Chapter 2 - THE VOICE IN THE SHADOWS
The voice was deep,
authoritative,
and instantly recognizable.
"Mr. Hale,"
the speaker said,
the sound echoing off the cold hospital walls.
"I suggest you take your hand off that pen."
Bennett froze,
his face turning a ghostly shade of gray.
Ava stood up so quickly,
her chair screeched against the linoleum.
"Who is that?"
she demanded,
looking around the room as if a ghost had appeared.
"That,"
I said,
pulling the phone from beneath the blanket,
"is Arthur Sterling."
"My father's attorney,"
I added,
feeling a surge of adrenaline.
"And the man who has been recording this entire conversation."
Bennett’s mouth opened,
but no sound came out.
"Vivienne,"
he finally stammered,
"what is the meaning of this?"
"The meaning is quite simple,
Bennett,"
Arthur's voice continued from the phone.
"You are currently attempting to coerce a patient,
who is less than twenty-four hours post-operative,
into signing legal documents under duress."
"In the state of New York,"
he added,
"that is not just unethical."
"It is a criminal offense."
Ava clutched her leather folder to her chest,
her polished exterior beginning to crumble.
"We were just talking,"
she whispered,
her eyes darting toward the door.
"You were demanding the transfer of a pre-marital asset,"
Arthur corrected.
"An asset that was never part of the Hale-Bellamy estate."
"And you were doing so while presenting yourself as a legal representative,
which I happen to know you are not,
Miss Monroe."
Bennett looked at me,
and for the first time in our marriage,
he saw me.
Not the quiet wife who managed his social life,
not the woman who smoothed over his rough edges,
but a Bellamy.
"You set us up,"
he hissed,
his voice dripping with a newfound venom.
"No,
Bennett,"
I replied,
wincing as the movement pulled at my stitches.
"You set yourself up the moment you brought her here."
"You thought I was too drugged to care."
"You thought I was too broken to fight."
I looked at the silver pen on the tray,
a symbol of his arrogance.
"I've been documenting your 'acquisition' for months,"
I told him.
"I know about the offshore accounts in the Cayman Islands."
"I know about the forged signatures on the board's resolutions."
The silence that followed was heavy,
suffocating,
and absolute.
Ava’s face was now a mask of pure terror.
"Bennett,"
she whispered,
grabbing his arm.
"We need to go."
"You aren't going anywhere,"
Arthur's voice boomed.
"Security is already on their way to the floor."
"And the police have been notified of an attempted fraud."
Bennett lunged toward the bed,
his hand reaching for the phone.
"Give me that!"
I didn't move,
I didn't flinch.
The door burst open before his fingers could touch the device.
Two hospital security guards and a man in a dark suit entered.
The man in the suit was Arthur's junior associate,
carrying a briefcase that looked like a weapon.
"Mr. Hale,"
the associate said,
stepping between the bed and my husband.
"You are requested to leave the premises immediately."
"A restraining order has been filed,
effective ten minutes ago."
Bennett backed away,
his hands shaking.
He looked at the security guards,
then at the associate,
then finally at me.
"You'll regret this,
Vivienne,"
he threatened,
though the words lacked conviction.
"You have nothing without me."
I leaned back against the pillows,
feeling the exhaustion finally beginning to win.
"Actually,
Bennett,"
I said,
my voice a whisper.
"I have the Greenwich house."
"I have the Bellamy trust."
"And I have the truth."
"You,"
I added,
as the guards led them out,
"have a silver pen and a very long prison sentence."
The door closed with a soft thud,
leaving me alone in the ringing silence.
The heart monitor slowed its pace,
returning to a calm,
steady beat.
I closed my eyes,
letting the first tear of the night finally fall.
It wasn't for the marriage,
May you like
it was for the woman I had been,
and the one I was about to become.
