Chapter 4 - The Phone That Revealed Everything
The person outside my hospital room didn't move.
They stood there holding my missing phone.
The same phone Daniel told everyone I had lost.
My heart started beating faster.
Because I knew that phone contained everything.
My messages.
My photos.
My private conversations.
And most importantly...
The evidence I never got the chance to save.
Nathan slowly walked toward the door.
"Who are you?"
No answer.
The person tightened their grip around my phone.
Claire stepped backward.
Her face turned pale.
"No..."
I looked at her.
"You know them?"
Claire didn't answer.
That scared me more than anything.
Because Claire had already admitted she was afraid of Daniel.
But this was different.
This was fear of someone else.
Nathan reached for the door handle.
The person immediately stepped back.
Then the hospital lights returned.
And the figure disappeared into the hallway.
Nathan ran after them.
But the hallway was empty.
Only the sound of footsteps fading into the distance remained.
He returned seconds later.
Without my phone.
Without answers.
Daniel smiled.
A quiet, confident smile.
Like he had just won.
"You still don't understand, Emily."
I looked at him.
"What don't I understand?"
He leaned closer.
"You think finding a few messages changes everything?"
I said nothing.
He continued.
"My family has spent years building our reputation."
Nathan looked at him.
"Your reputation doesn't matter anymore."
Daniel ignored him.
"People believe what they see."
He looked at me.
"And everyone saw you fall."
Those words made my stomach turn.
Because that was the part I feared most.
The lie had already spread.
Before I could speak.
Before I could defend myself.
Daniel had already created a version of events where I was the problem.
Nathan closed the laptop.
"That's why we need the original evidence."
I looked at him.
"What original evidence?"
He looked at Claire.
She slowly sat down.
"I didn't tell you everything."
My chest tightened.
"What else is there?"
Claire looked at the floor.
"The night before everything happened, Daniel met with someone."
"Who?"
She hesitated.
"Your doctor."
I froze.
"My doctor?"
Claire nodded.
"I saw them talking in the parking lot."
I felt a cold feeling move through my body.
"My doctor knew?"
"I don't know," Claire said.
"But Daniel gave him an envelope."
Nathan immediately looked interested.
"Did you see what was inside?"
Claire shook her head.
"No."
Then she reached into her bag again.
"But I saw this."
She placed a small photograph on the table.
It showed Daniel standing beside a car.
Next to him was a man wearing a white coat.
My doctor.
The person who had checked my baby every month.
The person I trusted.
I picked up the photo with shaking hands.
"When was this taken?"
"Two days before you ended up here."
I stared at it.
Two days.
Everything had been planned before I even knew something was wrong.
Nathan took the photo.
"We need to find out what they were discussing."
Daniel suddenly laughed.
Everyone looked at him.
"You really think you can destroy me with a picture?"
Nathan turned.
"No. But I think this can."
Daniel's smile disappeared.
Nathan pointed at the USB drive.
"The files you deleted weren't completely erased."
Daniel's face changed.
A small reaction.
But enough.
Nathan noticed.
"You didn't know that."
Daniel stood up.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
Nathan opened the laptop again.
"I recovered one file."
Daniel moved forward.
"What file?"
Nathan pressed a key.
A video appeared.
The date was from three weeks earlier.
The camera angle looked like security footage.
It showed Daniel's office.
Nobody spoke.
Then Daniel entered the room.
A few seconds later, Margaret walked in.
They sat down.
And they began talking.
I watched my husband on the screen.
The man I loved.
The man who promised to protect me.
The man who was now exposing himself.
Margaret's voice came through the speakers.
"She cannot know."
Daniel replied:
"She is starting to notice."
Margaret:
"Then make sure she doesn't have time to tell anyone."
My hands covered my mouth.
The video continued.
Daniel looked nervous.
"What about the baby?"
Margaret leaned closer.
"The baby stays with us."
The screen froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
I felt tears falling down my face.
They weren't just trying to hurt me.
They were planning my future without me.
They were planning to take my child.
Daniel looked at me.
"Emily, that isn't what it sounds like."
I laughed.
A broken laugh.
"Then what does it sound like?"
He couldn't answer.
Because there was no answer.
Nathan turned off the video.
"We need to leave this hospital."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His expression became serious.
"Because whoever has been helping Daniel knows we found this."
As if his words created a signal...
My hospital room phone suddenly rang.
Everyone froze.
The old phone beside my bed.
The one connected to the hospital line.
Nobody wanted to answer.
Then it rang again.
And again.
Nathan picked it up.
He listened.
His face changed.
"Who is it?"
He didn't answer.
He slowly handed the phone to me.
"It's for you."
I pressed it against my ear.
At first, there was only silence.
Then a voice whispered.
A voice I knew.
A voice that made my entire body go cold.
"Emily..."
I couldn't breathe.
Because the person on the other end was someone who should never have been able to call me.
Someone Daniel told me was gone.
Someone whose name was never supposed to appear again.
The voice whispered:
"Don't trust Nathan Reed."
The call ended.
I looked at Nathan.
He was watching me carefully.
Then my phone, the one that disappeared earlier, suddenly appeared on the hospital bed beside me.
A new message had arrived.
One sentence.
One name.
May you like
And when I read it, I realized the person helping Daniel was not outside the hospital.
They were standing right beside me...
