Chapter 13
Marcus arrived at the hospital twenty-three minutes after Juliana called.
At the nurses’ station, he encountered a barrier no amount of money could remove.
“Mrs. Valemont listed Juliana Howard as her healthcare proxy.”
“I’m her husband.”
“You still need permission.”
A month ago, Marcus might have made threats.
Tonight, he sat down and waited.
When Juliana appeared, he stood. “How is she?”
“They’re concerned about preeclampsia.”
His face changed. “Can I see her?”
“That’s Elena’s decision.”
He nodded.
Nine minutes later, a nurse returned. “She said you can come in.”
Elena looked small beneath white hospital sheets, surrounded by monitors tracking their daughter’s heartbeat.
Marcus stopped several feet away. “Can I come closer?”
She nodded.
He sat.
Silence stretched between them—eight years of marriage and one night of betrayal, compressed into the space between two chairs.
Finally, Elena asked, “Why?”
Marcus stared at his hands. “I was angry.”
“I know.”
“I told myself I worked harder than everyone. That nobody appreciated what I sacrificed.”
Elena turned toward him. “So you slept with my sister?”
“That’s what I told myself afterward. But it’s not the truth.”
“What is?”
“You asked me to be your husband. I wanted applause for being a provider.”
Elena’s eyes filled. “I sat alone at our daughter’s appointment.”
“I know.”
“You promised.”
“I know.” His voice cracked. “Sienna told me everything I wanted to hear that night. That I worked harder than everyone. That you didn’t appreciate me. That I deserved to feel important.”
“And you believed her.”
“I chose to.”
That answer made Elena look at him differently.
“She manipulated the situation,” Marcus continued. “Leonard built the trap. But I opened the door.”
Tears ran down Elena’s face.
“I treated your trust like something I owned. I thought eight years meant one terrible night couldn’t destroy us.”
“You broke something I don’t know how to rebuild.”
“I know.”
“What if I never can?”
Marcus met her eyes. “Then I’ll still be our daughter’s father. I’ll respect you. I’ll spend the rest of my life regretting what I did without making my regret your burden.”
There was no manipulation in his voice. No promise that money could fix this.
Elena slowly extended her hand across the bed.
Marcus looked at it for a long moment.
Then took it gently.
Minutes later, the fetal monitor alarm sounded.
Nurses rushed in.
The baby’s heart rate dropped. Recovered. Dropped again.
Elena gripped Marcus’s hand. “Don’t leave.”
“I’m here.”
The man who commanded boardrooms and frightened competitors had nothing useful to offer except his presence.
The baby stabilized.
For three days, Elena remained hospitalized.
Marcus stayed only when she asked.
Then Daniel arrived with one final discovery—an old recording Patrick Valemont had made before his death.
Leonard keeps saying Elena is becoming a problem. That she asks too many questions. If she marries Marcus, she’ll eventually clean out all my hidden accounts.
Elena stared at Daniel. “This was before our wedding?”
“Yes.”
Daniel produced evidence of anonymous complaints filed against Elena during her accounting career—ethics violations, mishandled information, a lost promotion—all traced to intermediaries connected to Leonard.
“He tried to destroy your career before you married Marcus.”
“Because he knew what I was,” Elena said quietly.
“What?”
“The person most likely to find his money.”
Marcus looked sick. “He couldn’t make her leave.”
“No,” Daniel agreed.
Elena met her husband’s eyes. “So he needed you to make me leave.”
The next morning, Sienna agreed to testify.
“Will it help me?” she asked over the phone.
Elena’s answer was quiet. “That can’t be why you tell the truth.”
May you like
Long silence.
Then Sienna said, “Okay.”
