Marcus let out a dry, harsh laugh. “No, Leo. Your mom doesn’t get a say in anything anymore.”
Victoria leaned down over my bed, using her cold fingers to smooth a stray lock of hair away from my face. “She always did love being the center of attention,” she whispered right against my ear. “Even sound asleep, she plays the martyr.”
Then, her voice dropped to a sinister undertone. “Once she finally passes, we’re taking the boy straight to the estate in Connecticut. Far away from questions, far away from neighbors, and far away from nosy attorneys.”
Leo took a panicked step backward. “You’re taking me away from my home?”
Marcus glared down at him with undisguised contempt. “We’re taking you somewhere you’ll finally learn to keep your mouth shut.”
“I don’t want to! I want my mom to wake up!”
“Your mom is never waking up!” Marcus spat. “And you are going to do exactly what I tell you to do.”
Leo lifted his face, trembling violently, but a fierce, brand-new defiance flared in his eyes. “No. My mom told me that if anything ever happened to her, I was supposed to call Ms. Lawson.”
A suffocating silence collapsed onto the room.
Ms. Lawson was my estate lawyer. And she was the only living person who knew that I had entirely rewritten my last will and testament exactly two weeks before the accident.
Marcus slammed the hospital door shut, locking it. “What lawyer, Leo?”
Victoria turned deathly pale. “Marcus… that boy knows too much.”
Right then, it happened. A single finger on my right hand twitched.
It was a minimal, microscopic movement. Almost nothing. But Leo saw it.
He didn’t scream. He didn’t smile. He didn’t betray me to them. He simply leaned down close to my ear once more and whispered, “Don’t move, Mom. I already called for help.”
Marcus aggressively grabbed Leo by the arm. “What did you just whisper to her?”
Leo looked his father dead in the eye. “That I love her.”
Victoria reached deep into her designer handbag. “The notary is downstairs. We need to finish this right now.”
Marcus grabbed my paralyzed hand, forcing my fingers to clamp down around a heavy pen. “You’re going to sign, Valerie. Even if I have to force your hand to write it myself.”
But I wasn’t dying anymore. And exactly five minutes later, someone knocked firmly on the door.
Victoria smirked. “That must be the notary.”
The door swung open. But it wasn’t a notary who walked in.
It was a woman in a sharp dark pantsuit, carrying a commanding presence and a thick manila folder under her arm.
“Good evening, Marcus,” Ms. Lawson said coldly. “Before you place another finger on my client, I suggest you explain to me why her brake lines were intentionally cut.”
Part 2
Marcus slowly let go of my hand. He didn’t do it out of guilt; he did it like a predator calculating the exact level of threat standing in front of him.
“Who authorized you to come in here?” he demanded, glancing up nervously toward the hallway security camera.
“The very same hospital security staff who have already spoken to the police regarding your highly suspicious behavior,” Ms. Lawson countered smoothly.
Victoria stepped forward immediately, flashing a flawless, practiced smile. “Ms. Lawson, we’re so glad you’re here. But this is a private family tragedy, not a legal circus. My sister had an accident. Period.”
“A highly convenient accident,” Ms. Lawson said, raising a tablet. “The forensic mechanical report indicates that her brake lines were cleanly severed with a tool. They did not snap due to wear and tear.”
I hung onto every single word, each sentence pumping metaphoric oxygen back into my starved lungs. Leo remained glued to my side, carefully holding my hand. His tiny fingers were shaking, but his grip never wavered.
Victoria leaned over me again, pretending to smooth my hospital blanket. “That proves absolutely nothing,” she hissed under her breath. “Nothing.”
But I could feel it through her touch. My sister was terrified.
“Not just anyone knew Valerie would be driving that specific route that night,” Ms. Lawson continued, stepping closer. “And not just anyone stood to inherit a fortune from her death.”
Marcus forced a hollow, defensive laugh. “Inherit? My wife is in a coma. Do you hear how absurd you sound?”
“She also completely structured her will,” Ms. Lawson dropped the hammer.
Victoria’s eyes went wide. “That’s a lie.”
