Unfinished Business
873 Words
The next day, Tessa didn’t let me in.
She spotted Grayson’s car in a parking spot across from her house. The outline of the driver in the cabin looked like he hadn’t moved at all overnight. Maybe he had.
She didn’t wave. Didn’t acknowledge him.
Because if she did… she might start to care again.
And she couldn’t afford that.
Not when her daughter was involved. Not when the past had claws sharp enough to draw blood.
Instead, she pulled the curtains shut and focused on breakfast.
“Pancakes today,” she told Lila, forcing cheer into her voice.
Lila grinned. “With extra syrup?”
“As much as your teeth can handle.”
The soft laugh at her daughter brought peace and comforted her chest. Still, if Tessa was making pancakes and pouring juice, she couldn’t get the discussion with Grayson out of her mind.
Aaron threatened him.
Aaron destroyed everything good.
It should have made things easier. Simpler.
But instead, it only confirmed what she feared most—that she had spent years loving a lie. Raising her daughter in the shadow of a man who manipulated and controlled her without her even realizing it.
She carried the guilt like a stone in her chest.
By noon, Lila was down for her nap and the house had settled into its usual silence.
Until the doorbell rang.
Tessa opened it slowly this time, expecting a neighbor or more condolences.
Instead, she found a stranger standing on her porch.
Tall. Blonde. Designer coat. Cold eyes.
“Can I help you?” Tessa asked cautiously.
She smiled, however, it held no real feelings. Is your name Tessa Wolfe?
“Yes…”
“I’m Natalie. Aaron’s attorney.”
Tessa stiffened. “Attorney? I thought everything was settled.”
Natalie told her, “Only a few little gaps are left now.” “May I?”
Tessa said no, but Rosie had stepped inside anyway.
She looked at the living room as if counting the objects inside.
“My work includes acting on behalf of some of Aaron’s business interests,” she said. “He left behind more than debts and condolences.”
Tessa folded her arms. “I’m aware.”
Natalie turned, her expression sharpening. “Then you’ll understand when I say that Aaron’s holdings are now being evaluated for liquidation. Properties, assets… and connections.”
Tessa narrowed her eyes. “What kind of connections?”
Natalie smiled again, this time with venom. “Let’s just say Aaron wasn’t exactly the upstanding citizen everyone believed. There were… investments. Off-the-books transactions. Ties to men who don’t like being owed.”
Tessa felt her stomach fall. Do you mean to intimidate me?
Natalie warned him with a cool tone. “Whatever secrets Aaron left behind—they won’t die with him. And unfortunately, you and your daughter are still very much alive.”
Before Tessa could respond, another voice cut in.
“She doesn’t need your cryptic threats.”
Tessa turned.
Grayson was standing at the door, looking firm and angry with his mouth clenched.
She never seemed the least uncomfortable. “Still playing the watchdog, Grayson?”
“Still preying on widows?” he shot back.
The tension crackled.
Natalie watched them both before giving a little smirk. I’ll call you again, Mrs. Wolfe. Sooner than you think.”
She left without another word.
The silence she left behind was heavier than before.
Tessa finally turned to Grayson. “How much time have you been standing out there?”
“Long enough to hear her slimy voice.”
“You knew her?”
“She worked for Aaron. Mostly as a fixer. If something shady needed cleaning up, Natalie was on speed dial.”
Tessa sat down slowly, her head spinning.
Grayson moved closer. I’ve decided not to let you or Lila face any danger. I swear.”
She turned her eyes upward to meet his. Why do you believe you’re capable of protecting us? You left once.”
“I didn’t have a choice then. But I do now.”
He squatted down so that he was at eye level with her eyes.
You don’t have to pay me back, Tessa. Not forgiveness. Not even a second chance. But Aaron’s mess is still unfolding. And if I can, I’ll root out all the harmful effects he left on our relationship.
She looked closely at his face to see if he was lying. But there was only a fire there. And pain. And something that looked dangerously close to hope.
She barely managed to whisper, “I’m not sure if I can trust you.”
Then let me show you it deserves me.
Again, she could not sleep that night.
She wasn’t obsessed with Doug in the way she was before.
The arrival of the man who’d disappeared caused her distress.
Grayson had never truly left her heart. Not completely. He was the what-if, the almost, the truth that had been buried beneath years of fear and survival.
But now, all those emotions were bleeding through the cracks.
And with Natalie’s warning echoing in her head, she knew one thing for certain:
Her quiet life was over.
And the past was coming for them all.
- Writer
