CHAPTER 3 — HER LAST SECRET
CHAPTER 3 — HER LAST SECRET
The ICU doors slammed shut.
A bright red light above them flashed.
SURGERY IN PROGRESS.
I stood frozen outside, my bloodstained suit still clinging to my body.
Every second felt like another year.
Then—
My phone vibrated.
It wasn't a call.
It was a text.
Unknown Number
You have ten minutes.
Leave the hospital, or Emily dies before sunrise.
I stared at the message.
Ten seconds later...
Another one arrived.
A photograph.
My stomach dropped.
Someone had taken the picture from inside the ICU.
Emily lay unconscious beneath the surgical lights.
The photo had been taken only moments ago.
They were inside the hospital.
Watching.
"Mr. Williams?"
A young nurse approached cautiously.
"Would you like some water?"
I looked at her name tag.
Sophie.
She seemed nervous.
Too nervous.
She handed me the bottle, then whispered without moving her lips.
"Don't drink it."
My eyes narrowed.
"What?"
She kept smiling as if nothing had happened.
"There are cameras everywhere."
Then she walked away.
A janitor pushed a cleaning cart between us, blocking my view for only two seconds.
When the cart passed...
Sophie was gone.
Completely gone.
Before I could think, my head of security, Marcus, hurried toward me.
"Sir."
He lowered his voice.
"We've checked the surveillance footage."
"And?"
Marcus hesitated.
"It's gone."
"What do you mean, gone?"
"The cameras covering the wedding balcony..."
"Were remotely erased."
"Every single one."
"Five minutes before Miss Emily fell."
Someone hadn't just planned the attack.
They had erased the evidence before it even happened.
A loud laugh echoed down the hallway.
Richard.
He walked in carrying a bouquet of white lilies.
Funeral flowers.
"How touching."
He looked toward the operating room.
"I heard she's still alive."
I took one step toward him.
Marcus grabbed my arm.
"Sir..."
Richard placed the flowers on a nearby chair.
"If she wakes up..."
"I'm sure she'll tell the police exactly what happened."
His smile widened.
"But people with severe head trauma often remember things..."
"...incorrectly."
I understood immediately.
He wasn't worried.
He was planting doubt.
Before Emily had even spoken.
Just then, Daniel rushed into the hallway.
His tuxedo was gone.
His white shirt was wrinkled.
His eyes were red.
"Mr. Williams!"
He stopped in front of me, breathing hard.
"I remembered something."
Richard slowly turned toward him.
"What is it?"
Daniel swallowed.
"The balcony..."
"There was another person."
The hallway fell silent.
"Who?" I demanded.
Daniel rubbed his temples.
"I couldn't see the face."
"It was a man."
"He was arguing with Emily."
Richard chuckled.
"Stress can create false memories."
Daniel shook his head violently.
"No."
"I heard him."
"What did he say?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
When he spoke again...
His voice trembled.
"If you tell your father the truth..."
"...you'll die today."
Every muscle in my body tightened.
Richard remained perfectly calm.
Almost...
Too calm.
Hours later...
Emily was finally moved back into intensive care.
The surgeon removed his mask.
"Mr. Williams."
I rushed toward him.
"How is she?"
"The surgery was successful."
I nearly collapsed with relief.
"But..."
My heart sank again.
"She suffered significant head trauma."
"She may wake up tomorrow..."
"Or months from now."
"And when she does..."
"There is a possibility she won't remember the attack."
Richard smiled faintly.
Exactly as if he'd expected those words.
Midnight.
The hospital had grown quiet.
Marcus stood outside Emily's room with two trusted guards.
I refused to leave.
Sleep wasn't even a possibility.
As I sat beside her bed, I noticed something strange.
Emily's right hand was tightly closed.
The nurses hadn't been able to open it.
Gently...
I wrapped my fingers around hers.
"It's me, sweetheart."
Slowly...
Her fingers relaxed.
Something small fell into my palm.
A silver ring.
Not an engagement ring.
A men's signet ring.
Heavy.
Expensive.
Engraved with a crest.
A wolf...
Wrapped around the letter W.
My blood ran cold.
Only members of the Williams family wore rings like this.
Mine was on my hand.
My father's had been buried with him.
Richard still wore his every day.
So whose ring was this?
I turned it over.
Inside the band...
Three tiny letters were engraved.
R.W.
Richard Williams.
Before I could react—
Marcus burst into the room.
"Sir!"
"What is it?"
"The police are here."
"Good."
"They've come to arrest someone?"
Marcus looked pale.
"No..."
"They have a warrant."
"A warrant for you."
My mind went blank.
"For me?"
"They say..."
Marcus swallowed hard.
"...someone anonymously submitted evidence proving you pushed Miss Emily from the balcony."
At that exact moment...
The hospital television switched on automatically.
Breaking News flashed across the screen.
A security video appeared.
It showed...
Me.
Standing on the wedding balcony with Emily.
Arguing.
Then—
A blurry movement.
Emily falling.
The reporter's voice echoed through the silent room.
"Authorities have identified billionaire Charles Williams as the primary suspect in the attempted murder of his own daughter."
Outside the room...
Heavy footsteps thundered down the corridor.
"Police!"
"Charles Williams!"
"Don't move!"
I looked down at the ring still hidden in my palm.
Richard had lost it.
Emily had kept it.
She knew who attacked her.
And now...
Before she could wake up and expose him...
May you like
He had turned the entire country against me
End of Chapter 3
