Chapter 4: The Letters in the Fire
Dr.
Shaw placed a monitor around Elena’s abdomen while Gabriel stood beside the hospital bed.
The baby’s heartbeat filled the room in quick, steady pulses.
“Is my child safe?” Elena asked.
“For the moment,” Dr.
Shaw said.
“But the contractions and pressure are serious.
If they continue, we may have to deliver early.”
Elena’s face crumpled.
“I can’t do this.”
Gabriel reached for her hand, but she pulled away.
“You stayed away.”
“You asked me to.”
“I was your daughter.
You should have known I didn’t mean forever.”
Gabriel lowered his hand.
“Every month, I wrote that I would come the moment you called.”
“I never saw those letters.”
“I know that now.”
Dr.
Shaw adjusted the monitor and turned toward Gabriel.
“She needs calm, not explanations.”
Elena covered her face.
“My baby may come too soon because I was too ashamed to tell anyone how he treated me.”
A nurse named Beth moved to the other side of the bed and gently lowered Elena’s hands.
“Look at me,” Beth said.
“You asked for help today.
That matters.”
“I should have asked three years ago.”
“You’re asking now.”
Elena began to cry.
Beth held a cloth to her injured palm while Gabriel pulled a chair close.
“I failed you,” Gabriel said.
“I called distance respect when it was really fear.”
Elena looked at him through her tears.
“Fear of what?”
“That if I came near you, you would see the man I used to be and close the door again.”
“I needed my father, not his reputation.”
Gabriel bowed his head.
“Then your father is here.”
Mara entered carrying Rose’s phone and a charred piece of cedar.
She set both on the table.
“Someone burned the box beneath Elena’s bed.”
Elena gripped the blanket.
“My mother’s letters were in there.”
“Not all of them,” Gabriel said.
“I kept copies of every letter I sent.”
Mara unlocked Rose’s phone.
“We also have the garden recording, but Julian’s attorneys obtained an emergency hearing for tomorrow.”
“For what?” Elena asked.
“He claims you are medically unstable and unable to manage the trust.”
Gabriel rose.
“On what basis?”
“A statement from Dr.
Leonard Pike, the physician Julian hired last month.”
Elena stared at Mara.
“He told me the pills were vitamins.”
Dr.
Shaw stepped closer.
“What pills?”
“White tablets.
Julian watched me take them every morning.”
“Did you bring them?”
“My bag is still at the villa.”
Beth opened a sealed belongings pouch.
“A housekeeper sent this with the ambulance.”
Elena searched the bag and found the bottle.
Dr.
Shaw read the label twice before calling the hospital pharmacy.
“These are not prenatal vitamins.”
Gabriel’s fingers tightened around the bed rail.
“What are they?”
“They can cause dizziness and dangerously lower pressure in some patients.”
Elena turned pale.
“He knew I was falling.”
Mara’s phone rang.
She listened, then placed it on speaker.
A court clerk spoke from the other end.
“Mrs.
Vance has been served electronically.
Until tomorrow’s hearing, Mr.
Vance retains temporary control of the accounts.”
A second message appeared before the call ended.
Mara read it and went still.
“What does it say?” Elena asked.
May you like
Mara turned the screen toward her.
“Julian has also petitioned for emergency custody of the baby after delivery.”
