Chapter 2 - The Hidden Truth
I froze in the middle of the bedroom as heavy footsteps echoed up the wooden staircase.
I quickly shoved the forged loan documents deep into my tote bag and zipped it shut.
I looked around the room for a place to hide, but the footsteps were already at the bedroom door.
Ethan walked into the room holding a cup of coffee and a small digital recording device.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw me standing aggressively by the open closet.
"What exactly are you doing in my house, Nora?" he demanded with a cold glare.
"I am packing clean clothes for my daughter," I replied while keeping my voice entirely steady.
He smirked and placed the small digital device casually on the bedside table.
"You are wasting your time, because Maya is coming home with me this afternoon," he stated.
"She will never step foot in this dangerous house again," I promised him.
Ethan took a threatening step toward me, his expensive cologne filling the tense space between us.
"You really think a little bakery widow can fight my family's corporate lawyers?" he laughed.
I tightened my grip on my tote bag and walked right past him without flinching.
"I don't need expensive lawyers when I have the truth," I said as I headed down the stairs.
I drove straight back to the hospital with my heart pounding violently against my ribs.
I needed to ask Maya about the two million dollar loan immediately.
When I walked into her hospital room, she was sitting up and staring blankly at the white wall.
I pulled the forged documents from my bag and laid them gently on her hospital blanket.
"Maya, did you ever sign anything for Ethan's new commercial real estate venture?" I asked softly.
She looked at the dense legal papers and her bruised face went completely pale.
"No, Mom, I have never seen these documents in my entire life," she whispered.
I explained that Ethan had illegally used my bakery as collateral for a massive corporate loan.
Maya began to tremble as a new, horrific realization dawned on her exhausted mind.
"Mom, he made me sign a massive life insurance policy last week," she stammered through tears.
I felt a cold chill run down my spine as I asked her for the specific details.
"He said it was a standard policy for new parents, but it was for five million dollars," she cried.
Ethan did not just want to steal my bakery and ruin my daughter's pristine credit.
He had planned to kill her and the baby to collect a massive, untraceable insurance payout.
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Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed with an urgent alert from the bakery's security system.
I opened the app and saw two men in dark suits actively smashing the front windows of my shop.
