Chapter 3 — The Secret Elena Had Been Hiding
Doctors rushed Elena into the maternity unit the moment the ambulance arrived.
Nathan refused to leave the hallway.
Every minute felt like an hour.
He replayed the security footage again and again inside his mind.
One question haunted him.
How had things become this bad?
Three hours later...
Dr. Rachel Morris stepped outside.
"The baby's heartbeat is stable."
Nathan finally breathed.
"But..."
His heart sank again.
"There are older injuries."
Nathan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The doctor hesitated.
"Bruises in different stages of healing."
"Signs of repeated emotional stress."
"And this isn't the first time she's come dangerously close to premature labor."
Nathan felt sick.
"I didn't know."
"I believe you."
The doctor handed him a sealed envelope.
"She asked us to give you this if anything happened."
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Nathan,
If you're reading this, something finally happened.
I never wanted you to find out this way.
I kept quiet because every time I told Veronica to leave me alone...
she threatened someone else.
She said she'd destroy the orphanage that raised me.
She promised to have my younger brother fired.
She said she'd ruin your company by leaking lies to investors.
Most of all...
She convinced me you no longer loved me.
She said you only stayed because of the baby.
I believed her.
Because you were always traveling.
Always working.
And every time I wanted to tell you...
she somehow knew.
I was afraid.
Not for myself.
For everyone else.
Please don't hate yourself.
Just protect our child.
Love,
Elena.
Nathan lowered the letter.
His entire world shifted.
He remembered every canceled dinner.
Every overseas meeting.
Every lonely night Elena had smiled and insisted she was fine.
He had mistaken silence for peace.
He had trusted the wrong person.
Never again.
He folded the letter carefully and placed it inside his wallet.
May you like
From that moment forward...
Nothing would come before his family.
