Chapter 127 #127

Chapter 127 #127
Chapter 127
~Shailyn's POV~
Panic flooded through me.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly.
"Yes, you do." Dwayne crossed his arms. "You remember everything."
"Dwayne—"
"That's why you didn't look for the letter after the hospital. Why you didn't ask about it. Because you already knew what was in it."
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears.
Hannah stood up. "Dwayne, maybe we should—"
"How long?" he asked, ignoring her. "How long have you been pretending?"
I couldn't speak.
"Shailyn." His voice was harder now. "How long?"
"Since the hospital," I whispered.
"The hospital? That was weeks ago!"
"I know—"
"Weeks! You've been lying to me for weeks!"
"I wasn't lying—"
"You were pretending not to remember! That's lying!"
I flinched at his tone.
He ran his hand through his hair, pacing. "I confessed everything to you. Told you I loved you. Thought you were asleep. But you weren't, were you?"
"I was—"
"You heard everything I said. And you still said nothing."
Tears built in my eyes. "I'm sorry—"
"Sorry? You let me think—" He stopped, shaking his head. "I've been trying so hard to protect you. To help you remember gently. And you already knew."
"I didn't know how to tell you—"
"How about 'Hey Dwayne, I remember everything'? That would've been a start!"
"I needed to do this myself!" The words burst out of me. "I needed to handle things my way without everyone trying to protect me or control me!"
"I wasn't trying to control you—"
"Weren't you? You and Luke. Planning. Investigating. Deciding what I should and shouldn't know."
"That's different—"
"How? How is that different from what Dante does?"
He stopped pacing. "Don't compare me to him."
"Then don't act like you have the right to all my secrets!"
"This isn't about rights! This is about trust!"
"And I do trust you! But I also need to be able to make my own decisions!"
We stood there, both breathing hard, tension crackling between us.
Hannah cleared her throat. "Maybe everyone should calm down."
"Stay out of this, Hannah," Dwayne said.
"No. Because you're being unfair."
"Unfair?"
"Yes. Shailyn's been trapped in an abusive marriage, just found out her father was murdered, and you're mad because she didn't tell you she got her memory back?"
"I'm mad because she lied—"
"She protected herself! There's a difference!"
Luke stood up. "Hannah's right. You need to cool off."
Dwayne looked at him. "You knew too, didn't you?"
"No. I didn't."
"But you're not surprised."
"Because I understand why she did it."
Dwayne turned back to me. "Did Hannah know?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"So everyone knew except me."
"It wasn't like that—"
"Then what was it like, Shailyn? Explain it to me."
I took a shaky breath. "I woke up in that hospital bed and everything came flooding back. My father's murder. Dante stealing my work. The babies being yours. All of it."
He was listening now. Still angry, but listening.
"And I panicked," I continued. "Because everyone was there. Dante. Your family. All of them watching me. Waiting to see what I'd do."
"So you lied."
"I protected myself. Because I knew if Dante thought I remembered, he'd find a way to control me. To manipulate me. To make me doubt myself again."
"You could've told me privately—"
"When? When were we ever truly alone? Dante watches me constantly. Your family is always around. The only person I could tell was Hannah because she's the only one I knew for certain was on my side."
"I'm on your side—"
"Are you? Or are you on your side? Trying to get revenge for your mother. Using me as a pawn in your war against Dante."
He flinched like I'd slapped him.
"That's not fair," he said quietly.
"Isn't it? You confessed you loved me while you thought I was asleep. You've been planning things with Luke without telling me. You kissed me today without asking if I was ready."
"You kissed me back."
"Because I wanted to! But that doesn't mean I don't have the right to my own secrets. My own plans. My own agency."
Silence fell over the room.
Dwayne's expression shifted. The anger fading into something else.
Regret.
"You're right," he said finally. "I'm sorry."
"What?"
"You're right. I have been making decisions for you. Trying to protect you without asking if that's what you wanted."
I blinked, surprised. "Oh."
