Chapter 2 - The Hospital Room Where Silence Spoke Volumes
The antiseptic smell of the pediatric ward stung the back of Beck’s throat as he stared down at the forged document.
Little Wren was sleeping soundly in her hospital bed, her breathing finally calm after hours of high fever and coughing fits.
Talia sat beside her, her hands resting limply in her lap, her eyes fixed on the linoleum floor with hollow exhaustion.
Beck dropped the papers onto the small bedside table, the sound echoing sharply against the quiet monitors tracking their daughter's vitals.
“You didn’t just sign this, Talia,” Beck said, his voice dropping into a dangerous, ragged whisper that refused to crack.
“You put your own name right beneath a forged guarantee for a company neither of us has ever owned or operated.”
Talia slowly raised her head, her hazel eyes swimming with un-shed tears that she refused to let fall.
“I didn't have a choice, Beck,” she whispered back, the words tearing through the silence like broken glass.
“Your mother made sure I didn't have any other option left if I wanted to keep our family safe from financial ruin.”
Beck felt his chest constrict as the bitter memory of his mother’s condescending remarks in the kitchen flooded back.
“Avia said you were unstable, that you were the one making mistakes with our finances behind my back,” Beck said bitterly.
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“She lied,” Talia answered plainly, her voice devoid of anger, replaced only by a profound, chilling resignation.
“She lied to you for three years so you would never look too closely at the accounts she manages for the estate.”
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