<h4>Chapter 243: The yer Gets His Comeuppance</h4>


    Grace noticed the pain in Henry’s eyes and froze for a moment. "Son, are you really okay?"


    "Why would you break things just because you’re in a bad mood? Henry, you’re being so immature. You’re already a junior in college—if you don’t grow up soon, you’ll be graduating!" James, hearing this, breathed an inner sigh of relief.


    It was the first time he’d seen his son lose it like that and smash things. Something must have really shaken him.


    Henry tried his best not to look at Grace’s deceitful face. He couldn’t let James know the truth about what had happened!


    In Henry’s mind, James, all in all, was a good father.


    But as for Grace, he didn’t know how to face her. Once she found out that he had overheard those words, how could they even interact anymore?


    "Dad, I was wrong. I’ll... I’ll do better!" Henry panted, feeling a sharp pain in his chest.


    "That’s good. You and your mom should have a heart-to-heart. I’m going to make a few phone calls."


    With that, James hurried out of the study.


    Henry gazed nkly out the window at the dim streetlights. Grace patted him on the back. "Is it... because a girl you like was taken by someone else?"


    Henry chuckled softly. "Yeah... she and I, we’re impossible now."


    Hisughter was filled with a tragic bitterness.


    If only Grace hadn’t married James, maybe he’d have had the courage to fight Eric for E!


    But now, what right did he have to fight? E hated stepmothers who were as venomous as a snake, and Grace was exactly that!


    He felt ashamed. He wanted to disappear.


    "If that’s the case, then why not move on? There’s no reason to be hung up on one person. Listen to me, go out and chat with your friends—you might meet someone even better," Grace gently encouraged him, but to Henry, it felt like a cruel joke.


    Suddenly, he looked up, his eyes piercing. "If you think that way, then why... why did you marry Dad in the first ce? If you hadn’t, maybe my brother’s real mom wouldn’t have jumped off that building."


    Grace stared at Henry, stunned. "Son... what are you talking about? I..."


    Henry stood up, his head throbbing, hiding a flicker of resentment in his eyes. "I’m really annoyed. I need to go for a walk!"


    "Henry, you’re upset right now. Don’t go wandering around... please be careful, okay?"


    Grace didn’t chase after him, but watched him leave, worry written all over her face. She quietly went to the balcony, watching as Henry drove off. Sighing softly, she dialed a number she hadn’t saved in her phone.


    "Henry wrecked the study. Maybe E upset him... didn’t you give him the quality report from Davis Group? Ugh, how... how did he end up falling for that girl?"


    "What are you worried about? Once Eric’s dead, that woman will be his."


    A coldugh came from the other end of the line.


    "Enough, don’t call me again. That’s it!" The man hung up.


    But a chilling glint shed in Grace’s eyes. Henry’s odd behavior earlier had convinced her that it was E who triggered him.


    She had once considered setting a fire to burn both E and Eric to death, to prevent her son from falling for his so-called sister-inw!


    After all, something like that would be a scandal of epic proportions!


    But who would’ve thought Eric and E would survive that attempt.


    Now that Henry was acting so erratically, it seemed that killing E was no longer an option. She’d have to wait patiently for that man to make his next move.


    "Boss, we’ve verified the voice—it’s exactly who you predicted!"


    Eric was watching a movie with E when he received a call from John.


    A cold gleam shed in Eric’s eyes. "Good. You’ve all worked hard. Inform the team to investigate everyone connected to that person. Now that we have the recording, victory is in our grasp."


    "Yes, Boss!"


    "And double everyone’s bonus this month."


    "Thank you, Boss!"


    After hanging up, Eric’s dark eyes were filled with a lethal sharpness. E turned around just in time to catch his expression, and it startled her.


    "What’s wrong?" This dangerous side of Eric made her uneasy, and she instinctively tightened her grip on his hand.


    Eric gently kissed her soft lips. "Nothing. Just rx and watch your romance movie. If you’re bored, we can always switch to a romantic action film."


    "Shh, keep it down! Mrs. Harris is still outside..." E whispered, her face flushing slightly.


    Eric chuckled, clearly in a good mood. In fact, after giving Henry that earring bug, he had kept a spare.


    So now, he had Grace’s recording in his hands.


    For over a decade, he had kept a close watch on Grace’s every move, but until now, she hadn’t made any missteps.


    He had never imagined that the cautious and meticulous Grace would meet that man in a secret room at the beauty salon.


    Eric had people measure the dimensions of the salon just to figure out if there was a hidden room. Once he had the measurements,paring them with the interior design ns Brian had provided, it all became clear. Grace had been hiding something all this time, and the key was her weekly visits to the salon, where she was up to no good.


    Now that they had uncovered the man’s identity, everything else would fall into ce.


    "You seem pretty happy. Is there new progress?" E whispered.


    Eric nodded. "Yes, there’s been progress. But... my scumbag of a father, he’s in for a serious blow."


    Eric smiled lightly as he spoke.


    E blinked, "No matter what, please be careful, okay?"


    "Yeah, yeah, you’re so naggy!"


    E leaned into Eric’s chest, feeling like everything was perfect, her heart at peace, as if she had found an unshakable rock to lean on forever.


    Just then, Eric’s phone rang again.


    It was a call from Henry.


    E nced at the name, surprised. "Why is he calling you?"


    Eric chuckled, "Listen, and you’ll find out."


    E quickly leaned closer, just in time to hear Henry’s voice on the call.


    Henry’s voice was filled with despair and pleading. "I... I lost."


    Eric smirked slightly, surprised that Henry hadn’t tried to hide anything from him. It seemed like the spare recording wouldn’t be necessary after all.


    "I’m sorry... Brother, please, I’m begging you—let her go, okay? She’s my mother... She raised me. I’m so sorry about what happened to your mother. You can send her to prison, but please... please just spare her, okay?"