Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO OWNED THE HOSPITAL
Dominic stared at me after the call ended.
“Edward Whitmore is your grandfather?”
I locked my phone.
“Yes.”
Natalie’s hand froze against the embroidered collar.
“The Edward Whitmore?”
Saint Aurelia was one of thirty-eight hospitals operated by Whitmore Health Systems. The network also owned outpatient centers, research laboratories, rehabilitation facilities, and a national medical-insurance company.
Grandfather’s photograph hung in the executive lobby downstairs.
Dominic had walked past it for years without realizing the man in the frame attended my childhood piano recitals.
“You’re lying,” he said.
Claire Benton glanced toward the hospital emblem on the wall.
“Mr. Whitmore visits this unit every Christmas.”
Dominic turned on her.
“No one asked you.”
Claire stepped closer to my chair.
“You need to leave the patient area.”
“I am her husband.”
“Not for much longer,” I said.
His eyes snapped toward me.
“You signed away everything.”
“I signed your proposal. A judge will decide whether an agreement presented to a heavily medicated patient two days after emergency surgery is enforceable.”
Dominic’s confidence flickered.
Natalie touched his arm.
“Let’s go.”
“No.”
He moved closer to me.
“You hid this from me for three years.”
“You never asked about my family. You asked how much my trust paid each month.”
“I married you.”
“You married what you thought you could take.”
The elevator doors opened at the end of the corridor.
Edward Whitmore stepped out first.
At seventy-three, he still moved with the controlled authority of a man accustomed to entering rooms that immediately rearranged around him. He wore a charcoal three-piece suit beneath a dark overcoat.
Beside him walked Rebecca Sloan, chief legal officer for Whitmore Health Systems.
Two hospital security officers followed.
Grandfather’s eyes found me.
His expression changed when he saw the hospital gown, the wheelchair, and the papers in Dominic’s hand.
Then he noticed Natalie wearing my coat.
He crossed the corridor without acknowledging anyone else.
“Audrey.”
He bent and pressed his forehead briefly against mine.
“Why didn’t you call me when you were admitted?”
“The delivery happened too fast.”
“I should have been here.”
“You’re here now.”
He looked through the NICU glass.
“Which one is Liam?”
I pointed to the incubator on the left.
“Chloe is beside him.”
His eyes filled.
Dominic cleared his throat.
“Mr. Whitmore, there has been a misunderstanding.”
Grandfather turned slowly.
“You abandoned my granddaughter after she nearly died giving birth.”
Dominic straightened his jacket.
“Our marriage has been failing for months.”
“Then you file through an attorney. You do not empty accounts and corner her beside two critically premature infants.”
“The accounts were marital property.”
Rebecca extended one hand.
“Give me the agreement.”
Dominic held it closer to his body.
“This is confidential.”
“Mrs. Hale is represented by Whitmore counsel as of this moment.”
“She already signed.”
“Then you should have no objection to our reviewing it.”
His silence was answer enough.
Grandfather pointed toward Natalie.
“Why is that woman wearing Audrey’s coat?”
Natalie pulled the fabric closed.
“It was a gift.”
“It was stolen from her apartment,” I said.
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“Nothing was stolen.”
Grandfather looked at the security officers.
“Remove them from the unit.”
Dominic took a step back.
“You cannot throw me out of a hospital because you own it.”
Rebecca’s expression remained calm.
“You threatened a recovering patient, entered a restricted neonatal area without authorization, and interfered with care. The hospital can remove you for any one of those reasons.”
One officer moved to Dominic’s side.
“Sir, come with us.”
Natalie looked at me.
“You planned this.”
“I planned to bring my children home with their father.”
I rested my hands over the blanket covering my abdomen.
“You both planned everything else.”
As the officers led them toward the elevator, Dominic twisted around.
“You think your grandfather can destroy me?”
Grandfather’s face became still.
“No, Mr. Hale.”
He looked at the folder beneath Dominic’s arm.
“You appear to have managed that yourself.”
The elevator doors closed.
Grandfather knelt beside me.
“Tell me everything.”
I began with the empty accounts.
By the time I finished, Rebecca was already making calls.
May you like
Before midnight, Dominic’s personal assets were frozen.
By morning, investigators had discovered that stealing from me was the smallest crime he had committed.
