Chapter 4
I went back home.
This was the house I'd called home for twenty years.
Every piece of furniture, every decoration, was a reminder of the life I'd shared with Richard.
But every single thing here also reeked of the eighteen years I spent quietly enduring and pretending, eighteen years of humiliation I could never show.
I didn't feel a shred of nostalgia.
I walked into the bedroom, opened the closet, and pulled out the suitcase I'd packed long ago.
Inside were a few clothes of my own and some important papers.
There were also photos of Anna, from her childhood all the way up to now.
I snapped those photos every time I snuck out to see her.
In those pictures, she grew from a newborn in my arms, to a skinny little girl, and finally into a beautiful young lady.
Her eyes looked so much like mine.
They always carried a bit of shyness, but deep down, there was this stubborn spark that never faded.
I gently brushed my fingers over Anna's face in the photo, my eyes growing hot with tears I refused to let fall.
Anna, wait for me.
As I was packing, I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock at the door.
It was Emily.
She was back.
She stormed into the bedroom, her eyes red and swollen, looking like an angry lioness.
"Grace, you owe me an explanation." She threw her bag to the floor with a loud thud. "Why? Why should I be the one to pay for your mistakes?
"I've lived here since I was a kid! This is my home. How can you just kick me out?"
I closed my suitcase and zipped it up, not even sparing her a glance.
"Emily, if you want to know where your real home is, go ask Linda and Michael," I said. "This place? It's mine."
"Yours?" Emily scoffed.
She stared at me like I'd dropped the punchline to the world's biggest joke.
"The deed's in my dad's name. The will says I get it! This place is mine," Emily screamed.
She started tearing through the room, tossing everything aside in a wild panic.
"Where's the deed? Where did you stash it?" Emily shrieked.
I stood up and walked over to her.
"Stop looking," I said. "The down payment for this house came from my dowry. After we got married, your 'dad' and I paid off the mortgage together.
"Even without that fake paternity test, by law, I still own half of this place.
"Now that Richard's dead, his half isn't necessarily yours either, especially with that fraudulent will hanging over your head."
"So, Emily, you're not getting a single cent."
My words were like a bucket of ice water, snuffing out the last bit of hope she had left.
She crumpled to the floor, her eyes hollow and lost.
"How could this happen?" Emily whispered, barely audible. "I thought I had everything..."
Watching her completely broken like this, I didn't feel a single ounce of sympathy.
People who looked pitiful usually had only themselves to blame.
All these years, she enjoyed a life of privilege that was never hers to begin with, and never once showed me any respect as her adoptive mother.
She shamelessly leeched off Richard and me, acting as if she was entitled to everything.
Now, I was putting things back where they belonged.
My phone rang.
It was Nathan. "Ms. Winters, we've already applied for the asset freeze. The court will issue the order soon.
"Also, our team is already on their way to get Anna. She should arrive in the city by tonight."
"Got it. Thanks for your hard work," I said.
I hung up, feeling like a huge weight had finally been lifted off my chest.
Anna was finally coming home.
I grabbed my suitcase and got ready to leave.
I wasn't staying in this filthy, backstabbing place a second longer.
I was going to the hotel to wait for Anna.
Suddenly, Emily jumped up from the floor like she was losing it, flinging her arms wide and blocking the doorway.
"You're not leaving," she yelled, "If you go, what am I supposed to do? Grandma and Michael won't even look after me.
"You raised me for eighteen years. You can't just throw me away."
She was trying to play the emotional card now.
But it was way too late for that.
My heart was already dead, eighteen years ago.
"Move," I said, my voice cold as ice.
"I won't," Emily shot back.
Her eyes flashed with a dangerous edge.
"Grace, don't push me," she yelled. "If you dare walk out that door, I'll throw myself out the window.
"I'll make sure everyone calls you the woman who pushed her adopted daughter to suicide for the rest of your life."
She jabbed her finger at the window, her voice fierce and her eyes burning with rage.
I looked at her.
I saw right through her little performance. She was as selfish as the rest of the Stones.
I laughed.
I pulled out my phone, switched on the camera, and aimed it straight at her.
"Go on, jump," I said. "What are you waiting for? Do it.
"I'll film the whole thing, so everyone can see you trying to blackmail your adoptive mom for a payout.
"Let the whole world see how you tried to guilt-trip your adoptive mom with suicide, just to snatch up what was never yours.
"Emily, what do you think? Will the internet pity you, or will they just drag you for being a spoiled, greedy brat?"
Emily froze, completely caught off guard.
She never thought I'd react this way.
I didn't make a scene, didn't try to talk her down, and just coolly took out my phone and hit record.
The vicious look on her face vanished in a split second, replaced by sheer panic.
"You..." Emily pointed at me, unable to say anything at all.
Just then, a noisy commotion erupted at the door.
Helen, Michael, and Linda all showed up.
Behind them were a few burly men, clearly the muscle they'd brought along.
As soon as Helen saw me, her eyes turned red with rage.
"Grace, you bitch. You actually had the nerve to freeze our assets," she screamed.
She was waving a piece of paper in the air, probably the court's freeze order.
Michael was grinding his teeth, his face twisted with rage.
"My company's accounts are frozen. I can't pay a single dollar to my suppliers; millions are stuck," he shouted. "Grace, are you trying to get us all killed?"
I put my phone away and stared at them with cold, dead eyes.
"I told you before; everything you owe me, you'll pay back every last cent," I said. "And this is the beginning."
Helen was fuming, pointing at the men behind her.
"Grab her," she shouted. "Lock her up. Don't let her out until she cancels the asset freeze."
The men immediately closed in on me.
Emily, scared out of her mind, scuttled off to the side.
Linda cowered, not even daring to move.
Only Helen and Michael were left, snarling like a pair of rabid dogs.
I didn't panic.
I pulled out my phone again and dialed 911.
I put it on speaker.
"Hello, 911? I need to report a crime," I said. "The address is Apartment 4B, 123 Maple Street. Some people forced their way into my home and are trying to hold me here against my will."
"Yeah, they brought backup with them. My safety's in real danger right now," I said.
The operator's calm voice came through the phone. "Ma'am, please don't be afraid. Stay where you are and protect yourself. We're sending officers right now."
Everyone was frozen in shock by what I did.
The men all looked at each other, unsure what to do next.
Helen's face was purple with rage. "You you really called the police?"
"Why wouldn't I?" I shot back.
I looked at her and let out a cold laugh.
"Helen, we live in a society governed by law now," I said. "Do you really think it's still the era when you could run wild and bully people as you pleased?
"Today, if any of you so much as touch me, you'll be hit with even more charges.
"Breaking and entering, assault, unlawful detention; every single crime will be counted against you.
"Go ahead, try it. Let's see who ends up rotting in prison until the end of your days."
My words snapped them out of their delusions.
Michael's face twitched, and he looked at me, clearly intimidated and afraid.
He pulled Helen back.
"Mom, forget it. Let's just go," Michael said.
If they stayed any longer, the cops would show up and this whole thing would blow up for real.
Helen was still seething, unwilling to back down.
But she was scared too.
She shot me a vicious glare.
"Grace, just you wait! This isn't over between us!" she spat.
With that, she led her crew out, tails between their legs.
The whole farce was finally over.
I looked around the empty room, but I didn't feel like a winner at all.
I knew this was just the opening round.
The Stone family weren't about to back down.
The real fight was just getting started.
I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of this house.
I didn't look back.