Run, Girl (If You Can)

October 2017, in another life

The man Lacy knew as Mr. Gray was getting very annoyed with his accomplice. In the nearly four years they had been working together to replace Keeley Hale very little progress had been made. He couldn't understand it.

She couldn't bear Aaron any children, which was practically a prerequisite for being a high society wife. She brought no financial benefits to the marriage. Rumors had been running rampant that he wasn't pleased with his wife. So why hadn't he divorced her yet?

He needed Lacy to take that woman's place so he could control Aaron through her. Then he would take away everything Alistair, Aaron, and all of the Hales ever worked for.

She was such an idiot. How could she possibly think he was on her side? He was on his own side—she was nothing but a tool he would use to destroy the Hale family permanently. It was the least he could do after all they had made him suffer.

His blood boiled just thinking about the life of luxury they got to lead at the expense of others. Especially Aaron. He had everything Gray ever wanted and didn't appreciate any of it!

"Your petty rumormongering isn't working," he said as he tapped his fingers against his desk impatiently. "If you can't find a foolproof way to take Keeley Hale's place, I'll replace you. There are plenty of other women who could do a better job than you."

Of course, this wasn't true. Nobody on this earth was as obsessed with Aaron Hale as Lacy Knighton was. He wouldn't be able to find someone else with the same level of dedication.

"She's impossible to break!" she fumed. "I would have thought even if Aaron didn't divorce her already that she would have just up and left him by now. Yet every time I see her she has this annoyingly tranquil hostess expression on her face like nothing in the world affects her."

Gray wouldn't know; he wasn't a part of high society. Everything he knew about Keeley Hale came from other people rather than his own observations. He had never even met the woman.

"You already took away her ability to have children. What more can you take from her?"

An evil light filled Lacy's eyes as an idea dawned on her. "Her father. He's the only family she has left—I know because he was the only person from her side that came to the wedding way back when."

This might actually work. Gray's entire world had collapsed when his mother died. If she became catatonic Aaron would have to get rid of her since she wouldn't be able to attend society functions anymore.

There was already a lot of gossip when she vanished for nearly a year following the pregnancy scheme. Too much gossip attached to the Hale name would be bad for business. If nothing else, the Hales cared about their business.

"How are you going to do this? It can't be suspicious," Gray warned.

She smiled prettily. "I happen to be best friends with a wannabe racecar driver. Give me information about Robert Hall's daily habits and he can zip in and out of there without anybody seeing. Hit and runs are one of the least solved crimes, you know."

Hmm. Simple but effective. It would be an easy way to remove the man from the picture without causing too many ripples. People died in car accidents all the time. Sometimes this woman had her uses.

"I'll get the information to you by the end of the week. Get it done as soon as possible," he instructed.

It would be interesting to see how Keeley Hale reacted. Poor girl. She got herself entangled with the wrong family, just like his mother.

===

April 2018, in another life

"You said it would work! She hasn't been to any society events in months but he still hasn't divorced her," Lacy said crossly.

She paced back and forth across the room, her designer heels clicking as she went. What a horrible sound. It was grating on Gray's ears but he couldn't say a thing because he needed to remain on this irritating woman's good side until he could dispose of her.

"Aaron has to be close to his breaking point," he said soothingly. Ugh, how annoying. "Now is your time to swoop in and seduce him."

She paused and glared at her ally. "You say that like I haven't been trying. Honestly. I'm far more beautiful than she is. He only recently started speaking to me again. He's been barely polite the past few years."

Gray felt a rare moment of sympathy for his enemy. If he were Aaron, he would be barely polite to this piece of plastic as well.

His voice hardened. "You have to get him to sleep with you. If you have a child—even if it isn't the next heir—Aaron's parents will force him to accept you."

Lacy rolled her eyes. "You could at least pretend to have a little faith in me."

No, he couldn't. She was completely incompetent. Aaron Hale would likely rather sleep with a dead pig before he slept with this horrid woman.

However…he had been spotted with her more than a few times now. If they kept things up and the rumors kept flying around it wouldn't matter whose baby Lacy actually carried. The Hales would be forced to accept responsibility.

Even if they did a DNA test after the baby was born it wouldn't matter if she was already married into the family. They would hush things up to prevent a scandal since the Hale parents wanted Aaron to marry her from the beginning anyway.

How troublesome. Gray may be forced to do this himself. Well, she was beautiful for a viper. If he ignored what she was actually like this might not be too much of a chore.

This was a better plan anyway. Aaron Hale was a cold, dead fish. Children needed affection. If Gray planted his child in the Hale household and nurtured it from the outside so it was loyal to him, taking the Hales down from within would be a piece of cake.