Chapter 3 - The Broken Veil
The sterile smell of antiseptic and the rhythmic beep of a heart monitor were the first things that greeted me when I regained consciousness. Sunlight filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of a private hospital suite on the top floor of St. Jude’s.
I immediately reached down to my stomach, panic surging through my veins.
“Easy, Maya. Easy.”
A warm, gentle hand caught mine. I turned my head to see my best friend, Chloe, sitting in a chair beside the bed. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her dark hair pulled back into a messy bun, but her face held a fierce, protective expression. Beside her stood Dr. Aris Thorne, the chief of obstetrics.
“My baby...” I managed to whisper, my throat raw.
Dr. Thorne stepped forward with a soft, reassuring smile. “Your baby is a fighter, Mrs. Miller—or should I say, Ms. Vance. The blunt trauma caused a partial placental abruption, which caused the bleeding and severe distress. However, thanks to the quick response of the trauma team, we stabilized the tear. Your baby’s heart rate is strong.”
Tears of immense relief flooded my eyes, dripping down my bruised cheeks. “Thank God. Oh, thank God...”
“You are on strict bed rest for the next four weeks,” Dr. Thorne added gently. “No stress, no exertion. Your uncle has placed a full security detail outside this floor. You are completely safe here.”
Once the doctor left the room, Chloe burst into tears, wrapping her arms carefully around my shoulders, taking extreme care not to press against my bruised ribs.
“You absolute idiot,” Chloe sobbed into my shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you call your uncle months ago? When you told me Victor was getting distant, I thought he was just being a selfish jerk. I had no idea he... he and his evil family were laying hands on you!”
“I wanted to believe he loved me,” I whispered, looking up at the ceiling. “When I met Victor two years ago, he was so kind, Chloe. He seemed so gentle. But the moment we got married, his mother moved into his head. They thought I was a orphan with no safety net. They thought I had nowhere to run. They wanted a maid, an punching bag, and an heir they could control.”
“Well, they picked the wrong girl,” Chloe spat, wiping her eyes. “Your uncle is currently burning their entire world to the ground. You should see the news, Maya. It’s everywhere.”
I blinked. “The news?”
Chloe pulled out her tablet and handed it to me. The headline on the major news network read:
“PROMINENT BUSINESSMAN RAUL MILLER AND FAMILY ARRESTED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER OF PREGNANT WIFE; VANCE ENTERPRISES TERMINATES ALL CONTRACTS.”
Below the headline was a blurry screenshot from Nora’s video—the moment Victor raised the heavy wooden cane while Helena watched with a smile. The video had somehow leaked to the press, though I knew without asking that Uncle Marcus had strategically released a censored version to shatter any public sympathy the Millers might try to fabricate.
The door to the suite opened silently, and Marcus walked in. He looked refreshed, though his eyes carried an icy edge that warned of impending destruction.
“How are you feeling, Maya?” he asked, pulling up a chair opposite Chloe.
“Better. The baby is safe,” I said. “Uncle... what did you do?”
Marcus took a sip from a paper coffee cup, his expression unreadable. “I did what should have been done the day you married that parasite. For the last twenty-four hours, my legal team has been reviewing the financial records of Miller Construction—Raul’s company.”
I leaned forward slightly. “What did you find?”
“Raul wasn’t just a terrible human being; he was a fraudulent one,” Marcus explained coldly. “He has been cooking his books for five years, using shell companies to launder money and dodge federal taxes. Moreover, eighty percent of his sub-contracts were tied to logistics firms owned by Vance subsidiaries. By noon today, every single contract was cancelled.”
I gasped. “Cancelled?”
“Effective immediately,” Marcus confirmed. “By five o’clock this evening, Miller Construction will declare bankruptcy. The banks are freezing their personal accounts, foreclosing on their estate, and seizing their vehicles to pay off outstanding debts.”
“And Victor?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly as memories of his violence flashed through my mind.
“Victor’s high-priced defense attorney tried to apply for emergency bail this morning,” Marcus said with a dark chuckle. “They claimed Victor suffered a ‘temporary psychological break’ due to financial stress. Captain Reynolds presented Nora’s full, uncensored phone recording to the judge. The judge was so disgusted that she revoked bail for all four of them. They are currently sitting in maximum-security remand cells at the county jail.”
I took a deep breath, feeling a weight that had been crushing my chest for months finally begin to lift. But deep down, I knew Victor. He was a cornered rat, and cornered rats always bite back when they have nothing left to lose.
May you like
“They won’t go down quietly,” I said quietly. “Helena has connections with local media bloggers. She’ll try to spin this as a rich family bullying a middle-class household.”
Marcus leaned forward, his dark eyes locking onto mine with fierce pride. “Let them try, Maya. They thought you were a helpless bird with clipped wings. They don’t realize you are a Vance. And it’s time you showed them what happens when someone tries to destroy our blood.”
