Chapter 6 - My Stepmother Changed SidesKelsey wanted immunity.
Grace weighed four pounds, three ounces.
Charlotte weighed four pounds, eleven.
They were tiny enough to make fear feel physical.
Grace needed respiratory support during her first night.
Charlotte didn't.
Both had feeding tubes.
Both had wires across their chests.
Both were perfect.
The NICU nurses taught me how to touch them through small openings without overstimulating them.
One nurse showed me how to cup my hand around Grace's head and another around her feet.
“Premature babies like boundaries,” she explained. “It reminds them of the womb.”
I wanted to tell her they should still be in the womb.
Instead, I nodded.
For two days I ignored everything outside that room.
Richard.
Kelsey.
The company.
Police.
Lawyers.
Money.
None of it mattered while Grace's oxygen level dipped.
None of it mattered when Charlotte curled her fingers around mine.
But trouble doesn't disappear because you're exhausted.
It waits.
On Thursday afternoon, Michael arrived with Detective Nora Bennett, a financial crimes investigator.
She introduced herself gently.
“I know this is terrible timing.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Her mouth tightened.
“I imagine they do.”
She opened a folder.
“We recovered documents from Gregory Pierce.”
I glanced toward the incubators.
“Can this hurt my daughters?”
“Not physically.”
“Then tell me.”
She placed a photocopy on the table.
At the bottom was a signature.
Emily Carter.
It looked like mine.
Not perfectly.
But close.
The document authorized Carter Restoration to sell its primary warehouse property for $3.2 million.
Michael had told me the land alone was worth nearly six.
“That's not my signature.”
“We know,” Detective Bennett said.
“How?”
“The document is dated twelve days after your husband's death.”
“So?”
“Hospital records show you were attending a prenatal appointment at the exact time the document was supposedly notarized thirty miles away.”
I stared at the page.
“Who notarized it?”
“A woman named Linda Pierce.”
“Pierce?”
“Gregory's sister.”
Of course.
Detective Bennett continued.
“She claims she notarized a document presented by her brother and never saw you sign it.”
“That's illegal.”
“Yes.”
“Has she been arrested?”
“She is cooperating.”
“Gregory?”
“In custody.”
“And my father?”
The detective paused.
“Not currently charged in connection with the forgery.”
“Why?”
“Because we need evidence that he knew the signature was fraudulent.”
“He tried to throw me out of my house.”
“That's part of a separate case.”
My frustration flared.
“So he gets to pretend this was all Gregory?”
“Not if evidence shows otherwise.”
Michael stepped in.
“Emily, this is going to take time.”
“Time?”
I gestured toward my daughters.
“My husband is dead. My daughters are in incubators because my father dragged me across a floor. He tried to steal Daniel's company. Someone forged my signature. And now I'm supposed to be patient?”
Grace stirred.
Her monitor beeped.
I immediately lowered my voice.
Detective Bennett's expression softened.
“No. You're not supposed to feel anything in particular. My job is simply to build a case strong enough that it doesn't collapse.”
That calmed me more than false reassurance would have.
“What do you need from me?”
“Your devices eventually. Signature samples. Information about your relationship with Richard.”
“You can have all of it.”
“And there may be something else.”
She looked toward Michael.
He opened another folder.
“Daniel kept records.”
I almost smiled.
“Of course he did.”
Michael nodded.
“Your husband documented nearly everything.”
Daniel loved spreadsheets.
When we planned our wedding, he created one with twelve tabs.
Guest counts.
Vendors.
Weather contingencies.
Emergency contacts.
I mocked him for months.
Now those habits were saving me.
Michael showed me emails between Daniel and Gregory.
Daniel had questioned several unusual property inquiries.
Gregory always offered explanations.
A bank requested documents.
An insurer needed updated values.
A potential partner was evaluating expansion.
Daniel hadn't fully believed him.
Then came an email Daniel sent six weeks before he died.
Greg, do not send property documents to Oak Hill again. They are no longer an authorized bidder. Any further contact goes through Mark or me.
Gregory replied:
Understood.
Four days later, records showed he sent Oak Hill another package.
