My Husband Slapped Me At The Hospital… Then My Father Did Something Nobody Expected. Chapt
Chapter 10
Ryan survived.
The bullet had struck his shoulder rather than his chest.
Doctors said he was lucky.
Emily wasn’t sure she believed in luck anymore.
Victor Hale was arrested.
But Frank warned her that the investigation was far from over.
Ryan was taken into custody once he was medically stable.
He agreed to cooperate.
For the first time, Emily heard the entire story.
Victor had approached him before the wedding.
Ryan had enormous gambling debts.
Victor offered to erase them.
In return, Ryan had to marry Emily.
He was told to gain her trust.
Convince her to sell the property.
Learn where Thomas kept his financial records.
And report everything.
“But why hurt my father?” Emily asked.
Ryan looked down.
“I never wanted him dead.”
“Someone tried to kill him.”
“I know.”
“Did you tell Victor to stop?”
Ryan’s eyes filled with shame.
“I was afraid.”
Emily stared at him.
“You were afraid of Victor, so you made me live with him.”
Ryan had no answer.
He eventually told investigators about Victor’s network.
Names.
Companies.
Accounts.
Political connections.
But there was one name he refused to give.
Emily asked him why.
“Because I don’t know if she was involved.”
“Who?”
Ryan looked at her.
“Your father’s assistant.”
Emily froze.
Her father’s assistant, Susan Blake, had worked for Thomas for fourteen years.
She had been at the company before Emily married Ryan.
She had also been the person who introduced Ryan to Thomas.
Emily remembered something.
Susan had known about the property trust.
She had known where Thomas kept his documents.
And she had been the person who told Ryan that Thomas’s condition had worsened.
Emily immediately contacted Daniel.
They investigated.
Susan’s financial records showed unexplained deposits.
Small amounts at first.
Then larger ones.
The final payment was $75,000.
From a company connected to Victor.
Susan was confronted.
She denied everything.
Until Daniel showed her the bank records.
Then she broke down.
“I didn’t know they would hurt him.”
“What did you do?” Emily asked.
“I gave them information.”
“What information?”
“Schedules. Medical updates. Security routines.”
Emily felt sick.
“You helped them attack my father.”
Susan cried.
“I was desperate.”
“So was Ryan.”
Susan looked down.
“He chose money.”
“And you chose fear.”
Susan eventually confessed.
But she revealed something even worse.
Victor hadn’t acted alone.
His network extended into the transportation project that surrounded Thomas’s property.
Several officials had been paid to manipulate zoning decisions.
The Carter property was the final piece.
If Victor obtained it, he could control the entire development corridor.
Frank called it one of the largest land manipulation schemes he had seen.
Thomas listened from his hospital bed.
“It’s finally over,” Emily said.
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“Victor is only one man.”
Emily looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
Thomas pointed toward the documents.
“Look at the signatures.”
Emily studied them.
Then she noticed something.
Victor had signed certain transactions.
But another signature appeared repeatedly.
A person authorizing the payments.
Someone higher.
Emily looked at Daniel.
“Who is this?”
Daniel’s face changed.
He recognized the name.
“Eleanor Grant.”
Emily frowned.
“Who is she?”
Thomas answered.
“Your mother’s sister.”
Emily froze.
“My aunt?”
Thomas nodded.
“She disappeared after your mother’s death.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked toward the window.
“Because I thought she was dead.”
