Chapter 3 - The Blackwood Mansion
I woke the following morning in a private hospital suite.
My ribs were bruised, my left wrist was fractured, and my body was exhausted from the cold and trauma.
But the doctor had good news.
The baby’s heartbeat was strong.
When I heard that tiny, steady rhythm, I cried so hard that the nurse had to bring me another blanket.
“You're both going to need rest,” Dr. Bennett said gently. “The next few days are important. We’ll monitor you closely.”
“Can I go home?”
The doctor exchanged a glance with Adrian.
Adrian stood near the window with his arms folded.
“Not to your home,” he said.
“I have a house.”
“You have a husband who tried to kill you.”
The bluntness silenced me.
He approached the bed and placed a folder on the table.
Inside were photographs of Michael meeting Ashley in restaurants, hotels, and parking garages.
There were bank statements, insurance documents, and copies of emails discussing a policy worth fifty million dollars for my death alone.
My hands began to shake.
“He planned this before we went to Colorado.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“According to these records, the policy was increased four months ago.”
Four months.
That was when Michael had begun insisting we needed more financial security before our child arrived.
He had told me the policy was for the baby’s future.
I had signed the paperwork without reading every page.
“I trusted him,” I whispered.
Adrian's expression softened slightly.
“Trusting someone doesn't make you responsible for their betrayal.”
I looked at the photographs again.
“Why are you helping me?”
He remained silent for several seconds.
Then he pulled a chair beside my bed.
“Your father, Daniel Hayes, worked for my family before he died. He was an accountant, but he discovered that my uncle was using legitimate companies to move money for criminal organizations.”
“My father was a bookkeeper.”
“That was his cover.”
I stared at him.
Adrian continued.
“He gathered evidence. Before he could deliver it, his car went off a mountain road. The police called it an accident. Your brother, Thomas, disappeared six months later.”
My throat tightened.
“Thomas ran away.”
“That's what you were told.”
Adrian placed a photograph in front of me.
It showed my father standing beside a younger Adrian and a teenage boy.
My brother.
On the back, someone had written a date and four words.
If anything happens, find Adrian.
I could barely breathe.
“Where is Thomas?”
Adrian's face became unreadable.
“I don't know.”
The answer hurt more than I expected.
“But I know someone has been searching for him. And I believe your husband may have become involved with the same people who destroyed your family.”
I looked toward the window.
The mountains stretched across the horizon, beautiful and merciless.
Michael had tried to erase me for money.
Now I had a reason to live beyond revenge.
I had a child to protect.
A brother to find.
And a truth powerful people had spent eleven years trying to bury.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
Adrian nodded.
“Then we start with the woman who helped your husband plan the trip.”
“Ashley?”
“No.”
May you like
He opened another folder.
“Your mother-in-law.”
