Chapter 7: The Stranger Beside My Bed
The message arrived at 3:41 p.m.
*The person who sent you these warnings is already inside your hospital room.*
I read it once.
Then again.
My fingers tightened around the phone until my knuckles hurt.
Across from me, Daniel Cross was examining the photograph of Richard Cole outside the clinic. Natalie had gone downstairs to speak with the patient advocate, leaving the door slightly open behind her.
I looked at the empty visitor's chair.
The folded blanket.
The half-finished cup of water on my bedside table.
Someone had been in my room.
Someone who knew about the messages.
Someone who might have been watching me while I slept.
"Daniel," I whispered.
He looked up.
"What's wrong?""
I turned my phone toward him.
He read the message, and the color drained from his face.
"Don't move," he said.
He walked to the door, looked into the corridor, then turned back toward the window.
"We're changing rooms.""
"Why?""
"Because I don't know who has access to this one.""
I grabbed his sleeve.
"You're doing it again.""
He stopped.
"What?""
"Making decisions for me without explaining anything.""
His expression softened.
"You're right. I'm sorry.""
He pulled the chair beside my bed closer.
"We have two possibilities. Someone is trying to frighten you into trusting the anonymous sender, or someone has genuinely gained access to your room. Either way, we need to establish who has been here.""
I glanced at the door.
"Call security.""
He did.
Within minutes, a hospital security supervisor arrived with a nurse. They checked the room, reviewed the visitor log, and confirmed that several people had entered while I was asleep.
Two nurses.
A respiratory technician.
A woman delivering flowers.
And one visitor who had signed the log using only the initials M.E.
Margaret Ellis.
I stared at the initials.
"She was here?""
The supervisor nodded.
"About forty minutes ago. She said she was a family friend.""
"Did she leave anything?""
"We haven't found anything unusual.""
I looked at the flowers on the windowsill.
They were white lilies.
Lucas had hated lilies because their smell reminded him of the hospital where his grandfather died.
He always bought me yellow roses instead.
I hadn't ordered these flowers.
"Who sent those?"" I asked.
The nurse checked the small card.
"There's no name.""
I reached for it.
The card was blank on the front.
On the back, someone had written a single sentence in blue ink.
*You promised you would keep her safe.*
My breath caught.
I knew that handwriting.
The letters leaned slightly to the right. The capital Y had an unusually long tail. The word safe was underlined twice.
Lucas.
I pressed the card against my chest.
"Emily?"" Daniel asked.
I handed it to him.
He studied the writing.
"Could this be a copy of his handwriting?""
"I don't know.""
"Did you see Margaret when she came in?""
"No. I was sleeping.""
He looked at the security supervisor.
"Can you preserve the visitor footage and confirm whether she was alone?""
"Yes, sir.""
"And please restrict access to this room. No visitors without Emily's approval.""
The supervisor nodded and left.
Daniel turned toward me.
"We need to speak with Margaret.""
"Where is she?""
"Martin believes she's still near the clinic.""
"Then let's go.""
"Emily, you're not cleared to leave the hospital without medical approval.""
"I know.""
"Then we arrange a secure interview here.""
I stared at the flowers.
"What if she refuses to come?""
"Then we'll find another way.""
I lowered my voice.
"Daniel, what if she really knows who killed Lucas?""
He looked at the letter resting beside my bed.
"Then we need to make sure she can tell us without being silenced.""
An hour later, my father arrived.
He didn't knock.
He walked into my room carrying a bouquet of yellow roses and a shopping bag from an expensive department store.
For one absurd second, I wondered whether he'd remembered that Lucas always bought me yellow roses.
Then Charles placed the flowers on the windowsill, directly beside the white lilies.
"How are you feeling, sweetheart?""
I stared at him.
"Get out.""
His smile faltered.
"Emily, please. I've come to make peace.""
"You came with a forged court order.""
"That was a misunderstanding.""
"You brought a man who isn't my lawyer and tried to obtain control over my medical decisions.""
"I was concerned about your judgment.""
"My judgment is perfectly fine.""
He pulled a chair toward the bed.
"I've spoken to your doctors. They agree that stress is dangerous for you.""
I glanced at Daniel.
He had moved closer to the door.
"Which doctor did you speak to?"" I asked.
Charles waved a hand.
"That's not important.""
"It is to me.""
He sighed as if I were a troublesome child.
"Emily, I know you've been listening to Daniel. He's filling your head with stories about financial fraud and conspiracies. You're vulnerable, and he's taking advantage of that.""
I looked at him for a long moment.
"Did you know Victoria was alive?""
The smile vanished.
For the first time, my father seemed unable to find an immediate answer.
Then he leaned back.
"I don't know what you've been told.""
"I have a photograph of her taken eleven days before Lucas died.""
"Photographs can be manipulated.""
"I have a recording of you arguing with Lucas about missing money.""
His fingers tightened around the armrest.
"Where did you get that?""
"From the storage unit Lucas rented.""
Charles stood.
"You had no right to take those documents.""
"They belong to my husband.""
"Your husband is dead.""
The words struck the room like a slap.
Daniel stepped forward.
"That's enough.""
Charles pointed at him.
"You stay out of this.""
"No.""
My father turned back to me.
"You think you're protecting your daughter by attacking me. You're not. You're dragging her into a world you don't understand.""
I felt my daughter move beneath my ribs.
I placed a hand on my stomach.
"Then help me understand it.""
Charles stared at me.
"Give me the recording.""
"No.""
"Emily.""
"No.""
His voice dropped.
"You don't know what that recording will do to you.""
I held his gaze.
"Maybe I'm finally ready to find out.""
He looked toward the door, then back at me.
For a moment, I thought he might reveal something.
Instead, he picked up the shopping bag and placed it on my bedside table.
