Chapter 8 - The Story Brett Tried to Sell
Brett arrived at the hospital the next morning carrying flowers.
He wore a clean shirt and the concerned expression of a devoted husband.
Two sheriff’s deputies met him outside Natalie’s room.
“I’m here to see my wife,” he said.
“She has asked that you not enter.”
“She is confused. She inhaled smoke.”
One deputy held out a hand.
“Mr. Hale, we need to speak with you.”
Brett glanced toward the nurses’ station.
“About what?”
“Your actions during yesterday’s evacuation.”
“I went for help.”
The deputy remained expressionless.
“You drove to a hotel.”
“I had to find a safe place for my mother and sister.”
“And your pregnant wife?”
“She refused to get into the car.”
Inside the room, Natalie watched the hallway through the partially open door.
Rachel stood beside her.
“Listen carefully,” Rachel whispered. “This is the story he is choosing.”
Brett continued.
“Natalie was emotional. She said she wanted to stay and protect the property. I begged her to leave.”
The second deputy opened a tablet.
“We have exterior camera footage.”
Brett’s face changed.
“We also have the emergency call.”
He stopped speaking.
“And a recording made inside your vehicle.”
Eleanor entered the hallway before the deputies could continue.
“This is a family misunderstanding,” she announced.
Rachel stepped out of Natalie’s room.
“No, Mrs. Hale. It is a documented abandonment during a mandatory evacuation.”
Eleanor looked past her toward Natalie.
“She is turning you against your husband.”
Natalie pushed herself out of bed and walked to the doorway.
“No one turned me against him.”
Brett’s voice softened.
“Natalie, I was coming back.”
“You checked into a hotel.”
“To arrange help.”
“You told the hotel receptionist that your wife had chosen to remain behind.”
“That is not what I said.”
“The lobby has cameras.”
Eleanor stepped forward.
“You are carrying his child. Think carefully before destroying your marriage.”
Natalie looked at the woman who had hidden her shoes, pressured her to surrender her inheritance, and watched the SUV leave without turning around.
“My marriage ended when that car door stayed locked.”
Brett’s concerned expression vanished.
“You cannot keep my child from me.”
Rachel answered.
“That will be decided through the appropriate legal process.”
Brett looked at Natalie.
“You planned this.”
She almost could not believe what she was hearing.
“You left me in a wildfire, and you think I planned it?”
“You were recording us all weekend.”
“I recorded the property discussion because you were trying to force me to sign.”
“So you admit it.”
“I admit that I stopped trusting you before I understood how dangerous you were.”
The deputies asked Brett and Eleanor to accompany them for formal interviews.
Tessa stood near the elevator.
She had arrived alone.
Eleanor stared at her daughter.
“You gave them the recording.”
Tessa’s face trembled, but her voice did not.
“Yes.”
“You betrayed your own family.”
“No,” Tessa said. “I finally told the truth about it.”
As the deputies escorted Brett and Eleanor away, Brett looked back at Natalie.
May you like
For years, his greatest weapon had been the certainty that she would protect his image.
That certainty was gone.
