My Son Betrayed Me, I Dumped His Dad

Chapter 4

Gerald's home was done up in classic American style.

As soon as he stepped through the door, he headed straight for the study to set up the chess board.

I sank down onto the sofa.

Alyssa shuffled over to me and mumbled suddenly, "Actually... Dad Gerald isn't my real dad."

I nodded. "Mm, I know that."

This old story was hardly a secret in the industry, but no one dared bring it up in front of Gerald or Alyssa.

After Alyssa's biological parents died in an accident, Gerald, her dad's younger brother, had taken her in and raised her like his own daughter.

She heaved a sigh like a tiny grown-up.

"Good thing you know. That takes a weight off my chest."

"Good thing I haven't been holding him back."

Her way-too-mature act piqued my curiosity. "Holding him back from what?"

Alyssa shot me a meaningful look and clammed up immediately.

Just then, the study door creaked open.

Gerald stepped out.

"The board's all set. Come on in."

On the study desk lay a chessboard displaying an extraordinarily complex and eerie endgame.

Black and white pieces were locked in a deadly struggle, the king's safety and the pawn's promotion hanging by a thread. It was indeed the most intractable puzzle I had ever encountered.

For an instant, I felt as if I had been transported back a decade. My blood surged, my entire being ignited with that familiar fire.

I sank into the position, my fingertips unconsciously hovering above the board, tracing invisible paths through the air, searching for that single, elusive key that would pierce through the fog.

Ring ring ring!

A phone's ringtone cut through the quiet out of nowhere.

It was Harry.

"We're still in the divorce cooling-off period. You can change your mind any time. It wouldn't bother me at all."