Chapter 3 - Whispers in the ICU Corridor
Dawn broke over the Arizona desert, casting long, bruised shadows across the hospital parking lot. I left Irene sleeping peacefully under the watchful eye of a round-the-clock private security detail I had personally vetted and stationed outside her door.
My phone vibrated in my palm as I stepped out into the crisp morning air.
It was an unknown number, routed through a secure proxy server. I swiped to answer, pressing the phone hard against my ear.
“Mr. Wentworth,” a synthesized, metallic voice hissed through the speaker. “I trust your homecoming was memorable?”
I didn't flinch. I kept walking toward my parked vehicle, my boots crunching on the gravel. “If you’re calling on behalf of Margaret and Carla, save your breath. They’re facing felony burglary, extortion, and attempted assault charges. Their money won't bail them out of this one.”
A dry, humourless chuckle crackled through the receiver.
“Margaret and Carla are small fish, Mr. Wentworth. Irrelevant pawns in a very large aquarium. You think they broke into your safe tonight looking for petty cash or real estate deeds? You’re blind, Austin. They were looking for the key to the Ambergris vault—the very vault your dear wife lied to you about from the moment she agreed to wear your ring.”
My hand tightened around the steering wheel as I unlocked my SUV. “Who is this?”
“An interested party,” the voice replied smoothly. “Ask your wife about her mother’s so-called 'fatal accident.' Ask her why she changed her last name the day before she met you at that charity gala in Manhattan. And most importantly, Mr. Wentworth... ask yourself why the men who killed her family are currently managing your corporate portfolio.”
Click.
The line went dead.
I stood beside the open car door for a long, agonizing moment, the desert wind whipping my tie over my shoulder. Every instinct told me the voice on the other end was trying to manipulate me, to plant seeds of doubt between me and the woman fighting for our child’s future in room 412.
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Yet, the documents in my briefcase didn't lie. The two million dollars had vanished. And Irene’s past was wrapped in layers of secrecy I had never bothered to peel back, trusting blindly in the quiet, sweet woman who had won my heart three years ago.
I climbed into the driver’s seat, tossed the phone onto the passenger dash, and put the car in drive. Before I could confront my enemies, I needed to know the truth about my wife.
