Chapter 2
Gabriel locked the hospital door.
His hands shook so badly the key card slipped twice.
“You heard everything?”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the hallway.
“Christian has security outside.”
“His security or mine?”
Gabriel swallowed.
“His.”
Of course.
Christian had chosen my doctors.
My nurses.
My private room.
My entire cage.
I tried to sit up.
Pain tore through my face and neck.
Gabriel rushed forward.
“Don’t move.”
“Then listen.”
He leaned close.
I could smell coffee and fear on him.
“I need a different doctor,” I said. “Someone Christian doesn’t control.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Genevieve, he owns half this town.”
“No,” I whispered. “He rents half this town. My father owns the rest.”
Gabriel froze.
Christian had always told people I came from “quiet money.”
That was the public version.
The truth was my father, Robert Hart, built the largest private medical network in the Midwest before he died.
After his death, I inherited controlling shares.
I never told Christian the full structure.
I wanted love, not strategy.
Stupid heart.
Smart trust.
“Call my attorney,” I said.
“Who?”
“Eleanor Graves.”
Gabriel went white.
Everyone in entertainment knew Eleanor.
She buried careers without raising her voice.
“She’ll ask why I’m calling.”
“Tell her I said red folder.”
His eyes narrowed.
“What is red folder?”
“My emergency plan.”
He stared at me.
“You had an emergency plan for Christian?”
I closed my eyes.
“No. For fame.”
The first tear slid beneath my bandage.
It burned.
“I never thought I would need it for my fiancé.”
Gabriel pulled out his phone.
Before he dialed, I grabbed his sleeve.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Record everything from now on.”
He nodded.
Then the door handle moved.
Christian’s voice came from outside.
“Why is this locked?”
Gabriel looked at me.
I shut my eyes.
He opened the door.
Christian stepped in, carrying flowers and wearing sorrow like stage makeup.
“My poor Genevieve,” he said.
Then he smiled at Gabriel.
“Leave us.”
May you like
Gabriel did not move.
For the first time, Christian’s mask cracked.
