Chapter 6 - The Broken Silence
"Ava!" Ethan dropped to his knees beside the bed, wrapping his warm hands gently around hers. "Ava, I'm here. I'm right here."
Ava looked at him, her vision slowly clearing. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes as she squeezed his fingers with what little strength she had left.
"Is she... gone?" Ava whispered, her voice barely audible.
"She's in custody, sweetheart," Ethan wept, kissing her knuckles repeatedly. "The police took her. She's never going to hurt you again. I swear it on my life."
Ava let out a long, shuddering breath, her shoulders visibly relaxing into the mattress. "She made me feel... like I was losing my mind, Ethan. I thought I was losing my memory. I thought my body was failing completely."
"You weren't losing your mind," Ethan said, his heart breaking into a thousand pieces as he laid his cheek against her hand. "She was poisoning you. She was putting heavy sedatives in your juice every morning to steal your voting shares in the company."
Ava closed her eyes, two hot tears slipping down her cheeks. "I tried to tell you... months ago... but every time I tried to speak, I felt so tired. So confused."
"I know. I'm so sorry, Ava," Ethan sobbed, the guilt crushing down on his chest like a lead weight. "I was so blind. I trusted her because she was my mother. I left you alone with a monster, and I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you."
Ava reached out with her free hand, gently resting her fingers against Ethan's hair. "You came through the door, Ethan. You stopped her."
"I found the files in her safe, Ava," Ethan said, looking up at her with raw, agonizing truth in his eyes. "The police found the reports from your car accident two years ago."
Ava went completely still. Her breath hitched in her throat. "The accident?"
"It wasn't a drunk driver," Ethan revealed, his voice shaking with absolute rage. "She tampered with your brakes. She planned the crash so you would be bedridden, making it easier for her to take control of your father's estate."
Ava stared at the ceiling, the horror of the truth settling over the room like a heavy shroud. The woman who had sat beside her at the dinner table, the woman who had hugged her at her wedding, had systematically tried to destroy every piece of her life.
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"She took my legs," Ava whispered, a sudden, fierce fire igniting in her eyes through the tears. "She took my freedom for two years."
"She did," Ethan said, his jaw tightening into a line of pure steel. "And now, we are going to take everything from her."
