Chapter 4 - The Hospital
“Don’t let Ethan near my house.”
Those were the first words I said after the nurses stabilized me.
Daniel stood beside my hospital bed.
“You have my word.”
The contractions had slowed.
My daughter’s heartbeat was strong.
For the first time in two hours, I could breathe without feeling like the floor was collapsing beneath me.
Dr. Patel had called ahead.
The maternity team ran blood tests.
My regular obstetrician, Dr. Foster, arrived thirty minutes later.
He looked furious.
“Claire, why didn’t you tell me you were having dizziness?”
“I thought it was pregnancy.”
“And nausea after meals?”
“Same thing.”
He looked at Daniel.
“Do you have the medication photo?”
Daniel handed him my phone.
Dr. Foster enlarged the image.
“I can’t identify these from a picture.”
Daniel nodded.
“My security team is retrieving everything from Claire’s house.”
I looked at him.
“You have a security team at my house?”
“I sent them after I got your call.”
That would have annoyed me once.
Now it made me want to cry with relief.
“Thank you.”
Daniel sat beside me.
“I should have checked on you sooner.”
“I stopped answering.”
“You did.”
“Ethan told me you were trying to control my inheritance.”
Daniel looked down.
“I figured.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he asked about dissolving the trust?”
“I tried.”
I remembered the voicemail.
Four years earlier.
After my mother’s funeral.
Daniel had left three messages asking me to meet him alone.
Ethan had told me Daniel wanted me to sign financial documents while I was grieving.
So I refused.
I closed my eyes.
“I was stupid.”
“No.”
“I believed him.”
“That isn’t stupidity.”
“It feels like it.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Claire, smart people can still trust the wrong person.”
A nurse entered.
“Mrs. Hampton?”
The last name suddenly made me sick.
“Yes.”
“We need another blood sample.”
She drew two tubes.
My phone rang.
Ethan.
I rejected it.
He called again.
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Block him.”
“I need evidence.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“You really are your mother’s daughter.”
I answered.
“Claire.”
Ethan sounded breathless.
“Are you okay?”
“What have you been putting in my tea?”
Silence.
Then, “What?”
“The tea you make me every night.”
“You think I drugged you?”
“I asked a question.”
“This is Daniel talking through you.”
“No. Daniel is sitting beside me.”
Ethan’s voice changed.
“Put me on speaker.”
I did.
“Daniel, stay out of my marriage.”
Daniel responded calmly.
“You gave up privacy when fraudulent trust documents entered the conversation.”
“They weren’t fraudulent.”
I felt ice in my chest.
Daniel leaned closer to the phone.
“Good. Say that again.”
Silence.
Ethan realized the mistake.
“Claire, listen. I can explain everything.”
“Then explain Samantha.”
“She and I made mistakes.”
“For how long?”
“Claire—”
“How long?”
“Two years.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
Two years.
I was pregnant because Ethan had spent almost a year telling me he wanted to save our marriage by starting a family.
Two years.
“You were sleeping with her while begging me to have a baby?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“It was exactly like that.”
He exhaled.
“My mother got involved in things she didn’t understand.”
“Did you know about the trust clause before I got pregnant?”
He said nothing.
I started crying before I could stop myself.
Daniel looked away, giving me dignity.
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
One word.
It destroyed the last excuse I had left.
I whispered, “When?”
“About eighteen months ago.”
“And you started asking me for a baby twelve months ago.”
“Claire, I wanted a child with you.”
“And access to her trust.”
“No.”
“Then why did you hide the clause?”
“Because I knew you’d react like this.”
I laughed through my tears.
“Like what? A woman who discovers her husband studied her inheritance before planning her pregnancy?”
He raised his voice.
“I love you.”
Daniel’s face hardened.
I wiped my cheeks.
“Then come to the hospital.”
Ethan hesitated.
Daniel looked at me.
He knew exactly what I was doing.
I continued.
“Come alone.”
“Okay.”
“Bring my prenatal vitamins.”
Another pause.
“Why?”
“Because the doctors want them.”
“I’ll bring them.”
“Don’t touch anything else.”
I ended the call.
Daniel stood.
“You think he’ll destroy evidence.”
“Yes.”
Daniel smiled grimly.
“So do I.”
He called his security team.
“Do not interfere with Ethan Hampton if he goes to the house. Record everything.”
I stared at him.
“You think he’ll go there first.”
“He already is.”
“How do you know?”
Daniel turned the tablet toward me.
A live security feed showed my driveway.
Ethan’s car pulled in.
He got out.
He wasn’t alone.
Samantha stepped out of the passenger side.
My chest tightened.
“What are they doing?”
Daniel enlarged the feed.
They entered through the garage.
Five minutes later, a camera inside the kitchen caught Samantha opening a cabinet.
Ethan grabbed the box of tea I drank every night.
Then he looked toward Samantha.
The microphone picked up his voice.
“Get rid of all of it.”
My stomach turned.
Samantha whispered, “What about the pills?”
Ethan opened the drawer beside the refrigerator.
My prenatal vitamin bottle sat inside.
He reached for it.
Then froze.
A voice came from behind him.
“Looking for these?”
Someone stepped into view.
I leaned toward the tablet.
It was a woman.
Mid-forties.
Brown hair.
Hospital scrubs.
I knew her.
“Linda?”
Linda Morales had been my mother’s private nurse during the final months of her life.
She held a plastic evidence bag.
Inside it were several white tablets.
Ethan stared at her.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Linda looked directly into the security camera.
May you like
Then she said the words that made Daniel stand up.
“Saving Claire from the same thing you did to her mother.”
