The rain seemed to grow louder outside, drumming against the heavy leaded windows.

I took a step back, closer to the door of the study.

I watched the three of them tear each other apart.

The silence I had kept for months was finally paying off.

“I did what was necessary to keep her quiet,” Conrad said.

He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out his own silver-plated phone.

“She wanted ten million,” Conrad said. “I offered five.”

“You used my name,” Grant whispered.

His face had gone completely grey.

“You let me believe I was the one who got her pregnant,” Grant said. “You let me ruin my marriage.”

“Your marriage was already ruined, Grant,” Conrad said.

He began typing on his screen, his thumb moving with methodical precision.

“I am authorizing the wire now,” Conrad said to the room. “Once she has the funds, she signs the non-disclosure agreement.”

“She won’t sign it,” I said.

My voice was quiet, but it cut through the tension in the room.

Conrad paused, his thumb hovering over his screen.

He looked at me, his eyes narrowing into cold slits.