Chapter 2: The Call He Was Afraid to Answer
“Don't answer that,” Courtney whispered.
My father stood motionless in the foyer, staring at his phone as it vibrated against his palm.
Outside, I was curled on my side on the porch, trying to breathe through another contraction while Samantha stayed on the line.
“Emily, can you hear the paramedics?”” she asked.
“Yes.””
“Good. Keep talking to me. Tell them you're eight months pregnant and your water has broken.””
A paramedic rushed through the open gate with a medical bag. Another followed with a stretcher.
“Ma'am, I'm Daniel. Can you tell me your name?””
“Emily Bennett.””
“Okay, Emily. We're going to take care of you. How far along are you?””
“Thirty-four weeks.””
His expression sharpened, but his voice remained calm.
“Any bleeding? Any trouble breathing?””
“No bleeding. The contractions are getting closer.””
He knelt beside me and checked my pulse while his partner prepared the stretcher.
Through the glass door, I could see my father watching.
He hadn't moved toward me.
He hadn't asked whether his granddaughter was alive.
He was still staring at Samantha's name.
“Sir,” the second paramedic called toward the house, “are you the patient's father?””
Charles opened the door a few inches.
“Unfortunately.””
The word was so quiet that I almost wondered whether I'd heard it.
The paramedic's jaw tightened.
“Your daughter is in premature labor. We need to get her to the hospital immediately.””
“Then take her.””
“Did you call us?””
“No.””
“Did you know she was in labor?””
My father glanced at Courtney.
“She started making a scene.””
Courtney crossed her arms.
“She threw herself on the floor. We were trying to get her to leave peacefully.””
I stared at her.
“You watched him drag me by my hair.””
She lifted her chin.
“Don't make accusations you can't prove.””
The paramedic turned toward her.
“Ma'am, I suggest you stop talking.””
For once, Courtney obeyed.
They lifted me onto the stretcher. Pain pulsed through my lower back, and I clutched the blanket as the wheels rattled over the porch threshold.
Then Samantha's voice came through my phone.
“Emily, is your father there?””
“Yes.””
“Put the phone on speaker if you can.””
I held it against my chest.
“Samantha, he's right here.””
“Good. Charles, this is Samantha Reed.””
My father finally answered his ringing phone, but he didn't put it to his ear.
“I can hear you,” he said sharply.
“Excellent,” Samantha replied.
“Then you can hear this clearly. You are not authorized to control Lucas Bennett's estate.””
Charles's face reddened.
“I am Emily's father. I have every right to protect my daughter.””
“Protect her?”” Samantha asked.
“Is that what you call throwing a pregnant woman onto a porch?””
“That's a family matter.””
“Forgery is not a family matter.””
Courtney stepped forward.
“You have no proof of anything!””
Samantha didn't hesitate.
“Courtney, I haven't even spoken to you. I'd recommend keeping it that way.””
For the first time since arriving, Courtney looked uncertain.
My father raised his voice.
“You have no idea what Lucas owed me!””
The words cut through the air.
Even the paramedics paused.
Samantha went silent.
Then she asked, “What exactly did Lucas owe you, Charles?””
He froze.
I stared at the phone.
My father had just said something he hadn't intended anyone to hear.
“I meant what he owed the family,” he stammered.
“Emily's mother and I sacrificed everything to raise her.””
“You're changing your statement,” Samantha said.
“A moment ago, you claimed to be managing legitimate estate debts. Now you're claiming a personal debt to you. Which is it?””
Charles ended the call.
He shoved the phone into his pocket and pointed at the paramedics.
“Get her off my property.””
Daniel stepped between my father and the stretcher.
“We're transporting your daughter to the hospital. Move away from the entrance.””
My father actually laughed.
“You people have no idea who you're dealing with.””
Daniel looked at him without blinking.
“Right now, I'm dealing with a man who needs to give us room to do our jobs.””
