Chapter 4 - The Web of Lies
By the third day, the hospital wing had been entirely bought out and locked down by my security team. No unauthorized personnel were allowed on the floor. Elena remained in her coma, looking peaceful but fragile in the center of the VIP suite. I spent my days rotating between holding my daughter in the NICU and sitting beside Elena’s bed, holding her cold hand.
But beneath my grief, a dark, simmering rage was brewing.
Elena was not a cruel woman. She wouldn't hide a child from me out of spite. Something else had pushed her to disappear completely, to live under the radar while carrying the heir to the Sterling fortune.
"Jonas," I called out on the fourth night, standing by the panoramic window of Elena's room, watching the Chicago skyline twinkle in the rain.
Jonas stepped into the room, holding a thick leather folder. "You asked me to dig, boss. I dug. And you're not going to like what I found."
I turned, crossing my arms. "Show me."
Jonas opened the file. "I tracked Elena's movements from the day she left the penthouse eight months ago. She didn't just run. She was pushed. I pulled the security footage from the lobby of the apartment she rented right after the divorce."
He handed me a glossy photograph printed from a security camera. The timestamp was the morning after our final night together.
It showed a woman standing outside Elena's new apartment, confronting her. The woman was shoving a thick manila envelope against Elena's chest. Elena looked terrified.
The woman in the photo was Madison Chen.
The air left my lungs. "Madison?" I whispered, my blood turning to ice. "Madison didn't know me eight months ago. We met at a gala four months ago."
"That's what she wanted you to think," Jonas said grimly. "Madison's father has been trying to force a merger with your company for three years. Madison orchestrated the 'accidental' meeting with you. But before that, she went to Elena. We found Elena's private journals in her current apartment."
Jonas handed me a small, worn leather notebook. I opened it, recognizing Elena's elegant handwriting.
Madison Chen came to my door today. She told me Alexander is planning to destroy me. She said he only slept with me to ensure I didn't contest the pre-nup. She said if I ever try to contact him, or if I find out I'm pregnant, Alexander's lawyers will take the child away from me permanently, claiming I am mentally unfit. She had forged legal documents with his signature. I have to run. I have to protect my baby.
The notebook slipped from my hands, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.
I had been played. Madison had manipulated my grief, poisoned my ex-wife, and nearly killed the mother of my child, all to secure a corporate throne.
A deadly, terrifying calm washed over me. I looked at Jonas.
May you like
"Jonas," I said, my voice dead of all emotion. "Call the board of directors. Call my legal team. I want the Chen family utterly destroyed by sunrise."
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