Chapter 4 - The Secrets in the File
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Scripps Mercy Hospital asked no questions. They required no insurance cards. By the time Marcus carried Lena through a secure, private entrance, a premier orthopedic surgical team was already scrubbed in and waiting.
When Lena finally opened her eyes hours later, sunlight was streaming into a VIP recovery suite. Her leg was encased in a heavy cast, elevated on pillows. The rhythmic beep of a heart monitor was the only sound in the room.
Elias sat by the window in a leather armchair. He wasn't looking at his phone. He was reading a thick, black-bound dossier.
"It was a complex, multi-fragmentary fracture," Elias said without looking up, his voice steady. "They had to use plates and screws. You will walk again, but the rehabilitation will take months."
Lena stared at the pristine white ceiling. "Where is Grant?"
"He is currently sitting in his own living room, surrounded by my men, sweating through his clothes," Elias replied, finally closing the file. "Veronica Pike fled to her father's estate in Washington. Her father tried calling three federal judges to arrange protection. None of them picked up the phone once I made my presence known."
Lena slowly turned her head. "You investigated them."
"I investigate everyone." Elias stood up and dropped the heavy file onto her lap. "Your husband’s empire is built on rot, Lena. Caldwell Development Group is drowning in hidden debt. He’s been falsifying safety reports, bribing city inspectors, and illegally evicting low-income families to build luxury condos."
Lena flipped open the file. Her breath hitched.
The top page wasn't a financial document. It was a high-resolution surveillance photograph. It showed Grant and Veronica, holding hands and laughing, walking into a luxury hotel in La Jolla. The timestamp in the corner indicated it had been taken exactly twelve hours after Lena went into surgery.
He hadn't even waited a day. He was celebrating.
Lena let out a dry, bitter laugh that scraped her throat.
"Do you want me to erase him?" Elias asked quietly. It wasn't a metaphor.
May you like
Lena looked at the photo. The rage inside her crystallized into something sharp, cold, and brilliant.
"No," Lena said, her eyes darkening. "I want him to lose everything in front of the whole world."
