Chapter 2
Chapter 2 – The Truth My Mother Couldn't Hide
No one spoke.
The apartment felt impossibly quiet.
Even the city noise thirty floors below seemed to disappear.
Victoria stared at me with the same expression she had used my entire life whenever she expected me to obey.
"Daniel," she said calmly, "don't be dramatic."
I looked at Audrey.
She was still kneeling on the marble floor.
Her hands were shaking so badly she couldn't even wipe away her tears.
I took off my suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.
"Come here."
She hesitated.
As if she wasn't sure she was allowed to stand.
That broke my heart more than the blood on her arms.
I helped her onto a dining chair.
Only then did I notice something else.
Her wrists weren't the only injuries.
Tiny chemical burns covered both forearms.
Some were fresh.
Others were older.
Much older.
My stomach turned.
"Who did this?"
Audrey lowered her eyes.
"No one."
I knelt beside her.
"Look at me."
Slowly, she did.
"You never have to protect anyone from me."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
Before she could answer—
The front door buzzed.
Building security.
Two officers entered first, followed by a police sergeant.
The sergeant immediately noticed Audrey's condition.
"Sir..."
I pointed toward the bleach bottle.
"Please photograph everything before anyone touches it."
Victoria scoffed.
"This is absurd."
The sergeant ignored her and called for crime scene documentation.
Marissa's face turned white.
Twenty minutes later...
The apartment looked completely different.
Photographs.
Evidence markers.
Medical gloves.
One female officer carefully examined Audrey's injuries.
She looked up at me.
"These burns aren't from today."
I froze.
"What?"
She nodded.
"Some are several weeks old."
My heart stopped.
I slowly turned toward Audrey.
"Is that true?"
She began crying again.
"I didn't want to upset you."
"When?"
She whispered,
"Whenever you traveled."
The room spun around me.
I traveled almost every week.
Board meetings.
Business dinners.
Investor conferences.
Every time I left...
I had left her alone with my mother.
The police separated everyone into different rooms.
The sergeant interviewed Victoria in the library.
Another officer questioned Marissa in the guest suite.
I sat with Audrey in our bedroom.
The female officer quietly closed the door.
"You can speak freely now."
Audrey kept staring at her hands.
"It started after the baby shower."
"What started?"
"Your mother."
She took a shaky breath.
"She said I wasn't elegant enough to carry a Whitmore child."
My chest tightened.
"She criticized everything."
"The way I walked."
"The way I ate."
"The way I folded towels."
The words came faster now.
"If breakfast wasn't perfect..."
"I had to skip lunch."
"If dinner was late..."
"I wasn't allowed dessert."
The officer stopped writing.
"Allowed?"
Audrey nodded.
"Marissa always agreed with her."
Flashback after flashback poured out.
Victoria inspected the refrigerator every morning.
She weighed Audrey every Friday.
She threw away prenatal vitamins because she claimed they were "cheap."
She replaced them with pills from a private clinic.
She controlled what Audrey could eat.
When Audrey complained of dizziness...
Marissa told her pregnancy made women emotional.
When Audrey cried...
Victoria called her manipulative.
When Audrey asked to call me...
Victoria smiled.
"Daniel has important work."
"Don't burden him with your hormones."
Every sentence felt like a knife.
How had I never seen it?
Because I trusted my mother.
Because I believed the nurse.
Because I kept telling myself Audrey was simply tired from pregnancy.
I had failed the one person who trusted me most.
A knock interrupted the interview.
The forensic technician entered carrying a clear evidence bag.
"Sergeant..."
He looked directly at me.
"We found something."
Inside the bag were several orange prescription bottles.
They all had Audrey's name.
But the labels had been partially removed.
The officer frowned.
"These medications don't match her obstetrician's records."
I looked at Audrey.
"Have you been taking these?"
She nodded slowly.
"Marissa gave them to me every night."
"What did she say they were?"
"Sleeping vitamins."
The officer immediately uncapped one bottle.