They wheeled me toward the ambulance.
As I passed the doorway, I caught sight of Courtney holding her phone again. She was no longer recording me.
She was typing furiously.
My father's voice followed us down the path.
“Emily! You'd better think carefully before you destroy this family!””
I turned my head.
For years, those words had been enough to silence me.
When he disapproved of my college choices, he had said I was destroying the family.
When I married Lucas instead of the man he'd chosen for me, he said I was destroying the family.
When I refused to lend him money after he lost his business, he'd said the same thing.
But Lucas had once explained something to me that I hadn't understood until that moment.
“Emily,” he'd told me, sitting beside me on the sofa, “some people call it loyalty when what they really mean is obedience.””
I had laughed then.
Now, lying on the stretcher, I understood.
The ambulance doors closed.
As we pulled away, I watched my father and Courtney shrink behind the glass.
Then the pain intensified, and I turned my attention to the tiny life inside me.
“Please be okay,” I whispered.
Daniel adjusted the blanket around my legs.
“We're going to do everything we can.””
I called Samantha again.
She answered immediately.
“I'm here, Emily.””
“Tell me the truth. What did Lucas know about my father?””
There was a pause.
“I can't give you every detail while you're in an ambulance. But I can tell you this: Lucas came to my office eleven days before the accident.””
“What did he say?””
“He asked me to prepare for the possibility that someone would attempt to take his assets after he died.””
My throat tightened.
“Did he know he was going to die?””
“No. He was preparing for a business dispute. He didn't expect what happened to him.””
I closed my eyes.
For a moment, I could see Lucas sitting at our kitchen table, his sleeves rolled up, a pencil tucked behind his ear as he drew plans for the nursery.
“Did he mention my father?””
“Yes.””
The ambulance hit a small bump. I gripped the rail as another contraction tightened across my abdomen.
“What did he say?””
Samantha took a breath.
“He told me that Charles had approached him with an investment proposal. Lucas refused. After that, your father began making threats.””
“What kind of threats?””
“He claimed Lucas had promised him a share of the company. He also threatened to challenge your inheritance if Lucas ever died.””
I couldn't speak.
My father had known about the trust.
He had known about the house.
And he had known that Lucas had refused him money.
But why had he waited until Lucas was dead?
“Emily,” Samantha continued, “there's something else. The signature on the document Charles presented yesterday doesn't just look suspicious. It appears to have been copied from a completely different legal document.””
“Which document?””
“Your original trust acknowledgment.””
The one Lucas had asked me to sign when we bought the house.
I remembered it clearly. We had sat in Samantha's office, holding hands beneath the table while Lucas joked about how many pages a lawyer could use to say the same thing.
I had signed it in blue ink.
Charles had access to a copy because he'd once helped us move our financial records.
My stomach twisted.
“He copied my signature.””
“That's what I suspect. But we need the original documents and a forensic examination before making a definitive claim.””
The ambulance slowed as we approached the hospital.
Then Samantha said something that made my heart pound harder than the contractions.
“Emily, the trust contains a provision Lucas insisted on adding personally. If anyone tries to seize your property through fraud, the trustee must immediately freeze the disputed assets and review every transaction involving that person.””
“Every transaction?””
“Yes. Including money transferred into accounts belonging to relatives.””
I thought of my father's expensive new car.
His extravagant wedding.
The vacation Courtney had posted about just days after Lucas's funeral.
Where had all that money come from?
Before I could ask, Samantha's voice lowered.
“I've just received an email from the trust administrator.””
“What does it say?””
“Charles attempted to withdraw money from an account connected to Lucas's business this morning.””
My mouth went dry.
“How much?””
“Eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars.””
I stared at the ambulance ceiling.
My father hadn't come to throw me out because he was worried about debts.
He had come because he wanted something.
May you like
Something worth nearly a million dollars.
And whatever it was, Lucas had gone to extraordinary lengths to keep it away from him.
