Chapter 16
The bullet missed Michael’s heart by an inch.
It tore through his left shoulder, throwing him backward over the balcony railing.
He fell fifteen feet into the rose bushes below, thorns tearing at his face and arms, the pain in his shoulder blinding white.
Above him, he heard Vanessa scream in frustration.
Then he heard sirens.
Lots of sirens.
Cole had triggered the silent alarm before the gunshots. The police, the fire department, three ambulances—they were all on their way.
Michael tried to stand. He couldn’t. His left arm was useless. His vision was swimming. The last thing he saw before he passed out was Lily and Ethan running toward him through the smoke, screaming his name.
He woke up in the hospital three days later.
His shoulder had been repaired with three titanium pins. His face was covered in bandages. His body ached in places he didn’t know he had.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Lily.
She was sitting on the edge of his bed, her small hand wrapped around his good one. She had dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was a mess. But she was alive.
“Daddy?” she whispered.
“Hey, baby,” he croaked. His throat was dry as sandpaper. “I’m here. I’m okay.”
Ethan was asleep in the chair beside the bed. He woke up at the sound of Michael’s voice. For the first time since this nightmare began, the boy cried.
Richard and Cole were in the room within minutes.
“Vanessa?” Michael asked immediately.
“Gone,” Cole said. “She escaped through the woods behind the house. The police have roadblocks everywhere. The FBI is involved. It’s only a matter of time.”
“Marcus?”
“Shot during the break-in,” Cole said. “He’s in custody. Intensive care. He’ll live to stand trial. He’s already started talking. Says Vanessa planned everything. Paid him fifty thousand to set the fire and kill you. Says he was just the hired help.”
Michael closed his eyes.
The house?
“Total loss,” Richard said gently. “The fire destroyed everything. But the important things are safe. The kids. You. The evidence. We backed up all the videos and documents to the cloud months ago. Nothing Vanessa can do will touch them.”
A nurse came in to check Michael’s vitals. When she left, Richard leaned closer.
“One more thing,” he said quietly. “Vanessa didn’t just try to kill you tonight. She filed an emergency motion with the court this morning—while you were still in surgery. She’s arguing that you’re unstable, that you set the fire yourself to frame her, that the children are in imminent danger living with you. She’s asking the judge to award her immediate temporary custody.”
Michael sat up, ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder.
“She tried to murder me! The police have the bullet! They have Marcus’s confession!”
“Marcus is a three-time felon,” Richard said. “His testimony is worth less than nothing. And the bullet that hit you—Vanessa’s lawyers will argue you shot yourself to make her look bad. The judge is hearing the motion tomorrow. We have to be ready.”
“Ready?” Michael laughed bitterly. “I can barely move. I look like I went ten rounds with a woodchipper. If the judge sees me like this, she’ll think Vanessa is right.”
“Then we don’t let the judge see you like this,” a voice said from the door.
Everyone turned.
May you like
James Chen stood in the doorway. Behind him were Daniel and Sofia Torres.
“We heard what happened,” James said, walking into the room. “We’re not waiting for the trial anymore. Tomorrow morning, we’re going to tell the judge exactly who Vanessa Reed is. And this time? Someone is finally going to believe us.”
