Chapter 5
I waited in the hospital waiting room for three hours.
I watched families come and go.
Some crying.
Some laughing with relief.
I felt like I was in a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from.
Finally, Daniel came out.
His eyes were red.
“How is she?”
“Awake. Weak, but awake.”
He sat next to me.
“She asked for you.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“She asked to see you. Alone.”
I didn’t know what to say.
The woman who hated me wanted to see me?
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. She was very insistent.”
He took my hand.
“You don’t have to go in there if you don’t want to.”
I thought about it.
Margaret was vulnerable.
She was in a hospital bed, weak from a heart attack.
Whatever she wanted, she couldn’t hurt me now.
Or could she?
“I’ll go.”
I stood up.
Daniel walked me to the door of her room.
“I’ll be right outside.”
I nodded and walked in.
Margaret was lying in the hospital bed.
Tubes and wires connected her to machines.
Her face was pale, her hair thin and gray without its usual careful styling.
She looked small.
Fragile.
Nothing like the powerful woman who had dominated every room she walked into.
She opened her eyes when I entered.
“Claire.”
Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Margaret. You wanted to see me?”
She tried to sit up, winced, and fell back.
“Come closer.”
I approached the bed cautiously.
“I know what you think of me.”
She paused to catch her breath.
“You think I’m a monster.”
“I think you’ve been cruel to me.”
“Cruel.”
She almost laughed, then winced in pain.
“I was protecting my son.”
“From what? From me?”
“From someone who wasn’t right for him.”
She looked at me with tired eyes.
“I grew up poor, Claire. Dirt poor. I watched my mother work three jobs just to keep a roof over our heads. I promised myself I would never let my children know that kind of struggle.”
She paused.
“When Daniel told me he was marrying a girl with no money, no connections… I saw everything I’d worked for slipping away. I thought you were using him. That you’d take his money and leave him with nothing.”
I stared at her.
For the first time, I understood.
Not forgave.
But understood.
“I never wanted Daniel’s money. I wanted him.”
“I see that now.”
She closed her eyes for a moment.
“When I saw your father in that ballroom… when I realized who you were… I was ashamed. And I was angry. Angry at myself for being so wrong. Angry at you for making me look like a fool.”
She opened her eyes again.
“And then Daniel came to me. He told me he was choosing you. That he’d rather lose me than lose you.”
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I’ve never been so hurt in my life. And I’ve never been so proud.”
I didn’t know what to say.
“I don’t expect you to forgive me. I’ve been terrible to you. But I’m asking you… please. Be patient with me. Let me try to be better.”
The machines beeped steadily.
I looked at this woman who had caused me so much pain.
And for the first time, I saw her as something other than a villain.
I saw a mother.
Scared.
Flawed.
Human.
“I’ll try, Margaret. For Daniel.”
She nodded slowly.
“Thank you.”
Then her eyes closed.
The nurse came in.
“She needs to rest now.”
I walked out of the room.
Daniel was waiting.
“How did it go?”
I took his hand.
“Better than I expected.”
We left the hospital as the sun was setting.
The drive back to the penthouse was quiet.
Daniel held my hand the whole way.
When we walked in, my father was waiting.
“How is she?”
“Stable. She’s going to be okay.”
My father nodded.
“Good. I don’t want her death on my conscience.”
The words were blunt, but I heard the concern underneath.
That night, Daniel stayed over.
We slept in the guest room, holding each other.
I thought things might finally be turning around.
I was wrong.
Three days later, the story broke.
Someone had leaked the gala incident to the press.
“Billionaire Heiress Humiliated at Charity Gala”
“Gold Digger Accusation Backfires When Victim’s Father Revealed as Company Owner”
The pictures were everywhere.
Margaret throwing water.
My face wet with shock.
My father standing protectively beside me.
The headlines were brutal.
My phone started ringing.
Reporters.
Friends.
Distant relatives.
Daniel’s phone was blowing up too.
His company’s stock was dropping.
The board was calling an emergency meeting.
My father called me into his study.
“Someone wanted this story to get out.”
“Who?”
“Someone who benefits from my company looking bad. Or from Margaret looking bad. Or from you and Daniel looking bad.”
He leaned forward.
“I need you to think, Claire. Who would want to hurt you?”
I thought about it.
Margaret was in the hospital.
She couldn’t have done this.
Richard was by her side.
Daniel would never.
Then I thought of someone else.
Someone who had been angry when Daniel and I got together.
Someone who had always wanted him for herself.
“Victoria.”
Daniel’s ex-girlfriend.
Victoria Sterling.
Beautiful.
Rich.
Spoiled.
And still very much in love with my husband.
My father picked up the phone.
“I’ll have my security team look into it.”
He looked at me.
“In the meantime, stay close to Daniel. And be careful. Whoever did this isn’t done yet.”
He was right.
May you like
The scandal was just the first move.
And the game was only beginning.
