Chapter 17 - THE GHOST RETURNSGrayson’s father, Arthur Maddox, had vanished twenty years ago after destroying what little family they had left, leaving Grayson to claw his way out of poverty alone. Grayson had buried his memory deep beneath layers of wealth, corporate success, and absolute emotional detachment.
"You died," Grayson said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, low whisper.
“People like me don't die that easily, son,” Arthur rasped through the static. “And now I’m back in New York. I’m old, I’m sick, and I need a place to stay. Let's see if the great billionaire son has any room in his fancy brownstone for his flesh and blood.”
"You have no son," Grayson hissed, slamming the phone down onto the receiver.
His chest heaved. His hands shook. The cold, unyielding armor he had spent years constructing cracked wide open, exposing the terrified, neglected boy he used to be.
Amelia walked over quietly, setting Chloe down on her play mat, and placed a gentle hand on Grayson’s rigid arm.
"Gray... who was on the phone?" she asked softly, her eyes filled with deep concern.
"It was him," Grayson choked out, running a hand over his face. "My father. He’s alive."
Amelia’s breath hitched. She knew the stories—the brutal winters, the empty cupboards, the violence that had driven Grayson to swear off human attachment and pour his entire soul into building a cold, unbreakable fortress of money.
"He wants something," Amelia said perceptively.
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"He wants to destroy everything I've built," Grayson muttered, staring blankly at the wall. "He’s going to come after us, Amelia. I have to stop him before he finds out about Chloe."
Hook: The billionaire’s darkest secret comes back to haunt him, putting his wife and daughter directly in the path of a monster.
