He tightened his arm around Julia. At long last, his ex-wife would no longer be able to hurt her or anyone in his family.
He breathed a sigh of relief at the idea that he’d no longer need to worry about his family’s lives. Lydia had made her last move on the chessboard, and he’d countered. Check and mate.
Next to him, Julia’s features paled as the newscaster continued on her spiel, her jaw unhinging.
“Wow,” Alicia said as they moved to the next story. “Didn’t see that coming.”
She twisted to face her sister, her features pinching. “Juju? You okay?”
“Y-yeah. Just shocked.” Julia shifted her weight, her gaze falling to the floor.
“Sit down,” Alicia said as she wrapped an arm around her and guided her to the sofa.
Grant poured her a brandy and delivered it, sinking onto the couch next to her. She seemed to be taking the news badly. He couldn’t understand why after what Lydia had put her through.
She sipped the drink, a far-off look in her eyes as the news played in the background.
“Julia, you okay?”
She shifted her gaze to him, her features taut with an emotion he couldn’t read. “Yes, just…shocked.”
“So am I. Though I can’t say that I’m upset about it. She’s put us through hell these last two years.”
“Yeah, after what I’ve seen in the short time I’ve been here, I’d say crack open a bottle of champagne,” Alicia agreed. “But I’m a bitch, so…”
“You’re not,” Julia said as she grabbed her sister’s hand.
“I kind of am, and I don’t care what anybody says, I’m with Grant. This is good news. Ding dong, the witch is dead.”
Grant rubbed Julia’s back as she stared into space again. What was bothering her so much about this?
“I wonder why the police think it’s suspicious?” Ethan asked as he rubbed his chin. “She fell. It could have been an accident or suicide.”
Julia shifted in her seat as she raised her eyes to her brother-in-law. “That’s not normal, right? They must have some reason for that.”
“They must have a hell of a good reason for it,” Alicia said. “Most cases like this would be assumed to be suicide until proven otherwise.”
“So, they have some evidence?” She lifted the brandy to her lips again, and Grant couldn’t miss the tremor in her hand.
Alicia rose from her seat and paced the floor. “I’d say they do. I wonder if we can pull anything using our logins at Harbor Cove.”
“We don’t need that,” Julia answered.
Alicia twisted to eye her. “Oh, right, I mean, if you don’t want to know, that’s fine. I thought you may be curious, but maybe you’d just prefer to put this behind you and move on.”
Grant pulled Julia closer to him, noticing the stiffness in her body. “I think that’s for the best. After what she put this family through, we deserve to put her out of our minds and move on.”
He rubbed Julia’s shoulder as he glanced down at her, his brow furrowing at her reaction.
She shifted her gaze to him, offering him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’re right. We shouldn’t dwell on it.”
She offered him another less-than-genuine smile before she returned her gaze to her sister.
“Sure,” Alicia said. “Well, I guess I don’t need to worry so much about you now, which is a huge relief.”
“I agree.” Grant rubbed Julia’s arm as he kissed the top of her head. “I won’t have to pull you out of any more fires.”
“Hey, I think, technically, I pulled you out of that fire.”
