Chapter 1 - The Man Behind Beacon Crest.
The silence inside the NICU became heavier after Emma ended the call.
Grant remained near the door, holding the signed divorce papers against his chest.
For the first time since walking into the room, he no longer looked completely certain of himself.
Vanessa shifted beside him.
Her fingers tightened around the sleeve of Emma's ivory maternity coat.
"Who exactly is your grandfather?" Grant asked.
Emma looked through the glass of Noah's incubator.
Her son's tiny chest rose beneath the breathing support.
"You'll meet him soon enough."
Grant gave a short laugh.
He was trying to recover the arrogance that had carried him into the hospital.
"Emma, don't start pretending your family suddenly owns half the state."
Emma said nothing.
That silence bothered him more than anger would have.
A nurse named Rachel stepped quietly toward the monitors beside Elise.
Emma had noticed her watching everything.
Rachel's expression had changed when Grant called the babies burdens.
She was professional enough not to interfere.
But the anger in her eyes was unmistakable.
Vanessa rubbed her stomach dramatically.
"This place is stressful."
She looked at Grant.
"We should leave."
Grant shook his head.
"Not until I have the documents witnessed."
Emma finally turned toward him.
"You came into a neonatal intensive care unit with your pregnant mistress to make sure your wife signed away her marriage while your premature children are fighting to breathe."
Her voice was calm.
"Do you really think the witnesses are going to help you?"
Grant's jaw tightened.
"You signed willingly."
"I did."
That answer surprised him.
Emma slowly leaned back against the hospital pillow.
The incision beneath her gown throbbed.
She felt exhausted.
But something inside her had become strangely steady.
"You wanted my signature."
Emma nodded toward the folder.
"You have it."
A distant elevator bell sounded beyond the secured NICU doors.
Then another.
Footsteps followed.
Several of them.
Grant glanced toward the hallway.
The first person to appear was the hospital's chief medical officer, Dr. Margaret Sloan.
Grant recognized her immediately.
He had spent years trying unsuccessfully to get Beacon Crest to sign an exclusive purchasing agreement with his medical supply company.
Behind her walked the hospital administrator.
Then the head of security.
Then two attorneys.
And finally, an elderly man in a charcoal suit entered the corridor.
He moved slowly.
But everyone around him adjusted their pace to his.
Charles Whitmore was seventy-eight years old.
His silver hair was neatly combed.
His posture remained straight despite the cane in his right hand.
Grant stared.
His face changed.
He had seen Charles Whitmore before.
Everyone in healthcare had.
Whitmore Health Foundation controlled twenty-three hospitals, fourteen rehabilitation facilities, nine specialty clinics, and one of the largest private medical research networks on the East Coast.
Beacon Crest was its flagship hospital.
Charles stopped outside the NICU room.
His eyes found Emma.
Then they moved to the incubators.
Something in his face broke.
"My babies."
Emma swallowed hard.
"Grandfather."
Grant's mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Vanessa turned toward him.
"You know him?"
Grant whispered without looking at her.
"Everybody knows him."
Charles entered the room.
He ignored Grant completely.
He went first to Emma's bedside.
His hand settled gently against her hair.
"You nearly died, and nobody told me until this morning."
Emma's eyes filled.
"I asked them not to call you while you were overseas."
Charles's expression hardened.
"That instruction is never to be followed again."
He looked toward Noah and Elise.
His eyes softened instantly.
"My great-grandchildren."
Rachel moved closer.
"They're stable right now, Mr. Whitmore."
Charles nodded gratefully.
"Thank you for taking care of them."
Only then did he turn toward Grant.
The temperature of the room seemed to drop.
Grant forced a smile.
"Mr. Whitmore."
Charles stared at him.
"You must be the man who called my great-grandchildren burdens."
Grant glanced quickly at Rachel.
Then at Emma.
"That was taken out of context."
Rachel spoke before Emma could.
"No, sir."
Everyone looked at her.
Rachel swallowed.
"I was standing here."
She nodded toward Grant.
"He said exactly that."
Charles's eyes returned to Grant.
Grant lifted the folder.
"This is a private marital matter."
Charles looked at the documents.
"So private that you brought your mistress into my hospital to participate."
Vanessa's face turned pale.
Charles's gaze moved to her maternity coat.
His expression changed again.
"Emma."
He pointed toward Vanessa.
"Isn't that the coat Margaret had made for you?"
Margaret had been Emma's grandmother.
She had died two years earlier.
Emma nodded.
"It is."
Vanessa immediately began removing it.
"I didn't know."
Emma watched her.
"You knew my babies' initials were stitched inside."
Vanessa froze.
The coat slid halfway from her shoulders.
Charles turned to the chief of security.
"Please escort these two people from the neonatal floor."
Grant stepped forward.
"You can't do that."
Charles looked at him.
"I can."
"This hospital is open to the public."
"The NICU isn't."
Grant raised the divorce folder.
"I'm the father."
Emma's voice cut through the room.
"A father who visited once after his children were born."
Grant stared at her.
Charles leaned toward one of the attorneys.
"Make a note of everything said here."
The attorney nodded.
Already, Grant understood what was happening.
This was no longer the frightened woman he had abandoned.
This was evidence.
Security moved toward him.
Grant's confidence cracked.
"Emma, think carefully."
She met his eyes.
"I finally am."
Vanessa grabbed Grant's arm.
"Let's go."
As they were escorted toward the doors, Charles spoke again.
"Mr. Holloway."
Grant stopped.
Charles's voice remained almost gentle.
"Before you celebrate that divorce settlement, I suggest you have your attorney examine what you actually received."
Grant frowned.
Emma saw the fear forming behind his eyes.
Charles turned back toward her.
Then he quietly added the sentence that would haunt Grant for weeks.
"Because my granddaughter never owned the company you just stole from her."
May you like
Grant slowly looked down at the papers in his hands.
And for the first time, he wondered what Emma had made him sign without his realizing it.
