Chapter 9 - AMELIA WAKES
Dr. Hayes treated Amelia aboard the rescue vessel.
The syringe contained a dangerous sedative but not a fatal dose.
Ethan sat beside her while the storm struck the windows.
Amelia opened her eyes twice.
The first time, she called for Lily.
The second time, she touched Ethan’s wedding ring.
“You kept it.”
“I never took it off.”
“They said you remarried.”
“They said you chose the company.”
“They said many things.”
Ethan held the locket near her hand.
“Lily found me.”
Amelia’s lips curved faintly.
“I told her to look for the ring.”
“She saved my life.”
“She always was brave.”
Conrad survived the fall with a broken hip and internal injuries.
He was transported under guard.
Victor suffered a dislocated shoulder.
He requested an attorney before reaching shore.
The man who demanded Ethan sign away an empire now refused to answer one question without legal protection.
At the hospital, doctors placed Amelia in intensive care.
Years of medication had weakened her heart, liver, and muscles.
She could not remain awake for long.
Lily entered wearing a yellow coat over her pajamas.
She stopped at the foot of the bed.
Amelia opened her eyes.
For seven years, mother and daughter had seen each other only through glass and stolen moments.
Now there was no locked door between them.
Lily approached slowly.
“Mommy?”
Amelia lifted one hand.
Lily climbed carefully beside her and pressed her cheek against Amelia’s shoulder.
Ethan turned away to give them privacy.
Amelia reached for him too.
“Stay.”
He sat on the other side.
Their family held itself together around wires, monitors, scars, and seven missing years.
No photograph could make it look perfect.
It was real.
Detective Ruiz arrived with preliminary evidence from Greyhaven.
The burned records included payments from Blackwood Industries to St. Catherine, Ravenscroft, and the island hospice.
The authorizations carried Victor’s signature.
Older orders carried Conrad’s.
The board had known money went to private medical facilities.
Several directors signed the budgets without asking who the patients were.
Ethan looked through the glass wall toward the executive committee gathering in the hallway.
“They want to speak about the company.”
Amelia’s hand tightened around his.
“Not today.”
May you like
Ethan nodded.
For the first time in his adult life, Blackwood Industries could wait.
