Chapter 3 - THE HEARTBEAT
The ambulance doors closed before Daniel could climb inside.
He struck the side of the vehicle with his palm.
“I am her husband.”
Detective Cole stood beside him.
“And right now, you are also part of an active investigation.”
Daniel turned on him.
“What investigation?”
Cole studied him carefully.
“Emma never told you?”
“Told me what?”
The ambulance pulled away.
Daniel watched until its lights disappeared beyond the gates.
Then he faced the detective again.
“What did my wife involve herself in?”
Cole did not answer immediately.
He looked toward the mansion where officers were removing computers, files, and locked metal boxes.
“Your wife contacted me four months ago.”
“She believed someone inside this family was using the Whitmore Foundation to move stolen money.”
Daniel stared at him.
“That is impossible.”
“The foundation funds hospitals and children’s programs.”
“On paper.”
Cole took out his phone.
He displayed photographs of bank records, forged signatures, and offshore transfers.
Daniel recognized his father’s name.
Then Vanessa’s.
Then his own.
“My signature is on these documents.”
“Yes.”
“I never signed them.”
“That is what Emma believed.”
Daniel looked back at the mansion.
For years, he had allowed his father to manage the family finances.
Daniel had signed documents without reading them because Charles always said they were routine.
Emma had warned him repeatedly.
He had accused her of distrusting his family.
At the hospital, Emma was rushed into an examination room.
The pain had not disappeared.
Every second of silence felt unbearable.
A doctor moved an ultrasound device over her belly.
Emma held her breath.
Then the room filled with a fast, steady sound.
Her baby’s heartbeat.
Tears rolled down Emma’s cheeks.
“The heartbeat is strong,” the doctor said.
“You have severe bruising, but we are not seeing signs of immediate danger to the baby.”
Emma closed her eyes.
Relief overwhelmed her.
“We need to monitor you through the night.”
“Of course.”
A nurse adjusted Emma’s blanket.
“Your husband is outside.”
Emma looked toward the door.
Daniel appeared behind the glass.
He looked broken.
Emma turned away.
Not because she hated him.
Because when she had been lying on the floor, frightened for their child, he had hesitated.
That hesitation had changed something inside her.
Cole arrived an hour later.
He placed a sealed evidence bag on the table.
Inside was a small black memory card.
“We recovered the recording.”
“Did it capture the push?”
“Yes.”
Emma released a shaking breath.
Cole’s expression remained serious.
“But the camera also captured Vanessa and your father-in-law talking earlier this afternoon.”
“What did they say?”
“They knew you were working with us.”
Emma’s blood ran cold.
Cole sat beside the bed.
“The argument was not accidental.”
“They lured you to the staircase.”
“The fall was supposed to silence you before tonight’s evidence transfer.”
Emma looked toward the glass again.
Daniel was still waiting outside.
“Does Daniel know?”
“Not yet.”
Emma placed a protective hand over her belly.
“Then bring him in.”
May you like
“He deserves to hear what his family planned.”
“And I need to see whether he finally believes me.”
