Chapter 5 - The House of SecretsAdrian left Marcus to the guards and headed straight for the kitchen. The kitchen was empty, save for Grace Carter. She was packing her bag, her face pale, her hands trembling.
"Where are you going, Grace?" Adrian asked.
Grace jumped, hitting the counter with her back. "I... I told Mr. Hale I was leaving. The wedding is canceled, sir. I have no reason to be here."
"I think you do," Adrian said, walking toward her. He felt a strange, uncomfortable tug in his chest as he looked at her—the quiet, invisible woman who had been under his roof for three years. "You saw Julian Vane this morning. Why were you protecting him?"
Grace looked at Lily, who was sitting in the corner, playing with her blocks. "He has my box, Mr. Cross. The one under my floorboards."
Adrian froze. "What box?"
Grace pulled a small, silver locket from her neck and opened it. It contained a photo of a man Adrian hadn't seen in fifteen years—his older brother, the one who had died in the fire that killed his father.
"That’s not your brother," Grace whispered. "That’s my husband. He didn't die in the fire, Adrian. He was sent to prison for a crime your father committed. And Julian Vane has the documents that prove it."
The air in the room went thin. The history Adrian had been fed—the noble death of his brother—was a lie. A lie constructed by his father and Marcus Hale.
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"Why tell me now?" Adrian asked.
"Because," Grace said, tears streaming down her face, "I’m tired of being invisible. And because I think you’re finally ready to see the truth."
