Chapter 5 - The ICU
I stared at Ethan, completely bewildered by this new, insane lie.
"I have been sitting in a jail cell for the last four hours because your father filed a false police report," I said flatly.
Lily crossed her arms, shivering in the rain.
"Mom wouldn't lie to us," she insisted, though her voice wavered slightly.
I turned to Marcus, who was already dialing a contact at the local hospital to verify the story.
A moment later, Marcus lowered his phone with a grim expression.
"Daniel is in the ICU at Providence Hospital," Marcus confirmed.
"He was brought in an hour ago with a severe head injury from a blunt force trauma."
I looked at the stepchildren who despised me.
Despite everything they had said to me, I drove them to the hospital.
We walked into the sterile, brightly lit waiting room of the intensive care unit.
Vanessa was sitting in a plastic chair, weeping theatrically into a tissue.
When she saw me walk in, she jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger.
"Arrest her!" Vanessa shrieked to the security guard standing nearby.
"She is the one who did this to him!"
I didn't flinch.
"I have a police alibi, Vanessa," I said calmly.
"I was in county lockup when he was attacked."
Vanessa’s fake tears instantly stopped, and the color drained from her face.
Ethan looked at his mother, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Mom, you said you saw Claire's car speeding away from the house," Ethan questioned.
Vanessa stammered, searching for a quick excuse to cover her tracks.
Before she could speak, a doctor emerged from the double doors of the ICU.
"Mr. Mercer is stabilized and conscious," the doctor announced.
"He is asking to speak with his wife."
Vanessa moved toward the doors, but the doctor held up his hand.
"He specifically asked for Claire," the doctor clarified.
I walked past Vanessa, ignoring her furious glare, and entered the hospital room.
Daniel was lying in the bed, his head heavily bandaged and his face bruised.
He looked at me with wide, terrified eyes.
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"Claire, you have to help me," Daniel whispered frantically.
"Vanessa was the one who hit me, and she just stole the Cayman Islands account passwords."
