## CHAPTER 4 ## THE HUSBAND WHO MARRIED A FORTUNE
The photograph stayed in my hand.
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Grant.
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Standing beside Samantha Vale.
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Smiling.
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A smile I knew.
A smile I once believed belonged only to me.
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But the date on the back destroyed everything.
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Two years before our wedding.
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Before the promises.
Before the vows.
Before he held my hand and swore I was the only woman he would ever choose.
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He already knew her.
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He already had a connection with her.
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And I had been the only person who didn't know.
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"You're lying."
My voice came out quietly.
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Daniel Vale looked at me.
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"I wish I was."
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I turned toward Victoria.
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"Is this real?"
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She took the photograph carefully.
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Her expression changed.
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"I need to verify the source."
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Daniel shook his head.
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"You won't find anything online."
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"Why?"
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"Because Samantha paid to erase the records."
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That sentence hit me harder than I expected.
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Erase the records.
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That was what Grant did to me.
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He didn't just leave.
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He tried to remove every trace of me.
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"Why would he marry me?"
I whispered.
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Daniel looked at the folder.
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"Because of Eleanor Whitmore."
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My grandmother.
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Again.
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The woman who seemed to know everything before anyone else.
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"Explain."
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Daniel sat down.
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"Before Eleanor died, she changed more than just her will."
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Victoria looked surprised.
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"What are you saying?"
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Daniel looked at her.
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"She knew someone would eventually target her granddaughter."
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He turned to me.
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"She created a protection system."
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I frowned.
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"A protection system?"
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"Yes."
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"Your grandmother didn't just leave you money."
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"She built a shield around you."
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Victoria opened her laptop.
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She accessed a document.
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"The Holloway marriage agreement was connected to the Whitmore Family Trust."
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I stared.
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"Connected how?"
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"Anyone who married you had to agree to specific conditions."
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I remembered signing papers.
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Grant had laughed at the time.
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"Your grandmother is treating our marriage like a business merger."
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I had defended him.
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"She just wants me protected."
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I never realized...
She was protecting me from him.
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"What conditions?"
I asked.
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Victoria answered:
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"Full financial disclosure."
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"Protection of inherited assets."
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"And a loyalty clause."
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I almost laughed.
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"Loyalty clause?"
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"Yes."
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"If your husband abandoned you during a medical emergency or acted against your interests..."
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She looked at me.
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"The marriage contract automatically exposed all hidden agreements connected to him."
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My heart started racing.
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"Hidden agreements?"
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Victoria nodded.
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"Your grandmother suspected Grant was not marrying you for love."
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Silence.
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The woman I loved most in the world...
Had suspected the man I married.
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And I ignored her.
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"What did she find?"
I asked.
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Victoria hesitated.
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"She found financial connections between Grant and the Vale family."
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Daniel added:
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"Because Samantha had been preparing this for years."
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Suddenly...
Everything looked different.
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The late nights.
The business trips.
The excuses.
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The moments when Grant seemed distant.
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I had blamed stress.
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I had blamed work.
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I had blamed myself.
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But the truth was simpler.
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He was already leaving.
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At the same time...
Grant was discovering how much of his life had been built on lies.
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He sat alone in his office.
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The place where he had made billion-dollar decisions.
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Now...
He couldn't even access his own accounts.
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His lawyer placed another file in front of him.
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"Mr. Holloway."
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Grant didn't look up.
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"What?"
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"The trust has completed its first review."
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"And?"
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The lawyer hesitated.
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"Your personal assets have been frozen."
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Grant clenched his jaw.
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"Temporary."
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The lawyer didn't answer.
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Grant looked up.
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"Right?"
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The silence was uncomfortable.
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"Not exactly."
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Grant stood.
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"What does that mean?"
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The lawyer opened another document.
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"Your divorce triggered a transfer clause."
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"Your shares."
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"Your properties."
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"Your private investments."
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"They are being reviewed for ownership."
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Grant stared.
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"Reviewed?"
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"Yes."
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"By who?"
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The lawyer answered:
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"By your wife."
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Grant laughed bitterly.
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"My wife is lying in a hospital bed."
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The lawyer looked at him.
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"No."
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"Your wife is the person who now controls whether you keep your empire."
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For the first time...
Grant felt something he hadn't felt in years.
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Fear.
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That evening...
I finally saw Grant again.
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He came to the hospital.
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Not with flowers.
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Not with an apology.
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With desperation.
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The door opened.
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And there he was.
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The man who walked away from me while I was dying.
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The man who left his newborn children without asking their names.
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He looked different.
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Less powerful.
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Less certain.
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"Claire."
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I hated that he still used the name he whispered when he loved me.
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"Why are you here?"
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He stepped closer.
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"I made a mistake."
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I stared at him.
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"A mistake?"
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"Yes."
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"You mean leaving me?"
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"Yes."
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"You mean divorcing me while doctors were fighting to keep me alive?"
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His face tightened.
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"I was under pressure."
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I almost smiled.
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"Everyone is always under pressure when they hurt someone."
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He looked toward the babies.
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For the first time...
He saw them.
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His children.
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Three tiny faces.
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His expression changed.
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Almost regret.
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Almost.
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"I want to fix this."
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I looked at him.
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"No."
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He froze.
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"No?"
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"You don't want to fix our marriage."
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"You want to fix your company."
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His face went pale.
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Because I was right.
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"Claire..."
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"Don't call me that like nothing happened."
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A tear fell from my eye.
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"You signed papers while I was dying."
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"You asked how fast you could erase me."
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Silence.
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Then Grant whispered:
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"Who told you?"
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I looked at him.
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"The truth."
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Before he could answer...
Victoria entered the room.
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Her expression was serious.
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"Mrs. Holloway."
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Grant turned.
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"What is it?"
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Victoria looked at me.
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"The trust has finished the investigation."
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My heart stopped.
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"And?"
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She placed a folder in front of me.
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"The results are worse than we expected."
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I opened it.
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The first page contained a bank transfer.
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The second page contained a signature.
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The third page contained a photograph.
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Then I saw it.
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A payment.
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Made six months before my pregnancy.
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From Samantha Vale.
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To Grant Holloway.
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The description was simple.
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FINAL ARRANGEMENT — REMOVE CLAIRE HOLLOWAY
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My hands went cold.
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Grant looked at the document.
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And for the first time...
He had no excuse.
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Because the truth was no longer hidden.
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He didn't just leave me.
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May you like
He had planned to destroy me.
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