Richard’s stomach dropped.
“Why?”
Victoria’s smile returned.
Cold.
Terrifying.
“Because your empire,” she said softly,
“is already collapsing.”
Victoria’s final words lingered in the courtroom like a dark shadow.
“Your empire is already collapsing.”
Richard Blackwood stood motionless.
For forty years he had built his business empire piece by piece—tower by tower, contract by contract, deal by deal.
He had survived recessions.
Hostile takeovers.
Political pressure.
But the calm certainty in Victoria’s voice unsettled him more than anything else that had happened that morning.
Because she sounded confident.
Too confident.
Judge Morrison struck the gavel again.
“That will be enough for today,” she said firmly.
“This court will reconvene tomorrow morning.”
Her eyes moved across the room.
“Until then, all parties involved are ordered not to leave the city.”
The gavel came down.
“Court is adjourned.”
Outside the Courtroom
The hallway outside the courtroom exploded into chaos.
Reporters surged forward like a tidal wave.
“Mr. Blackwood!”
“Is the girl really your daughter?”
“Did your brother try to steal your company?”
“Is your ex-wife being investigated for attempted murder?”
Security guards struggled to hold the crowd back.
Richard barely heard the questions.
Emily stood beside him, clutching his sleeve.
For the first time since the judge’s announcement, she looked scared.
“Are they mad at me?” she whispered.
Richard looked down at her.
“No,” he said softly.
“They’re just loud.”
His lawyer, James Patterson, pushed through the reporters.
“We need to leave. Now.”
They hurried toward the private exit used by attorneys and judges.
Once the door closed behind them, the noise faded instantly.
Silence returned.
Richard leaned against the wall and ran a hand over his face.
“Tell me everything,” he said.
Patterson nodded grimly.
“First… we need to go to the hospital.”
Richard looked at him.
“Laura Bennett.”
“Yes.”
Emily’s mother.
The woman who had sent the envelope.
The woman who might know the truth about everything.
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Twenty minutes later, Richard’s black sedan stopped outside the towering glass entrance of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
The sky above Chicago had darkened.
Storm clouds gathered over the skyline.
Inside the hospital lobby, everything smelled of antiseptic and polished floors.
Emily held Richard’s hand tightly as they approached the reception desk.
“I want to see my mom,” she said quietly.
The nurse looked up.
“Name?”
“Laura Bennett.”
The nurse typed quickly into the computer.
Then she frowned.
“She’s in intensive care.”
Richard stepped forward.
“I’m Richard Blackwood.”
The nurse’s eyes widened immediately.
Everyone in Chicago knew that name.
“I’ll notify the attending physician,” she said.
A few minutes later, a middle-aged doctor approached them.
Dr. Alan Mercer.
His expression was serious.
“You’re here about Ms. Bennett?”
“Yes,” Richard said.
“How is she?”
The doctor hesitated.
“She’s alive.”
Emily squeezed Richard’s hand harder.
“But?”
Dr. Mercer sighed.
“She suffered severe head trauma from the fall.”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“Was she pushed?”
The doctor glanced around carefully before answering.
“That’s what the police believe.”
Emily looked confused.
“My mom said she slipped.”
Dr. Mercer knelt slightly so he could speak to her gently.
“Sometimes adults say things to protect their children.”
Emily looked down.
The doctor stood again.
“She’s conscious for short periods,” he said.
“But she’s very weak.”
“Can we see her?” Richard asked.
Dr. Mercer nodded.
“One at a time.”
Emily spoke immediately.
“I want to go first.”
Richard nodded.
“Of course.”
The Hospital Room
The intensive care room was quiet except for the steady beeping of medical machines.
Laura Bennett lay in the hospital bed.
Her head was wrapped in bandages.
Bruises darkened one side of her face.
Emily ran to the bed.
“Mom!”
Laura slowly opened her eyes.
For a moment they were unfocused.
Then they found Emily.
A weak smile appeared.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
Emily hugged her carefully.
“I did what you said,” she whispered.
“I took the envelope.”
Laura’s eyes filled with relief.
“You did?”
Emily nodded.
“The judge saw everything.”
Laura’s gaze shifted toward the doorway.
And froze.
Because Richard Blackwood was standing there.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Laura whispered something barely audible.
“You came.”
Richard stepped closer to the bed.
“You saved me,” he said quietly.
Laura shook her head slightly.
