Chapter 5: The Smaller Twin
Chapter 5: The Smaller Twin
I woke to silence.
No crying.
No baby against my chest.
Only machines.
My abdomen burned beneath a thick bandage.
Dr. Park stood beside the bed.
“Where are they?”
“They’re alive.”
I closed my eyes.
The tears came before I could stop them.
“Both?”
“Both.”
My daughter, Lily, had been born first at three pounds, four ounces.
My son, Noah, had followed forty seconds later at two pounds, eleven ounces.
Lily was breathing with assistance.
Noah had required emergency treatment after delivery but had stabilized.
“They’re in the neonatal intensive care unit,” Dr. Park explained. “They’re very premature, but they’re fighting.”
“Can I see them?”
“As soon as you’re stable.”
Claire entered later holding my phone and a folder.
She looked exhausted.
“The board removed Adrian as managing partner at eleven forty-three.”
I stared at her.
She hesitated.
“Your takeover vote passed unanimously after the preliminary audit was presented.”
“What audit?”
“The one confirming he diverted more than eighteen million dollars.”
I had suspected theft.
I had not known the amount.
“Where did it go?”
“Shell companies. Personal accounts. Real estate. Gifts.”
“Vanessa?”
“Over two million.”
My stomach turned.
Not because of the affair.
That part no longer hurt.
Because Adrian had told employees there was no money for bonuses.
He had denied health coverage to junior staff.
He had laid off fourteen people two weeks before Christmas.
All while buying his mistress diamonds with stolen funds.
Claire sat down.
“There’s something else.”
I waited.
“Vanessa gave a statement.”
“Against him?”
“Against you.”
I almost laughed.
“She claims you manipulated the takeover and deliberately staged your injuries to destroy Adrian.”
I looked at the bruises covering my arms.
“Then she should be very confident when the police ask for her phone.”
Claire’s eyes sharpened.
“What’s on it?”
“Videos.”
Vanessa had enjoyed documenting my humiliation.
May you like
She believed cruelty became harmless when filtered through social media drafts.
She was about to learn that deleted recordings were not always gone.
