Chapter Two: The Lie Beneath the Flowers
Ethan climbed into the casket without thinking.
He lifted Amelia carefully into his arms, supporting her head against his chest. Her body was weak, her breath shallow, but she was breathing.
“Stay with me,” he whispered. “Please, Amelia, stay with me.”
Margaret moved toward him, her pearls trembling at her throat. “Put her back.”
Ethan stared at her as if she had spoken in another language.
“What did you say?”
Margaret swallowed. “I mean—she needs to be handled properly. The doctor said—”
“The doctor lied.”
Julian suddenly stepped forward. His face was pale, but his voice shook with urgency.
“Ethan, I tried to tell you.”
Margaret snapped her head toward him. “Julian.”
He looked at her, then at Amelia. Something in him broke.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “Do what?”
Julian reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a folded envelope. “Your mother made the doctor sign the statement before he finished examining her.”
Margaret’s face changed.
Not grief.
Fear.
Ethan looked from Julian to his mother. “What is he talking about?”
Julian’s hand shook as he handed Ethan the envelope. “Amelia found the trust papers. She knew Margaret was trying to change the inheritance before the baby was born.”
Ethan opened the envelope with one hand while holding Amelia with the other.
Inside were copies of legal documents. A revised family trust. A medical declaration. A guardianship petition prepared in advance, naming Margaret as temporary guardian of Amelia’s child if Amelia became “medically unavailable.”
Ethan’s blood went cold.
“You planned this.”
Margaret lifted her chin. “I planned to protect this family.”
Ethan’s voice dropped. “From my wife?”
“From a woman who would have taken everything the Beaumont name built.” Margaret’s composure cracked as she pointed at Amelia. “She was going to convince you to sell the company, leave this house, and give that child a life outside our control.”
“Our control?” Ethan repeated.
Margaret took a step closer. “You were blinded by her. She made you weak.”
Amelia stirred in Ethan’s arms.
Her eyelids fluttered.
Ethan bent over her. “Amelia, can you hear me?”
Her lips moved.
He lowered his ear close to her mouth.
“The tea,” she whispered.
Ethan looked up slowly.
Margaret went still.
Amelia’s voice was barely more than air. “She gave me tea… told me it would calm the baby.”
Julian covered his mouth, horrified.
Ethan’s face hardened. “You gave my pregnant wife something?”
Margaret shook her head quickly. “She was anxious. I only gave her what the doctor prescribed.”
“Then why no hospital?” Ethan asked. “Why a private doctor? Why a casket in our hall less than forty-eight hours later?”
Margaret had no answer.
The front doors opened, and two paramedics rushed in, followed by a police officer. Julian had called them while Margaret was arguing.
Margaret tried to block their path. “This is a private family matter.”
The officer looked past her at Amelia in Ethan’s arms.
“Not anymore.”
The paramedics lifted Amelia onto a stretcher. Ethan refused to let go of her hand. As they wheeled her toward the door, Amelia opened her eyes just enough to see him.
“Baby?” she whispered.
Ethan pressed her hand to his lips.
May you like
“She moved,” he said, crying openly now. “Our daughter moved.”
For the first time since the nightmare began, Amelia smiled.
