A Divorce He Regrets (Raina and Alexander) novel Chapter 360

KYE

My heart pounded as I picked the drive. Do I really want to know?

The flash drive sat in my palm like it weighed a hundred pounds. It was small and harmless looking like it could just as easily contain a playlist or a stack of homework. But I knew better. Whatever is inside can crack everything open and my reality might be nothing but a lie.

I twirled it around in my fingers, staring at it as the metal glint under the desk lamp. This had to be a lie. It had to be

The Osborne family had fed me stories my whole life about building our legacy on clean, polished marble. We were fighters, victims of betrayal, but monsters. My grandfather? Yes, he was a ruthless man just like how my grandmother was, but the butcher the whispers and files in front of me painted him to be? No, that was impossible. If we’re all for family, why would my grandfather’s brother kill him?

Still, my stomach wouldn’t settle. I need to find out what this is all about. I reached for my phone and dialed a number that I had never called that late… grandma, but it went straight to voicemail. Figured. She was probably asleep, wrapped up in her silk sheets and blissful denial. I wonder what my own grandma would have been like if she was still alive.

So I hit the next best thing… uncle Dylan. And as usual he picked up on the second ring, his voice sharp with irritation. “It’s almost midnight so this better be good.”

I hesitated. “Uncle, I need to ask you something.”

A beat of silence. “And what is that?”

“Is it true that Grandfather, your dad… that he was responsible for… for what happened to my grandparents?” My throat tightened around the words.

“Okay,” I murmured quickly, though the words felt foreign. “Thank you for clarifying.”

He was breathing hard on the other end. Then, after a liar, his voice shifted… it was smoother and calculated. “Forget it, Kye. Don’t go digging around for useless things, okay? You’ve got more important things to do. Don’t forget why you’re there.”

“I won’t,” I replied automatically.

“Good.” His voice dropped, sounding dangerously calm. “Don’t disappoint me.”