CHAPTER 11: GRAYSON

Grayson arrives at the Haywood-Astyria in Phoenix and secures a privileged suite using a black-and-gold hotel card rather than giving his name. Still unsettled by his encounter with Gigi and the safe-deposit key around her neck, Grayson arranges for the hotel pool to be closed so he can swim alone.

Grayson pushes his body through a brutal swim, using physical exhaustion to avoid thinking about Gigi, Sheffield Grayson, the hidden safe-deposit box, and the painful contrast between Gigi’s memories of a present father and Grayson’s own knowledge of Sheffield’s cruelty. Grayson frames control as the true opposite of weakness, but Xander’s texts interrupt the attempt to shut everything out.

After showering in the suite, Grayson calls Xander and immediately insists that Grayson is fine. Xander reveals that Xander knows Grayson is in Phoenix and has not yet told Jameson, Avery, or Nash, making it clear that Xander expects honesty.

Grayson explains the facts: Sheffield Grayson was married when Grayson was conceived, slept with Skye to hurt Tobias Hawthorne over Colin’s death in the Hawthorne Island fire, and later had twin daughters. Grayson insists that the girls are his responsibility and that Gigi and her twin can never learn the truth about what kind of man Sheffield was or what happened to him.

Grayson tells Xander that Gigi’s police trouble is not truly resolved and that the safe-deposit box may contain evidence tying Sheffield to the bombing of Avery’s plane or Avery’s kidnapping. Because that could then connect Avery to Sheffield’s disappearance, Grayson vows that Gigi cannot open the box. Xander warns that protecting Avery will require Grayson to lie to Gigi, sabotage her, gain her trust, and betray her; Grayson accepts this and extends his hotel stay to at least a week.