Chapter 2: A Secret Buried for Years
Chapter 2: A Secret Buried for Years
The hospital laboratory delivered preliminary results before midnight.
The substance found in Emma's wine wasn't alcohol-related.
It was far worse.
A medication that could trigger a life-threatening reaction in people with Emma's condition.
A medication specifically listed in her medical records as dangerous.
Jonathan sat beside Emma's hospital bed when the doctor delivered the news.
His hands trembled.
"Are you saying someone knew exactly what they were doing?"
The doctor nodded.
"It would be difficult to call this an accident."
Jonathan felt something inside him break.
For years he had ignored small incidents.
Missed medications.
Destroyed doctor appointments.
Cruel comments disguised as jokes.
Every time Emma complained, he convinced himself she was being sensitive.
Now all those memories returned at once.
And suddenly they formed a pattern.
A terrifying pattern.
The next morning he ordered a private investigation.
Within forty-eight hours, investigators uncovered more than anyone expected.
Emails.
Financial records.
Phone messages.
Evidence that Vivian had spent years quietly trying to remove Emma from the family's future.
The motive was simple.
Money.
If Emma inherited Reed Holdings, Vivian's son would receive less.
But the final discovery shocked Jonathan the most.
The investigators found a hidden folder.
Inside were medical records.
Not Emma's.
Vivian's.
The records revealed something Jonathan never knew.
Vivian had been secretly draining company funds for years to cover massive personal debts.
Millions of dollars.
If Emma eventually inherited control of the company, a full audit would expose everything.
Emma wasn't merely an inconvenience.
She was a threat.
And Vivian had decided to eliminate that threat.
Legally.
Financially.
Or physically.
Whatever it took.
Jonathan looked at the evidence spread across his desk.
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Then he made the hardest decision of his life.
He called the police.