"I just—" He sighed. "I care about you. So much. And the idea of you being hurt or manipulated or—" He stopped. "I wanted to fix everything for you. But that's not my job, is it?"
"No. It's not."
"I'm sorry. For getting angry. For not understanding why you needed to do this alone."
The tears spilled over now. "I'm sorry too. For not trusting you enough to tell you."
He crossed the room and pulled me into his arms.
I buried my face in his chest, breathing him in.
"We're a mess," I mumbled.
"Yeah. We are."
"But we're figuring it out."
"Slowly."
I pulled back to look at him. "Can we start over? With honesty this time?"
"I'd like that."
Hannah made a soft sound. "Okay, this is sweet and all, but we still have a murder plot to deal with."
Luke nodded. "She's right. Frederick is still out there. Dante still wants Dwayne dead."
Dwayne kept his arms around me. "Actually, I have a plan for that."
"What kind of plan?" I asked.
"Luke and I have been working with someone. Jack Morrison."
"Jack?"
"Yeah. He's been helping us gather evidence. Information. He was supposed to come to the party but something came up."
"What kind of evidence?"
"Financial records. Communications. Connections between Dante and some very questionable people."
"How does that help with the murder plot?"
Dwayne looked at Luke. "We set a trap."
"A trap?" Hannah asked.
"We let Dante think his plan is working. Let him believe Frederick's going to make his move. But we're ready. Cameras. Witnesses. Everything we need to catch him in the act."
"That's risky," I said.
"It is. But it's the only way to get concrete evidence that Dante tried to have me killed."
"And if something goes wrong?"
"It won't. We'll be careful. Strategic."
I wasn't convinced. "Dwayne—"
"Trust me. Please."
I looked into his eyes. Saw the determination there.
"Okay. But I'm part of this. Whatever you're planning, I'm involved."
"Shailyn—"
"No. This is my life too. My revenge too. I get a say."
He smiled slightly. "You're really done being the good wife, aren't you?"
"Completely done."
"Good." He turned to Luke and Hannah. "Then here's what we're going to do."
We all sat down, huddling together.
Dwayne laid out the plan. Step by step. Detail by detail.
It was risky. Dangerous even.
But it could work.
"There's one more thing," Dwayne said when he finished.
"What?" I asked.
"This isn't just about Dante anymore."
"What do you mean?"
His expression hardened. "Tyler. Your father's murderer. He's going down too."
My heart stopped. "How?"
"Luke's been digging. Following the money trail. And we found something. Something big."
"What?"
Luke pulled up a file on his laptop. "Tyler's been embezzling from SentientIQ for years. Funneling money into offshore accounts. Building a safety net in case things ever went south."
"How much?"
"Millions. And we have proof."
"But that's not murder—"
"No," Dwayne said. "But it's enough to destroy him financially. Ruin his reputation. Take away everything he's built on your father's grave."
"And the murder charges?"
"We're still working on that. But we have leads. Witnesses who might talk if they're properly motivated."
I looked at all of them. Hannah. Luke. Dwayne.
My team.
My army.
"When do we start?" I asked.
Dwayne smiled. Dark. Dangerous.
"Tomorrow. We start taking them down tomorrow."
"Both of them? Dante and Tyler?"
"Both of them. They're going to pay for everything they've done. To you. To my mother. To everyone they've ever hurt."
Hannah grinned. "I love it when we talk vengeful."
"This is serious—"
"I know. But it's also satisfying."
Luke closed his laptop. "So we're really doing this."
"We're really doing this," Dwayne confirmed.
I took a deep breath. "Then let's make it count."
"Oh, we will." Dwayne's eyes met mine. "By the time we're done, the Belmar family won't know what hit them."
"Good," I said firmly. "They deserve everything that's coming."
Dwayne reached over and took my hand.
"Together?" he asked.
"Together," I confirmed.
Hannah raised an imaginary glass. "To revenge."
Luke smiled. "To justice."
"To destroying everyone who ever underestimated us," I added.
Dwayne squeezed my hand. "Starting with my father."