiting room, her head in her hands.

"Hannah."

She looked up immediately. "Is she okay?"

"She's resting. But I need you to do something for me."

"Anything."

"Stay with her. Don't leave her alone. Not for a second."

Her eyes narrowed. "Why? What's going on?"

"Just trust me. If Dante comes back, if anyone comes back, you stay in that room with her. Understand?"

"Dwayne, you're scaring me."

"Don't be scared. Just be at alert. Just don't leave her."

"Where are you going?"

"I have something I need to handle. I'll be back in a few hours."

"Dwayne—"

"Please, Hannah. Just do this for me."

She studied my face for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll stay with her."

"Thank you."

I turned and walked out of the hospital before she could ask more questions.

My hands were shaking as I unlocked the car. I gripped the steering wheel, trying to steady myself.

The letter. The confession. Everything Shailyn's mother had written.

Tyler murdered Kingsley Henson.

My father killed her father.

I drove faster than I should have. Ran two red lights. Didn't care.

Luke's penthouse was across town. Twenty minutes normally. I made it in twelve.

I parked roughly and took the elevator up, my leg bouncing the entire ride.

The doors opened.

I pounded on Luke's door.

"Jesus Christ, I'm coming!" His voice from inside. Annoyed.

The door swung open. Luke stood there in sweatpants and a t-shirt, clearly having been asleep.

"Dwayne? What the hell—"

"We need to talk. Now."

He took one look at my face and stepped aside. "Come in."

I brushed past him into the living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Minimalist furniture. Everything clean and precise. That was Luke.

"What happened?" he asked, closing the door. "How's Shailyn now and the babies?"

"The babies are fine. She's stable. But that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you here at two in the morning looking like you're about to commit murder?"

I pulled the letter from my jacket pocket and threw it on the coffee table.

"Read that."

Luke picked it up, unfolding it carefully. His eyes scanned the first few lines.

Then he went completely still.

"Is this—"

"Shailyn's mother. Written during her stroke. I found it on the floor where Shailyn passed out. I don't know how she got it though."

Luke read in silence. I watched his face change. Watched the color drain. Watched his jaw clench tighter and tighter with every paragraph.

When he finished, he set it down like it was made of glass.

"Holy shit," he breathed.

"Yeah."

"Tyler murdered Kingsley Henson."

"In cold blood. Stole SentientIQ. Built his entire empire on a dead man's work."

"And Shailyn has no idea."

"She didn't. But she does now."

Luke's eyes snapped to mine. "What?"

"She read the letter. Right before she collapsed."

"Fuck. Dwayne, that's—"

"Everything. It's everything. The panic attack. The bleeding. The stress. She found out her father-in-law murdered her father and it broke her."

"Does anyone else know she read it?"

"No. I took it before anyone saw. But Luke—" I ran my hands through my hair. "She knows now. She knows Tyler killed her father."

"And she didn't say anything about it?"

"She told everyone she doesn't remember anything. That she's moving on. Focusing on the babies."

"Why would she lie?"

"Because she's smart. Because she's scared. Because she doesn't know who to trust."

Luke nodded slowly. "What about Dante? Does he suspect?"

"No. He bought it completely. Relieved she doesn't want to remember."

"And you?"

"I told her I loved her."

Luke blinked. "You what?"

"I told her I loved her. She was asleep."

"Jesus, Dwayne."

"I know."

"Do you think she heard you?"

“No dumbass, she was asleep."

“I know bu—”

"But nothing, She will know I love her. She will know the babies are mine. She will know everything. I have a strong feeling she has will soon get her memory back. Hopefully.”

Luke sat down heavily on the couch. "This is a mess."

"I know."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I can't tell her the truth while she's pregnant. The stress could kill her. Could kill the babies."

"So you just wait?"

"I create memories with her. I stay close. I protect her. And I hope, God, I hope, that before she gives birth, I can tell her the truth. That those babies are ours."