Detective Bennett leaned forward.
“Your husband caught him.”
“Then why didn't Daniel fire him?”
“We think he was waiting to determine who Gregory was working with.”
“My father.”
“Possibly.”
I looked at her.
“You don't believe me?”
“I believe evidence.”
Fair.
“Then find it.”
She closed the folder.
“We intend to.”
That evening, I received an unexpected visitor.
My father's older sister.
Aunt Susan.
She and Richard had barely spoken in years.
Susan was sixty-two, blunt, practical, and incapable of pretending Richard was charming.
She entered the hospital room carrying a paper bag.
“I brought food.”
I blinked.
“Hello to you too.”
“You look terrible.”
“Good to see you, Susan.”
“Childbirth will do that.”
I laughed.
For the first time in days, it felt real.
Then she saw the girls.
Her expression changed completely.
“Oh.”
She approached the incubators.
“These are Daniel's babies.”
“And mine.”
“You know what I mean.”
I did.
Grace had Daniel's chin.
Charlotte already frowned like him.
Susan wiped her eyes quickly.
“I always liked that man.”
“He liked you too.”
“Because I told your father to shut up at Thanksgiving.”
“That helped.”
We sat together.
Then Susan's humor disappeared.
“I need to tell you something.”
Of course.
Every visitor now came with secrets.
“What?”
“Richard called me six months ago.”
My back straightened.
“About what?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Two hundred thousand.”
I stared.
“Did you give it to him?”
“Absolutely not.”
“What did he say it was for?”
“A development project.”
“Did you believe him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your father only calls me when he wants money or forgiveness, and he wasn't apologizing.”
Susan folded her hands.
“He said something strange.”
“What?”
“He told me Daniel was sitting on assets that belonged with family.”
A chill ran through me.
“What exactly did he say?”
Susan thought.
“Something like, ‘Daniel got rich because he married into connections he didn't deserve.’”
I almost laughed.
“My father never helped Daniel.”
“I know.”
“He barely helped me.”
“I know that too.”
Susan looked ashamed.
“I should have told you.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because I thought Richard was doing what Richard always does.”
“Which is?”
“Resenting anyone who succeeds without him.”
She reached into her purse.
“I saved his voicemail.”
My heart skipped.
“What voicemail?”
“The one he left after I refused.”
She handed me her phone.
I pressed play.
Richard's voice filled the small hospital room.
“Susan, stop acting self-righteous. Daniel's business is worth more than he understands. Emily certainly doesn't understand it. Eventually, she'll need someone to make decisions for her. I'm trying to keep those assets where they belong.”
I looked at Michael.
He had gone completely still.
Susan whispered, “Is that useful?”
Michael carefully took the phone.
“Yes.”
“How useful?”
Before he could answer, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Then something made me answer.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then Kelsey's voice.
“Emily?”
I immediately reached for the disconnect button.
“Wait.”
Something in her tone stopped me.
She wasn't smug.
She was scared.
“What do you want?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Through my lawyer.”
“No.”
“Then we're done.”
“Richard doesn't know I'm calling.”
I said nothing.
Kelsey inhaled shakily.
“You were right.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
My grip tightened around the phone.
“What happened?”
“He's been lying to me.”
I looked at Michael.
He was listening.
Kelsey continued.
“He told me the house was his.”
“It isn't.”
“I know that now.”
“Congratulations.”
“Emily, please.”
“What?”
Her voice cracked.
“He told me Daniel stole money from him years ago. He said the company should have belonged to your family. He said you were unstable and he needed to protect the estate.”
“And you believed him?”
“Yes.”
I laughed bitterly.
“You laughed when my water broke.”
Silence.
“I know.”
“My daughters are in the NICU.”
“I know.”
“You could have stopped him.”
“I know.”
My throat tightened.
“Then why are you calling?”
Kelsey whispered:
“Because Richard asked me to destroy something.”
Everyone in the room froze.
“What?”
“A laptop.”
“Whose?”
“His.”
“Where is it?”
Another silence.
May you like
Then she said the words that changed the entire investigation.
“I took it before he could erase it.”
Related Stories
