Chapter 1 - THE DOCUMENT ON THE DOCK
The helicopter blades were still turning overhead when I was lifted from the jet ski and carried onto the Coast Guard vessel.
My hands were shaking.
My dress was soaked.
And every few seconds, another wave of pain tightened across my stomach.
“Ma’am, stay with us,” the medic said. “We’re taking you to the medical unit.”
I nodded, but my eyes remained fixed on the dock.
Julian was standing there between two federal officers.
He looked nothing like the confident executive who had handed me those capsules earlier.
His expensive shirt was wrinkled.
His hair was soaked from the spray.
And his face had lost all its color.
An officer stood in front of him holding a thick folder.
“Mr. Vance, you need to come with us.”
Julian looked toward me.
“Genevieve!”
I almost turned away.
Almost.
Then he shouted something that made me stop.
“You don’t understand! Victoria planned this!”
Victoria, already handcuffed, screamed from behind him.
“That’s a lie!”
The officer pushed Julian into a waiting vehicle.
Victoria was taken toward another.
For several seconds, I simply stared.
Then my father arrived.
He stepped onto the vessel wearing a dark naval jacket, his expression colder than I had ever seen it.
He didn't hug me immediately.
Instead, he looked at the medic.
“How is my daughter?”
“Stable,” she replied. “But we need to get her to a hospital.”
My father nodded.
Then he looked at me.
“Genevieve, there’s something you need to know.”
“What?”
“The capsules you took weren’t prenatal vitamins.”
My heart stopped.
“What were they?”
His jaw tightened.
“The lab identified a sedative combined with a drug that can increase uterine contractions.”
I stared at him.
Julian had known.
He had known exactly what he was giving me.
My hand moved instinctively over my stomach.
The baby kicked.
Once.
Twice.
I closed my eyes.
“Take me to the hospital.”
My father placed his hand over mine.
“We will.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A moment later, his expression changed.
“What?”
He listened silently.
Then he looked at me.
“The federal investigators just opened Julian’s corporate accounts.”
“Why?”
“Because the document they found on the dock isn't about the jet ski.”
“What is it about?”
My father lowered his voice.
“Your trust.”
I stared at him.
“What did Julian do?”
“He filed paperwork six months ago claiming that you had transferred controlling authority over your family assets to him.”
I almost laughed.
“He couldn't.”
“He couldn't,” Dad agreed.
Then he handed me his phone.
On the screen was a scanned document bearing my name.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
Except there was one problem.
I had never signed it.
I zoomed in.
The signature looked perfect.
Too perfect.
Someone had copied it.
And beneath the forged signature was a clause that made my blood run cold.
If I were declared medically incapacitated, Julian would become temporary trustee of everything I owned.
Including the fortune funding his entire empire.
I looked toward the harbor.
The man I had loved for ten years had not simply tried to kill me.
He had planned to inherit me while I was still alive.
And somewhere inside Julian's company was the person who had forged my signature.
I suddenly understood why he had been so confident.
He wasn't acting alone.
And the person helping him had access to my most private records.
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The question was no longer whether Julian had betrayed me.
It was how many people had helped him.
