CHAPTER 2 — THE DEVIL WE CALLED FAMILY
CHAPTER 2 — THE DEVIL WE CALLED FAMILY
"Clear the way!"
The paramedics pushed through the crowd as I cradled Emily in my arms.
"Sir, you have to let us take her."
"No."
I tightened my grip.
"Sir, if you don't let go, she'll die."
Those words finally broke through my panic.
I carefully laid my daughter onto the stretcher.
Her wedding gown, once dazzling white, was soaked with blood.
An oxygen mask covered her face.
The heart monitor screamed.
One long beep.
Then another.
The lead medic barked, "We're losing her! Move!"
The stretcher disappeared toward the ambulance.
I took one step to follow.
A black-suited guard blocked my path.
"My apologies, Mr. Williams."
I stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
He lowered his eyes.
"I've been instructed not to let you leave."
"By whom?"
Before he answered, a familiar voice echoed through the lobby.
"By me."
Richard.
He walked toward me, calm as ever, adjusting the cuff of his tailored suit.
"The shareholders are waiting."
I looked at him as if he were a stranger.
"My daughter is fighting for her life."
"And your presence is required upstairs."
His expression never changed.
"The emergency board meeting begins in five minutes."
I laughed.
It sounded more like a growl.
"You think I care about a meeting?"
Richard stepped closer.
"You should."
He pulled a tablet from his assistant's hands.
With one swipe, every television in the hotel lobby lit up.
Breaking News.
WILLIAMS HEIRESS FALLS FROM HOTEL BALCONY DURING BILLION-DOLLAR WEDDING.
Guests immediately raised their phones.
Live streams flooded social media.
Reporters rushed toward the hotel entrance.
Richard smiled.
"Look around."
"This isn't a family tragedy anymore."
"It's a corporate crisis."
I clenched my fists.
"You planned this."
He chuckled.
"Can you prove it?"
Before I could answer, another familiar face emerged from the crowd.
Daniel Carter.
Emily's fiancé.
His tuxedo was immaculate.
Not a wrinkle.
Not a drop of blood.
Not a trace of panic.
He looked at the ambulance driving away...
Then lowered his head.
"I... I'm so sorry."
I grabbed him by the jacket.
"Where were you?"
His lips trembled.
"I was getting ready."
"Liar."
"I swear!"
"You were supposed to be with her."
"I don't know what happened!"
His voice cracked.
But his eyes...
His eyes stayed cold.
Too cold.
I'd negotiated billion-dollar deals for thirty years.
I knew exactly what a liar looked like.
Richard gently pulled my hand away from Daniel.
"Enough."
"The young man has suffered enough today."
I turned on him.
"My daughter just accused you before she collapsed."
For the first time...
Richard's smile faded.
"What did she say?"
I watched his eyes carefully.
Every movement.
Every breath.
"She said..."
"You pushed her."
Silence.
Even the reporters stopped talking.
Richard suddenly laughed.
A slow, confident laugh.
"A dying woman's confused words?"
"You expect anyone to believe that?"
He looked toward the executives standing behind him.
One by one...
They nodded.
Not because they believed him.
Because they feared him.
I realized something terrifying.
He hadn't just stolen my company.
He had stolen everyone's loyalty.
My phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
"Who is this?"
A distorted voice whispered,
"If you want your daughter to live..."
"Stop accusing Richard."
The line went dead.
My blood turned cold.
They knew.
They knew she was still alive.
Which meant...
Someone was watching the hospital.
Someone wanted to make sure she never woke up.
Twenty minutes later...
I arrived at St. Matthew Medical Center.
The intensive care unit was already surrounded.
Private security.
Not mine.
Williams Corporation security.
Richard's men.
A nurse hurried toward me.
"Mr. Williams..."
"How is she?"
She hesitated.
"She's alive..."
Relief washed over me—
"...but someone tried to disconnect her ventilator."
Everything inside me froze.
"What?"
"The attempt happened less than two minutes after she arrived."
"Fortunately, one of our nurses walked in."
My heart pounded.
Someone hadn't wanted Emily to survive long enough to speak again.
This wasn't an accident anymore.
It wasn't even attempted murder.
It was a hunt.
They were hunting my daughter.
And they were willing to kill anyone who stood in their way.
As I looked through the ICU window, Emily lay motionless beneath the hospital lights.
Machines breathed for her.
Bandages covered her head.
I pressed my hand against the glass.
"I failed to protect your mother."
His voice broke into a whisper.
"But I swear..."
"No matter who I have to destroy..."
"I will save you."
Behind me...
A slow clap echoed through the empty hallway.
I turned.
Richard stood at the far end of the corridor.
Smiling.
"You always were sentimental, brother."
Then he lifted a small silver key between his fingers.
"The key to your wife's old safety deposit box."
"I finally found it."
He slipped it back into his pocket.
"I wonder..."
"What secrets she died trying to hide."
My breathing stopped.
Only three people had ever known that box existed.
My wife.
Myself.
And...
May you like
The person who killed her.
End of Chapter 2