His expression changed.
"Nobody touch these."
He turned toward another officer.
"Call Poison Control and the hospital."
"Now."
Half an hour later...
Audrey's obstetrician rushed into the apartment.
Dr. Rebecca Collins barely glanced at anyone before examining Audrey.
Her face darkened.
"Who prescribed these pills?"
"No one," I answered.
"The nurse."
Dr. Collins opened one bottle.
She looked horrified.
"These aren't prenatal supplements."
"What are they?"
"They're prescription sedatives."
The room went silent.
"They should never be given to a pregnant woman without medical supervision."
My hands curled into fists.
"What could they have done?"
Dr. Collins looked directly at me.
"They could have caused severe complications."
"They also explain why Audrey kept feeling exhausted."
Audrey whispered,
"I thought I was a weak mother."
Dr. Collins immediately held her hand.
"No."
"You've been drugged."
Meanwhile...
Detectives finished searching Marissa's room.
One officer carried out a leather notebook.
Inside were pages of handwritten entries.
Date.
Time.
Weight.
Meals.
Mood.
Medication.
Every single day of Audrey's pregnancy had been documented.
But one sentence appeared over and over again.
Victoria says she's still too attached to the baby.
Another page.
Increase dosage if she resists.
Another.
Daniel must not know.
I couldn't breathe.
The detective quietly closed the notebook.
"This wasn't neglect."
"It was systematic."
Victoria was escorted into the living room.
For the first time all day...
She looked nervous.
I stood in front of her.
"Why?"
She folded her hands calmly.
"You'll thank me one day."
My voice dropped.
"For what?"
"For protecting our family's future."
Audrey stared at her.
Victoria continued as though discussing the weather.
"She isn't strong enough to raise a Whitmore heir."
The silence that followed was terrifying.
"You planned to take our baby."
Victoria didn't answer.
She didn't have to.
The detective slowly opened another folder.
"We recovered several emails from Ms. Lane's laptop."
He looked toward Victoria.
"They discuss arranging temporary guardianship immediately after delivery."
Audrey gasped.
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Victoria had never intended to help.
She had intended to convince everyone Audrey was mentally unstable...
...so she could legally take our child.
Marissa finally broke.
She buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
"I'm sorry..."
"I only did what she told me."
Victoria turned toward her with icy contempt.
"We had an agreement."
"No..."
Marissa cried.
"I can't do this anymore."
The detective spoke quietly.
"Ms. Lane."
"If you cooperate now..."
"The court will know."
Marissa looked at Audrey.
Then at me.
Finally she whispered,
"There are recordings."
Everyone froze.
"What recordings?"
Marissa swallowed hard.
"Victoria made me install hidden cameras."
"Throughout the apartment."
"She recorded everything."
Audrey covered her mouth.
Even I hadn't known.
The detective looked up sharply.
"Where are those recordings?"
Marissa slowly pointed toward Victoria.
"They're not here."
"She keeps copies..."
"...inside a private safety deposit box."
Victoria's composure finally cracked.
For the first time...
She looked afraid.
The detective stepped forward.
"Mrs. Whitmore..."
"I'm placing you under arrest for conspiracy, unlawful surveillance, evidence of coercive control, and suspected criminal abuse."
The handcuffs clicked around Victoria's wrists.
She looked at me one last time.
"You'll regret choosing her."
I didn't hesitate.
"I didn't choose."
I walked to Audrey.
Knelt beside her.
Took her trembling hand.
"I finally chose my family."
As the police led my mother out of the penthouse, Audrey quietly rested her head against my shoulder.
For the first time in months...
She wasn't crying because she was afraid.
She was crying because she finally believed she was safe.
But neither of us noticed one detail.
Inside Victoria's abandoned handbag...
A second phone vibrated silently.
A new message appeared on the screen.
Phase One failed. Do not reveal the real father.
Neither the police...
Nor Daniel...
Nor Audrey...
May you like
Saw it.
End of Chapter 2.
