Chapter 1: The Truth Hidden Behind a Lie
Chapter 1: The Truth Hidden Behind a Lie
Garrett lowered his eyes as if grief had stolen every word from him.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered. "If I'd known—"
"You would have come?" Meredith interrupted quietly.
Her voice carried no anger.
That frightened him more than if she had screamed.
"I told you my phone died."
She stared at him.
Then she slowly reached into the pocket of his cashmere coat.
Garrett froze.
"What are you doing?"
She pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up instantly.
Battery: 78%.
No charger.
No dead phone.
Only silence.
Garrett's face drained of color.
"You lied."
"I... I charged it in the car."
"But you said it was dead."
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Before another excuse could form, the elevator doors opened again.
Richard Hayes stepped into the hallway.
Meredith's father.
The founder of Hayes Medical Technologies.
One of the wealthiest men in the state.
Despite his influence, he wore a simple navy overcoat and walked directly to his daughter without acknowledging anyone else.
He wrapped Meredith in his arms.
Only then did she finally cry.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just quiet, broken sobs that shook her entire body.
Richard held her as if she were five years old again.
After several minutes, he looked over her shoulder.
His eyes settled on Garrett.
"What happened?"
Meredith answered without lifting her head.
"I called him seventeen times."
She paused.
"He arrived three hours later."
Richard nodded once.
Then he looked directly into Garrett's eyes.
"Where were you?"
Garrett swallowed.
"Business meeting."
Richard said nothing.
He simply walked past him toward the nurses' station.
"I'd like access to the hospital security footage."
Garrett's heartbeat skipped.
Twenty minutes later, the footage from the hospital entrance confirmed what everyone already knew.
Garrett hadn't arrived until 2:17 a.m.
But Richard wasn't interested in when he arrived.
He wanted to know where he had been.
One phone call later, another answer came.
Garrett's luxury sedan had been parked outside the Grand Regent Hotel from 8:03 p.m. until 1:41 a.m.
Not at a business meeting.
A hotel.
Richard requested one final piece of information.
Security cameras.
Suite records.
When the hotel manager recognized Richard Hayes, cooperation became immediate.
The footage showed Garrett entering the penthouse suite with a woman.
They laughed.
They kissed before the elevator doors closed.
The timestamp read 8:11 p.m.
Exactly eighteen minutes before Lucas collapsed.
Richard closed the tablet.
He didn't speak.
He simply handed it to Meredith.
She watched the video once.
Only once.
When it ended, she quietly returned the tablet.
"I don't want to see it again."
Garrett finally found his voice.
"It wasn't what it looked like."
Meredith looked at him with empty eyes.
"Our son died while you were making sure another woman didn't spend the night alone."
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For the first time in his life...
Garrett had no lie left to tell.
