Chapter 3 - The Man Who Thought I Would Stay SilentJulian returned to the hospital two days later.
He brought flowers.
I almost laughed.
He placed them beside my bed.
"How are you?"
I stared at him.
"You pushed me into boiling soup."
His expression barely changed.
"It was an accident."
"I remember."
"You were standing too close."
I said nothing.
He sat down.
"Elena, I know you're angry."
"Angry?"
He sighed.
"We both said things."
I looked at my bandaged arm.
"You wanted the house."
"I wanted what's best for us."
"You wanted me to sign it over."
"For our future."
I smiled.
"Our daughter is in intensive care."
His face tightened.
"I know."
"You haven't asked about her."
"I've been under enormous stress."
I stared at him.
Then I realized something.
He wasn't afraid.
Not yet.
He believed the evidence was gone.
He believed the visible camera had been destroyed.
He believed the hospital would accept his story.
And he believed I was too injured to fight.
That was exactly what I needed him to believe.
"You should go," I said.
He stood.
Before leaving, he looked at me.
"You should think carefully about the divorce."
I looked up.
"Why?"
"Because without me, you have nothing."
I almost smiled.
He walked out.
Sarah entered five minutes later.
"Did he say anything?"
"Enough."
She nodded.
"The police are ready."
I froze.
"Already?"
"Your father arranged a private investigator years ago."
I stared at her.
"What?"
"He wasn't just protecting the estate."
Sarah opened another folder.
"He was investigating Julian."
My heart stopped.
"Why?"
"Because Julian approached your father shortly after your engagement."
I stared at her.
"About what?"
"Money."
I sat back.
"How much?"
"Two hundred thousand dollars."
I closed my eyes.
Julian had told me my father disliked him.
He had said my father was controlling.
He had convinced me that the tension between them came from jealousy.
It hadn't.
My father had seen him.
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He had seen exactly what Julian was.
And he had tried to warn me.
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