Beach House, Hamptons
David changed his plan as he stepped out of the manor and his eyes wandered automatically to the beach house. Amanda had betrayed him. He would teach her a lesson. No one would get in his way, not even his own daughter. He couldn't allow himself becoming sentimental. He had come too far to get everything ruined. Determined, he went over to the beach house and knocked firmly at the entrance door. He was surprised when the door was opened immediately.
"Come in!" She took his arm and pulled him into the house. "I don't want anyone to see us."
He followed her inside, and she closed the door behind him. For a moment they stood facing each other. He had wanted to tell her so much, but now words failed him. She looked so vulnerable as she was standing in front of him.
"What have you done?"
It was the same question Victoria had already asked. But hearing it from Amanda it sounded much more like an accusation. She was disappointed in him. He could clearly see that. And it moved something in him that he had thought lost. "I don't know what you mean." Perhaps it was better to deny everything. No one could prove his involvment in the kidnapping.
"Why did you kill Conrad?"
He was surprised about her open, confrontational nature. But she had been like this as a child. Amanda had always spoken frankly.
"Your silence tells me I hit the mark. Am I right?" She tilted her head and looked at him curiously.
He couldn't explain why he suddenly felt the need to justify himself. "Why do you think I should have done that?" He asked.
"You threatened him." She jerked her shoulders casually and then raised her head and looked at him with a firm look. "Charlotte has been listening to you, and she came to me to ask for help, and together with Nolan we drove to the South Fork Inn because we suspected Conrad there. We wanted to warn him, but it was too late." She took a deep breath before continuing. "We found his suite empty, but apparently your contract killer did a poor job because he left a blood spot on the carpet."
One thing he had to give her. She had a good sense for detective work. He was also impressed that she apparently accepted the fact that her father was a murderer. "If you think I've let your father-in-law killed, are you not afraid I could do the same with you?" He looked at her with a curious look.
"No. Do you think I would have let you in if I hadn't prepared myself before?" She asked sarcastically, pulling out a weapon out of nowhere.
He raised his arms as he stared into the barrel of a small-caliber pistol. "You wouldn't do that," he said, but a look into her eyes made him realize she would be capable of doing so. All the warmth had disappeared. So not only had he changed in the twenty years, Amanda had, too. "You wouldn't shoot your own father," he tried again.
"You are no longer my father! You have become a monster!"
He flinched involuntarily. It hurt to hear the words from her mouth. "He's alive," he said without thinking. "Conrad is not dead!" He repeated once more as he saw her disbelieving expression. "It's true, I've hired someone to kidnap him and then take him to a safe place."
"You lie because you want to save your skin!" She held the gun a little higher, toward his eyes, while she continued to stare at him incredulously.
"I swear to you, I tell the truth!" He easily shifted his position and looked at her with a pleading look. "He's in an underground dungeon."
"And the blood on the carpet?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"They have used a sedative dart to put him to sleep," he said. "I was not there, but I think he might have been hurt when he fell." He closed his eyes for a moment. Now the truth was out, and strangely enough, he felt relieved, even though he was aware that he had surrendered to Amanda. He saw her slowly lowering the pistol, but still holding on to it.
"Take me there!" she decided.
"Where? To the dungeon?" He asked, confused.
She nodded. "You have to forgive me, I'm a little skeptical, if you tell the truth, where you've lied to me all the time." She glanced at him, a mixture of skepticism and mistrust. "What would have been the next step? Would you have him killed or tortured?" she interrogated him further.
His dismay was not even played. She seemed to really believe that he was a monster. "No." He shook his head. "You might not believe me, but I didn't want to do anything like that. Although I would have threatened him to kill his family," he said reluctantly. "What I never would have done," he added. "But I think that this threat alone would have brought him to reason. I would have given him a new identity, and he could have started a new life somewhere else." He shrugged. "Conrad Grayson would have been dead for his family and the public eye, kidnapped and murdered."
"You wanted him to go through the same," Emily concluded.
David nodded. "Only that I would have stood on the other side, I would have had the fame, the wealth, Grayson Global, Victoria ..." He sighed deeply and ran through his short hair. "Why did you have to interfere? I was that close to get everything back..." He showed the distance by putting together thumb and pointing finger.
"You wanted revenge." She nodded slightly, still holding the pistol in her hand. "I understand that better than you might think. I wanted the same when I came here, and I almost lost everything. It was almost too late when I realized how much I had changed. I literally walked over dead bodies, used people for my purposes, deceived and manipulated them." She looked at him thoughtfully. "I was back on my way to jail. A return to my old life seemed impossible, but then I was shot, fell overboard and lost my memory." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It was my chance to start a new life, and I took it. I'd spent years on taking vengeance , but I had enough of it. I wanted to live a normal life again, fall in love, feel joy. I had to learn everything new, but I had people who helped me. So I learned to trust and ultimately to forgive again. I won't forget what they did to you and me. But I'm a Grayson now, my son is a Grayson, just like the man I love." She went to the table and put the gun on it. "You're right, I'm not capable of killing you because you're just a part of me as the Graysons are, and ... because I've become a different person," she added softly.
He nodded. There was a time when he felt the same way. But was it really that easy to forget everything and start a new life? It sounded so simple when she said that. After what he had done, could he really go back to what he had been? He pointed to the door. "Come with me!" He demanded. "I'll take you to Conrad."
She looked at him skeptically. "Who tells me that you won't hold me captive, too?"
He raised his eyebrows amused. "You're talking about forgiveness all the time, then maybe you should have a little more faith." He noticed her hesitation. "Do I take from your hesitation, that you still doubt me?"
"Let's go!"
He looked at her for a moment, frowning. It was not an answer to his question, but it was more than he could expect in the situation. He felt relieved that she left the gun in the beach house as she followed him out and closed the door behind them.
