Chapter 5
Amelia's POV
I stumbled back to my hospital room, my bare feet numb against the cold linoleum. The broken phone in my hand felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, its cracked screen still glowing with the recording interface.
'Got what I deserved.'
The words kept echoing in my skull as I slammed the door behind me and turned the lock. My hands were shaking so violently I could barely hold the phone steady.
I collapsed against the door and hit play again.
"She got what she deserved. I told her to abort it weeks ago..."
Each word was like a knife twisting in my chest. I pressed the phone against my ear, tears streaming down my face as Remy's voice continued.
"You're the only woman I've ever truly loved."
'Ten years,' I thought bitterly. 'Ten fucking years of my life wasted on someone who never loved me at all.'
I slid down the door to the floor, clutching the phone like a lifeline. From my overnight bag, I pulled out the torn piece of yellow onesie – the only thing left of my baby.
Pressing the soft fabric against my cheek, I whispered into the darkness, "Baby, Mommy won't let you die for nothing. I promise I'll make them pay for what they did to you."
The grief was transforming into something else. Something colder. Something that burned like ice in my veins.
I opened the voice memo app with trembling fingers and called my lawyer, Lily. It went straight to voicemail.
"Lily," I said, my voice hoarse but steady. "Remy tricked me into donating bone marrow. Olivia's been faking her illness the whole time. And they killed my baby – I have recorded evidence of everything. Get to the hospital now. We're going to destroy them both."
I uploaded the recording to the cloud, then hid the phone under my pillow.
'Love is gone. My baby is gone. All I have left is revenge.'
At 1 AM, urgent knocking shattered the silence. Lily burst in carrying a briefcase, followed by Tom, one of the old employees from my wine business. He clutched a worn cloth bag that bulged with papers.
"Play the recording," Lily said without preamble, pulling out her own recording device.
I played the lake conversation. When it finished, Tom slammed his fist on the bedside table.
"Those fucking animals!" he roared. "After everything you did for him!"
From his bag, Tom extracted yellowed account books. "I've been keeping these at home. Look here – 2023 financial records. Remy secretly transferred 500,000 dollars of your earnings to Olivia's accounts. He forged your signature!"
Lily was frantically scribbling notes. "Okay, we have: One – recorded confession of fake illness and victim-blaming. Two – medical report showing pregnancy loss from medication complications. Three – embezzlement evidence from the wine business. Four – Tom's witness testimony proving your decade of contributions."
She looked up, eyes blazing. "This is enough to trigger a media firestorm. Maybe even criminal investigation."
"I can contact other old employees too," Tom added, pounding his chest. "They'll all testify in court!"
For the first time in days, I felt a spark of something other than despair. "Thank you both. I'm not fighting this alone."
"We leave at 6 AM," Lily decided. "The Los Angeles Times has been exposing workplace abuse cases. They'll eat this story alive."
At 4 AM, I cornered Lucy, the night nurse who'd always shown me kindness. In the empty hallway, I played her a clip of Remy pressuring me about the bone marrow donation.
Lucy started crying. "I knew something was wrong! Every time he visited, he only asked about Olivia's condition. He even threatened me not to 'talk too much.'"
She quickly wrote out a statement and pressed her fingerprint beside her signature. "I'll testify that Remy repeatedly asked doctors to 'increase medication dosages' and hid your pregnancy from you."
Slipping me a bottle of painkillers, she whispered, "Be careful. Remy has people watching throughout this hospital. They might discover your plan."
I took the evidence and bowed deeply. "Thank you. You're the first stranger who's been willing to help me."
"Remy's not a good man," Lucy said urgently. "You have to succeed – don't let him hurt anyone else!"
At 5:50 AM, Tom's beat-up pickup truck idled outside the hospital entrance. Lily and I hurried toward it, clutching our evidence files.
Suddenly, I spotted Remy's driver in the parking lot, phone pressed to his ear, eyes locked on us.
"Shit," I hissed, dragging Lily behind the truck. "That's Remy's personal driver! He's definitely reporting to him!"
Tom recognized him too. "We've been made! He's calling Remy right now!"
Lily checked her phone. "No signal – he's got a jammer. We can't reach the newspaper! We need to leave before Remy gets here!"
We scrambled into the truck just as blinding headlights pierced the dawn darkness. A black SUV was racing toward the hospital, license plate clearly visible.
"He's here!" Tom gunned the engine and peeled out of the parking lot. "I'll take back roads to the newspaper office!"
In the rearview mirror, the SUV was gaining on us fast.
"How did he get here so quickly?" My heart was hammering against my ribs. "Someone definitely tipped him off!"
"Doesn't matter now!" Lily clutched the evidence bag like her life depended on it. "Just lose him! This evidence cannot fall into his hands!"
Ten minutes later, Tom's truck was trapped in a narrow alley – we'd taken a wrong turn trying to evade pursuit. Remy's SUV blocked the entrance.
Two more black sedans materialized behind us, sealing our escape route completely.
Remy stepped out of the SUV wearing a black suit, his face dark with rage. He carried a baseball bat.
"Amelia," he called out, his voice echoing off the alley walls. "Did you really think you could run from me? Thought you'd take your little evidence to the press?"
Lily tried to get out and call 911, but Remy's men grabbed her and snatched away our evidence bag.
I pushed open my door and stepped between my friends and Remy. "If you have a problem, take it up with me! Leave them alone!"
Remy laughed coldly, tapping the bat against his palm. "Oh, we'll settle our accounts, don't worry. But first, you're coming with me."
"I gave you chances, Amelia," he said, advancing slowly, eyes murderous. "But you insisted on destroying me! I'll burn that evidence!"
"Even if you destroy the evidence," I said, clenching my fists, "Tom, Lily, Lucy, and all the wine company employees will still testify against you!"
"Testify?" Remy threw back his head and laughed. "You'll need to be alive to testify!"
His men grabbed my arms. I struggled violently, shouting "Lily, protect yourself!" Tom tried to fight back but was slammed against the truck.
In the distance, police sirens began wailing – Lucy must have called them.
Remy's eyes flashed with panic. He started dragging me faster toward his SUV.
"Move! Now!"