Chapter 3 - THE FIRST LIE
Preston was allowed into Emily’s room the following morning.
Only because Emily requested it.
Raymond objected.
The doctor objected.
Security objected.
Emily insisted.
Preston entered carrying white tulips.
For one terrible second, the flowers almost made her remember the man she had married.
Then he spoke.
“You’ve made this much bigger than it needed to be.”
Emily looked at the tulips.
Not at him.
“Put them down.”
He did.
“You know Vanessa didn’t mean to hurt the baby.”
“She kicked me.”
“She lost her temper.”
“Why?”
Preston’s mouth tightened.
“Because you provoked her.”
Emily finally looked at him.
“How?”
“You showed up.”
There it was.
So simple.
So ugly.
Her existence had become the provocation.
Preston pulled a chair close.
“Listen to me.”
“My father is already getting calls.”
“The board is nervous.”
“Raymond is overreacting because he’s protective of you.”
Emily studied his face.
“Do you know who owns this hospital?”
Preston frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“Answer it.”
“My family built the Whitmore medical network.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Emily.”
“The Saint Claire foundation owns most of it.”
“That foundation hasn’t controlled operations in years.”
“Who told you that?”
“My father.”
Emily almost smiled.
Of course.
Preston leaned closer.
“You don’t understand corporate structure.”
She let the insult sit between them.
Usually, she would have defended herself.
Today, she did not need to.
“Do you know who Margaret Saint Claire was?”
“A physician.”
“My mother.”
Preston stopped moving.
Emily watched the realization arrive slowly.
“What?”
“The woman whose name is on the building.”
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
She slid a copy of the trust document across the bedside table.
Preston read the first page.
Then the second.
His color disappeared.
“You knew?”
“Not everything.”
“You let me look like an idiot?”
Emily’s stomach turned.
Not once did he say she had been treated cruelly.
Not once did he apologize.
His first concern was humiliation.
Preston stood.
“This changes nothing between us.”
“It changes everything.”
“We’re married.”
“For now.”
His eyes snapped toward her.
“You’re threatening divorce?”
“No.”
Emily removed her wedding ring.
She placed it beside the flowers.
“I’m informing you.”
Preston stared at the ring.
Then he laughed once.
Coldly.
“You think Raymond will save you?”
Emily did not answer.
He moved toward the door.
“You have no idea what you’re starting.”
After he left, Emily looked at the flowers again.
Something was tucked beneath the wrapping.
A small folded note.
She opened it.
May you like
Three handwritten words waited inside.
CHECK YOUR BRAKES.
