Chapter 4
My daughter was born at 11:47 p.m.
For three seconds, there was no cry.
Those three seconds were the longest life I had ever lived.
Then she screamed.
Small.
Furious.
Alive.
I broke open.
Claire sobbed beside me.
The nurse lifted my baby just long enough for me to see her red face and clenched fists.
“She’s beautiful,” Claire whispered.
I could barely speak.
“Grace.”
That was the name Nathan hated.
My grandmother’s name.
The woman who left me the house, the trust, and the money Nathan thought he deserved.
“Her name is Grace.”
After surgery, I woke in recovery with Claire asleep in a chair and Grace in a bassinet beside me.
A police officer stood outside the door.
Detective Reed entered quietly.
“Nathan has been charged with kidnapping, unlawful restraint, assault, coercion, and attempted fraud. Evelyn too.”
“Good.”
“There’s more.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course there is.”
He placed copies of documents on the blanket.
A petition for emergency guardianship.
Signed by Nathan.
Supported by Evelyn.
Backed by a statement from a doctor named Leonard Vale.
The petition claimed I was delusional, dangerous, and likely to harm the baby.
My stomach twisted.
“I never met this doctor.”
“I know.”
Reed turned the page.
A death certificate draft.
My name.
Olivia Grant Keller.
Cause of death: postpartum complications.
I stared until the letters blurred.
Claire woke and saw my face.
“What?”
I handed her the paper.
She covered her mouth.
Reed said, “They planned to take the baby, claim you died, and transfer your assets into a family trust controlled by Nathan.”
Claire looked at Grace.
Then at me.
“Over my dead body.”
May you like
I smiled weakly.
“That was their plan.”
