Chapter 2 - The Hospital Room
The engine of Ethan’s sports car roared through the heavy rain as he sped through the streets of Seattle, running every red light between the chapel and Saint Jude’s Hospital.
In the passenger seat, Lucy sat wrapped in his jacket, her sneakers drawn up against the leather seat, staring out at the blurred city lights.
"Does she talk about me?" Ethan asked, his hand gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.
Lucy looked over at him softly. "Every day. She has a box under her bed. It has your letters from college, a pressed rose, and a wooden carving you made for her."
A heavy knot formed in Ethan’s throat. For twelve years, he had believed Olivia had betrayed him. He had believed she threw their love away for money or another man. When Victoria Hale—the wealthy heiress to Hale Logistics—had re-entered his life four years ago, offering comfort and support during his business expansion, he had slowly convinced himself to move on.
He had built an empire with Victoria's family, thinking he was building a future.
Now, he realized he had been sleeping in a spiderweb.
Ten minutes later, Ethan burst through the double doors of Saint Jude’s Hospital, carrying Lucy in his arms. He sprinted past the triage desk, ignoring the nurses calling after him, and headed straight down the third-floor corridor toward Room 304.
The room was dim, illuminated only by the rhythmic green pulses of a heart monitor.
Lying in the center of the bed was a woman whose face made Ethan’s heart stop.
Olivia Bennett looked frail, her cheekbones sharp beneath pale, translucent skin, dark shadows under her closed eyes. An oxygen mask covered her mouth, her breaths shallow and labored. A clear IV line ran into her thin arm.
"Mom?" Lucy whispered, slipping out of Ethan's grip and rushing to the side of the bed.
Olivia’s eyelids fluttered open slowly. When her eyes focused on her daughter, a wave of maternal panic crossed her face.
"Lucy..." Olivia gasped faintly behind the mask. "Where... where did you go? I told you... to stay at Aunt Sarah's..."
Then her eyes drifted past her daughter and locked onto the tall man standing in the doorway—wearing a rain-soaked wedding tuxedo, holding a tan envelope.
Olivia froze. A single tear escaped her eye, sliding down her pale temple.
"Ethan..." she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
Ethan walked slowly to the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees on the linoleum floor, taking her cold, frail hand in both of his.
"You lied to me," Ethan choked out, his eyes burning. "You told me the baby wasn't mine, Olivia. You broke my heart."
Olivia closed her eyes, weeping softly. "She... she said she would kill you, Ethan."
Ethan’s blood ran cold. "What?"
"Victoria," Olivia whispered, struggling for breath as Lucy held a glass of water to her lips. "Twelve years ago... when I found out I was pregnant... Victoria came to my apartment. She brought two men. She told me... if I didn't take her money and disappear... she would have your father's business burned down and make sure you died in an 'accident' on the highway."
Ethan stared at her in utter horror.
"I tried to refuse," Olivia sobbed. "I didn't want her money! But then your father's warehouse actually caught fire two days later. Remember? You almost lost everything. I knew she was serious. She told me if I ever cashed a check, she would know I needed help and would come finish it. So I kept them in a drawer... every single one... as evidence."
Ethan pulled Olivia’s thin hand to his lips, weeping bitterly into her skin.
"I'm so sorry," Ethan cried. "I should have looked for you. I should have fought harder."
"You couldn't know," Olivia whispered, placing her weak fingers against his cheek. "She built a prison around you, Ethan."
The door to Room 304 slammed open.
Standing in the hallway, flanked by two heavy-set corporate security guards, was Victoria Hale. She had stripped off her veil, but she was still wearing her white wedding dress, her eyes bloodshot, her expression distorted by manic rage.
"Get away from her, Ethan!" Victoria shrieked, pointing a shaking finger into the room. "She's a fraud! She manipulated you twelve years ago, and she's doing it again!"
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Ethan stood up slowly. The grief on his face vanished, replaced by an ancient, lethal fury. He stepped between Victoria and the hospital bed, locking his storm-gray eyes onto his former bride.
"You have five seconds to get out of this hospital," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a register that made even the guards hesitate. "Before I tear your life apart piece by piece."
