Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO REMEMBERED EVERYTHING
Elena woke beneath hospital lights.
Her head hurt.
Her mouth was dry.
And for several seconds, she couldn't remember where she was.
Then she heard a familiar voice.
Ava.
“Elena?”
She turned carefully.
Ava sat beside the bed.
Her eyes were red.
“You scared me.”
Elena swallowed.
“What happened?”
“You were found unconscious near a parking structure.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Fragments returned.
The grocery store.
A woman carrying a red umbrella.
A black sedan parked near the curb.
Footsteps behind her.
Then a hand grabbing her coat.
She remembered turning.
A voice.
A man's voice.
Where are the documents?
Then nothing.
Her hand moved toward her stomach.
“The baby.”
Ava leaned forward.
“The doctors are monitoring you. The heartbeat was stable at the last check.”
Elena began crying.
Relief rushed through her.
Then she remembered something else.
A face.
Daniel Cross.
Nico's former financial director.
He'd been standing beside the black sedan.
Elena gripped Ava's hand.
“Daniel.”
Ava froze.
“What?”
“He was there.”
“Are you sure?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“I saw him.”
Ava pressed the call button.
A nurse entered.
Elena explained what she remembered.
The hospital contacted the investigators handling the incident.
A detective arrived later that evening to document her account.
Elena answered carefully.
She did not guess.
Did not fill gaps in her memory with fear.
She described what she knew.
Then the detective asked, “Do you believe the attack relates to your former husband's business?”
Elena looked down.
“I think Daniel Cross was trying to find documents.”
“What documents?”
“Financial records I copied before the divorce.”
Ava went still.
Elena continued.
“I found unusual transfers through a shipping subsidiary.”
The detective leaned forward.
“Where are those records now?”
Elena hesitated.
“With my attorney.”
The detective nodded.
“That's helpful.”
After the interview, Ava sat beside her.
“Elena.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“Why didn't you tell me you still had the records?”
Elena smiled sadly.
“Because I didn't want anyone else involved.”
Ava's eyes filled.
“You were trying to protect me.”
Elena nodded.
Ava laughed bitterly.
“Apparently that runs in the family.”
Elena looked away.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Ava asked, “Do you know Nico's here?”
Elena's face changed.
“Yes.”
“He hasn't left.”
“I know.”
Ava hesitated.
“He knows about the baby.”
Elena closed her eyes.
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“I figured.”
Ava took her hand.
“He's worried.”
Elena looked toward the window.
“For six years, I thought he loved me.”
Her voice broke.
“Then he looked into my eyes and told me none of it was real.”
Ava began crying.
Elena continued.
“I can't go through that again.”
“You don't have to.”
Elena looked at her.
Ava squeezed her hand.
“You don't owe him access to you because he's frightened.”
Elena nodded.
Then whispered, “I do want him to know the baby.”
Ava smiled through tears.
“I know.”
Elena placed a hand over her stomach.
For the first time since the divorce, she allowed herself to imagine something beyond survival.
A future.
Not necessarily with Nico.
But one where her child would be loved.
May you like
And where she wouldn't have to beg anyone to stay.
---
