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My hands trembled as I spread Maria’s evidence across Leo’s mahogany desk. Each document felt like a dagger to my heart – prescriptions, treatment plans, surveillance photos.
The truth of my mother’s final months laid bare in clinical detail.
A photo slipped from one of the files – Mom and me at the hospital garden, her thin frame. wrapped in a blue shawl I’d bought her. The date stamp showed three days before her death.
In the background, barely visible, stood Nathaniel, his phone raised. He’d been documenting everything, even then.
“Look at this.” I handed Leo a medical report, fighting to keep my voice steady. “The Swiss clinic’s experimental treatment? The one I stole money to pay for? The doctor received two
million dollars from Nathaniel’s shell company three days after rejecting Mom’s application.
Leo studied the document, his jaw clenching. “These drug combinations… Sofia, get our medical expert on the line.”
“Already did.”
did Sofia’s voice was grim as she entered. “The cocktail of medications
Nathaniel’s doctor prescribed? They were designed to accelerate organ failure while masking
the symptoms. Your mother never had a chance, Victoria.”
The room spun. Leo caught me as my knees buckled, guiding me to the leather sofa. “Easy,
cara. Breathe.”
“I thanked him.” Bile rose in my throat. “After she died, I actually thanked him for trying to
save her. Told him what a wonderful son–in–law he was.”
A memory surfaced – Mom trying to tell me something the week before she died, but Nathaniel interrupting with the nurse and another round of medications that left her barely
conscious.
“She tried to warn me.” The realization hit like physical pain. “That last week, she kept trying to stay awake, trying to tell me something. But he made sure she couldn’t.”
Leo’s arms tightened around me as a sob tore from my throat. Through my tears, I saw
Sofia answer her phone, her expression darkening.
“Boss, we’ve g
got movement. Nathaniel’s called a press conference for tomorrow morning. He’s promising to reveal ‘the truth‘ about Catherine Lane’s death.”
My blood turned to ice. Sofia handed me her tablet, showing Nathaniel’s press release: “GRIEVING HUSBAND TO EXPOSE WIFE’S DEADLY DECEPTION – Full Evidence of Catherine
Lane’s Murder to be Revealed.”
“He’s going to blame me.” The words felt like ashes in my mouth. “Turn everything around so it looks like I killed her for the inheritance.”
“There’s more.” Sofia swiped to another screen. A video played – Jessica at my mother’s grave, laying white roses while tears streamed down her perfectly made–up face.
“Catherine was like a mother to me,” she sobbed to the cameras. “The way Victoria
Fr, 21 Feb
Mary My Ex–husband’s Rival
manipulated her final days, pushed for treatments that only caused pain… I couldn’t stay silent anymore. Nathaniel and I both saw what was happening, but we were too afraid to speak up.
Rage burned through my grief. I stood, shrugging off Leo’s restraining hand. “She dares… she dares use my mother’s death for a publicity stunt?”
“Wait.” Sofia held up her hand. “Dr. Chen just posted a response. Catherine’s old oncologist?”
My heart stopped. “Jessica’s father?”
The video showed the elderly doctor in what looked like a Vancouver study. “In light of
recent allegations, my conscience compels me to speak. What happened to Catherine Lane was a tragedy, but not a natural one. I have evidence-
The video cut off abruptly.
“Get him back online,” Leo ordered.
Sofia’s fingers flew across her tablet. “His internet connection’s dead. Phone too. Someone
just cut him off completely.”
“He knows.” I gripped Leo’s arm. “Dr. Chen knows what really happened.”
“He’s in Vancouver?” Leo was already reaching for his phone. “I’ll have the jet-”
“No.” I straightened, a plan forming. “I need to go alone.”
“Victoria=”
“Think about it.” I pressed my hand to his chest, feeling his heart race beneath my palm.
“Dr. Chen was there for everything. He knows what Nathaniel did to my mother. But if you show
up the notorious mafia boss – he’ll never talk. I need to appeal to his conscience, daughter to
father.”
“It’s too dangerous.” Leo’s fingers threaded through mine. “Nathaniel will have people watching Chen.”
“Which is exactly why he won’t expect me to go there.” I met his gaze steadily. “Please, Leo.
I need to do this. For my mother. For our child.”
My hand drifted to my stomach, where our baby grew beneath my heart. Leo’s expression
softened as he covered my hand with his.
“Twenty–four hours,” he said finally. “Not a minute more. And you take a protection detail.”
“Boss.” Sofia interrupted, her face pale. “You need to see this.”
She turned up the volume on a breaking news report. The anchor’s voice filled the room: “In a shocking development, retired oncologist Dr. James Chen was found unconscious in his Vancouver home just minutes ago. Early reports suggest a possible stroke…”
“No.” The word escaped me like a prayer. “Nathaniel’s trying to silence him.”
“He’s alive,” Sofia reported, reading from her phone. “Being airlifted to Vancouver General. But he’s in critical condition.”
Leo’s phone buzzed – a text from an unknown number. He showed me the screen, and
my
blond ran old
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Mary My Ex–husband’s Rival
blood ran cold.
“Such a shame about Dr. Chen,” the message read. “Stress can be deadly at his age. Speaking of stress, Victoria, how’s our baby doing? Those early months can be so… precarious.”
Nathaniel. The threat was clear. My hands shook as I deleted the message.
“I’m still going,” I said before Leo could speak. “Chen might not be able to talk, but his house might have evidence. Maria’s letter mentioned he kept records of everything.”
“Then we do this smart.” Leo’s voice held steel. “Sofia, get me everything on Chen’s security system, house layout, daily routine. Victoria…” He cupped my face. “You go in, you get what we need, you get out. No heroics.”
“What about Nathaniel’s press conference?”
“Let him talk.” Leo’s smile was dangerous. “While he’s busy putting on his show, we’ll be dismantling everything he built. Starting with the truth about your mother.”
I leaned into his touch, drawing strength from his certainty. “He’s going to keep coming after us. Using the baby, my mother’s memory, everything he can to break me.”
“Let him try.” Leo’s kiss was fierce, possessive. “He has no idea what you’re capable of. What we’re capable of together.”
As Sofia coordinated travel arrangements, I returned to the desk, to Maria’s scattered evidence. My fingers traced the photo of Mom in the garden, her smile weak but real.
“I’m going to fix this,” I whispered to her image. “I’m going to make him pay for what he did to you. For what he’s still doing to all of us.”
Leo’s arms slipped around me from behind, his hand settling protectively over our child. In the window’s reflection, I barely recognized myself – the society wife was gone, replaced by someone harder, someone ready for war.
Nathaniel thought he could break me by using my mother’s memory against me. He was about to learn that some weapons cut both ways.
And I was done playing defense.
