Chapter 8: The Surgery That Wasn't an Accident
Ethan stared at the screen.
"Dr. Miller.""
Richard paused the video.
"Do you know him?""
"He was my father's personal physician. He also performed my emergency surgery.""
I looked at Ethan.
"You told me the surgery was caused by an infection.""
"That's what I was told.""
Richard resumed the recording.
Charles Blackwood leaned toward the camera.
"Daniel, I have spoken with Dr. Miller. The records have been corrected. The official diagnosis will remain an infection-related complication.""
The doctor beside him nodded.
Ethan stood frozen.
"Stop it.""
Richard paused the video.
"What?""
"Stop the recording.""
His voice cracked.
I had never seen him like that.
Not when he lost a billion-dollar contract. Not when his company faced a public scandal. Not even when Vanessa announced her pregnancy.
This was different.
He looked like a little boy who had just discovered that the people responsible for protecting him had betrayed him.
"Richard, find Dr. Miller.""
"I'll contact the appropriate authorities.""
"No. I want to speak to him.""
"Mr. Blackwood, this may involve serious medical misconduct. We need to proceed carefully.""
Ethan slammed his palm against the desk.
"THAT MAN DESTROYED MY LIFE!""
A nurse opened the door.
"Sir, you need to lower your voice.""
Ethan stepped away.
I placed a hand on his arm.
"Let Richard handle it.""
He looked at me.
For a moment, his eyes softened.
"Olivia, I never knew.""
I pulled my hand away.
"You knew enough to blame me for something you already suspected was your medical problem.""
He lowered his head.
"I was ashamed.""
"So you made me feel defective instead?""
He didn't answer.
Richard closed the laptop.
"We need to get the original medical records. The video is important, but we need independent verification.""
Vanessa shifted in her bed.
"There's another thing.""
Everyone turned.
She looked frightened.
"Daniel said the surgery wasn't supposed to make Ethan infertile.""
Ethan moved toward her.
"What?""
"He said the doctors were supposed to make it difficult for you to have children, not impossible.""
I felt my stomach turn.
"Why?""
Vanessa looked down.
"Because your father wanted Daniel to control the family succession. But if Ethan had a biological child, the trust would eventually transfer to that child.""
Richard nodded slowly.
"That would explain the urgency behind the pregnancy arrangement.""
Ethan gripped the bed rail again.
"So Daniel planned to give me a child that wasn't mine?""
Vanessa nodded.
"He said the child would be registered as your heir. Once the trust transferred, he would control the money through the guardianship structure.""
"Until when?""
"Until the child turned twenty-five.""
Richard looked at her.
"Who would be the guardian?""
Vanessa hesitated.
"Daniel.""
Ethan closed his eyes.
His brother would have controlled his company, his estate, and the fortune intended for his future child.
All under the appearance of protecting the family.
But something still bothered me.
"Vanessa, if Daniel wanted to control the trust, why did he involve me?""
She stared at me.
"I don't know.""
"Someone forged my signature. Someone used my identity. Someone established a company in my name.""
Vanessa swallowed.
"Daniel said you were part of the plan.""
My heart began racing.
"What plan?""
"He said Ethan's father had chosen you because you were... suitable.""
"Suitable for what?""
She looked at Richard.
Then back at me.
"Because your family had a connection to the Blackwoods.""
I frowned.
"My family?""
Daniel had told me very little about his father's personal affairs. Ethan had always dismissed my background as irrelevant.
My father had been a small-business owner in Connecticut. My mother died when I was young. I had grown up in a modest house, attended a state university, and worked in corporate accounting before meeting Ethan.
There was nothing about my background that made me suitable for an inheritance scheme.
Or so I thought.
Richard asked Vanessa to explain.
She shook her head.
"Daniel showed me an old photograph. It was taken at a family dinner years ago. He said Olivia's father had signed something important.""
I felt a chill.
"What was my father's name?""
"Michael.""
I stared at her.
"How do you know my father's name?""
Vanessa looked genuinely surprised.
"Daniel told me.""
Richard immediately took out his phone.
"Mrs. Blackwood, do you have any surviving family documents?""
"Some. Why?""
"Your father's business records may be relevant.""
I remembered a box of papers I had kept in storage since my mother's death.
Among them were old property deeds, insurance documents, and letters my father had received from various business associates.
I had never considered them important.
Ethan looked at me.
"Did your father know mine?""
"I don't know.""
Richard made a note.
"Then we need to establish that connection.""
At that moment, his phone rang.
He answered and listened.
Then he walked toward the window.
"Yes. That's correct.""
He paused.
"Are you certain?""
Another pause.
Then he turned around.
"The hospital has located your original surgical file, Mr. Blackwood.""
Ethan stepped forward.
"And?""
Richard looked at him.
"The records show that your father personally approved the procedure.""
Ethan's face went pale.
"Can we prove what was done?""
"The hospital has retained tissue samples and the original operative notes. An independent medical review may be able to determine the extent of the damage.""
Ethan sat down.
Then Richard added something else.
"There's also a separate consent document attached to your file.""
"Who signed it?""
Richard looked at me.
"Your father-in-law.""
Ethan stared at him.
"That doesn't make sense. My father wasn't my legal guardian.""
"Exactly.""
Richard opened the scanned document.
At the bottom was Charles Blackwood's signature.
But above it was a handwritten statement.
The patient is not to be informed of the additional reproductive procedure.
Ethan covered his face.
I felt tears gathering in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Because suddenly I understood something.
This wasn't simply a story about a cheating husband and a pregnant mistress.
It was a story about an entire family that had built an empire by manipulating the people closest to them.
And somehow, my father had been part of it.
Richard's phone rang again.
He answered.
This time, the caller spoke loudly enough for me to hear.
"Mr. Coleman, we've reviewed the original trust documents. There's a problem.""
Richard frowned.
"What problem?""
"The beneficiary listed in the original agreement isn't Daniel.""
A pause.
"Then who is it?""
May you like
The answer came through the speaker.
"Olivia Blackwood.""
