Grace Woodward

Grace Woodward is Melissa's mother, Kevin's wife, and Iris's older half-sister. She is mentioned many times, but never seen in-game (apart from a drawing Melissa does in Kyle's notebook).

Background
She did not have a stable childhood home, as the family constantly moved so her mother could continue attempts to find a suitable man for herself. Iris claims she doesn't remember Grace's father at all, "but it didn't matter." The two were best friends growing up; when Iris was upset, Grace would put her favorite doll between her sister's arms, hold her, and soothe her until she calmed down. However, their mother was killed in the 1960 Las Vegas plane crash, when Grace was thirteen. The children were paid a sizable amount of money, but the man their mother had been dating when she died stole it from them. Grace and Iris ended up in separate orphanages and lost contact for many years.

Years later, the two met up again. Iris was working at a diner in Santa Monica, and recognized Grace right away. They reunited; at this point, Grace had graduated college, she and Kevin were engaged, and Iris describes her as having looked "radiant." The sisters promised to stay in contact, but Iris fled, ashamed of what she had become.

When she and Kevin were first married, Grace was working at Gallery May. She took time off when Melissa was born, but returned to work by the time their daughter was two, having missed it too much to quit forever.

Two years before the events of Hotel Dusk, Kevin lost a patient and was sued for malpractice. He lost the case and was sentenced to pay a large amount of money to the patient's family. Since they didn't have that much money and their insurance wouldn't cover it, he asked Grace for a divorce, since he didn't want to burden her and Melissa with his problem. She refused, saying that she wouldn't let that ruin their family. Around that time, she tracked Iris down through an agency after recognizing her in a magazine photo. Iris was shocked at how despondent her sister looked. Grace begged her for help getting a large sum of money, but refused to tell her what it was for (paying off what Kevin owed after he was sued for malpractice). When Iris responded that she was unable to help, Grace broke down sobbing and apologizing, saying she didn't care about the money, she just wanted to see her sister again. She also said that seeing her gave her the courage to "do what she needed to do" to save her family.

Some time later, Grace stayed at Hotel Dusk for one night. During her stay, she blackmailed Dunning into giving her one "Osterzone" painting. Dunning obliged and Grace left the next morning. It is implied that she got the money her family needed through Nile in exchange for the painting.

After giving her husband the money, she made him promise not to ask her where she got it from. Kevin agreed at first, but grew curious overtime. This lead to them arguing many times, with Kevin needing an answer to where the money came from and Grace determined not to tell him so he would not be involved. This also strained her relationship with Melissa, who witnessed the fights and the effects it had on her mother. Kevin stopped trusting her and she fled six months prior to game events.

At that time, Grace mailed Iris an envelope with a cassette tape and a letter. She explained she'd done something terrible in order to raise the money she needed, and if Iris didn't hear from her by Christmas, she was to take the tape to Hotel Dusk and give it to "the man who painted the angel."

Hotel Dusk: Room 215
Grace is never seen in-game, but Kyle learns about her through her family members. Early in the evening, Melissa will draw a picture of her in Kyle's notebook.

During the final chat with Iris, she says she knows Grace will come home one day. According to Melissa, Kevin told her the same thing that morning.

Trivia

 * According to Melissa, Grace is very good at baking cakes.