Chapter 3
For a moment, I thought I had misheard my husband.
"Daniel, what did you just say?"
He breathed heavily.
"Serena, please. Tell me you didn't involve the police."
I stared at the hospital ceiling.
My mother's hand tightened around mine.
"Your mother swung a baseball bat at me."
"I know."
Those two words froze me.
"You know?"
He went silent.
I struggled to breathe.
"Daniel, how do you know?"
He hesitated.
"Mom called me."
I felt tears rise.
"And what did she tell you?"
"She said you two had an argument."
I almost laughed.
An argument.
That was what Margaret called chasing her pregnant daughter-in-law with a baseball bat.
"Daniel, she tried to hit me."
He said nothing.
"I fell beside the pool."
Still nothing.
"I thought I was going to lose our baby."
His breathing changed.
"Is Hope okay?"
I closed my eyes.
"She's being monitored."
"Oh, thank God."
I waited.
Then he added, "Serena, Mom says you threatened to ruin her."
My heart sank.
"That's what you're worried about?"
"No, baby. I'm just trying to understand."
I felt my voice shaking.
"Then listen to me."
I told him everything.
The documents.
The confrontation.
The bat.
The security team.
The ambulance.
The hospital.
When I finished, there was a long silence.
Then Daniel whispered, "I didn't know it went that far."
I stared at the phone.
"What does that mean?"
He hesitated.
"Mom has been under a lot of stress."
I felt sick.
"Daniel."
"Serena, please don't misunderstand."
"Your mother tried to hurt me, and you're explaining her stress?"
He sighed.
"She's my mother."
I felt tears slip down my cheeks.
"And I'm your wife."
He said nothing.
"I'm carrying your daughter."
"I know."
"Then why am I begging you to understand that we were in danger?"
His voice cracked.
"Serena, I love you."
I closed my eyes.
"Love shouldn't require me to survive your mother's anger."
My mother looked away.
I could see tears in her eyes.
Daniel whispered, "Can we talk when I get there?"
I took a breath.
"Yes."
Then I added, "But Margaret is not coming near me."
He hesitated.
"Serena..."
"No."
My voice grew stronger.
"Not after tonight."
He sighed.
"Okay."
I ended the call.
Then I began crying.
My mother moved closer.
This time, I let her hold me.
"I don't understand," I whispered.
"Daniel has always been kind to me."
She rubbed my back.
"People can love us and still fail to protect us."
I closed my eyes.
Those words hurt because they were true.
Daniel had never hit me.
Never screamed at me.
Never insulted me.
But whenever Margaret crossed a line, he looked away.
When she criticized my family, he changed the subject.
When she mocked my career, he told me she was old-fashioned.
When she demanded access to our financial decisions, he said she was only trying to help.
I had mistaken his silence for peacekeeping.
Now I understood it was something else.
Fear.
Or perhaps loyalty.
I didn't know which was worse.
Two hours later, Daniel arrived.
He entered my hospital room wearing a dark suit.
His hair was disheveled.
His face looked exhausted.
"Serena."
I stared at him.
He rushed toward the bed.
"Baby, I'm so sorry."
I wanted to fall into his arms.
I wanted him to hold me and promise everything would be okay.
But then I remembered his first question.
Had I called the police?
I turned my face away.
He stopped.
"Serena?"
My mother stood.
"Daniel, we need to talk."
He looked at her.
"Victoria."
Her expression was cold.
"Your mother attacked my daughter."
He swallowed.
"I know."
"Then why did you ask whether the police were involved before asking about Serena's condition?"
His face tightened.
"That's not fair."
My mother crossed her arms.
"What's unfair is that my daughter was frightened for her life while carrying your child."
Daniel looked down.
"I was scared."
I stared at him.
"Scared of what?"
He hesitated.
"Of what this could do to the family."
Something inside me broke.
"The family?"
He looked at me.
"Serena, please."
I shook my head.
"Daniel, Hope and I are your family."
His eyes filled.
"I know."
"Do you?"
He moved closer.
I raised my hand.
"Don't."
He stopped.
I took a breath.
"Tell me the truth about your mother's finances."
His expression changed instantly.
"What?"
"My mother showed me the financing agreement."
Daniel looked toward Victoria.
His face went pale.
"You told her?"
My mother remained calm.
"She deserves to know what she's been pulled into."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Serena, it's complicated."
I felt anger rise.
"Then make it simple."
He sat down heavily.
For a long moment, he stared at the floor.
Then he whispered, "The family company has been struggling for years."
I waited.
"After Dad died, Mom tried to keep everything running."
I nodded.
"By borrowing twelve million dollars?"
He looked shocked.
"You know about that?"
"Yes."
He covered his face.
"God."
I leaned forward.
"Daniel, what else don't I know?"
His hands trembled.
He looked toward my mother.
Then toward the door.
Finally, he said, "Mom told me the loan was secured by company assets."
I stared.
"Wasn't it?"
He swallowed.
"I don't know."
My mother spoke.
"The agreement includes the estate."
Daniel's face drained of color.
"What?"
I looked at him.
"You didn't know?"
He shook his head slowly.
"No."
For the first time, I saw genuine fear in my husband's eyes.
He stood.
"That's impossible."
My mother reached into her handbag.
She handed him a copy of the financing agreement.
Daniel read the first page.
Then the second.
Then the third.
His breathing changed.
"She pledged the estate?"
My mother nodded.
"Yes."
Daniel looked stunned.
"But Dad left that property to me."
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
"What?"
He looked at me.
"The estate is supposed to belong to me."
My mother leaned forward.
"Daniel, did your father leave a will?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Do you have a copy?"
He hesitated.
"Mom handled everything."
My heart sank.
My mother looked at him carefully.
"Did you ever see the original will?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then my mother asked one final question.
"Daniel, did you ever sign a document transferring ownership of the estate to your mother?"
He stared at her.
"No."
My mother slowly closed the folder.
Her expression became deadly serious.
"Then we may be dealing with something much worse than a hidden loan."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"What?"
My mother looked at me.
"Serena, if Daniel never transferred ownership, we need to determine how Margaret managed to pledge the estate."
Daniel sat down.
His face was white.
Then he whispered:
"Mom told me Dad changed his will before he died."
My mother looked at him.
"Did anyone else witness that?"
Daniel shook his head.
"Only her attorney."
My mother took a slow breath.
And suddenly, I understood why Margaret had been so desperate to silence me.
The documents I'd discovered weren't just about stolen money.
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They might reveal what happened to Daniel's inheritance.
And whether his own mother had been lying to him for years.
