Chapter 4 - The Grieving Widower
Three days later.
I sat in a secure, private VIP suite at a coastal hospital, surrounded by armed guards and my legal team. My daughter was perfectly healthy, her strong heartbeat a constant, reassuring rhythm on the monitor beside me.
On the television mounted to the wall, a live press conference was taking place outside the headquarters of the Bennett-Ashford Group.
Grant stood at the podium, dressed in a sharp black suit, looking devastatingly handsome and utterly heartbroken. He was putting on the performance of a lifetime. Beside him stood Vanessa, playing the role of the supportive, grieving colleague.
“It is with a shattered heart that I must confirm the Coast Guard has officially called off the search,” Grant said, his voice cracking perfectly for the cameras. He wiped a manufactured tear from his eye. “My beautiful wife, Emma, and our unborn child were lost in a tragic boating accident. She was suffering from severe prenatal anxiety... she lost her balance near the railing. I tried to reach her, but the current was too strong. I will never stop loving her.”
My attorney, Marcus, scoffed from his chair beside my bed. “Give him an Oscar.”
“Let him finish his speech,” I murmured, my eyes glued to the screen. “Because it’s the last one he’ll ever give.”
Grant concluded the press conference by announcing that, in honor of his late wife’s legacy, he would be stepping in as the sole executor of the Bennett family assets to "guide the company through this dark time."
He was legally stealing my empire on live television.
“Are the police in position?” I asked Marcus.
“They are waiting in the lobby of his building,” Marcus smiled. “Whenever you are ready, Emma.”
May you like
I stood up from the hospital bed, smoothing the tailored navy dress I had specifically requested. I was exhausted, bruised, and still recovering from near-hypothermia. But I had never felt stronger in my entire life.
“Let’s go resurrect the dead,” I said.
