My heart pounded in my chest as I waited for his next words to come. My hands and feet turned cold out of anxiety and nervousness. An ominous feeling rose in my chest.

“He was mad. I still remember how red his eyes were. I still remember how much hatred he held in his eyes as he watched Mom. But even if he held the gun at her, she didn’t stop screaming at them, shoving him, and grabbing that bitch! And then he lost it,” he murmured. “I saw him curling his finger around the trigger. His words still echo in my head that he spit out, staring right into Mom’s eyes. ‘I’ve had enough of you. You’re becoming a nuisance for my professional and personal life now. I just wanted to remove you from the company, but now it seems like I have to remove you from my life as well. So I can live in peace. And this is the perfect time to do that.’”

I let out a shaky breath. Not even a word left my mouth.

“He was about to pull the trigger. And that’s when I jumped in between him and Mom. I requested him to put the gun down. But he didn’t seem to care that his son was standing before the deadly nozzle. He just pushed me aside and went for Mom in rage. But I couldn’t let that happen. I tried to snatch the gun from his clutch, but he didn’t let me. He just wanted to kill his wife at that moment. And I had to do something, Emerald. I had to stop him. And I…did.”

He slowly turned to me. Dark eyes held mine. Not even a trace of emotions was on his face. Something churned into my stomach.

“You were right. I didn’t tell you everything. I hid two things from you. One, he didn’t commit suicide, he was murdered. And two—” Greek voice was dense as he stared deep into my eyes, “—he was murdered by his own son. The trigger set off by my hands during the fight. I killed him.”

SIXTY-SEVEN: SHE’S MY HOME…

ACE

I watched her silently as she stood frozen in her place. With her turquoise eyes wide in shock, her lips parted. Color drained from her face the moment those words left my mouth. The truth I had been hiding in the deepest corner of my memories. The ugliest and darkest truth of my life I never wanted to reveal before her.

She kept quiet. Unbearable silence echoed throughout the hall. Other than shock and disbelief, I couldn’t read a single emotion on her beautiful face.

I inhaled deep. The same ominous feeling rose in my chest again, choking me in its vicious grip. Clenching my fists, I ignored the pain that shot through my heart.

“Emerald,” her name snuck out as a whisper through my lips. “Say something.”