Chapter 7 - Edward Came for Me Because He Believed a Maid Was the Weakest Link—He Didn't Know Nathan Had Already Chosen Me as His FamilyI hated being called brave.
I didn't feel brave.
I felt terrified.
Edward was dangerous.
He had manipulated companies.
Doctors.
Families.
He had nearly killed Nathan.
He had kidnapped Sophia.
And now he wanted me.
Nathan moved me into the safest part of the estate.
I told him it wasn't enough.
He disagreed.
“You're safer here than anywhere else.”
“I don't want to hide.”
“You don't have to.”
“Then let me help.”
He stared.
“You already have.”
“I want to finish it.”
He smiled.
“That's my woman.”
I laughed.
“Don't get possessive.”
“Too late.”
The investigation found Edward's location.
A warehouse near the harbor.
He had been preparing to leave the country.
But before he left, he wanted one final confrontation.
Nathan went.
Federal agents surrounded the building.
I remained outside with Sophia.
Then Sophia started signing.
MAN.
PAST.
I frowned.
“Who?”
She pointed toward the warehouse.
Then toward herself.
BAD.
I realized.
Edward had been watching her.
He had been using her.
She knew where he was hiding something.
She led us to a side entrance.
Inside was an old medical archive.
Boxes.
Patient files.
Records.
Names.
Photographs.
The original research.
Sophia's complete file.
Nathan's complete file.
Dozens of others.
We found proof that people had been experimented on without informed consent.
We found evidence Edward had continued the program illegally for years.
We found payments.
Doctor names.
Government officials.
Everything.
But Edward was not there.
He had escaped.
Again.
Then we found one final recording.
Edward speaking to Vanessa.
He told her the truth.
Nathan's father had not started the program.
Edward had.
Nathan's father had tried to shut it down.
Vanessa's entire revenge story had been a lie.
She had been manipulated from birth.
I felt sorry for her.
A little.
But she had still chosen her actions.
That night, Nathan asked me to move away with him.
Not permanently.
Just somewhere safe.
We went to the lake house.
The place was beautiful.
Quiet.
No cameras.
No staff.
Just us.
Sophia played outside.
Nathan and I sat by the water.
“I've never had this.”
“What?”
“Peace.”
I smiled.
“You should get used to it.”
“I want to.”
He took my hand.
“I want a life.”
“With me?”
“With you.”
I looked at him.
“And Sophia.”
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“She comes first.”
“She always will.”
That night, he proposed.
No diamond bigger than my hand.
No cameras.
Just a simple ring.
“Will you marry me?”
I cried.
“Yes.”
Sophia saw the ring.
She screamed silently.
Then signed:
YES.
We laughed.
The next morning, federal agents arrived.
Edward had been caught.
He surrendered.
The archive was enough to destroy him.
But the greatest surprise came during his interrogation.
He confessed that Vanessa had never been the true beneficiary.
The trust had been structured differently.
Nathan's legal heirs would eventually control everything.
The person Edward feared most wasn't Nathan.
It was Sophia.
Because Nathan had designated Sophia as a protected beneficiary under a new family trust.
If Nathan died, the money would be used to protect children like her.
Edward couldn't access it.
Nathan had already made the decision.
His daughter-sized responsibility had changed his priorities.
He no longer wanted the old empire.
He wanted to dismantle it.
He donated the research assets.
He compensated victims.
He funded disability programs.
He created a foundation.
Sophia became its inspiration.
And I became its director.
For the first time in my life, I had a job that meant something.
Not cleaning someone else's house.
Building something.
Still, one problem remained.
The wedding.
Nathan and I wanted one.
Not the one Vanessa planned.
Ours.
A simple ceremony.
Family.
Friends.
No billion-dollar spectacle.
Sophia would be there.
She would sign the vows herself.
But before that—
I needed to tell Nathan something.
I was pregnant.
I hadn't known until that morning.
I stared at the test.
My hands shook.
I walked outside.
Nathan looked at me.
“What happened?”
I started crying.
He stood immediately.
“What?”
I handed him the test.
He stared.
Then looked at me.
“You're…”
I nodded.
He laughed.
Then cried.
Then hugged me.
Sophia ran toward us.
Nathan lifted her.
He signed:
BABY.
Sophia gasped.
Then hugged me.
Our family was growing.
May you like
After everything—
we were finally going to get the future we had been fighting for.
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