Page 106 of The Devil's Deceit

“I’m not sure. Patrick’s got him, so I’ll question him at some point when I’m ready.”

“Or you can leave me to do it.” Xan cracks his knuckles.

I shake my head. “My mess to fix.”

“Families stick together,” Nicholas says.

Dad gets up and claps me on the shoulder. “Have the doctor see you. That nose looks broken.”

I give him a wry smile. “Oh, it’s definitely broken, but I haven’t finished telling the whole story yet, Dad.”

“Oh.” He returns to his seat, and all eyes turn to me once more.

“The reason Grace isn’t here is because I told her to run.”

A frown flickers across my father’s face, mirrored in the expressions of everyone else hanging on to my every word.

“Why?” Imogen asks. “Is she in danger?”

“You could say that.”

“Then, she should be here,” Victoria says, her voice rising an octave in what I assume is indignation. “Where we can protect her.”

“There’s a small problem with that, Victoria.” I scan the sea of faces. “It’s us she needs to run from.”

Tobias shakes his head as though he’s trying to get water out of his ears. “Are you sure you don’t have a concussion? What the fuck are you talking about?”

I bite my lip and run my nails over my stubble. “Lady Grace Ambrose is fictitious. Her real name is Grace Taylor.”

Simultaneously, everyone in the room hisses through their teeth. Spines straighten and eyes widen.

I grimace. “Yup. My dear wife is a liar. She infiltrated our family with the intention of digging up dirt on her parents’ deaths and, I guess, intending to drag our name through the mud. Put me in prison, maybe.” I shrug. “I don’t know whather ultimate aim was because I didn’t give her the chance to tell me.”

“That’s impossible,” Xan expels, a vein popping in his forehead. “Our background checks would’ve come back as fake.”

“Well, they didn’t.” I hitch a shoulder. “I did my own checks early on, and it looked legit.”

“I also had her checked out when you proposed her as a bride,” Dad says, rubbing his fingers over his mouth. He picks up his half-finished glass of whisky and downs it in one go. “Whoever created her background knows what they’re doing.”

All this time, Saskia is the only one who hasn’t said anything. As we all fall silent, she gets to her feet, comes over to me, perches on the arm of my chair, and hugs me tightly.

“I’m so sorry, Christian. I know how you feel about her.”

A lump crawls into my throat. All I can manage is a brief nod. I haven’t had time to fully process Grace’s betrayal yet, and I know I’ll experience a raft of emotions from disbelief to rage to a crippling sense of loss. What started out as a marriage of convenience for me and financial security for her somehow became something more. Somethingincredible.Until she pulled the rug from beneath my feet and sent me crashing to the ground.

I hope she’s scared. She deserves to be. She’s crushed my fucking heart. Except I could never hurt her. It’s evident she blames me for what happened to Drew and Grania, and why wouldn’t she? I buried the truth to protect her and her brother and, yes, I admit, myself, too, from having to confess my error to my family. Yet now I’ve told them, there hasn’t been a single recrimination or tossing around of blame, just understanding and support.

I’m ashamed. Of my behavior, of my entrenched beliefs, and of how I’ve dealt with this entire fucking mess.

“What are you going to do about Grace?” my father asks.

I lift both shoulders. “I don’t know yet. I’m exhausted and too fucking angry to think straight.”

Saskia squeezes my shoulders. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We’re behind you all the way.”

“I feel terrible for Grace,” Victoria says.

Xan’s head spins in her direction so fast, I’m surprised it doesn’t come right off his neck. “Excuse me?”