Thunder rumbled above the Smith mansion as Liam's car screeched to a stop outside the estate. He didn't bother shutting the door. He didn't bother removing the keys. He moved like a storm—fast, furious, unstoppable.
Every servant who glimpsed him froze, knowing that his expression meant danger, the kind that could tear down the entire mansion.
The butler stepped forward nervously."Y-Young Master Liam—"
"Where is she?" Liam growled.
The butler swallowed. "M-Madam Grace is in her room—"
Liam didn't wait.
He was already climbing the stairs, his footsteps echoing like thunder. The rage inside him was a barely contained explosion. Every second that Fiona cried in his arms replayed in his mind like gasoline feeding the fire.
Grace had crossed a line.And now she would pay.
He reached her door and didn't bother knocking.
CRASH!The door slammed open as Liam stormed inside.
Grace flinched, the laptop slipping from her hands. "L-Liam?! Why are you—"
His eyes were ice. His presence suffocating.
"Grace," he said slowly, voice so calm it was terrifying, "what have you done?"
Grace staggered backward. "I—I don't understand. Why are you—"
He grabbed the laptop from the floor, pulled up the tab she'd forgotten to close.
The article.
The edited video.
The comments tearing Fiona apart.
Liam lifted his gaze, deadly calm.
"You're bold. I'll give you that."
Grace's stomach dropped. "I-I just… wanted people to know the truth."
"Truth?" Liam's voice sharpened. "You created lies. You twisted everything. You tried to ruin a woman who has never harmed you."
Grace's lips trembled. "She did harm me! She took everything from me—John, our family, our happiness—"
"You did that yourself," Liam snapped. "Your lies destroyed your marriage. Your jealousy destroyed your child."
Grace froze.
Those words were a slap across her soul.
"My… child…" she whispered. Tears welled.
"You think I killed my own baby?"
Liam stared at her with cold disgust. "Your obsession did. Your instability did."
Grace covered her ears. "Stop… stop… I didn't—"
Liam stepped closer, voice like a blade. "You slapped yourself. You framed Fiona. You manipulated everyone. And you think you're innocent?"
Grace's knees buckled, and she sank to the floor. "I-I didn't mean for any of this to go so far… I just—"
She broke down, sobbing.
Liam didn't soften.
"You just wanted to destroy her," he said. "You wanted her gone."
Grace looked up at him, eyes wild."Yes!" she screamed. "Yes, I wanted her gone!"
Her voice cracked.
"She's an orphan, Liam. A nobody. Why was everyone always choosing her? Why did John look at her with guilt? Why did you—YOU—look at her like she mattered?"
Liam's jaw tightened.
Grace clenched her fists, tears streaming.
"Do you know what it feels like? To be replaced? To be treated like dirt? Fiona came into this house and everyone suddenly acted like my feelings didn't matter!"
Liam stared at her with hollow disgust."Grace… Fiona didn't replace you."
"Yes, she did!" Grace sobbed. "Once she arrived, nothing was the same. John questioned me. The family doubted me. You—"
She choked on her words, staring at him with tremulous eyes.
"You used to protect me too, Liam. You used to defend me… But once Fiona came back from the orphanage—once she stepped foot in your life again—you stopped."
Liam's expression didn't change.
Grace inhaled shakily.
"So yes," she whispered, voice trembling with a mixture of fury and despair, "I leaked the footage. I edited it. I twisted it. I sent people to frighten her. I wanted her to disappear."
Her confession hung in the air—heavy, poisonous, irreversible.
Liam's eyes darkened, the fury returning full force.
"You hired people?" he repeated quietly. "To go after her?"
Grace froze.
Liam's voice turned lethal."You sent men to hurt her?"
"N-Not hurt!" Grace cried quickly. "Just… scare her away. Warn her to leave. To stop ruining everything!"
Liam laughed.
A low, humorless, terrifying laugh.
"Grace…" he said, taking a slow step toward her, "you don't understand the consequences of what you've done."
Grace scooted backward until her back hit the wall.
"L-Liam… I'm sorry… I was angry… I didn't mean—"
"Save it," he snapped. "I don't care about your apologies. I care about what you did to Fiona."
Grace swallowed hard. "Are… are you going to hurt me?"
"No," Liam said coldly. "I don't hurt people."
Grace sighed with shaky relief—
"But I expose them."
Her relief shattered.
Liam pulled out his phone and hit call.John answered almost immediately.
"Liam? What's wrong?"
"Come to Grace's room," Liam said. "Now. Bring Father."
Grace paled. "No… no, Liam please—don't tell them—don't show them—"
"It's not up to you anymore."
The door burst open within seconds as John and Mr. Smith entered. John's expression was already exhausted from days of fighting. Mr. Smith looked stern, tense.
"What is going on?" Mr. Smith demanded.
Liam turned the laptop toward them and pressed play.
The edited video.The manipulated captions.Grace's campaign exposing Fiona.
John's entire face drained of color.
"Grace…" he whispered, horrified.
Mr. Smith looked stunned. "Is this… true?"
Grace trembled. "I—I can explain—"
Liam didn't wait.
"She also hired men to threaten Fiona," he said flatly. "She confessed."
John's expression twisted with betrayal.Mr. Smith's eyes hardened with cold fury.
Grace shook her head violently."I didn't mean—It was a mistake—please—"
"Enough," John barked. "You lied. You schemed. You risked someone's life, Grace!"
Mr. Smith stepped forward. "Grace, you've disgraced this family enough. Your behavior has crossed the line."
Grace burst into sobs."Please… don't do this… Liam told me he wouldn't hurt me—"
"I won't," Liam said. "But you will face the consequences."
"Wh—what consequences?" she whispered.
Liam leaned down, voice unforgiving.
"You will publicly confess. Take responsibility. Clear Fiona's name. Or I'll leak the original CCTV footage—the one showing you slapping yourself. And you will lose everything."
Grace gasped in horror.
John looked away, disgusted. He had nothing left to say.
Mr. Smith turned to Liam. "Handle it your way."
Grace collapsed, sobbing into her hands.
Liam turned to leave.
She grabbed his sleeve desperately.
"Liam! Please—don't make me do this. People will laugh at me. They'll call me crazy. They'll—"
"You should've thought of that before you tried to destroy her life," Liam said without mercy.
Grace's tears fell faster.
He pulled his arm away.
"I'm leaving," he said coldly. "Fiona is waiting."
John shut his eyes painfully.
Mr. Smith shook his head.
And Grace remained on the floor, broken, powerless, defeated.
Liam didn't look back.
He took out his phone again and dialed the one person who mattered.
"Fiona," he said when she answered, her voice small and shaky. "I'm coming home."
And for the first time that night, Fiona breathed easier.