THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 166: THE PATH TO TRUTH

Chapter 166: THE PATH TO TRUTH

Ace remained silent, waiting for the matriarch to speak first.

Looking at her so up close and personal, made him realise just how old she had gotten.

He remembered when she could still walk without the need of a cane. When the leg pains started, they all begged her to go for surgery.

She flipped the middle finger at them, basically telling them to go to hell.

The nerve to try to tell her what was best for her health.

She was grieving her son who had just died. The Atticus were receiving attacks from the press every other Monday.

It was too much, and she was caught right in the middle of it all.

After the chaos died down, it was a little too late. The injury had gone deeper than surface level.

The surgery was carried out. However, she needed a cane to walk.

Trust the matriarch to get the best designed cane there ever was. She even said when she had enough time, she would try for another surgery that would end up with her ditching the cane.

She cleared her throat, and her voice dragged him out of his head.

"What is going on, Ace?" She asked him in a calm voice that foreshadowed no trouble.

They were both hot-headed, like she would always say. Even Celine was all her, and she never kept quiet about that fact.

The silent parts were mostly the extremities Celine indulged in. That she had no idea where she got it from.

"I found out something about Fay. Something very terrible. If you give me a listening ear, I’ll tell you all I’ve found. But if you’re just going to defend her, then there’s no point," he said.

She stroked her chin for a few seconds, going through the thoughts in her head.

If, and it was a very big if; if he finally bared his heart out, and it was something negative about Fay, she hoped to God he had enough proof to back his claims.

"Go ahead. You won’t get defence from me. I’m going to ask questions," she raised a warning finger. "But I won’t defend."

"I can work with that." He bobbed his head.

"Go ahead then," she urged, reclining into her seat.

He pulled out the file docket he asked Landon to keep in his drawer, and handed it over to her.

"I talked to Fay’s real mum."

"Huh?" She raised a brow. "Isn’t her mother dead?" she asked, accepting the folder.

"That’s what we all thought. Turns out she’s a very good liar."

He could see the disbelief in her eyes, even as much as she tried to mask it.

Holding back, he allowed her to see for herself all the evidence he had.

Picture after picture, she flipped through the pile of it.

Her face remained expressionless as she went through all of the images. Then came the receipts, and she still didn’t budge.

Lastly, her hand touched something Metallic. She pulled it out of the file docket, and brought it to her face.

"A flashdrive?" She questioned, narrowing her gaze at him.

"Yep. There’s supposedly video evidence in there. I couldn’t bring myself to watch it. Not after everything I saw in the pictures."

"Hmmm," she mused, playing with the device in her hand.

These were serious allegations. She didn’t need him to tell her what was being alluded to, for her to know.

It also raised so many questions. If everything was true, it meant Fay had been playing them all.

"How did this all come to be? What’s your theory?"

"Grant," he said in a heartbeat.

"Your personal assistant?"

"Yes. He’s the one that found Fay."

"Funny, because he’s the one that told me the truth about your marriage."

Ace’s eyes sparkled slightly with curiosity. "Is this your way of saying you don’t have a hand in bringing Fay and I together?"

She sucked her teeth. He was so smart, nothing got past him. She hadn’t meant to, but in a split second, she had made an unintended confession.

"Since we’re in the spirit of truth, I’ll tell you mine. I threatened Grant with his family he loved so much, and he sang in his best soprano voice. He begged me not to tell you he had spilled your secret, and I obliged him."

She grew quiet, and he got worried. "Are you going to continue in the path of truth or not?"

She blinked, and focused on him. "Forgive me. I just got lost in my head for a second there," she let out an awkward laughter. "It’s all your fault. I’ve never had a peaceful season."

He nodded in agreement. "That’s true. Now, to your truth."

"I called Fay into my office the day you two came for family dinner. I told her I had plans for her to seduce you and get you to fall in love with her. If everything I’ve seen here is true, she has to be an extraordinary actress. Because she didn’t want to do it at first. But after everything was said and done, she agreed to my conditions."

"You did what?" he let out in an inflected tone, highly disappointed in her.

"Oh don’t act like you’re a saint. You cheated too. Didn’t you marry her just to claim your inheritance after a year? I wanted her with you because I thought she was good for you."

"Past tense," he nodded vigorously. "I’m glad you’ve seen the light, and already changed your mind. I only wish I could get Landon on the same page."

"But why?" She asked in an investigative tone, her intense gaze locking on his face.

"Why what?" He squeezed his face.

"Why have you easily believed all of this?" She leaned forward, her face spread into a flabbergasted expression. "You used to defend her with passion. I could have sworn she had you whipped. Why?"

He moved his mouth to speak like he had readily done before when Landon asked something similar, but found out the words were stuck in his throat.

It was a lie after all. He had been putting up an act, he realised.

The issue wasn’t that he didn’t care. It was unfortunate that he cared too much. He cared too damn much, and he was only just desensitising himself from what was to come.

"Because you’ve always taught me to honour the truth. I dishonoured it by cutting through the corners, and I’m paying for it. Her veil lifting off is my karma. And I’ve chosen to accept it. Why’s that such a bad thing?"

With every word he said, he felt more and more like the liar he was.

"Will you understand me if I say I’d like to conduct an investigation of my own? I like Fay. There’s no doubt about that. Give me time? I’ll get back to you before the event we have coming soon," she said, as she neatly began to place the picture back into the file.

"I can do that. And about the other day—"

"No need to apologise," she interrupted. "I could tell you just wanted to understand. Let’s call a truce." She stretched out her hand to him.

The corner of his lips curved into a smile, as he accepted her peace offering.

Drawing her hands to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss on it.

"I’ll never doubt you again," he said, before letting go.

The drive back home for the matriarch was filled with several thoughts.

First, she didn’t believe anything she saw in those photos. But she had promised. To fulfil all righteousness, she planned to have them investigated.

However, before she proceeded with that action, she stepped out of the car that had just come to a stop.

Her eyes scanned the lengths of the estate, before she continued to the house she was headed.

She was easily let in, and went straight to the house with the black door.

The guard beside her knocked, and the door was opened after the third knock.

Grant froze when he saw the matriarch of the Atticus dynasty standing in front of him.

His body instantly began to tremble. The last time he saw her, she had made him confess about the relationship between Fay and Ace.

That was the same day he knew that whoever thought Celine Atticus was scary, had not met the matriarch.

"Go-od after-noon ma’am," he stuttered.

"Move out of the way, Grant."

He jerked out of the way, not waiting to be told a second time.

She shoved past him, and entered the room.

"I see your place hasn’t changed much. Why have you not thought of redecorating?" She asked, looking around.

"Wo– work ma."

"I see. But you don’t look sick to me. Why did you tell Ace you were?" She whirled, and faced him.

"I—-" he paused, and rushed into the room. Returning with a piece of paper, he projected it to her.

"What’s that supposed to be?"

"Test results ma."

She rolled her eyes. "I don’t need to see that. If you’re sick, you’re sick. All I want to know is everything you know about Fay."