Chapter 2: A Family Built on Lies
Doctors worked through the night to stabilize Aria and her unborn child.
Damien never left the hospital.
He sat beside her bed in silence, replaying every bruise he had seen.
Every injury felt like a personal failure.
While Aria recovered, he began asking questions.
Old neighbors.
Former employees.
Medical records.
Bank statements.
Piece by piece, a horrifying picture emerged.
Nathan had never married Aria for love.
Her late mother had left behind valuable land scheduled for commercial development.
If Aria lost custody of her child—or was declared mentally unstable—the inheritance could eventually fall under Nathan's control.
But one discovery shook Damien more than anything else.
A nurse quietly admitted she had once questioned medication Nathan insisted Aria take every day.
The prescriptions weren't prenatal vitamins.
They were sedatives.
Someone had been trying to keep Aria weak.
Damien immediately turned everything over to detectives.
The investigation moved quickly.
Then, one night, hospital security intercepted a man trying to enter Aria's room using a fake visitor pass.
After several hours of questioning, the intruder confessed.
Someone had paid him to make sure the baby never survived childbirth.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Yet Nathan still believed his family's influence would protect them.
His uncle—a powerful federal judge—used every legal connection he had to delay investigations and freeze Aria's financial assets.
At the emergency hearing, Vivian stood confidently before the courtroom.
Then she smiled.
"Colonel Cross has no legal standing."
She turned toward Aria.
"Because he isn't even your biological father."
The courtroom fell completely silent.
Aria stared at Damien.
May you like
"Dad..."
"Is that true?"
