“You’re both here now.”
For a few minutes, that was enough.
Then Gabriel appeared behind me.
“Detective Ortiz called again.”
I turned.
“What happened?”
“She found out something interesting about the insurance policy.”
He waited until the nurse moved away.
“The policy was issued through a holding company registered in Delaware. It was established three months ago, and Michael is the controlling officer.”
“Three months?”
“Your signature was allegedly witnessed by someone named Victor Sloan.”
I had never heard the name.
“Who is he?”
“An independent insurance broker.”
“Did I meet him?”
“There’s no record that you did.”
I stared through the incubator at Noah.
“Can the policy be canceled?”
“The insurer can freeze the claim while investigating possible fraud. But if Michael forged your signature, there are other criminal implications.”
“Then I want everything investigated.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I’ve already asked my attorney to contact the insurer’s fraud department.”
I looked at him sharply.
“Your attorney?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want you buying the truth for me.”
His face tightened.
“You think that’s what I’m doing?”
“I think you have a lot of money, and you’ve decided that because you found me, you get to control what happens next.”
“That isn’t what I want.”
“Then stop making decisions before asking me.”
He fell silent.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he pulled a chair beside the wheelchair and sat down.
“All right. What do you want to do?”
The question surprised me.
“I want to know why my mother never told me about you.”
“I want to know that, too.”
“I want Michael exposed.”
“Agreed.”
“And I want to be the one who decides when the truth comes out.”
Gabriel nodded slowly.
“Then that’s how we’ll proceed.”
It was the first promise he had made that didn’t sound like an attempt to protect me from reality.
Later that afternoon, Detective Ortiz returned with a photograph.
She placed it on the table beside my bed.
It showed a closed casket surrounded by white roses. I recognized the church from the funeral video.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“The cemetery manager gave us permission to inspect the burial arrangements. The coffin contains no human remains.”
I looked at her.
“You opened it?”
“We haven’t opened the coffin. We inspected the funeral home’s documentation, and a staff member reported that it had been delivered empty. Michael claimed your remains were too badly damaged to be displayed.”
My throat tightened.
“He lied to everyone.”
“Yes.”
“Why would anyone agree to an empty coffin?”
“Money, pressure, or a convincing story. We’re investigating.”
She removed another page from the folder.
“This is a copy of Michael’s statement about your fall. He claims he was standing too far away to reach you.”
“He was right above me.”
“Did he say anything?”
I told her again about his words and the insurance payout.
This time, she wrote every syllable down.
When she finished, she looked directly at me.
“Emma, I need you to understand something. If we establish that he planned this, he may face attempted murder charges. But that means he may also become desperate.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
I glanced toward the neonatal unit.
“He tried to kill my baby.”
Her expression softened.
“Then we’ll take that very seriously.”
After she left, I asked Gabriel to bring me my phone.
He hesitated.
“Michael may have access to your accounts.”
“I know. I want to see whether he’s contacted me.”
He gave it to me after the hospital’s security officer checked the device.
There were seventeen missed calls from Michael.
Eight messages.
The first said, Call me as soon as you have service.
The second said, Emma, where are you?
Then, You’re scaring me. Please answer.
The last message had arrived two hours before the funeral.
It read: I’m sorry it had to happen this way. You should have trusted me.
I read it twice.
Then I showed it to Gabriel.
His jaw tightened.
“Save everything.”
“I will.”
My phone vibrated again.
An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
I answered without speaking.
For several seconds, all I heard was breathing.
Then a woman’s voice came through.
“Emma?”
I recognized it instantly.
Ashley.
I held the phone so tightly that my fractured wrist began to ache.
“Who is this?” I whispered.
“Listen to me. You don’t know what Michael is planning.”
I stared at Gabriel.
Ashley spoke faster.
“He told me you were dead. He told me there was no way you survived that fall. But something happened at the hospital, and now he’s asking questions.”
My blood ran cold.
“What questions?”
“About the rescue helicopter.”
She took a shaky breath.
“Emma, if you’re alive, you need to know something.”
“What?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
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