Chapter 3

Larry Carter was clearly caught off guard for a second, but then his voice turned serious. "Mrs. Shaw, make sure you secure the scene and any evidence. What did the police say caused the child's death?"

"Drowning," I replied, locking eyes with Edward, speaking slowly and clearly. "But I don't buy it."

"Alright, try to stay calm first. I'm coming over right now. We'll go over the divorce, inheritance, custody, and asset protection once I get there."

I agreed and ended the call.

Edward's gaze turned ice-cold. "Grace, do you really have to take things this far?"

"You're the ones who forced me into this," I shot back.

"Nathan's death was just an accident," Edward said, staring straight at me. "Don't start imagining things, and don't try to involve other people just because you want a divorce."

"Other people?" I repeated, stressing every word. "Edward, are you talking about you or your mom?"

Margaret shrieked, "What are you trying to say? Are you accusing us of killing Nathan? Grace, have you lost your mind? He was my own grandson!"

"Exactly." I nodded. "So I want to know, as his grandmother, how you could just sit upstairs playing card games, knowing he was all alone by the pool that day."

"I... I didn't know he'd fall in."

"What about the nanny? The servants? The butler?" I pressed. "How could a six-year-old drown in his own home for over ten minutes without anyone noticing?"

"How should I know?" Margaret snapped, her eyes darting away, her voice rising. "There are so many people in this house. Who knows which one was careless?"

"I'll get to the bottom of this. No one is getting off the hook."

Right after I finished speaking, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

It was Joe, the Shaw family's driver.

He burst in, drenched in sweat and clearly panicked, blurting out, "Mr. Shaw, the police are here."

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Edward whipped his head around. "The police?"

"Y-Yes," Joe stammered, swallowing hard and shooting me a nervous glance. "They said they received a report that there might be something suspicious about the child's death, so they want to re-examine the situation."

I stood there, outwardly calm, but inside, my mind was in turmoil.

I had just called Larry. There was no way the police could have shown up this fast.

Then who called the cops?

Edward's expression turned downright menacing, his eyes slowly locking onto me, like he was both judging and warning me at the same time.

I stared right back, unflinching.

A few seconds later, two uniformed officers strode in, faces all business. "Which two of you are Nathan Shaw's parents?"

"I am," I answered first.

Edward quickly added, "I'm his father."

One of the officers nodded and flipped open his notebook. "We got an anonymous tip that someone deleted the surveillance footage from the day the kid died, so we need you to cooperate with our investigation."

Someone deleted the surveillance footage?

My head was spinning.

I shot a look at Edward.

After a brief moment of shock, the first thing Edward did was look at Margaret.

Just that one glance told me everything I needed to know.

Cold crept over my body, numbing me inch by inch.

What did Nathan see before he died?

Or was it someone who didn't want anyone to know the truth about how he died?

The officer continued, "Also, we need to question everyone who had contact with the child before his death—family, nanny, butler, and all the staff who were present that day. Please don't leave without permission."

Everyone in the viewing room went pale.

Margaret's lips trembled, and she suddenly pointed at me, shrieking, "It wasn't us. Maybe it was her! She's the one who raised the kid. Who knows if she's lost her mind?

"Maybe she didn't take care of him properly and now she's trying to pin it on us!"

I couldn't help but laugh out of sheer anger.

She'd say anything just to get herself off the hook.

The officer frowned. "Please mind your words, ma'am. Don't make accusations without evidence."

Edward finally spoke, his voice low and measured. "Officer, my wife has been a bit unstable these past few days after losing our son. But we'll do everything we can to help with the investigation."

With just a few words about me being "unstable", he was already trying to pin everything on me.

I stared at him, and suddenly, I got it.

He didn't just want to silence me. He wanted to use this to brand me as a grieving mother who'd lost her mind.

That way, whether it was Nathan's death or the divorce settlement, he could walk away without a scratch.

Great. Just perfect.

I took a deep breath and turned to the officer. "Officer, I demand you pull up all recoverable surveillance footage from inside and outside the Shaw residence right now.

"I also request that everyone who was present that day have their phones and communication devices temporarily taken away. And I want my son's body re-examined with another autopsy."

As soon as I said that, Margaret's legs went weak and she almost dropped to the ground.

Edward finally couldn't hide the panic in his eyes.

"Grace!" He gritted his teeth. "Are you really not going to let Nathan rest, even after he's gone?"

"The ones who won't let him rest in peace are you," I shot back, my words cold and clear. "If his death was really just an accident, I'll apologize to you. But if it wasn't..."

I locked eyes with them, my voice steady and deadly. "Whoever killed him will pay for it with their life."