Chapter 5
My uncle moved me to a private maternity suite under another name.
Security changed the elevator access.
My phone was taken for forensic review.
A new one appeared in my hand within twenty minutes.
My uncle did not ask if I wanted help anymore.
He gave it until I had enough strength to choose.
At midnight, a woman in a gray suit entered.
“Margot Vale,” my uncle said. “This is Nora Chen. She was your mother’s law partner.”
I blinked.
“My mother’s?”
Nora smiled gently.
“You were twelve when we met.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You were reading in the hallway outside a deposition. Evelyn said you had inherited her stubbornness.”
My throat tightened.
Nora sat across from me.
“Your uncle called because there are things you need to know.”
I looked between them.
“What things?”
Nora opened a leather folder.
“Your mother left assets in trust for you. Bennett never had access.”
I almost laughed.
“I have no assets.”
“You have controlling interest in Mercer Medical Holdings.”
The room went quiet.
“What?”
My uncle sat beside me.
“This hospital is part of it.”
I stared at him.
“No. You’re the director.”
“I run it. You own the largest private stake through your mother’s trust.”
My pulse thundered.
“Bennett knows?”
Nora’s expression darkened.
“We think he recently found out.”
Pieces clicked.
Frozen cards.
Medical power of attorney.
Margot’s confidence.
His mother demanding I sign documents last week.
“What documents?”
Nora asked sharply.
I told her.
A “birth planning agreement.”
A “family privacy clause.”
A “temporary asset coordination form.”
Nora’s face went hard.
“Did you sign?”
“No.”
“Good.”
My uncle looked murderous.
Nora continued.
“If Bennett gained medical control during delivery, he could argue you were incapacitated and attempt guardianship maneuvers through the child.”
“My daughter?”
“Yes.”
The word turned my blood cold.
My daughter was not even born, and they were already reaching for her.
A nurse knocked.
“Miss Halloway? There’s a woman at reception claiming to be your mother-in-law.”
I closed my eyes.
Bennett’s mother.
Diane.
Nora closed the folder.
“Good,” she said.
I looked at her.
“Good?”
May you like
Her smile was sharp.
“Let her talk.”
