Chapter 7: The Man Who Left My Mother Dying
“Get away from her!””
Helen's scream tore through the room.
Ryan stopped just inside the doorway. Behind him, Patricia Hayes closed the door with a quiet click, as if she were arriving for an ordinary family visit rather than walking into a room where a woman had just accused her family of murder.
I stood between Ryan and Helen, my heart hammering.
“You said you called the ambulance,” I whispered.
Ryan nodded.
“That's right.””
“When?””
“The night Margaret died.””
“Why?””
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because I found her on the floor of her hospital room. She was barely breathing.””
Helen gripped my hand.
“Don't listen to him. He's been lying to you since the day you met.””
Ryan flinched.
Patricia set her handbag on a nearby chair.
“This is precisely why we should never have allowed this reunion without medical supervision.””
I turned on her.
“Medical supervision? You mean someone who could sedate her before she told me the truth?””
Patricia's expression hardened.
“Your biological mother has suffered significant neurological trauma. Her memories are not always reliable.””
Helen laughed bitterly.
“You always did know how to make a threat sound like concern.””
Patricia ignored her.
“Emily, come with me. We can discuss this somewhere private.””
“No.””
“Your wedding guests are waiting. Your family is waiting. This situation has become unnecessarily complicated.””
I stared at her.
“You sent armed men after us.””
“One of my employees acted without authorization.””
“A man fired a gun!””
“And I will deal with him.””
“You mean you'll pay him enough to keep his mouth shut.””
Patricia's composure cracked.
“Careful, Emily.””
“Or what? You'll destroy another document? Change another identity? Tell another woman she's imagining things?””
Ryan stepped forward.
“Emily, please. Let me explain what happened that night.””
I turned toward him.
“Start with why you were there.””
He swallowed.
“My father asked me to visit Margaret. He said she had something important to tell me.””
“What?””
“That Helen was alive.””
Helen shook her head.
“Liar.””
Ryan looked at her.
“You were conscious that afternoon. You told me yourself that you wanted Emily to know the truth.””
“I never spoke to you!””
“You did.””
“No!””
“Enough!”” I shouted.
Both of them fell silent.
I pressed my fingers against my temples.
“Ryan, what happened that night?””
He took a shaky breath.
“I arrived at the hospital shortly after eleven. Margaret was sitting beside the window. She had a folder on her lap. She told me she'd discovered that my father had been moving foundation assets into private companies.””
“And you believed her?””
“I'd already seen some of the records. I knew something was wrong.””
“Then why didn't you report him?””
“Because I was afraid.””
The admission surprised me.
Ryan looked down at his hands.
“My father controlled everything. My education, my job, my trust fund. He'd spent my entire life telling me that the family business was my responsibility. When I started asking questions, he threatened to cut me off.””
I almost laughed.
“So you chose your inheritance over the truth?””
“I was twenty-three, Emily. I thought I could fix things without destroying my family.””
“And what did that cost my mother?””
His face crumpled.
“Margaret told me she had a copy of the original trust agreement. She said she was going to send it to an independent investigator the next morning.””
Patricia stepped forward.
“This is absurd. We're discussing private family matters based on a recording stolen from my office.””
I ignored her.
“What happened next?””
Ryan's voice dropped.
“I left the room to call my father. When I came back, Margaret was on the floor.””
Helen began to shake.
“Who else was there?”” I asked.
Ryan closed his eyes.
“My father.””
The room went completely still.
Patricia's lips parted.
“Ryan, don't.””
He looked at her.
“You wanted the truth, Mother. Here it is.””
He turned back to me.
“Richard was standing beside the bed. The folder was open, and the documents were scattered across the floor. Margaret was trying to reach the emergency button.””
“Did you see him hurt her?””
Ryan swallowed.
“I saw him standing over her. I heard Margaret say, 'You promised me.'' Then my father told her she should have stayed out of the foundation's business.””
Helen covered her mouth.
“What did he do?”” I asked.
Ryan's eyes shone.
“I don't know. I was in the hallway when I heard the crash. When I came back, she was unconscious.””
“You expect me to believe you just happened to leave the room?””
“I know how it sounds.””
“You left a dying woman alone with your father.””
His silence was answer enough.
I stepped away from him.
“Why didn't you tell the police?””
“My father said he would make sure the hospital records disappeared. He said Margaret had been taking medication that could cause complications. He told me that if I made an accusation, he'd blame me for her death.””
“So you kept quiet.””
“Yes.””
“For three years.””
“Yes.””
“And then you proposed to me.””
Ryan's eyes filled with tears.
“I fell in love with you.””
“Don't.””
“Emily—”
“Don't you dare tell me you loved me while you were hiding the man who might have killed my mother.””
He looked as if I'd struck him.
Patricia seized the opportunity.
“Ryan, you've said enough. We're leaving.””
“No,” he replied.
She stared at him.
“What did you say?””
“I'm not leaving.””
“Your father will hear about this.””
“Good.””
Patricia's face turned cold.
“You have no idea what you've done.””
Ryan reached into his jacket and pulled out a small flash drive.
“I have copies of the foundation's original financial records. Every transfer. Every altered contract. Every payment made to bury the investigation.””
Patricia stared at the drive.
For the first time since I'd met her, she looked genuinely frightened.
“Where did you get that?””
“From Father's private office.””
“You stole company property?””
“I copied evidence of fraud.””
She stepped toward him.
“Give it to me.””
He backed away.
“No.””
Patricia's voice dropped to a whisper.
“If you release those records, you will destroy your father.””
Ryan looked at me.
“Maybe he deserves to be destroyed.””
I wanted to believe him.
I wanted to believe that the man I'd loved for three years had finally chosen the truth.
But then Helen spoke.
“Ask him about the phone call.””
Ryan went rigid.
I turned toward her.
“What phone call?””
Helen's eyes never left Ryan.
“The night Margaret died, he called someone before the ambulance arrived.””
Ryan shook his head.
“No.””
“You called a woman and told her the problem was taken care of.””
My stomach twisted.
“Who did you call?””
Ryan looked at me, and I watched the answer form behind his eyes.
He was afraid to say it.
Helen's voice trembled.
“Ask him who was on the other end.””
I stepped closer.
“Ryan. Who did you call?””
He stared at the floor.
Then, in a voice so quiet I almost couldn't hear him, he said, “Your sister.””
The room tilted.
“Olivia?””
He nodded.
“Olivia was at the hospital that night. She saw what happened.””
I shook my head.
“No. She was with me.””
“Not that night.””
I remembered the photographs, the hidden documents, and Olivia's confession in the apartment.
But this was different.
This was the night my mother died.
I reached for my phone and called her.
She answered immediately.
“Emily? Where are you?””
“I'm at the care facility.””
Her breathing changed.
“Did you find Helen?””
“Yes.””
Silence.
Then I asked the question that would decide whether I could ever trust my sister again.
“Olivia, were you at the hospital the night Mom died?””
She began to cry.
“Emily, please.””
“Were you there?””
“Yes.””
I gripped the phone.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I saw who walked into her room after Ryan left.””
My blood ran cold.
“Who?””
Olivia's answer came in a broken whisper.
“Patricia.””
I slowly turned toward Ryan's mother.
She was already reaching for the door.
May you like
And when she realized I was watching her, she said four words that made my sister scream through the phone.
“Your mother was already dead.””