Inside was a thick envelope containing financial statements and a cashier's check.
"Five hundred thousand dollars," he said.
"Enough to start over somewhere comfortable. You can buy another house. Raise the baby somewhere quiet. Forget all this nonsense.""
I stared at the check.
"You want me to sell my home to you?""
"I want you to be sensible.""
"And the forged signature?""
"We can resolve that privately.""
"The fake court order?""
"A misunderstanding.""
"The money Lucas found?""
Charles's jaw tightened.
"You have no idea what you're asking.""
I pushed the envelope back toward him.
"I don't want your money.""
He looked genuinely offended.
"After everything I've done for you?""
"You've done nothing but threaten me.""
"I raised you.""
"And you threw me out in the rain.""
His face darkened.
Then he leaned close enough that I could smell the whiskey on his breath.
"You should have accepted the offer.""
He straightened and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned back.
"One last thing, Emily. If you insist on digging up the past, don't be surprised when you discover that Lucas wasn't the man you thought he was.""
The door closed behind him.
I stared at the yellow roses.
Daniel waited until the footsteps disappeared.
"He's frightened," he said.
"Of what?""
"Whatever Lucas left behind.""
I looked at the shopping bag.
Beneath the check was a small folded note.
I hadn't noticed it before.
I opened it.
Five words were written inside.
*Ask Natalie about the wedding.*
My heart stopped.
Daniel read the note over my shoulder.
"Emily, what does that mean?""
I couldn't answer.
Because suddenly I remembered something from my wedding day.
Natalie had arrived late.
She'd been crying.
When I asked what happened, she'd told me she had a flat tire.
But later that evening, Lucas had pulled me aside and asked whether Natalie had mentioned receiving any strange phone calls.
I'd laughed and told him he was being paranoid.
He hadn't laughed back.
Now I stared at the note.
Why would my father want me to ask Natalie about my wedding?
And what had she hidden from me?
Natalie returned at six.
She was carrying a cup of coffee and a small paper bag of crackers.
She smiled when she saw me.
"How's my favorite stubborn pregnant woman?""
I held up the note.
Her smile disappeared.
"Where did you get that?""
"From my father.""
She set the coffee down slowly.
"Emily—"
"What happened at my wedding?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
I felt the room tilt.
"Tell me.""
Natalie sat beside me.
For several seconds, she couldn't speak.
Then she reached into her handbag and removed an old photograph.
It showed Lucas and me standing outside the church after our ceremony.
Behind us, near the parking lot, stood my father.
And beside him was Victoria.
Alive.
Natalie's hands trembled.
"Your father told me Victoria was dangerous," she whispered.
"He said she had stolen money from your mother and was trying to manipulate you.""
I stared at the photograph.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because he threatened you.""
"How?""
"He said if I helped Victoria contact you, he'd make sure Lucas lost his business. He said he'd ruin both your lives.""
I felt sick.
"So you knew she was alive?""
Natalie began to cry.
"I knew she was alive on your wedding day. I didn't know what happened afterward. Charles told me she had disappeared again, and I believed him.""
"You let me think she was dead.""
"I was twenty-six, Emily. I was frightened. I thought I was protecting you.""
I turned toward the window.
The hospital lights reflected in the glass.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to ask how many people had known the truth while I mourned a woman who might have been alive all along.
Instead, I whispered, "Did Lucas know?""
Natalie nodded.
"He found out a few months after the wedding. He asked me to tell him everything I knew. I told him about Charles's threats.""
"Why didn't he tell me?""
"Because he thought your father would retaliate. He said he needed proof before he brought you into it.""
I closed my eyes.
Lucas had been trying to protect me.
But in doing so, he'd left me alone in the dark.
"Did Victoria ever contact you again?""
Natalie wiped her cheeks.
"Once. About two months before Lucas died.""
"What did she say?""
Natalie reached into her handbag and removed a folded piece of paper.
"She told me that Charles was planning something. She said if anything happened to Lucas, I should give you this.""
I took the paper.
It contained an address.
And a name.
*Margaret Ellis.*
Beneath it was a handwritten sentence.
*She has the original contract. Find her before Charles does.*
I looked at Natalie.
"Why didn't you give me this before?""
"Because I received it yesterday.""
My blood ran cold.
"Yesterday?""
"Someone left it on my doorstep. I didn't know whether it was real, so I brought it to you.""
I stared at the address.
It was the same clinic where Martin had photographed Margaret.
Then my phone rang.
An unknown number.
I answered.
A woman's voice whispered, "Emily, it's Margaret.""
I sat upright.
"Where are you?""
"There's no time. Charles knows I've contacted you.""
"Then tell me what happened to Lucas.""
A shaky breath came through the speaker.
"I didn't mean for him to die.""
The room went silent.
I gripped the phone.
"What did you do?""
Margaret began crying.
"I only changed the paperwork. I didn't know Charles would take it that far.""
"Take what that far?""
"Emily, listen to me. Your husband discovered the real beneficiary of the insurance policy, and he was going to expose everything.""
I could barely breathe.
"Who was the beneficiary?""
Margaret whispered a name.
Then the line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
Daniel rushed toward me.
"What did she say?""
I looked at him.
"She said Lucas discovered who would receive the insurance money.""
"And who was it?""
I swallowed.
"Me.""
For a moment, Daniel looked confused.
Then I remembered the final sentence in Lucas's letter.
The woman who signed the false documents is not the woman you think she is.
I looked at Natalie.
She was staring at the hospital door.
Someone stood on the other side of the frosted glass.
A woman.
Holding a black umbrella.
And wearing a silver crescent bracelet.
Victoria.
She raised one hand and tapped twice on the glass.
Just as she used to tap on my bedroom door when I was a child.
May you like
Then she mouthed three words.
*Your father lied.*
