CHAPTER 3: THE REVELATION
James stood in front of the locked hospital door, his back to me, his shoulders tense.
I tried to sit up again, my body screaming in protest.
"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "What do you mean I wasn't supposed to wake up?"
He turned around, and the mask was gone. The concerned brother, the worried caretaker—it had all been an act. The face he showed me now was cold, calculating, empty.
"Claire, you always had to be the hero. The good one. The one who exposed the truth. But this time, you dug too deep."
"The accounts. Dad's hidden accounts. You and Vivian were stealing from the family trust."
"Yes."
"Dad found out, didn't he? That's why he died."
James didn't deny it.
"He was going to cut us off. Disinherit us. Leave everything to you."
"So you killed him?"
"He was old. Sick. It wasn't hard to make it look natural."
My hands were shaking.
"You murdered our father."
"I did what I had to do," James said, his voice eerily calm. "And I was going to let you live. But then you had to find the documents. You had to confront Vivian. You had to make a scene."
"The scene," I repeated. "You're talking about the stairs."
"Yes. You didn't fall. I pushed you."
I felt the world tilt.
"Why? I'm your sister."
"You were a threat. And threats have to be eliminated."
"Then why did you call the ambulance?"
"Because I couldn't have you dying in the house. Too many questions. Too many witnesses. The hospital was safer. I could control the narrative. Make it look like an accident. Make you look unstable."
"So what now? You're going to kill me in a hospital?"
"You're going to have a complication," he said. "A reaction to the anesthesia. A blood clot. Something that makes it look like the doctors made a mistake."
"They'll investigate."
"They won't. Vivian's family owns this hospital. We own everyone in this city."
I stared at him.
This was the man I had called for help.
This was the man I had trusted with my life.
And he had been planning my death for years.
"You're a monster," I whispered.
James smiled.
"I'm a survivor."
He walked back to the door, unlocked it, and stepped into the hallway.
"Get some rest, Claire. You're going to need it."
May you like
The door clicked shut behind him.
And I was alone again.
