Regret Came Too Late

After leaving, Grace didn't waste a second. She immediately tracked down the house Liam had recently rented. When she arrived, sure enough, she found Alice.

The house was flooded with sunlight, but Alice looked like a wreck, sitting on the floor with greasy hair as she laughed to herself like she had lost her mind.

Grace walked straight up and kicked her hard, sending her sprawling.

Alice's head slammed against the corner of the table. She winced in pain, gritting her teeth.

"Who the hell-" When she saw Grace, hatred exploded in her bloodshot eyes.

"Grace!" she screamed, stumbling to her feet and lunging at her.

However, Alice, weakened from weeks of malnutrition, didn't stand a chance against Grace.

One brutal kick from Grace sent her crashing several feet away. Before Alice could even react, Grace stomped down, pinning her face to the floor with her foot.

Alice lay there, helpless and humiliated, her cheek crushed under the weight of a dirty shoe.

Grace pressed down a little harder, her voice cold as ice as she said, "Was it you? Were you the one who led Liam into that mess? Were you the one pulling the strings behind the scenes?" A twisted smile crept across Alice's face, her eyes brimming with venom.

"Finally blew up in your face, didn't it? Serves you right! Grace, as long as I'm breathing, I'll make sure you never have a moment's peace. You think you owe Dad? Good! I'm gonna make you watch his only son fall to ruin.

"I'll make you watch the whole Lambert Group fall apart. I want you to suffer, and I want to make sure the guilt eats you alive." Without a word, Grace drew her knee back and slammed it straight into Alice's face.

Alice's vision went black from the pain, and she nearly coughed up blood.

In the middle of Alice's dazed panic, Grace asked quietly, "Did you think I was the type to let things slide?" A shiver ran through Alice. For the first time, she realized that there was steel under Grace's calm.

She barely had tto process the thought before Grace grabbed the nearest chair and smashed it down with full force. A searing pain shot through Alice's spine. The pain was so sharp she wondered if something had snapped.

She curled up on the floor, unable to say a word.

Grace crouched beside her, her voice calm but laced with menace. "Alice, if Liam's identity gets out, I'll hand you over to Jayce. And I promise you, he'll make sure you wish you were dead." Grace didn't know Jayce personally. But she knew enough that he was a brutal man.

And if Edric was involved in this disaster, Jayce had to be somewhere in the mix too. They were all part of the scrooked circle.

She had only meant to test her, but the moment Grace mentioned Jayce's name, Alice lost it completely. "Don't!" Alice shrieked, her whole body seizing up in terror. "Don't handto him! I swear, it wasn't me!" Grace slapped her hand away without a hint of emotion on her face.

Alice gritted her teeth. "I swear, I really-" Before she could finish, there was a noise at the front door. Grace turned her head toward it and froze.

It was Joanne.

Joanne looked just as stunned to see Grace there, almost dropping the medical kit she was carrying.

Joanne said, forcing a little smile "Grace, how... How'd you find this place?" She asked cautiously, then caught sight of Alice's miserable state and frowned slightly.

"Don't be mad," Joanne added quickly. "Liam didn't want you to worry. That's why he askedto stay here and keep an eye on her." Grace straightened slowly, her eyes locked on Joanne without a word.

Joanne set the medical kit down on the coffee table and smiled carefully. She said, "Now that you're here, do you know where Liam is?" Grace didn't have her old memories, so she wasn't sure what kind of relationship Joanne and Liam had before. But knowing Liam, it wasn't impossible he'd trust a familiar face to help.

Grace rubbed her temples, trying to steady herself. "How much is he paying you?" Joanne hesitated, then said quietly, "Five thousand dollars a month. It's... It's pretty generous." Meanwhile, Alice had scrambled to hide behind Joanne, trembling like a leaf. It was obvious Joanne didn't treat her too badly.

Grace sneered.

"Hiding won't save you," she said, her voice sharp. "I'll give you three hours to think it over. I'll be back this afternoon." With that, she turned and left without another word.

Grace had no energy for small talk with Joanne. Her whole life was already a mess.

The moment Grace was out the door, Joanne's expression, darkened m Without warning, she shoved Alice off her. "Joanne, please," Alice pleaded.

"Don't tell her about Liam. I'm dead if you do. You don't get it-Grace's insane! She'll burn everything down if she has to! I just want out. I' disappear, go overseas, and start a new life." sŵ She couldn't let herself end up in Jayce's hands. That man wasn't even human.

Joanne ignored her. She quietly went about organizing the medical kit like she hadn't heard a word.

Alice panicked and bolted toward

the door, but Joanne moved faster.

She pulled a syringe from her kit jabbed it straight into Alice's arm, and emptied the contents into her bloodstream. Alice turned around in horror, staggering backward.

"What the hell did you just injectwith?" she screamed.

Joanne responded with a light smile and then casually tossed the syringe back into her kit.

"Something that'll put you in a

vegetative state," she said lightly.

"Honestly, with the way you're living now-no dignity, no pride you might be e better of staying like that. At least you'd be lying there in peace. And I should probably thank you... for taking the blin my place."