My Husband Slapped Me At The Hospital… Then My Father Did Something Nobody Expected. Chapt
Chapter 7
The next morning, Emily made a decision.
She would stop reacting.
She would start investigating.
With Daniel, Frank, and a forensic accountant, she began tracing the money connected to Victor.
The deeper they went, the worse it became.
Companies changed names.
Accounts moved through different states.
Properties were bought through shell corporations.
And Ryan appeared repeatedly.
Not as an owner.
As a consultant.
A paid consultant.
Emily stared at the documents.
“He’s been working for them for almost a year.”
Daniel nodded.
“He didn’t marry you by accident.”
The truth hurt more than the slap.
She had spent two years believing she had found a husband.
Apparently, she had been someone’s assignment.
That afternoon, Ryan called again.
Emily answered.
“Why did you marry me?”
Silence.
Then Ryan said:
“What are you talking about?”
“Did Victor pay you?”
“Emily—”
“Tell me the truth.”
Ryan breathed heavily.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“I owed money.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Was I part of the deal?”
He said nothing.
Emily closed her eyes.
“Was I?”
Finally, Ryan whispered:
“It wasn’t supposed to become like this.”
Her heart broke.
“What wasn’t?”
“I was supposed to convince you to sell the property.”
“And if I refused?”
“They told me to keep pushing.”
“And my father?”
Ryan didn’t answer.
“Did Victor order you to hurt him?”
“No.”
Emily’s voice shook.
“Did he order you to hurt me?”
“No.”
“Then why did you slap me?”
Ryan sounded ashamed.
“Because I was angry.”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“So that part was all you.”
“Yes.”
She hung up.
For the first time, she felt something other than fear.
Disgust.
That evening, Ryan arrived at the hospital again.
But this time, he wasn’t alone.
Victor Hale stood behind him.
Emily saw the man through the glass doors.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Calm.
He looked nothing like a monster.
That made him more frightening.
He entered the lobby.
Ryan followed.
Victor smiled at Emily.
“Mrs. Carter.”
“Mr. Hale.”
“I think we should talk.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“You’re mistaken.”
He looked toward Thomas’s room.
“Your father is dying.”
Emily stepped forward.
“Leave.”
Victor’s smile disappeared.
“You’ve inherited his stubbornness.”
“And my mother’s courage.”
For the first time, Victor looked unsettled.
“You know about her.”
“I know enough.”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Then you know what happens to people who stand in my way.”
Daniel stepped beside Emily.
“You’re being recorded.”
Victor looked at him.
Then laughed.
“You think recordings frighten me?”
“No.”
Daniel held up his phone.
“But evidence does.”
Victor’s expression changed.
He turned to leave.
Before he did, he whispered to Emily:
“You have forty-eight hours.”
“For what?”
“To sign the property transfer.”
“And if I don’t?”
Victor looked at her.
“Your father won’t see another sunrise.”
Emily’s face went pale.
Victor walked away.
Frank immediately contacted the police.
But Emily knew something.
Victor had made a mistake.
He had threatened her directly.
And he had given them a deadline.
Now they had a chance.
They just needed to survive forty-eight hours.
