Chapter 3
The funeral director whispered that the ceremony was about to begin.
I didn't look at him but looked at Lucas. "Do you know what she asked before she died?"
Lucas swallowed hard. Sophie immediately reached out to steady his arm. "Lucas, don't let her get to you. The doctor said the baby was already—"
I raised my hand and tossed Nora's death certificate at her feet. The paper fluttered open in the sea breeze, revealing the official seal of Greyhaven Medical Center.
"Already what?" I asked.
Sophie's face went pale. Lucas bent down and picked up the paper. When he saw the time of death, his grip tightened abruptly.
"1:47 a.m. She was still alive when you answered my call," I said.
He looked up at me. At last, I saw the pain break through in those eyes I once loved.
"Elena—"
"She asked, 'Is Daddy here?'" I cut him off.
In an instant, it seemed like all the noise around us faded away.
The sea breeze fluttered the blue ribbon on the white coffin. I had tied it myself for Nora because blue was her favorite color.
Lucas took a step forward. I stepped back.
He stopped, stunned, as if it had hit him for the first time that I could actually pull away from him.
"I didn't know that," he said, his voice rough. "Sophie showed me the doctor's message. It said Nora only had a normal fever."
Sophie burst into tears. "Lucas, I was misled by the doctor. How could I ever make light of something happening to a child?"
I looked at her. "Of course you could."
Her sobs stopped.
"You made the secretary block my calls, had the driver abandon me at the hospital entrance, and you used Nora's old test results from last week to fool Lucas," I added.
Sophie started crying harder. "You have no proof."
I looked at her, not answering right away.
Then I pulled a second document from my purse and set it beside the death certificate. It was the emergency triage record from Greyhaven Medical Center, then the medical trust freeze notice, the list of twenty-seven missed calls, and a written statement signed by the nurse.
The papers rustled in the sea breeze.
I looked up at Sophie. "The evidence will be in the courtroom long before your tears show up."
Her face finally went pale. Then, I turned and walked over to the white coffin. The funeral director softly recited the eulogy.
I couldn't process a single word. I reached out and touched the edge of the coffin. The wood was cold.
Nora hated the cold. She always tucked her feet into the bends of my legs when she slept.
She couldn't write full words yet but could scribble her name, with the last letter always upside down.
I whispered towards the coffin, "Darling, Mommy will take revenge for you."
Car engines rumbled behind me. Three black sedans pulled up at the cemetery entrance. Everyone turned to look.
The Valen Family's bodyguards opened black umbrellas and lined up in two rows. Cedric Valen walked right down the middle.
He wore a long, dark gray coat, no rings on his fingers, and his silver cufflinks gleamed coldly on the cloudy day.
Unlike Lucas, who looked naturally handsome, Cedric's style was more invisible, like a blade kept hidden in its sheath, lurking in the shadows.
He was quiet most of the time, but no one would ever mistake him for being anything less than dangerous.
The Moretti Family's people immediately tensed up. Someone grumbled under their breath, "What is he doing here?"