"And if you can't?"

"I will do all I can."

Luke was quiet for a long moment. "You really love her."

"More than I've ever loved anyone."

"Even though she doesn't remember you?"

"Especially because she doesn't remember me. Because every moment we have now is new. Real. Not tainted by Dante's lies or my family's bullshit."

"That's actually kind of beautiful."

"Don't get sentimental on me."

"Someone has to." Luke leaned forward. "So what do you need from me?"

"Everything. I need you to get to the bottom of all of it."

"Starting where?"

"Cynthia. We know she killed my mother. We have the evidence. But I need to know if Gramps was involved."

"You think he helped her?"

"I know he did. The offshore account. The missing fingerprints. Someone with power covered it up. And Gramps is the only one with that kind of reach."

"If Gramps helped Cynthia kill Jesse—"

"Then he's just as guilty as she is."

"Dwayne, we're talking about your grandfather."

"I don't care. He's a murderer. And he needs to pay."

Luke nodded. "What else?"

"Tyler and Kingsley. I need to know exactly what happened. Every detail. Timeline. Evidence. Witnesses."

"The letter says Tyler shot him."

"I need proof. Something that will hold up. Something that will destroy him."

"That's a tall order."

"Can you do it?"

"I can try. But Dwayne, if we go after Tyler, if we really go after him, there's no coming back from that. He's your father."

"He's a murderer."

"He's still your father."

"He murdered Shailyn's father. He stole everything from her. From her family." I stood, pacing. "He destroyed her life before she was even born. And then he let Dante finish the job."

"So this is about revenge."

"This is about justice."

"There's a difference?"

"Not to me. Not anymore."

Luke stood too. "Okay. I'll dig into everything. Tyler. Cynthia. Gramps. All of it."

"How long?"

"Give me a week. Maybe two. This kind of information doesn't come easy."

"Make it one week."

"Dwayne—"

"One week, Luke. I need answers before everything falls apart."

"And if we find what we're looking for? If we prove Tyler killed Kingsley? If we prove Gramps helped Cynthia kill Jesse?"

"Then we destroy them."

"All of them?"

"Every single one."

Luke studied my face. "You're serious."

"Dead serious."

"Even if it means tearing your family apart?"

"They tore themselves apart the moment they started killing people."

"Fair point."

I grabbed the letter from the table and tucked it back in my jacket. "I need to get back to the hospital."

"Dwayne, wait."

I turned.

"What you said before. About creating memories with Shailyn. About protecting her happiness." Luke's expression was serious. "You know that might not be enough, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean even if you do everything right, even if you're there for her, even if you love her the way she deserves, she might still choose Dante. She might still believe his lies."

"No."

"Dwayne—"

"No. She won't. Not when she knows the truth."

"But what if knowing the truth isn't enough? What if she's too broken? Too scared?"

"Then I'll put her back together. Piece by piece. However long it takes."

"And if she doesn't want to be put back together?"

I looked Luke dead in the eye.

"Then I'll burn down everyone who broke her in the first place."

The words hung in the air between us.

Cold. Final. Absolute.

Luke didn't flinch. "Father or not?"

"Father or not."

"You're willing to destroy Tyler? Your own blood?"

"He destroyed Shailyn's blood first. Kingsley was innocent. A genius. A good man. And Tyler murdered him for money."

"So this is justice."

"This is war."

Luke nodded slowly. "Then let's go to war."

"One week."

"One week."

I turned and headed for the door.

"Dwayne?"

I stopped, hand on the doorknob.

"For what it's worth," Luke said quietly. "I think you're doing the right thing."

"There is no right thing anymore. Just necessary things."

"Then make it count."

"I will."

I walked out, leaving Luke standing in his living room holding the fate of my entire family in his hands.

One week.

One week to gather the evidence.

And God help anyone who stood in my way.

But I would destroy.

Completely.

Ruthlessly.

Without mercy.

For Shailyn.

For my mother.