Chapter 3 - THE SECOND INJURY
Noah entered Mia’s room wearing a disposable gown.
She looked small beneath the white hospital blankets.
A bruise had begun forming along her left shoulder.
Another dark mark appeared near her ribs.
He sat beside her carefully.
“The doctor says someone struck you.”
Mia looked away.
“Scarlett slapped me before she pushed me.”
Noah’s breathing changed.
“Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”
“I was trying to breathe.”
“I was trying to make sure our baby was still moving.”
His anger disappeared beneath guilt.
He lowered his head.
“I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t do this.”
“I brought her into our home.”
“You trusted your sister.”
“She used that trust.”
Mia looked toward the monitor.
“Scarlett came to the foyer after the charity dinner ended.”
“She said she wanted to apologize.”
“For what?”
“For the argument at the board luncheon.”
Noah remembered the luncheon.
Scarlett had publicly accused Mia of interfering in company matters.
Mia had calmly replied that asking questions about missing foundation funds was not interference.
Scarlett had left before dessert.
“What happened tonight?”
“She asked me to withdraw the audit request.”
“When I refused, she said I was destroying the family.”
“Then she told me the baby would never inherit anything.”
Noah stared at her.
“What audit?”
Mia turned back toward him.
“The Golden Hearts Foundation.”
“I found payments to consulting companies that don’t exist.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I planned to.”
“But every time I mentioned the foundation, you defended Scarlett.”
The words struck him harder than accusation would have.
Mia was right.
He had dismissed her concerns as tension between two strong women.
He had asked Mia to be patient.
He had asked Scarlett to be polite.
He had treated deliberate cruelty like a personality conflict.
“How much is missing?”
“Nearly fourteen million dollars.”
Noah stood slowly.
“That is impossible.”
“I copied the records.”
“They’re inside the blue folder in my office safe.”
“The code is our wedding date.”
A nurse entered and checked the monitors.
The baby’s heartbeat steadied slightly.
Noah bent and kissed Mia’s forehead.
“I’m going to get the files.”
“No.”
Fear entered her eyes.
“Scarlett may have someone helping her.”
“Stay here.”
“I’ll send Marcus.”
His phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
YOU SHOULD HAVE BELIEVED YOUR WIFE SOONER.
Beneath the words was a photograph.
It showed Noah standing outside Mia’s hospital room.
May you like
The picture had been taken less than a minute earlier.
Someone inside the hospital was watching him.
