Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO REFUSED TO BE BOUGHT
Kate woke in a private hospital room with her arm in a cast.
Damon sat beside the window.
He was reading a newspaper.
She blinked.
“Mr. Blackwell?”
He looked up.
“Good morning.”
She glanced around.
“Where am I?”
“A hospital. You were admitted for observation after your injury.”
She sat up carefully.
“My mother?”
“Safe.”
Kate closed her eyes.
Damon placed a folder beside her.
“Your medical bills are covered under the household's employee injury policy while the claim is reviewed.”
She stared.
“I don't understand.”
“You were injured while working.”
“But Ethan—”
“Ethan doesn't get to decide whether you receive care.”
Kate looked at the folder.
Then at him.
“Are you asking me to sign something?”
Damon frowned.
“No.”
“No agreement?”
“No.”
“No confidentiality clause?”
His expression changed.
“Did someone offer you one?”
Kate hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Ethan's lawyer called me.”
Damon went still.
“When?”
“Last night.”
She reached for her phone.
A message appeared.
$250,000. Full medical coverage for your mother. In exchange for your silence.
Damon read it.
His jaw tightened.
“Do you want to accept?”
Kate stared at him.
“What?”
“It's your decision.”
She looked down.
For a moment, the money seemed enormous.
It could change everything.
Her mother's treatment.
Their debts.
Their future.
Then she remembered Ethan's hand twisting her arm.
His smile.
His threats.
Kate lifted her head.
“No.”
Damon nodded.
“Then we'll help you find an attorney who answers to you, not me.”
For the first time since the gala, Kate felt something unfamiliar.
May you like
Not safety exactly.
But the beginning of it.
