Chapter 7 - THE BETRAYAL
The hospital admitted me overnight.
Grace was stable.
The doctor ordered bed rest.
I was furious.
"I can't stay here."
"You can."
"I have a company."
"You have a baby."
I had no argument.
Detective Alvarez arrived later.
He sat beside my bed.
"We found the source of the messages."
"Who?"
"Kelsey's phone."
My stomach dropped.
"But she didn't send them."
"Correct."
"Then who?"
"We're tracing it."
He hesitated.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"Kelsey isn't actually pregnant."
I stared.
"What?"
"Medical records show she underwent a procedure last year that made pregnancy impossible."
I couldn't speak.
"Then why did she say she was pregnant?"
"To strengthen your father's succession story."
I felt sick.
"Did my father know?"
"Yes."
The room became silent.
"So the heir was a lie."
"Looks that way."
My father's entire plan had been built around a nonexistent child.
Then I remembered Daniel's land.
The company.
The estate.
Everything.
He needed me out.
He needed the public to believe I was unstable.
He needed control.
And he needed an heir to justify it.
Kelsey had played the role.
My father had played along.
But there was still one missing piece.
Who had caused Daniel's crash?
Detective Alvarez placed a file on the bed.
"Victor gave us information."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"He says your father hired someone to follow Daniel."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
"We're still identifying the person."
"Why would Victor suddenly cooperate?"
"Because we offered him immunity for testimony."
I closed my eyes.
Then the door opened.
My father entered.
Two officers followed him.
He looked at me.
"Emily."
I stared.
"You have no right to be here."
"I'm your father."
"Not anymore."
He looked at the officers.
"They said I could speak with you."
One officer nodded.
"Five minutes."
My father approached.
"I made mistakes."
"That's what you call this?"
"I wanted to protect the family."
"You wanted the land."
"I wanted what your husband took from us."
"Daniel didn't take anything."
"He destroyed my business."
"No."
I stared at him.
"You destroyed your own business."
His face hardened.
"You think you're better than me?"
"No."
"I built everything."
"Then why are you trying to steal from your daughter?"
Silence.
His eyes filled with something I couldn't identify.
Regret?
Anger?
Fear?
Then he whispered:
"Because I was terrified."
I didn't expect that.
"Of what?"
"Being irrelevant."
I stared.
He continued.
"Daniel became more successful than me."
"So you tried to destroy him."
"I didn't mean for him to die."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
"You just admitted it."
He froze.
The officer behind him stepped forward.
"Mr. Hale."
My father looked at me.
Tears filled his eyes.
"I never told them to kill him."
"But you hired someone to follow him."
He said nothing.
That was enough.
The officer arrested him.
Kelsey was arrested two days later for fraud and conspiracy-related charges.
The investigation continued.
Victor testified.
The driver was located overseas.
Evidence linked him to a payment from an account controlled by my father.
The truth finally emerged.
Daniel had discovered the land scheme.
My father feared exposure.
He hired someone to intimidate Daniel.
The intimidation became murder.
And three weeks later, my father came to my house expecting to inherit what he believed he had helped create.
Instead, he found me.
Alive.
May you like
Pregnant.
And no longer afraid.
