Chapter 2 - The Doctor Told Me Clara Could Die Before Morning, and Her Father Still Insisted the Beating Was a Family MatterThe ICU lights never dimmed.
Neither did my anger.
I sat beside Clara until 3:40 a.m.
The machines continued to beep.
Her breathing remained assisted.
Her blood pressure fluctuated.
The doctor returned.
“We're stabilizing her.”
“Will she survive?”
“I don't know yet.”
I stood.
“What does she need?”
“Rest.”
“She has it.”
“No visitors.”
I looked through the glass.
Her father was still there.
I turned.
“Remove them.”
My chief of security nodded.
“Immediately.”
The nine men were escorted out.
Clara's father resisted.
“This is my daughter.”
My security chief looked at him.
“No.”
“She is family.”
“You are not family tonight.”
He tried to push past.
Three men stopped him.
He stared at me.
“You can't keep her from us.”
I walked toward him.
“Watch me.”
The family left.
The hospital became quiet.
For the first time since arriving, I could breathe.
I returned to Clara.
At 4:20 a.m., she opened her eyes.
I leaned forward.
“Clara.”
She looked at me.
Her breathing was weak.
“Baby?”
I felt my heart break.
I knew what she was asking.
I touched her hand.
“Our baby…”
She began crying before I finished.
I bent down and kissed her forehead.
“I know.”
She closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
“No.”
“I couldn't—”
“No.”
I held her.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“They said…”
“Don't.”
Her lips trembled.
“They said you weren't really my husband.”
I stared.
“What?”
“They said you didn't love me.”
I felt cold.
“Who?”
“My father.”
I leaned closer.
“Why?”
“Because…”
She struggled to breathe.
“Because he said you weren't the man you claimed to be.”
I looked at her.
She knew something.
Something I hadn't told her.
“What did he mean?”
Her eyes closed.
“I don't know.”
She fell asleep again.
I sat there for another hour.
Then my chief entered.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found the car.”
“What car?”
“The vehicle that brought Clara's father and brothers to the house.”
“And?”
“There were blood traces inside.”
I nodded.
“Match them.”
“Already done.”
“Whose?”
“Clara's.”
My jaw tightened.
They had transported her after the beating.
Not an accident.
Not a family argument.
They had planned it.
My chief continued.
“We also found a deleted message on one brother's phone.”
“From whom?”
A name appeared.
Elias Varga.
I knew him.
One of the city's largest private lenders.
A man who wanted access to my shipping routes.
He had tried to negotiate with me six months earlier.
I had refused.
Now he was connected to Clara's family.
“Find the connection.”
“Already working.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice said:
“You should have stayed a businessman.”
I said nothing.
“You don't understand what you're dealing with.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No.”
He laughed.
“You think those nine men matter.”
“They don't.”
Silence.
“Then why did you attack them?”
“Because they're expendable.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Who are you?”
“You'll find out.”
The line ended.
I looked at my chief.
“Trace it.”
He nodded.
I returned to Clara.
The sun began rising.
For most people, dawn means a new day.
For me, it marked the beginning of a war.
Not against nine men.
May you like
Against whoever had decided my wife was an acceptable sacrifice.
And whoever had been powerful enough to convince her family that attacking her was worth the price.
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