He Accused Me Of Stealing But I Heard The Truth Chapter 04
No one in the car spoke.
Derek gripped the phone so hard his knuckles went white.
Rachel recovered first.
“That only makes it more suspicious. She knew the main account would be checked, so she must have used another one. That painter could have registered a company for her, moved the money overseas—”
Derek didn’t answer.
He kept staring at the records Henry had forwarded.
[She never touched it?]
[Then why is she living like this? She’d rather let Maisie starve than touch money I gave her?]
[Unless… she never knew it existed.]
The thought had barely surfaced before he shut his eyes.
“Find her.”
Rachel turned in her seat to look at him.
“Weren’t you going to wait for her to come back and sign?”
“Turn around,” Derek ordered the driver. “Go back to the aid center. After the hospital, that’s the only place she has to go.”
[Erin, don’t do anything stupid.]
[Don’t hand your life over to people like that just to avoid me.]
By nightfall, the car had turned into the industrial strip behind the aid center.
A few men had me cornered beside an unmarked van. One of them produced a wrinkled agreement, explaining that legal organ transplants were complicated, but they could take my ID first to arrange “medical exams” and a match.
Another had already photographed my state ID.
He made me sign every page and held up his phone to record a statement that I was cooperating voluntarily. He said if I backed out now, I’d owe a hefty referral fee.
I was clutching Maisie’s critical-condition notice. I didn’t flinch.
Headlights flooded the alley.
Derek shoved open the car door and cut through the men, grabbing my wrist and pulling me behind him.
“You really know how to pick your spots, Erin.”
His voice was cold.
“You said on the phone you’d sell a kidney. I thought you were just trying to be dramatic.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” I shot back. “Go back and beg you?”
“Is begging me really that difficult?”
“Yes.”
He was gripping my wrist too hard, red marks blooming on my skin almost instantly.
Two seconds later, he abruptly let go and shoved a card into my coat pocket.
“Take it and save my daughter.”
“You’re owed this much. Don’t mistake it for me taking care of you.”
The cold metal of the card pressed against my chest.
Derek turned away, ordering his bodyguards to detain the men, telling his driver to call the police, and snatching my ID back from them.
[She really came. She was really going to go with them.]
[What if I’d been ten minutes later? What if they’d shoved her into that van?]
[Where the hell is that painter? Why is she always alone?]
When the police arrived, they found sedatives, forged medical consent forms, and other people’s IDs in the van. They arrested the men and took me to the station to give a statement.
Derek waited outside the entire time. He didn’t rush me.
On the way back to the hospital, he sat on the far side of the car, leaving an empty seat between us.
Rachel was already waiting outside the ICU.
Seeing the dust on the hem of Derek’s trousers, she immediately pulled out a sanitizing wipe.
“You shouldn’t have gone to a place like that yourself. Erin knew you were checking the accounts, so she orchestrated this little drama for you. For all we know, she hired those men.”
I leaned against the wall, too exhausted to argue.
Derek wiped his hands, his gaze fixed on nothing.
“Tell the pharmacy to start the medication.”
Rachel tensed. “But you haven’t gotten the custody agreement signed. She’ll just ask for more after this.”
“I’m saving my daughter,” Derek cut in. “This has nothing to do with Erin.”
Rachel’s nails dug into her palm. She gave a small, tight nod.
“Understood. I’ll contact finance.”
As she turned away, her gaze slid over me.
I knew that card wasn’t going to be the end of it.